[V8] V8 Musings - (long)

[qshipq at aol.com]

Nothing like a silly game of territory marking to remind one that I'm on these lists because of the car, not the nutballs that may own them.? In my 17 years owning and modifying quattros, my affliction for the v8 has slowly transformed into an addiction to it as a daily driver.? An ascribed turbo guy by nature, reputation, employment and history, the v8q has always been that candy in the jar, as I bang around the drug store pharmacopia we call turbo.? Alas, over 10 years ago, I started getting some harder core v8 owners in my shop looking for 'more'.? Monster cams, exhaust, chips, suspension, stress bars, sway bars...? Slippery slopes well traveled by the turbo owners...

Building mild to wild v8's in that last 10years, really brought me around to the idea, it's a great machine that does almost everything a turbo does without the fuss or intensity of drive.? Months with Ingo's PO 5 speed v8, working, tweeking and massaging it back to a fine sport sedan.? The finished product turned heads, and still blew smoke from the tail, albeit from slamming the oil to the back of the head.? The epiphany at the time though, the D11 machine was an underrated twizzler in a jar on the audi corner shelf.? I started paying attention more to the 91 I bought the wife, and added the chip and some suspension tweeks to our defacto long distance road car.? 17x8.5 Bobet C's and 255/40 HTRZII, because I could, without rolling tucking, cambering....? Bolt em on.? Big Reds adding to the fun in the Catskill twisties, even a stint with the coveted 30mm ABT front swaybar....

With some 5 v8's thru the stable since that first, I learned that a fresh suspension, tight urs4 seats, ABT chip, and those same 255 tires, makes for a simple and venerable DD combination.? Some shift programming modification in both E and sport mode, it's quick to come alive when feeling the heat, and a classic sport sedan quietly chewing miles yielding better mileage than my 44turbo cars on the way to Dallas this past Christmas.? 

The buyers are passionate, and in some cases (cough)... Unique?? And I chuckle at many of the hard core guys that appear hell bent on making such a fine machine 'better'.? As a well seasoned motor builder and dyno nerd, boatloads of money are required for significant boatloads of power to these v8 engines - at the same time, taking much away from what makes it great.? Over a hundred hours at the wheel of the LT1Q (including some 'cruising' triple digit speeds with Ingo Rohrl at the wheel), the potential of what a massively tweeked v8 can do in a type 44, has already been done.? But, it also brings the epiphany to this guy, those experiences take nothing anything away from a bone stock 4.2 v8, or a chipped 3.6.? And the ABT chipped 4.2 puts a contented smile on my face without the compromises

I am lucky in that my two DD are both torque monsters.? My TRD Supercharged Landcruiser is the der ABT-SUV .... Quiet, torquey and will haul my v8 purchases, and qresqs on the trailer without complaint.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30199042&l=395b3&id=1337737742

I never checked which is faster the ABT 4.2V8 or the Supercharged 4.5I6 (I suspect the latter actually).? But, one thing that comes to mind driving both?? In the end, torque rules the planet, HP makes nice peaks on dyno charts.? And, my 17 years of quattro world's turbos, chips, power, tweeks and drives...? It's not about airing someones dirty laundry and ego.? It's my self-realization that a v8 is the first set of keys to grab going out the door to a well stocked Audi driveway. 

Cheers boys

Scott J
QSHIPQ Performance Tuning
Chicago IL
92 v8 4.2 ABT Chip (sans tresers)
2 CGT
2.5 Urq's
1 A6 avant non q
1 TRD Supercharged Landcruiser 
1 FJ1400 Yamaha



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