Stratmosphere Short Shifter And Intake review!

[KevKev9988]

Hey guys! Haven't really had a chance to post since I got back from H20i.

Well I'm going to make a really long story short. John and Greg from Stratmosphere are amazing people! They love to help people and love what they do!! Hopefully will be working with them hand in hand for some great products for the b8 platform!!

Short Shifter:

This really surprised me! I didnt expect for such a simple and bullet proof design to be so great! The shifting action is pure sex! When standing still the shifts are just a little clunky but direct! When moving? Damn does it shift smoothly. I believe John said it's a 45% reduction in throw and I think that his estimate is spot on! The shift from 1-2 that a lot of people have had trouble making smoothly during WOT has been solved! Damn!
That's not where it end's of course. If you have been at H20i you would know how freakin easy it is to install! He did it on the lift of a rental truck!! I'm sure room was scarce and the position was uncomfortable. But it was still done in 20 minutes!!!!
I highly recommend this product.

Intake:

Where do i start? The install? It was seamless. All of the parts where put together so easily and the fit and finish in my opinion are of the same quality of Evolution Motorsports! That say's alot!!!
The whine from the supercharger can be heard under 20% + throttle input. Very progressively. Under normal crusing though it's very silent. (I wish i could say the same about the intake I made myself. This intake blow's my old one away!! Low end torque has not been lost I could def. feel more mid range power!

I would like to thank stratmosphere once again for there patience and there incredible customer service! I have question's about John though. He used detail spray, glass cleaner and of course Meth that was stored in my trunk to wash his hand's haha!

Picture's will be posted soon as well as a short video showing the shifting action and relaying the sound of the supercharger on a variety of throttle inputs.

I know it was a long read, but i hope you guy's enjoy the review!

[mbgt72]

Glad you're happy but got a couple of questions.

First off:
Have you gotten the chance to do any data logging with the new intake (as in doing the same data logging runs back to back with one intake vs the other? I'm guessing with a pretty easy install it wouldn't be tough to swap out and do the logs). I would just be interested to see where the engine is gaining from the intake, as well as the air temp.

~Not trying to discredit, but we saw massive swings for people to go to the "CAI" on the B6/B7 S4's, only later to find loss of performance due partly to air temps being higher since it's an open system vs a closed pressurized system with multiple air inlets in it's stock state. I'm just seriously doubtful that the B8's won't undergo the same transition that the B6/7's did as it seems the intakes are following the same mistakes as before, but people are too excited to try new products before thinking about these facts.



Second:
Just curious, what was the reason you went for the Stratmosphere SS kit? On the B6/7's I've driven both the JHM SS (in my car) as well as a friend with the Strat SS. In my opinion, no comparison. And when you compare stock vs strat vs jhm, it's easy to see why. It does seem like this new generation of the strat ss is an improvement, but still utilizing many of the stock components that to me make the jhm ss amazing.

Just didn't know if it was a package convenience deal for you, or your research led you down that route?




Anyhow, glad you had a good time at H20, jealous I couldn't be there myself! And I really am glad that YOU are happy with YOUR car. That's honestly all that matters. But I just wanted to raise some of the issues that we saw in the B6/7 generation and sincerely hope they're not being repeated in the new B8 generation!

[KevKev9988]

There where alot of precautions done on this intake to keep air intake temp's low. You could see how alot of the rubber around the heat shield actually isolate the intake area from the engine bay. I will explain when i have pictures. Plus in my opinion intake temps won't make that big of a difference for a few reasons.

1. After the the air flows through the intake it must flow through the super charger. (the supercharger increases the air temp's significantly (probably to over 500 degrees))
2. After the air temps increase the air must then flow through the after coolers before it actually end's up in the motor.

If you would like i could do some log's and see.

As for the SS. The JHM is a nice unit, don't get me wrong. But the shifter height is changed as well as the overall feel. Where the JHM feels completly modified and after martket the Statmosphere one feels as if the car should have came like that. Very smooth and short.

Of course I love my car lol. I'm having a great time with not only the car but the people in the Audi scene! Very smart and fun to be around! Stratmosphere has been very helpful and didn't even have a problem about talking about the competition. This really made me feel comfortable dealing with them. They never put there competition down!

Now all I need is ..... Headers and a tune and and and and :-) It never ends does it?

[mbgt72]

well good deal. and no, it will never end. . .

Also I was under the impression the JHM unit came at pretty much stock height, or optionally reduced height? I ordered reduced height and like it. Also I think a BIG part of the stock feel you are referring to is actually due to the support bushing JHM supplies with the SS. I'm speaking from the B6/7 SS, but the bushings are optional and if you use the 4 stock mounting bushing then the stock feel is closely retained, but if you use the delrin bushings (as I did), then yes you do get a very aftermarket feel. I would not say mine feels stock, but I personally love it. (I have the shorter version with the high reduction of throw distance as well as the stiffer spring, so basically every option on the SS they offer haha) At the end of the day it's what makes you happy in your car.


As far as the intake, I think it would be interesting to see if you have access to a VAGCOM cable. It's not so much for my interest but I think if done properly it could be beneficial for the Audi/B8 community. There seems to always be too much hype/excitement with new products for every platform that create a placebo effect rather than the hard data to let people really get the best bang for your buck.

[Joey]

Glad to hear you are enjoying your new parts on your car. I had the stratmosphere SS in my car before the JHM one. I really liked it and it was easy to install and adjust.

Im not too familiar with the B8 S4 yet. How is the cooling system setup? Do they have two auxiliary radiators just like the v8?

[StratJohn]

Whats up everyone. I figured I could step in and at bare minimum say hello.
It was awesome to meet everyone at H2O.

Allow me to offer some clarifications on some of the product I have developed here:

Disclaimer: I was not with Strat for the initial B6/B7 days. I am familiar with them now, but I wasn't involved with any of the product then.

The shifter mechanism (stock) on the B8 cars is like 10x better than the older platforms. Gone is the yellowy plastic slotted pivot ball. In its place is a newer material, completely solid, no gaps for crap to come through, and going to be nearly impossible to wear down. Material technology has come a long way, and this new unit is nice. Now, the shifter shaft itself has been redone, and has built-in dampers. Much like BMW if you're familiar with that. Underneath, we find much more detailed moldings and built-in features. Gone is the sloppy pivot action. The new set up uses a molded-in bushing, and a single clamp to connect to the transmission shaft. It's a gorgeous piece of engineering.

The downside is that the new cars have a pretty serious center console/shifter surround going on.
Also the proximity of the bottom end of the shifter to the driveshaft. Its tight, not a lot of space to change the leverage.

My goals for the shifter were 1) shorten the throw substantially 2) make for an easy install 3) not be astronomically expensive and 4) maintain the overall feel of the car. Like we talked about above, stock, its a lot better than the B5/B6/B7 style.

See, I tried reusing the lower clamp assembly in development, but there is only so far that you can lower the pivot. I would say you can only go about 20% before you have to lower the assembly towards the drive shaft. The shifter pieces sit ABOVE the trans shifter shaft. So you can't just move straight down.

Suddenly I'm seeing that replacing the shaft is complicated and expensive. What our shifter does is MOVE the pivot, eliminate the bushing (eliminates possible future play/slop), pops a set of sealed cartridge bearings in, and clamps the shaft like a boss. Now you're left with the most reduction in throw you can get, the best clearance over the driveshaft, no more lower bushing pivot, and a feel that is like how the car should be. Its very... German. It does what you want, exactly, and is still incredibly nice to interact with.

It also requires no interior tear down, no prying up carbon fiber anywhere, and can be done in as little as 10 minutes (lift) and averages 25 (jack).

Easy install, instant gratification. You'd be amazed how little the height of the shifter matters once you try it at 45% reduction. Thats not my words either, thats the general response from people who have done this.

I entirely respect the other options out there. No questions there at all. I just have a different approach.


Intake- this one is easy. First up, yeah, I'm familiar with the ol' hot-air kits. Lets leave that out of here.

This is a supercharged car. Its also Audi. So you know damn well its been silenced to death. Hell the intake plumbing has a damn muffler on it. It also has a substantial neck-down in diameter inside. What I've done is replace the muffled, necked-down section with a mandrel bent stainlesss tube. It's inside diameter is slightly larger than the inside diameter of the throttle body. No restrictions going on there.
The heat shield is effective here as there are no aux radiators, or really anything hot on the side its located. It runs up flush to the hood, and channels air in from the stock grill location via its own parts.
What we end up with there is a super clean set up, offering more air, cooler air, and the awesome sound of the supercharger.
As for power, I'll be dead honest- it made consistently higher numbers than stock on the dyno. Small enough to be considered in the margin of error, but still, never lower than stock. That was also with stock exhaust, and no tune. I would imagine now (working on scheduling dyno pulls with our freshly tuned B8) that its part of a larger puzzle now. Plus that sound! I love it.

So anyways, the car is nothing like the B6/B7. And the parts I've designed and made are nothing like the stuff thats been done for the B6/B7 platform.

In short? You can't compare the old stuff and the new stuff at all. But the new stuff is pretty damn sweet.

[voltrons_head]

Thanks for the clarification John.

For the record I have the intake and love the sound!

[mbgt72]

John, thanks so much. I'm really glad to hear how far you all have come. I didn't want to say it, but prior to your post, I had a bad taste in my mouth for almost all Strat products. That's why I came it questioning. But it sounds like it's a whole new operation and glad to hear things are being done more proper. The old B6/7 shifter and intake were junk in my eyes, but these products look like a significant improvement over stock. Congrats on a new addition to the product offering on the B8 platform.

[AAEuroTuning]

Purchased the SS myself @ h2o... cant wait to get it in

[jdmnomore]

Nice review... can't say enough positive things to illustrate how satisfied I am with the parts and service I received from john@ strat.

[marty from dvag was here]

im here for the gangbang?

what had happened?

[sakimano]

im here for the gangbang?

what had happened?

[mbgt72]

im here for the gangbang?

what had happened?

we came early, sorry you missed the fun

[DuncanC]

This shit has been CENSORED.

[marty from dvag was here]

its actually this



note the bling

[sakimano]

its actually this

note the bling

yeah but mitch answered the door. Couldn't find one of him doing that, so the scream when he saw the masked guy had to suffice.

That's actually the director...can't remember. Todd Lewis or something? He plays the creepy guy on the bus in Road Trip too. That hot blonde girl wakes up with him sucking her toes on a Greyhound bus.

I love Old School. Wedding Crashers too. There can't be enough Vince Vaughn comedies.

[sakimano]

Nice review... can't say enough positive things to illustrate how satisfied I am with the parts and service I received from john@ strat.

you guys got an amazing deal on a downpipes group buy, didn't you? I'm still jealous. I think that was before I started posting here.

[DuncanC]

The group buy really wasn't a amazing deal. We didn't save a ton off the regular price. The regular deal on those downpipes is the amazing part. For $600 nobody else is even close for catless downpipes. The quality was top notch, the customer service was excellent, I'd buy from strat again if they had something I was interested and I do highly recommend the downpipes to people all the time.

[beemercer]

we came early

speak for yourself bud...

[jdmnomore]

you guys got an amazing deal on a downpipes group buy, didn't you? I'm still jealous. I think that was before I started posting here.

Yeap I believe the price at the time was $650 for the Dps and we all got ours for $600 shipped even after John learned some of the dudes were in Canada. Whole thing was organized and done after one convo with John. They also sent me a free shifter for me to compare against the JHM shifter even though he knew I was set on buying the JHM shifter. Regardless he simply wanted me to see his shifter wasnt crap and that you basically had a much cheaper option if you didnt want to completely revamp the shifter assembly.

Our dealings were very straight forward and definitely look forward to hopefully dealing with them again on other products. John give us a front bumper!

[Mr.Corey]

I can't say enough good things about the guys at strat!!!!!!!!!

[sakimano]

who's that...free exhaust guy?

p.s. what's with the semi-necro bump?

[primetime]

I can't say enough good things about the guys at strat!!!!!!!!!

Yeah! John is about, actually no he is as good as they get from a customer service and overall service standpoint for that matter....