All Wheel Drive Test - Grip Madness - AWD Supertest

HPA's turbo kits are relatively elegant in comparison to many aftermarket chop jobs. By utilizing a remapped factory ECU and most of the factory sensors, HPA is able to maintain a near-factory look to the underhood wiring. Even so, there are several bits you can't miss when looking under the hood. Namely, the sanitary intercooler plumbing, which is executed in silicone hose and stainless-steel piping. The kit also uses proprietary intake and exhaust manifolds, two HGP KO4 turbos and two intercoolers.

HPA sandwiches a spacer plate between the block and head to lower compression from 10.0:1 to 7.0:1 to allow boost levels appropriate for the outrageous wheelspining launches the TT likes to do at the dragstrip. With the exception of the spacer and stronger rod bearings, the engine remains internally stock.

KW Variant 3 coil-overs stiffen the Quattro's stance. Thankfully, the TT's structure still felt solid around the racetrack despite its lack of a roof and beefier suspension-a combination that turns most convertibles into worthless noodles. Hyperformance's 13.0-inch brake kit for the Porsche 996 replaces the TT's stock rotors and calipers in front. The stock brakes remain in the rear.

Ziel Motorsports EVO VII
You probably know by now that Mitsubishi's EVO VII is one of the most potent street cars available. It should come as no surprise then that Ziel Motorsport's EVO VII, in near stock trim, was able to hang with much more highly modified cars in most of our performance testing.

Ziel's Jon K had recently acquired this EVO only a few days before our test and wanted to see what it could do. Who are we to deny him? Knowing the EVO's active differentials would add a high-tech twist to our test of less-than-perfect road conditions, we were glad to include the J-spec 276 hp EVO.

Despite its relative newness, Ziel fitted the EVO with prototype JIC FLT-A2 coilovers, and a JIC Bullet cat-back exhaust system. Other than those few bits, it was completely stock-right down to its OZ wheels.

XS Engineering WRX
Let's face it, XS Engineering is all about making power. Even Eric Hsu, lead engineer at XS, is fairly straightforward about his take on building this car. When asked months before this test about what sort of WRX he planned to bring and show off, his response was simple.

"I don't know, but it will be fast."

And it was. Twelve point eight seconds in the quarter mile to be exact.

In the few days before our test, Hsu had some problems with the WRX he planned to bring out, something about a bent rod. Luckily, he was able to borrow the WRX wagon you see here, swap every last aftermarket part onto it in time to tune it and make the test.

The majority of the work on this wagon took place under the hood. Breathing was enhanced with XS's 350-hp turbo upgrade, Blitz front-mount intercooler, XS midpipe and up-pipe and A'PEXi GT exhaust. Controlling the larger 800 cc/min Denso injectors is a Link ECU. Additional fuel is supplied by an upgraded XS fuel pump. Hsu claims this combination is good for 301 wheel horsepower on a Dynapack four-wheel-drive dyno.

Sending the torque to the 215/35-18 Yokohama Parada tires and 18x7.5-inch Racing Hart CP035 wheels is an ACT heavy-duty clutch. A'PEXi N1 Pro coil-overs replace the stock struts. Anti-roll bars remain stock.

Stopping duties go to six-piston Wilwood calipers in front and four-pistons units in the rear. Cool brakes, but if you ask the guys at XS, it's the engine that matters.