B8 A4 E-Codes successfully installed. Car washed. Photos taken. - Now with DIY!

[Anthony]

So here she is after a successful day of modding and washing, just in time for another week of rain. She really needed a bath though. Afterwards it was off to fetch a new battery for the camera then head to one of my favorite spots to snaps a few quick pics.

Overall the E-Code install was a breeze, definitely easier than I remember on any of my past Audis. Further details after the photos...











All in all I am extremely happy with the outcome. I love how easy Audi has made it to remove these housings and change bulbs. Also the fact that this eliminates all of the exterior amber on the car (no other reflectors to change out or paint as on the B7), it's just great.

It being my first white colored car, the washing process will certainly take some getting used to. Even on a cloudy day, the reflection off the white paint was overwhelming at times. Also, dirt and debris show up in all new ways!

Next mod due soon will be by means of another pair of parts coming from Europe, and we also hope to tint the windows in the next few weeks. Then it'll be time to play with the engine...

In the next post below I'm going to be putting together a little DIY/How-To for getting at and changing out the housings.

[Anthony]

Headlight Housing Removal & E-Code DIY/How-To

Here is a little How-To which may help those that are a bit apprehensive about removing their headlight housings and/or changing out bulbs. The pics aren't great since they're taken with my cellphone, but they'll do the trick.

It's a very easy process, and is illustrated in the owner's manual as well.

First off, a shot of the US-Spec HID LED housings and E-Code housings side by side. The most notable difference is the amber reflector at the corners on the US housings, but there's also a bulb inside at the corners as well (and not one in the E-Codes). There are also slight differences to the projector lens and beam cutoff which effects the overall light output.



To get to all of the bolts holding in the housings, you first need to remove the upper front grille cover. This plastic over is held in place with four torx head screws, circled here in red. Once the screws are removed you simply pull up on the back of the cover and then and away from you (towards the back of the car).



Once that is removed, getting to the two screws and two bolts securing each housing is a breeze with the proper tools. Again these are all torx heads, and the locations are shown below in red arrows. The two arrows pointing up are highlighting the two lower bolts that don't need to be fully removed. The two screws up top (shown with the downward pointing arrows) can be fully removed. You'll of course need to unplug the wiring harness in order to remove the housing, which is at the top back.



Below you can see the back of the housings and the two ballasts that you'll be swapping out. Both are held in with smaller torx screws. One is for the HID main beam, and the other for the LED strip.



Below are shots of the HID bulb and the front and back of the ballasts.





And below we have a shot of the internals of the housing, with the HID bulb removed. To remove the bulb, you simply turn the base to the left then pull it out. To put the bulb back in place you insert it at a slight left tilt (Ten O'clock) then turn to the right until it clicks into place (as shown in the photo below).



Now just be sure that all of the torx screws are back in place, then it's a matter of putting the housings back into the car. This is actually the most difficult part of the process, and will take a bit of finagling to get lined up and seated correctly. There are tracks on the bottom of the housings which need to line up with the mounting plate on the car. Once in place you'll know it, and all four torx screws/bolts can be tightened back down. Don't forget to plug the wiring harness back in, replace the upper grille cover, then fire up the car and test out your new bulbs/housings.

If you've installed E-Codes like I have, then the very last thing you'll have to do is VAG the car in order to remove the bulb out warnings (since the E-Codes don't have the amber bulbs at the corners).

[Sharkfin]

I was just going to ask about the process until I read all the way through. So I'm guessing all bulbs are accessible from the engine bay, if so that's awesome.

[Anthony]

I was just going to ask about the process until I read all the way through. So I'm guessing all bulbs are accessible from the engine bay, if so that's awesome.

Well, not easily accessible, no. But all of the bolts are, which allows for easy removal of the housings.

[PESAPC]

Looks great Anthony!

[A4Ber]

holy shit...looks nice..i hate you Anthony! We are no longer brothers...maybe stepbrother

[Blake P]

Dayum, it looks so clean with the clear corners!

[Wolfs9]

hey anth !! Nice to hear it all worked out as we hoped ;)
The first swap in b8 history lol !! ;)

[Anthony]

hey anth !! Nice to hear it all worked out as we hoped ;)
The first swap in b8 history lol !! ;)

Thanks again, Mr. Wolfs!

Unfortunately I'm not the first one to install E-Codes on their B8 A4, as I know at least one other AZ'er has done it already. Although I may be the first to successfully get themselves a set off a fellow AZ'ers car.

And ya know it's kinda funny...as excited and happy as I am with this (and of myself for accomplishing the mod), and how gorgeous I think it looks, it's still just a regular old stock A4 to anyone in Europe. It won't really be unique until we get some suspension and new wheels on it.

[aznpxdd]

Damn, that looks great!

[DannyDeez]

Nice job on the ecodes! Seeing your car makes me want to order white as well.

[g75y]

Beautiful! Cant wait to see pictures when rest of changes go through :-)

[Anthony]

Thanks, guys. Any thoughts on the ghosted Audizine.com decal on the front plate delete? It's the first time I've tried it. Pretty subtle/stealthy, and looks cool at different angles and in different light.

[2007DolphinA4]

Beautiful car. Can you please post some interior shots?

[amd is the best]

Beautiful car! Any pics from before to compare?

Nick

[Anthony]

Beautiful car! Any pics from before to compare?

Nick

Before...


After...


You may notice there's no bulb at the amber corners either. I still need to VAG out the warning light for that...

[Sharkfin]

I think it looks good, very subtle yet effective!

[amd is the best]

Thanks for the pics! Subtle but awesome mod.

[oneohone]

Mmmm that looks nice.

[blaxuede]

wow that looks so much better then stock.. sorry for being so unfamiliar with the B8 platform but can you run only the DRL's w/ the fogs? as in just those two, and no headlights?

[robots_are_neon]

jealous! Great Job Ant!

[VSO]

wow that looks so much better then stock.. sorry for being so unfamiliar with the B8 platform but can you run only the DRL's w/ the fogs? as in just those two, and no headlights?

Yup you sure can.

[10MPG]

Nice and clean

Too bad it's raining today - and I just got a full detail over the weekend too

[OEMplus.com - Sales]

Looks great! very clean.

[GTurboI]

I know it's a little OT but thanks for reminding me just how great looking the 18" Sport wheels are! I'm going to take my A/S tires off of my winter wheels and put them on the OEM wheels and run those for a while until I figure out what I'm going to do. Oh and BTW, the e-codes look great

[Castor Troy]

shot with a turn signal or your hazards on?

[Anthony]

The Headlight Housing Removal & E-Code DIY/How-To has been added to the second post. I hope that it helps anyone looking to change out bulbs or housings.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...54#post3434454

[audirs]

looks great anth!

[Blake P]

I lowered Anthony's car today with the PS coilover kit. The drop looks good and it drives the same as stock!

[SeKKeY]

tell me you have a shot against the wall or something before/after..if/when i go B8 ecodes are going to be one of the first things i do..just like i did in my b5..b6..

[ryannorthcott]

awesome car

[oatzel]

off topic, but while pulling the lights, could you tell if the grill is removable without pulling the bumper? kinda looks like it might be from the pic showing removal of the cover

[Anthony]

I lowered Anthony's car today with the PS coilover kit. The drop looks good and it drives the same as stock!

Ooohhh that looks good, even on the stockers! Thanks for the PS.

off topic, but while pulling the lights, could you tell if the grill is removable without pulling the bumper? kinda looks like it might be from the pic showing removal of the cover

Sorry but I didn't look.


So the other parts arrived today from Europe. New thread coming in a bit.

[minira]

damn anth, very nice as always. can't wait to see the new parts.

[AUDITOPGUN]

wow awesome mod whats next?

[B6bomber]

That looks awesome, I was debating a B8 but I decided that I didn't want a brand new car. Maybe in a few years I will see.

[Agent Kitten]

Interesting. I have a car like that. Too. Looks like the same mods on mine too.

[Anthony]

wow awesome mod whats next?

Well we were going to tint the windows but it's up to the woman. It's her daily driver. If she's still up for it then software, suspension, and wheels as well.

Would also like to pick up the LED S4 tails as soon as they're ready. Waiting on Rich @ OEMPl.us and Kufatec.

[DannyDeez]

Thanks, guys. Any thoughts on the ghosted Audizine.com decal on the front plate delete? It's the first time I've tried it. Pretty subtle/stealthy, and looks cool at different angles and in different light.

I was actually going to comment on that in my first post but I forgot to do it. I like the way it looks and i think thats an awesome spot for it. Like you said its subtle but you can still see it which is cool. It actually looks redish in that side shot. Is that just the way it came out in the pic?

[amaurictx]

Is there any other mods needed to go from non-projector to the e-codes besides vag-com?