Cut out for exhaust

[in2thenightaudi]

Does the black trim of the bumper come off separate of the bumper itself? My car is going in for exhaust work on Saturday and I need to trim the exhaust surround to fit the quad tips I'm going with. I looked quickly today but the car was hot and didnt want to reach all up in there with the exhaust being hot. I'd rather take it off to measure and trim than trying to dremmel it while still on the car.

[Slavchob]

I know that the valance on my 04 does indeed come off. I'm not sure about yours tho, because it doesn't have the parking sensors. I'd assume that it does though. I know that the prefacelift ones are molded to the bumper

[NickyAsixx3sixx]

No, it does not come out.

I cut mine with a dremel, mine didn't come with cut-outs at all.

[TwinTurboYacht]

Here you go:




Rear Bumper Assembly Overview
1 - Bolt w/washer assembly
q 23 Nm (17 ft lb)
2 - Impact absorber
q Removing and installing, refer to → Chapter „Impact Absorbers“
3 - Cross member
– Bumper cover removed
– Remove bolt w/washer assembly and remove cross member from long member.
4 - Lower back panel trim
q To remove, remove self-tapping Phillips-head screws-5- (6x)
5 - Self-tapping Phillips-head screw
q 1.5 Nm (13 in. lb)
6 - Bumper cover
Removing:
– Unscrew flanged nuts-10- (accessible through luggage compartment).
q Luggage compartment trim must be partially disassembled
– Remove flanged nuts-11- (accessible through trunk under tail light).
7 - Guide
q Removing and installing, refer to → Chapter „Guide“
8 - Screw w/washer assembly
q 1 Nm (9 in. lb)
9 - Wheelhousing liner
10 - Flanged nut (2x)
q 6 Nm (53 in. lb)
11 - Flanged nut (2x)
q 6 Nm (53 in. lb)
12 - Seal

[Slavchob]

^ Yours is a prefacelift 01. Op has a facelifted 03. I'm pretty sure his comes off

[ENDEE666]

The facelift valance DOES come off. The pre-facelift does not. So yes, yours can be removed. 01 & older can't be removed.

[Vinchenzo51]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-Audi-A6-Sedan

Probably easier to remove the bumper, then remove the valence while its off the car, no?

[TwinTurboYacht]

^ Yours is a prefacelift 01. Op has a facelifted 03. I'm pretty sure his comes off

Not certain on the accuracy of my link, but I looked it up for my 03 just like the OP's.

[NickyAsixx3sixx]

Ok then it comes off...sorry about that, didn't realize you had an 03

[TwinTurboYacht]

Ok then it comes off...sorry about that, didn't realize you had an 03

No probs :)

[in2thenightaudi]

UPDATE: it comes off super easy. really a 5 minute job. consists of 5 screws and a few clips/tabs. Sorry for bad pics, I'll take some better ones when I re-install.


First remove the 3 (i think they are t-25 screws) from the bottom of the of the black trim. Its easy to see the first 2 red tabs sticking out (from the left) of where these screws are, but the 3rd is there, just hard to see:


Then there are 2 smaller screws (still the same sice torx bit - think its a t-25) to the outside of each exhaust tip:


Once all screws are removed, just give it a gentle tug (starting from the outside) and the tabs will unclip themselves and she'll be free!

Now I need some help. I need to trim the cut out to fit a larger tip (going with dual tips that measure 6 1/2" across and 3 1/8" high). The current cut out is only roughly 5 1/4 across and 2 3/4 high. I measured and know that I need to make the new opening about 1 3/4 inch wider (to give a bit of room on either side of the tip). That isnt the hard part, I can start the cut just fine like that. However I'm struggling to figure out how to make the top curve fit and look good. I've done some quick sketches on the trim but they arent even (I'm no artist). Anyone know of a tool that I can use (online) to figure out the template that I will need to make in order to cut these out evenly? My exhaust is getting installed Saturday morning so I need to make these cuts either tomorrow or early Saturday morning. Any help you have is appreciated.

Thanks!

[ENDEE666]

Before someone asks- NO, the facelift removable valance CAN NOT be swapped onto a pre-facelift bumper.. I tried, the two are different widths. And since pre-facelift is not removable, there is no way of mounting it..

So, as far as your new tips.. 6.5" is rather wide.. My advice is this, use as you wish.. If you have a scanner or photo copy machine, scan or copy the outline of the tip, but enlarge it slightly to give the clearance you desire. Then tape that in place on the bumper trim, positioned as desired, and trace it. Then cut along your trace line.

Keep in mind lining up with where the new muffler tip will align. For example, don't make the new cut out too far to one side or the other if the new muffler doesn't align its outlet there.

What tips are these anyway, post pics.

[in2thenightaudi]

thanks Nick. Not sure a scan of the tips will work though. I know the width and have already outlined that on the trim. my stumbling block in making the curved cut. as you know (or atleast it seems like you do since you tried to fit a facelift bumper already) the angling and curvature of the trim is a bit weird. I'll take the tip to work tomorrow and make an outline on the scanner to see if I can somehow align it on the bumper. the more i looked at it tonight, seems it might just have to be trial and error, starting with a small cut and moving larger. seems like I have my Friday night planned out... cut, test fit, cut, test fit...

on to tip pics. was a bit skeptical about the angled tips but the more I look at the curved bumper, the more I like it. got these from a audizine member who used them on his b6

[in2thenightaudi]

trying to scan the tips didnt work so well. since I couldnt close the top of the scanner since the huge tip was in there, the whole scan is black and you can just barely see the outline of the tips. guess I'll just be giving it a shot tonight.

[Vinchenzo51]

I like where this is going.

[A62TURBO]

Honestly I'm not a huge fan of quad tips on an A6, it reminds me of the Mercedes S class Livery Cabs that install clamp on quad exhaust tips blehhhh.

[ENDEE666]

Tips look nice. Curious how they will look when done.

Try experimenting with cardboard since the scan didn't work. Then when you get the shape you want, go to the bumper. Play around with other round items to use as stencil. Soup cans, soda cans, tuna cans, etc..

[dannyn424]

edge motors did mine.... looks great... had downturns ......

[in2thenightaudi]

Thanks for the tips (no pun intended) on getting the cut correct Nick!

Greg, I know what you mean about that S-class look. I am curious how this will turn out. I've seen some RS6's with quad tips and it looks soooo good. Then I've also seen a few c5's with them and they dont look as good. I think the deciding factor is the height of the tips. The ones I didn't like were on prefacelift cars where the tips weren't sitting high enough (almost fully below the black trim). Since with the facelift cars the exhaust is already tucked up in the trim, I think it looks better. Worst case this turns out looking like junk, so I just source a new black trim piece and just go with a larger single tip like most others are running.

[in2thenightaudi]

edge motors did mine.... looks great... had downturns ......

Pics of how yours turned out?

[aysix]

Look how they turned out in this thread. I want to do it myself, but i'm scared!
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-Rear-Valences

[in2thenightaudi]

Cutting the trim tonight I was def a bit nervous. I tried to make the best template I could, and was pretty satisfied with the outline I made to trim around. I trimmed it smaller than the outline so it gave me room to continue trimming until it fit just as I wanted it to. After my first pass with the dremmel, I was really unhappy. It looked terrible (didnt take pics at that part). the lines and curves were not straight at all. so i went back at it a second time and trimmed it up until I was happy. it wasnt perfect, but pretty good. for the other side I was now ready and knew the best way to hold the dremmel and to try and do it in one continuous motion. this side turned out much better than the first. they arent perfect, and after I get my exhaust on, Im sure I'll take the trim off to touch things up for for now I am pretty happy. Portions of lines are still a bit "squiggly" but I figured it was good enough for the shop to fit the exhaust tomororw, and then I can play with it some more. I can now enjoy some beers and feel I accomplished something today (not that I didnt accomplish anything after 12 hours in the office today). over all it took about an hour to make the templates, cuts and touch up with the dremmel.

I suck at taking pictures and using the original iphone 3 doesnt help either. sorry for crappy pics:









And tomorrow morning they will get matched up with these and a SuperSprint center resonator.

[ENDEE666]

Looks pretty good. Personally, I would make the top of the arch a little flatter. Meaning keep the middle the same height but raise up the side curves a bit. It will get the tips a bit further up into the valence and flow with the overall shape of the valence and the tips themselves. That shape cutout would be more for a large oval like an RS6 tip..

Like this, I know its a C6 but similar enough-

[in2thenightaudi]

ah, i see what you're saying. yea that looks alot better with a more flat top. wish i would have checked in here before dropping the car off this morning. atleast it's getting fitted today. once its on i will be able to tweak the trim per my liking and then maybe will have to take the car back to have it realigned. thanks for the help Nick.

[ENDEE666]

Well as long as the tips line up left-right, its easy to lift them once you square off the opening and flatten the top. They can heat up the hangers and bend them to lift it.

Glad you did this because I planned the exact setup a while back, almost exact same tips too. Decided to keep the hidden turn downs of the pre-facelift for a bit extra sleeper factor. But always liked that look, thats why I knew the C6 S6 look was what I wanted to achieve. Always liked the staggered length tips too. Like the AMG cars, M5, etc..

[in2thenightaudi]

Got it all put together this weekend. Pretty happy with it. It could be a bit louder, but I think if I remove the center resonator, it will be too loud and have lots of drone. I do need to get the tips realigned since they are a bit low, but I spoke with the guys at the garage and said that I would be trimming up the surround more and bringing it back in for another alignment so they said they will just put the mufflers on and not spend time adjusting it since the layout will change. I'm going to go with the more "squared off" look like the s6 above. I'll have to break out my video camera to do a sounds clip to put in the exhaust thread.

[NickyAsixx3sixx]

What did you use to cut it? Dosent look too clean of a cut

[in2thenightaudi]

^yea it's a terrible cut. I used a dremmel, but of course it was late Friday night when I started the cut (getting the exhaust put on Sat morning) and I couldnt find all my attachments. I the best attachment I had was pretty much a drill bit, and I used that. It made the cuts just fine, just not that clean. I'm going to redo the cuts to be more squared off when I can get out to get more attachments to the dremmel.

[NickyAsixx3sixx]

Yea I used a dremel too with a cutting wheel.

I wonder if you can get some black molding, like the chrome door trim, but obviously not chrome to make a nice shape to it

[in2thenightaudi]

yea once i get the cuts correct, i'm going to get door edge trim. someone else on here (Boston Driver) used it. i found his example in a thread a while back which was my inspiration:

[ENDEE666]

Yeah higher and squared off and that will look great! After cutting you can use files to smooth out the cut. Use masking tape as a straight line reference..

[ENDEE666]

Yeah, that pic shows an oval cut for an oval tip, so it looks right. Your duals need a cut like the S6 above. Once done, this should be really nice. Pics & vid a must!

[in2thenightaudi]

yea that trim might now work well with the squared off cuts since it might "bunch up" in the corners. it looks great on the oval cut, but probably wouldnt on the square cut. i'll just get the correct cutting wheel, re-trim, and smooth out.

[ENDEE666]

Just keep a slight radis in the corner. Get the trim first so you can see how much you can radius it, then cut to that radius.

[cbock]

Nice job Nick! I hope you were able to get the cutouts finished. When I put my tips on, they were too close and caused it to melt after a short period of time running the car in the fun zone.

[ENDEE666]

How did all this end up? Did you fix the cuts?

[ben916]

Nice job Nick! I hope you were able to get the cutouts finished. When I put my tips on, they were too close and caused it to melt after a short period of time running the car in the fun zone.

Yeah, I haven't heard anything either...

some inspiration/idea...(not mine but Dennis and I did see it)

[cbock]

I doubt Nick has had a chance. I know he's been uber busy with work and moving.

Ben, tell me that looked better in person. Not feeling it...at all.

[ENDEE666]

How did all this end up? Did you fix the cuts?

Anything?

[aysix]

What dremel bit did you guys use to make such clean cuts?