New Kid on the Block

[Shinola]

Howdy Folks,

Thought i would take a moment to introduce myself. My names Ryan, i just picked up a new to me B5 S4 Avant. Cars got 135K on it and the PO took great care of it. Have full service records on it for the past 50K miles, everything is up to date. It rides like a dream with no shakes or rattles and is leaps and bounds more fun to drive then my Volvo was. Im still i huge sucker for the V70R however. At any rate this new Imola has got a Borla on it, APR tune and a turbo timer, and i have really been enjoying it. Really looking forward to this being a fun DD.

Plan for the car is to keep it mostly how it sits as i am on a college budget. I do a lot of skiing so i would like to really turn it into a great ski car. Need to pick up some cross bars and a wind faring. Have been on the edge about tinting the windows, dont know if it will look like a bumble bee or not if i tint them. Currently one of the front Bose speakers is blown, so that will need fixed. Dont know crap about audio but i know enough not to replace it with Bose, any recomendaciones are appreciated. Also looking at picking up some winter wheels so i can toss some Blizzaks on this thing. Will 16" alloys clear the rotors?

Car detailing is something i really love to do as well, really looking forward to making this thing shine!
Ill get some pics up as soon as i can.

[IMG]B5 S4 .JPG[/IMG]

Anyhow im looking forward to the knowledge and passion this forum clearly has.

[jeffrey146]

First off it depends on the wheels whether it will clear or not. Second, on the speakers... you should probably just buy a single bose speaker... if you don't you really are going to have to replace them all for it to sound correct left to right. Even with one new speaker with all the others being old its not going to sound right. I am sorta an audiophile though so maybe you wont be able to tell. Third rather than blizzaks I would recommend the general altimax arctic. I have really done my research on that tyre and its a really good choice especially for the money... i know people (here in utah) who use it as well.

Oh and Welcome to AUDIZINE!!!!

[AudiNFS]

Does it have a boost gauge? It needs one. Also, what is a wind fairing?

[awdjunkies]

Does it have a boost gauge? It needs one. Also, what is a wind fairing?

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[Shinola]

Thanks for the warm welcome Jeffrey!
I figured the speakers would sound of if I did just one so I figured I would replace both of the front loud speakers, will I be able to use any speaker or is the Bose system going to be a pain in the but?
I used the blizzak ws70 on my Volvo last season and loved them, but if the generals perform as well for a lower price I'm all aboard!
Here is the car as it sits(hope that worked)

[zdriver]

Looks great, imola avants aren't the easiest to find

[viceprp]

Standard or auto?

[Shinola]

Thanks zdriver!
Unfortunately she's an automatic, obviously the standard is preferable but I can live with it.

Anybody know if a stock b6 a6 16" wheel will clear my rotors?

[jeffrey146]

It would be a pain in the butt to put just any speaker in there. http://www.crutchfield.com/ has speaker adapters and everything you need to make the job go easy. I would probably go with a bose speaker though so they will all sound more or less the same. Maybe you could get a used one on ebay or something? As far as the tires go... I'm sure the blizzards work well. However, I'm pretty sure they aren't worth what they are asking for. I have looked at the reviews on tire rack and like that. Also, Depending on where you live you can choose to put studs in the arctics as well. (if you live back east or something) The best way to get a good deal on the tires is print the ad on on tire rack then take it into discount tire and they will match the price. Just do some looking on them. below is a little image i took from tire rack. There are videos on youtube and their site about how they do the testing. I hope this will help you make a decision.



Oh one more thing... the test was done without the studs that you can easily ad.

[Shinola]

Thanks for all your help! That chart you made is awesome, I ran the blizzaks last winter because I got a steal on them from Costco, but the price difference now has got me looking at others so thanks for your help!
As far as speakers go I'm all aboard finding some used Bose replacements, I'm not really an audio guy so I'm not to picky, just tired of this one buzzing. I also heard that you can fit 4" infinity reference speakers in the front with very little modification so I'm kind of interested in that route as well.

[jeffrey146]

Yes, and the infinity speakers are really good quality as well. However, unless you want to change them all out I probably would use bose replacement. Just make sure you get the polarity right. It matters on speakers. I managed to fit 6.5" speakers in my doors behind the stock grilles and all that. Its a nightmare trust me. Also the cheapest place to get the infinity speakers is probably newegg.com

[ggg20t]

oh wow that is a gorgeous avant! great find! I definitely love avant's that are all prepped for winter weather sports. I notice it has the sport mirrors on it, does it have the alcantera sport seats??

[S4 00 2.7]

Nice avant.

[R1CH-5100]

Welcome to AZ!
Car looks good, that is a desirable one! There is a ridiculous amount of info on this forum for everything about your car, just be sure use the search.

[8520]

Yes, and the infinity speakers are really good quality as well. However, unless you want to change them all out I probably would use bose replacement.

Not necessary at all. As long as the front two match there is absolutely ZERO need to change out the rest.

Just get the infinity's. I've put multiple sets in multiple Bose b5's and they sound just fine.

[McGovs2.7TB5]

welcome to AZ. I can attest to the General Altimax winters as well. I ran them up into the hills about 30 times last winter without a hiccup. I believe they ended up being almost $300 less than the Blizzaks in the same size.

[MikeyB3]

Very nice car. These things are monsters in the snow if you do snow tires. Do it up and hoon something awesome. Get pics

[Shinola]

Thanks for all the kind words and warm welcome guys!
I ended up just ordering a set of Infinities for the front and rear doors, got all 4 speakers for roughly 100 bucks so im pretty excited about that.
It does have the sport mirrors but is lacking the seats. I love alcantera but i feel like leather is easier to care for and doesn't take as much of a beating.
Cant wait to get this thing on the snow, really like that it has an interior ski sack! Anybody else use this? Glad to hear good words about the Generals as they are significantly cheeper, just need to find a 16" wheel that will clear these rotors. Thinking about picking up some rally armor mud flaps for the winter too.
I really could go for a camera, right now im stuck with just the iphone camera.

Thanks again for the welcome!

[AudiNFS]

I have some stock 16" '98 A4 wheels. Not sure if they would clear the rotors though. Tires on them are almost brand new