What Would You Do First?

[Howells]

Hi from Georgetown Ontario, after having read the new members sticky and seeing all the modifications I can do to my A4, I really want to turn my stock A4 to a real street prowler. But where do I start? There's lots of great cars here on the forum and if you had to do it all over again, what modifications would you do first and in what order?

[TMurt]

Being a non s line, you've got a lot to do before becoming a "street prowler"...

Exterior wise-my thoughts

1. Springs/Coilovers \
try to do these two together since you have 16 in wheels which could look weird lowered even
2. Wheels- /
3. S line body (Front bumper, side blades, trunk)
4. Bi-xenons

oh and color match the sidemarkers whenever...its cheap and helps

Performance...Idk, I have a 3.2


Good luck

[seanj130]

Bumpers and paint get expensive fast, lower it on a nice set of wheels and it will look MUCH MUCH better, maybe even a light shade of window tint.. Next go with a chip from which ever dealer may be closest (APR, Unitronic) what ever it may be.

Debadge the back as well leave the rings and it will look clean, you shouldnt have to do much else... Bumpers are for the last step i guess you could say to make things perfect.

[seanj130]

Oh and black out the big chrome trim around your grill.

[seanj130]

Just lower it and put wheels on at the same time.. bite the bullet and order both

[jrtrainor]

Depends on what you want, Performance or Looks

Looks equals wheels and Coils which will set you back a min of about 1500 depending on the wheels and coils but it can be done. Next little things like color match the side markers, clear corner headlights, black out the grille and debadge the back. No real money to most of that call it couple hundred in paint parts and labor (yours).

Performance- Maestro FTW. custom tune that changes as you improve the car. Get a new performance part just have the tune changed or better yet learn to do it yourself but thats the beauty of maestro its a nice base file with customization available. Then go with a HFC or TP. That right there will get you started with performance and will run you anywhere from 1000-1200 depending on the HFC or TP you purchase. From there you have far too many options to just say get this over that it depends on how far you want to go with it and how much you want to spend.

Welcome and good luck.

[Ed Gein]

sline is just cosmetics anyway.

lower it
bigger wheels
tune
exhaust
debadge
tint
enjoy

oh, and read the new members guide at the top of the page. all kinds of usefull info on fixing your car up.

[khaos443]

debadge
clear corner
tint
lower it (coilovers)
wheels (18's)
tune (Unitronic, I'm biased haha)
exhaust

in that order, just my personal opinion

[Ed Gein]

debadge
clear corner
tint
lower it (coilovers)
wheels (18's)
tune (Unitronic, I'm biased haha)
exhaust



in that order

lol, so do everything you did? contrary to popular belief you dont need "coils" to lower your car, springs work just fine too. and whats wrong with 19's?

[khaos443]

lol, so do everything you did? contrary to popular belief you dont need "coils" to lower your car, springs work just fine too. and whats wrong with 19's?

Fixed it. Not everything I did at all, I made the mistake of getting wheels first and it looking bad, didn't clear corner my car till a lot later. It's all just personal opinion, I think 19's are too big and I think coilovers are better for lowering.

[NickDaQuick]

Debadge, clear corner, black out trim etc are all cheap and easy and make a difference.....also throw some tint on there....then find some wheels and lower it with the wheels..... and your gonna like the way it looks....I guarantee it

[Solarsuplex]

Bags > Coils > Springs

[beantown]

..... and your gonna like the way it looks....I guarantee it

What are you, the spokesperson for Men's Warehouse?

[dbens]

hahah^ made me lol

[FraggyA4]

This is how I started and I suggest it to you. Don't do power upgrades till you have done all preventative maintenance. It's better to build off a solid base then to to upgrades and then have to chase issues not knowing what caused it.

Take it to the dealer to get all the free stuff possible from recalls this includes (fuel pressure sensor, intake motor flap, coils, PCV, possibly cam follower, fuel pump, cam) $0
Oil Change
Timing belt change this includes water pump(if you are around 75K)
Transmission Fluid change (if around 75k)
DV upgrade
spark plugs/coil packs
check your cam follower if its good leave it till 119k then change it
Engine mounts, tranny mounts, snub mount (if around 100K)


After these then start your upgrades for power

HFC 3" downpipe (RAI)
Full exhaust
Intercooler upgrade
Tune (Maestro)
Catch can

If you want to go bigger then start reading BT threads

[jimrobbington]

Stage 1, then exhaust, then stage 2, then coilovers, them fmic.

[Howells]

All great ideas thanks, I'm worried about lowering after reading some of the nightmares other owners have had. My stock wheels are 16" so I was thinking of going with 17" wheels. How low should I go?

[khaos443]

What nightmares have you heard other than shickadance?

[Howells]

People ripping their pans off...I figure 2" shouldn't hurt

[TMurt]

All great ideas thanks, I'm worried about lowering after reading some of the nightmares other owners have had. My stock wheels are 16" so I was thinking of going with 17" wheels. How low should I go?

Nightmares with practicality? or with parts/install? Regardless, most springs would be a suitable lowering while mantaining practicality. 1-2in drop. Or get some ST coils, from what I've seen, they're a good entry set. Get 18s when you lower, 17s are ok lowered, but not great.

[khaos443]

Tmurt is right on. ST's are great coilovers, I can personally say I haven't had any problems and from what I understand everyone else that has them loves them. If you're going to get wheels I would recommend 18's or 19's. It doesn't seem like many people consider 17's but I don't know.

[Howells]

So 18's with a 2" drop?

[khaos443]

That would be my recommendation, what I would do if I had your car, and what I did do haha. It's your car though so do what you what not what people on here tell you.

[Ed Gein]

People ripping their pans off...I figure 2" shouldn't hurt

people dont rip pans off in these cars. theres a whole bunch of stuff in the way. if you were to damage the oil pan you would have pretty much totaled the car anyway.

[Tyler8]

This is how I started and I suggest it to you. Don't do power upgrades till you have done all preventative maintenance. It's better to build off a solid base then to to upgrades and then have to chase issues not knowing what caused it.

Take it to the dealer to get all the free stuff possible from recalls this includes (fuel pressure sensor, intake motor flap, coils, PCV, possibly cam follower, fuel pump, cam) $0
Oil Change
Timing belt change this includes water pump(if you are around 75K)
Transmission Fluid change (if around 75k)
DV upgrade
spark plugs/coil packs
check your cam follower if its good leave it till 119k then change it
Engine mounts, tranny mounts, snub mount (if around 100K)

There are THAT many recalls for our cars?! How do I go about finding what I'm eligible for?

[Ed Gein]

There are THAT many recalls for our cars?! How do I go about finding what I'm eligible for?

call your local audi dealer with your vin or just go there?

[fordyoz]

sell it and buy a real street prowler

[CorneliusRox]

Lift it and throw big meat on there. You have Quattro, and that means a few things:
-You'll never get stuck, so you might as well make it an off-road machine with 33" tires.
-It'll handle better than any other 4WD POS out there.
-Ask anyone here, no other 4WD system will deal with snow, mud, water, or ice better that Quattro.

I suggest throwing out the RIS and going with a Dana 60 with a long arm, big travel setup, and for the front, have brackets/control arms made to push out the knuckles more and beef the knuckles up too. For the front axle shafts, use some Porsche 930 joints like the big rock crawlers use. You wont regret it.


That's my advice. Be different and dont do what everyone has already done. And you dont need a tune, just pinch off the wastegate tube.

[Howells]

Ha! ha! ha!...sounds like you belong on the "Jeep" forum

[CorneliusRox]

Ha! ha! ha!...sounds like you belong on the "Jeep" forum

Dont kid yourself, I am on the Jeep forum

[FraggyA4]

To emphasize what Cornelius said here is the jetta and Golf version except a quattro A4 would dominate them

[Howells]

Very nice!...but alas my A4 is only FWD

[RAudiB7A4]

Nice car OP. First things first, you left out a bit of detail, like if it's a 2.0T or 3.2L? Quattro or FWD/CTV? Manual or Tiptronic? These items will make a difference where your modding will start and end.

If your a 2.0T Quattro I'd start with the following.

1. Prevantative maintenance, get the bugs worked out so your not chasing gremlins. I drove my car stock for two months to do just that. As well as get a good feel for what the car feels like stock so that when you do some mods you will really see the improvement.
2. Tune of some sort, which ever brand is closest to you to offer support if you run into problems. This will make the car much more fun to drive.
3. TP/HFC and a drop in filter or CAI, the TP/HFC will help decrease spool time and ad a good chunk of power. More than a catback exhaust.
4. Drop (springs/shocks, or coilovers, which ever is best for you), and a rear sway bar (hotchkis or RS4). Better handling and looks = Win/Win.
5. Wheels (18" or 19"), or wheel spacers, I have the same stock 16x7" et 45 wheels as you that I use for winters, and I run 17.5mm spacers in the front and 25mm spacers in the rear to put them flush with the fenders.

After all of that^ the next steps will prolly be between an exhaust and a FMIC for performance, and a Bi-Xenon upgrade for the looks.

EDIT: CVT is gonna be difficult to turn into a street prowler. Get an extended warranty and prolly just go with looks mods.

[CorneliusRox]

Very nice!...but alas my A4 is only FWD

WHAT?!!! AWD swap should be your first mod then! ha ha Get a hold of Vizi, he did ti for cheap.

[Howells]

Sorry here's the specs

2.0T-FWD-Tiptronic.

I have a beater that I drive, so I can store/upgrade my A4 every winter.

Future plans include

1. 18" wheels + lowered 1/12" to 2"
2. Light window tint+new LED lights ( love the look),rear spoiler
3. Revo Stage I (local dealer) and a Forge Divertor valve
4. Milltek exhaust+ Carbonio CAI
5. Revo Stage II upgrade.
6. Body kit?.

[CorneliusRox]

Sorry here's the specs

2.0T-FWD-Tiptronic.

I have a beater that I drive, so I can store/upgrade my A4 every winter.

Future plans include

1. 18" wheels + lowered 1/12" to 2"
2. Light window tint+new LED lights ( love the look),rear spoiler
3. Revo Stage I (local dealer) and a Forge Divertor valve
4. Milltek exhaust+ Carbonio CAI
5. Revo Stage II upgrade.
6. Body kit?.

18's - good
2" drop - good
tint - good
spoiler - not bad
LED lights - be careful, some like them, others have the LED's and HID's work out terribly
Revo - good (get the SPS)
Forge DV - Waste og money, get the revD OEM DV
Miltek - good
Test pipe/downpipe - better^
Carbonio CAI - Waste of money
Revo stg2 - good
Body kit - look into DTM (love the rear, I like the s-line front better though)

[Howells]

Great thanks Cornelius, not sure about the test pipe/downpipe thing?...need to educate myself on that

[CorneliusRox]

Great thanks Cornelius, not sure about the test pipe/downpipe thing?...need to educate myself on that

No problem.
Test pipe takes place of the cat (or you could go with a High Flow Cat, HFC, from 034 or RAI).
The downpipe is the middle pipe between the cat/test pipe to the rest of the exhaust (RAI makes a combo downpipe, full 3").

and just start reading.

[tankdeer]

CVT = kill it with fire

[FraggyA4]

^^^ This