Bikerbob951's Jaspis Green Build, V2.0!

[bikerbob951]

Hello Friends.

It's been a while. I sold my beloved 99.0 B5 A4 1.8TQM 2.5 years ago, here's the original build thread. I've been missing it terribly, and long-story-made-short, it popped up on Craigslist and I bought it back!

Since he had it, he did the following
- Removed carpet, rear seats, front seats
- Recaro seats on Wedge engineering brackets
- Schroth harnesses
- Full coolant system replacement
- Hotchkis front and rear swaybars with rear subframe bracket
- A few brake replacements

The guy I sold it to took great care of the car, and went forward with my plans of making it a track-friendly car. He only put 15K miles on it since the transaction, but did many track days with it. He said it never missed a beat, and I totally believe it. Most of the below was done when I sold the car the first time, but here's the highlights of where it sits now:

Power stuff
- Stg. 1 APR ECU chip, 91 & 100 octane files
- Forge Splitter DV
- N75 race boost frequency / wastegate control valve
- 3" 034 Motorsport test pipe,rear O2 anti-fouler
- K&N cone intake, "Blinktek" intake heat shield
- 2.5" 304SS exhaust, one resonator.
- Stock K03 turbo :Facepalm:
- ebay Short Shifter

Turning
- H&R sport springs, Bilstein shocks
- Homebrew power steering cooler
- Hotchkiss front and rear sway bars, with rear subframe brace < New in 2015

Stopping
- Hawk HP+ pads < Removed 7/2016
- Zimmerman rotors < Removed 2015
- A8 / TT front brake upgrade < New 2015
- SS brake lines < New 2015
- A8 269mm rear brake rotors < New 7/2016
- A8 rear caliper carriers < New 7/2016
- B5 S4 rear calipers < New 7/2016
- PBR/Axxis Ultimate ceramic pads, front and rear < New 7/2016
- RBF 600 High temp brake fluid

Dress up bits
- Facelift OEM headlights
- 6000K HID low beam < Removed 2014
- 3000K halogen high beam
- Podi column mounted boost gauge, electronic w/ stepper motor < Removed 3/2016
- NewSouth MKIV Indigo boost gauge in center vent < New 3/2016

Anyway, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Let me know your thoughts!

Here's the car before I sold it.



Here's how it sat on the day I bought it back.




Many more detailed pictures on the way. Check the next post for updates and upcoming projects!

[bikerbob951]

Task list, in order of importance:
1. New wheels & tires.
2. Refresh brakes throughout.
3. Fabricate a "footrest" in the floor for the driver & passenger.

For wheels and tires, I need feedback! I have 235/45r17 tires from my MINI that I'd like to use on some 17x8ish ET35ish 5x112 wheels if I could, but I'm having difficulty finding wheels that work for me! They need to be 1)light 2)cheap-ish 3)not terribly ugly. I'm afraid of using wobble bolts, PCD adapters, and the like since this will see autox and track days regularly. So far, my only three options:

Alzor style 010 17x8 ET30 5x112, and 17lbs! $449


Alzor style 628, 17x7.5 ET35 5x112 22lbs $449


TR Motorsports FF10 17x8 ET35 5x112 17.8lbs $676


Thoughts?

[rockbeau25]

I'm personally a huge fan of the 628s. Wish I bought a set for my Avant!

[B5A4coastie]

I'm curious of the FF10s

[Believer]

Also digging the FF10s

[crazy tarzan]

17x7.5 +35mm offset $476 and 18.7 lbs each.
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...0&autoModClar=

[bikerbob951]

crazy tarzan, I think you're on to something with those Sparcos, not sure how I missed those. I love the TD Motorsports wheels, but they are just a bit to expensive for me at this point. First, I've got to sell my current wheels, so I've (unfortunately) got a bit of time to make up my mind.

I'd love to run 5x114.3 because it opens up hundreds of good options in 17x8ish, but I'm scared of wobble bolts. Can someone share some solid information regarding what bolts fit what wheels, and whether you can race on these?

[crazy tarzan]

I've always been partial to drag wheels. 17.4 lbs, 7.5" +42 offset (mine are 7.5" +42 and barely cleared suspension with 235/45/17 tires).

http://www.amazon.com/Drag-DR-33-Fin...22+5x112+wheel

[bikerbob951]

That's a good option too, and I like that they are 5x112, I'll take a closer look at drag.

[Seerlah]

Nice seeing the oldies return. And good stuff grabbing up your old car and not having the owner turn it to sh*t.

[bikerbob951]

Hey thanks Seerlah, it feels great to be back! It's a crazy feeling when you see your own car pop up on CL, and it's even better when your wife says, "Well, are you gonna get it back or not?" Glad to see a lot of the OG's are still around.

I'll try to post a few better photos this evening, though the wheels on the car right now just look like dumpus from any angle!

[DeathKing]

If the TR wheels had a flat face, and not round, I would buy them in a heartbeat! :(

I had no clue the RS reps were 17lbs. Wow, just go that route. Where did you read that?

The 628s only look good in 18in form.

[bikerbob951]

I was/am in disbelief about the RS reps too, but I talked with a guy from ECS and he said they are 17lbs/wheel. I will double check before I order, but if that's really true, these could be the best kept secret ever. The more I look at the options, the more I like the RS reps...

[DeathKing]

I was/am in disbelief about the RS reps too, but I talked with a guy from ECS and he said they are 17lbs/wheel. I will double check before I order, but if that's really true, these could be the best kept secret ever. The more I look at the options, the more I like the RS reps...

Shit I might get them too. I could care less if a wheel is a rep or what not. My problem is most of them don't look good or are too heavy. These look way better in 17" vs 18" (long spokes), and 17lbs is unbelievably light at that price point. Keep me updated.

You are blessed being close to ECS as well with shipping. $449 can be quite misleading if you are outside of OH.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that 8" et30 is the perfect "stance" as well.

[bikerbob951]

Agreed, couldn't believe these are 17lbs, dimensions are perfect too. I'm thinking 17x8, et35 with 235/45 tires will be nice and meaty, which is what I'm after.

Even better than being in OH is that I work in northern Kentucky, which means if I have things shipped to work, a) there's someone there to sign for expensive items, and b) I still get short shipping times and cheap costs, but no in-state sales tax like I get if I ship to my Cincinnati address!



...yum

[DeathKing]

Agreed, couldn't believe these are 17lbs, dimensions are perfect too. I'm thinking 17x8, et35 with 235/45 tires will be nice and meaty, which is what I'm after.

Even better than being in OH is that I work in northern Kentucky, which means if I have things shipped to work, a) there's someone there to sign for expensive items, and b) I still get short shipping times and cheap costs, but no in-state sales tax like I get if I ship to my Cincinnati address!



...yum

I'm all about that meat also. Let's both get them, meet somewhere in the middle, and do a Laser/Jaspis photoshoot!!

By the way they are et30 not et35, unless you know something I don't. Is that picture above the Alzors or real BBS?

[bikerbob951]

Oh, yeah you're right it's et30. I've looked at so many damn wheels, they are starting to become a blur. Also, not sure if those are real BBS in the photo, my guess is that they are... But I'm quite sure they are 17x8, I don't think real RS are available bigger than that without modification.
I'm way down for a laser/jaspis photo shoot! Gotta get wheels and brakes before I go to far though, lol.

Almost certain these are Alzor 010 though.

[DeathKing]

I understand. They look great!

One of my favorite photos of 235/45 on a 17x8


Credit: boki-san from VWVortex

[DeathKing]

I hit order. Now we wait!!!

I'm most likely going with 225/45s but I have some time to think about it.

[bikerbob951]

Thats awesome man, hopefully I'll join you as soon as I sell my current wheels. Did they confirm the weight of those wheels? Still hard to believe they are only 17lbs!

[DeathKing]

Thats awesome man, hopefully I'll join you as soon as I sell my current wheels. Did they confirm the weight of those wheels? Still hard to believe they are only 17lbs!

They confirmed so I had to do it haha. The 18x9s weigh 21lbs, so 17lbs sounds about right for 17x8. They don't ship for a while so you have time.

[bikerbob951]

Wow, well that settles it then, crazy that those are 17lbs.

In other news, I went to the junkyard this weekend to see if I could find a throttle cable, but wound up with 4 factory Bose replacement speakers for $35, radio works again, only 1 speaker was barely hanging on before. Small victories folks.

Pics for fun. This upcoming weekend I'll be diving into the brakes and hopefully selling some wheels.


Also, may be a racecar but it still grabs groceries!

[bikerbob951]

Minor updates, haven't had much time to play with the car.

I pulled the wheels off the car to have a look at the brakes, and I was pleasantly suprised! The rotors look new, and the pads have plenty of life left, and appear to be Hawk pads. Definitely needs new fluid though, and the brake lines look awful!

The brake lines are shaith.


Still trying to sell my wheels so I can pick up some new ones, but in the meantime there's plenty to do. Problem is I can't spend any real money, I've been put on a spending hold by my wife until we sell our house! I'm gonna miss this little workshop though, it's cozy.

Obligatory workshop picture.

[bikerbob951]

Ok folks, I need opinions.

I want to design a front splitter and brake ducting for track use, but the stock A4 valence doesn't seem suited to the task. Buying a S4 bumper just isn't in the budget, so I've been shopping for cheap front lips that can be modified to fit my design. The problem is, I can't find any pictures of these mounted in the wild, on an actual person's car.

Whatever lip I go for will remain flat black, I happen to like the black lower half moldings on my car. It goes without saying that I want something functional that doesn't look outrageously stupid. Anyway, here's the two I'm considering:

Ebay front valence #1


Ebay front valence #2


Valence #1 seems best suited because of the flat front, it would be easier to attach a splitter to the underside of this and brake ducting could go front and center. I'm concerned that the sides don't actually connect to the bottom of the bumper, that would pretty much be a deal breaker for me.

Valence #2 is more appealing visually, but costs more, and because of the curves, attaching a splitter and doing brake ducting may be quite difficult.

Does anyone have any images or thoughts to share?

[MetalMan]

#2 has been in my eBay "shopping cart" for some time now... not sure if that's because I can't bring myself to try it out on my car, or because I don't want to spend the money. Maybe a little of both?
There's a thread about it on VW Vortex:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...it-is-ebay-lip

[bikerbob951]

#2 has been in my eBay "shopping cart" for some time now... not sure if that's because I can't bring myself to try it out on my car, or because I don't want to spend the money. Maybe a little of both?
There's a thread about it on VW Vortex:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...it-is-ebay-lip

I totally agree, I've been doing the same. Good find with that thread, it confirms what I was worried about though, that it hangs lower than the rocker panels. Maybe a heat gun and some persuasion could reshape it slightly?

[MetalMan]

I totally agree, I've been doing the same. Good find with that thread, it confirms what I was worried about though, that it hangs lower than the rocker panels. Maybe a heat gun and some persuasion could reshape it slightly?

If it does, I would be that much closely to pulling the trigger. Might work since it's polyurethane but I don't have any experience.

[Seerlah]

PureMS used to make metal brake duct brackets, and I actually had a set that I was going to install. But held onto them for so long, felt others could use it while it just sits in my house, and sold them. So as far as the rear bracket goes, it was merely a flat sheet, cut to replicate a portion of the stock brake shield, utilized the stock mounting hoses the stock brake shield used, then had maybe a 2"-2.25" port for you to attach brake duct to it. Really simple design, and I would request if I can have one also if you do decide to make one (wish I never sold mine, but I know someone appreciated it).

Found it. He did one last production run years back, and I would not be surprised it he did another if people asked. But these are the ones I had: http://www.purems.com/Products/BS001...Backing-Plates

Here are thread references you can use to decide how you want to go about it.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ght=brake+duct

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...highlight=duct (original pics are missing, but there is a post with another way to go about it)

Another thing you can do is make a mold, or however you want to do it, to have sit in the lower right and left grills. So you can then run brake ducting from that adapter piece to something similar PureMS made. That is the route I would take.

[bikerbob951]

Thanks for the links Seerlah! I remember you selling those duct plates, and I was toying with trying to scoop them up, but that was right about when I sold my car. Now that it's back, I will probably try to fabricate my own, something very similar to the PureMS plates. If I do build some, I'd be happy to make another pair and sell them at material cost!

I remember reading through the thread with Audisnapr's splitter and writing it off as something that was out of my reach. However, looking at it with a fresh set of eyes, it might be the direction I go with this. I would probably use something like alumilite or plastic sheet just for simplicity, but I could make it work with my existing valence which would be nice. Hoping to have a FMIC in the near future, and doing a splitter like this would give me more room to mount the core.

[bikerbob951]

Ok, small update, back to the wheel topic.

Finally have a buyer for my current wheels. Went to ECS to check the stock status on the Alzor 010's mentioned above, and they are backordered! I don't feel like waiting all summer for these wheels, so I began searching again. I've narrowed it down to two wheels:

Sparco Assetto Gara, 17x8 ET35, 18.7 lbs $520 shipped



Avid.1 AV-50, 17x8 ET30, custom drilled for 5x112, 21.0 lbs $570 shipped


I really like the look of the Avid.1 wheels, but the weight is a bit off-putting considering this will see frequent track / autocross duty. I would suspect though, that they will hold up a bit better and will probably have better resale value in the future. Thoughts?

Folks that race frequently, will I notice the wheel weight difference enough to regret buying the wheels that I think are more attractive?

[DeathKing]

I honestly don't think you would much.

I ended up ordering these due to the Alzor's availability.


TSW Bathurst

17x9 et35. Should weigh around 19lbs. But I had to stretch the budget :(

They have a 17x8 available as well in the 17lbs range. But I was feeling aggressive I guess.

[Seerlah]

Revered as one of the best bang for the buck track wheels.

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...-pro-race.html

[bikerbob951]

Well I've decided to pass on the Avid.1, partly because of the weight but mostly because all 4 wheels will be the same. This means the spokes on one side would sweep to the front, the other side would be to the back, bleh.

I'm digging those TSW's, I wish I could bend my budget! Also, really like the team dynamics wheels, I didnt realize thry were that cheap! Still a bit out of range, but maybe they are worth saving some dollars for.


Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

[DeathKing]

I was so close to getting some Team Dynamics wheels, actually I probably would've if I had seen that website.

A 17x9 would be slightly more expensive ($240 each) and heavier (20ish lbs) so I don't think I made the wrong choice :)

Honestly I think the Sparco is a great buy. I've owned them. Being a higher offset wheel and black they might not win the looks competition, but they certainly don't look bad either. They were a pain to keep clean, instant detailer is your best friend after washing. But the weight and price is unbeatable. Plus you can practically call them OZ wheels.


EDIT the Sparcos I owned were 17x7.5. Even more reason to pick up those 17x8s.

[rodgertherabit]

im late to the party, but 17x8 or 17x8.5 are a good compromise... I personally love my 17x9.5s with 225/45/17s all around... and they are technically track wheels

shameless Pic for reference
Untitled by greg c, on Flickr

[bikerbob951]

Well, got the wheels sold finally! Now it's time to order some wheels, but I'm not over the moon for the Sparco wheels, I just wish there were better options for 5x112. I took a second look, they are the 17x7.5, so not really as wide as I should be going. Whatever I get only has to get me through the next few years while I save for something nicer, but I do very much care about form as well as function.

Does anyone have solid information on using wobble bolts to fit 5x114.3 wheels? That would make this sooooo much easier, especially since I'm on a shoestring budget. I've heard that the bolts won't fit through some wheels, how can I know which ones?

Also, Rodgertherabbit your car is just spectacular. Is that Pelican blue? And love the RS's really wishing ECS didn't suddenly have them on backorder, sorta screws my whole plan.

EDIT:
Ok, so now I'm just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks, what do you guys think? Don't judge me, I miss driving my car and almost any wheel is looking good to me now...

Axis OG San wheels, $556 17x8 et35 20lb



Moda MD20 $484 17x8 5x112 ET32 21.0lbs


ANDROS Spec G $580 17x8 5x112 et35 21.0lbs

[Nollywood]

Those wheels look really good. BBS wheels have always been my favourite, along with OZ wheels.

[DeathKing]

I fucking love those OGs damn

[bikerbob951]

I agree, really digging the OG's, maybe I can find some Audi rings for the centers? I think I'll spring for them, they are a good compromise for looks, weight and price.

[DeathKing]

Since you're looking to maximize your budget...

http://3dcarstickers.com/product/aud...l-center-caps/

Comes in any size.