Face-lift on my S4 today. Let me know what you think.

[schirm]

So I ordered a gloss black RS4 grill. Today I installed it, at first I kept the rings black but decided to take it off.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/09/muqerute.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/09/a2anage6.jpg

I also plasti dipped the pieces around the fog lights to try to get the color to match. Like I said I ended up taking off the dip on the rings.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/09/gumyguse.jpg



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

[CowtownSteve]

I like them black...

[formula1guy]

Good call on pulling the dip off of the rings. The contrast looks great.

[A4 Quattro]

I have had my rings black multiple times and I always end up bringing them back to silver. If you want to do the rings in something else, just to be different, and since you're not opposed to Plastidip, I have an idea for you. I saw this done on another Audi before me and loved the look. I had to try it, and it has been the longest remaining dip on my car since. Grab a can of matte clear and hit the rings with that. It creates a really nice frosted silver. There will still be a small sheen if you don't lay it on too thick. If you add a light coat or two of Smoke dip, it creates a really nice gunmetal color. The RS4 grille looks great by the way.

[PaperishPlastic]

Wtf how is your car levitating

[SwankPeRFection]

Wtf how is your car levitating

Jack on the driver's side of the car. So relax, it's still too early for the hover conversions to be available.

BTW, chariots hover! Don't you know this man?

[pandi]

Is it just me or is it not a good fit? It looks uneven in the close up pic. Seems the passenger side goes deeper.

[VeryBadman]

Is it just me or is it not a good fit? It looks uneven in the close up pic. Seems the passenger side goes deeper.

Probably just a distortion in low qualify picture from the phone.

[schirm]

I have had my rings black multiple times and I always end up bringing them back to silver. If you want to do the rings in something else, just to be different, and since you're not opposed to Plastidip, I have an idea for you. I saw this done on another Audi before me and loved the look. I had to try it, and it has been the longest remaining dip on my car since. Grab a can of matte clear and hit the rings with that. It creates a really nice frosted silver. There will still be a small sheen if you don't lay it on too thick. If you add a light coat or two of Smoke dip, it creates a really nice gunmetal color. The RS4 grille looks great by the way.

Yeah I had a friend suggest this also, I just had black Plasti Dip. I am going to order Matte just for the hell of it today.


Is it just me or is it not a good fit? It looks uneven in the close up pic. Seems the passenger side goes deeper.


It actually fits perfect. I was nervous about this when I went to tackle the job, I did not want to do everything over again putting the OEM grill back on.

[Mops@Nemesis]

I like them black...

Hehe.

Not a fan of that grille, but the all black one does look pretty good on silver.

[schirm]

The S4 badge did not work with this grill, I do not know if I like it without it yet. My buddy likes it better without it, Any suggestions here?

[phillips2024]

eh not for me. As long as you like it...

+1 for silver rings

[schirm]

eh not for me. As long as you like it...

+1 for silver rings

I mean I know I did not buy the best looking grille that is out there... But for me the difference from stock to this is much better, if I were to do it again I might go a different rout. I wanted to try to change it up a little, but could not decide on what grille/color combo I wanted. I absolutely hated having a plate holder in the front, so now if I get pulled for no front plate I can say I do not have a spot for one lol. I will wait for one to show up in the classifieds or a vendor sale to change it up eventually.

[mrmomo313]

I prefer the rings in silver, looks the best in the last pic.

[SteveYem]

I definitely prefer the rings in silver/chrome, although on Ice Silver I also prefer the chrome surround for the grille.

Regarding the front grille badge, I'm still on the fence about it. Here is my all black RS4 rep grille without the badge:
http://i.imgur.com/nlNHhvd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Ohj6RX9.jpg

And here it is with the badge:
http://i.imgur.com/77aqiNB.jpg

(I have moved the badge farther up than shown in this picture, to be consistent with the badge position relative to the rings on the OEM grille)
http://i.imgur.com/8qzhYo8.jpg


I like the look of the badge itself, but what I don't like is the way the black plastic backing / mounting plate sits on top of the grille, as opposed to the stock grille that allows the badge to be recessed down into it, so you don't really see the plastic backing. If the RS4 grille had a cutout or recess for mounting the S4 badge into it, that would be the winner for me.
So I guess I'm saying that I'm on the fence with it.

EDIT:
A little closer and you can see what I mean about the black plastic backing portion of the badge looking kind of "tacked on" to the RS4 honeycomb:
http://i.imgur.com/dNJDVo8.jpg

[schirm]

I definitely prefer the rings in silver/chrome, although on Ice Silver I also prefer the chrome surround for the grille.

Regarding the front grille badge, I'm still on the fence about it. Here is my all black RS4 rep grille without the badge:





(I have moved the badge farther up than shown in this picture, to be consistent with the badge position relative to the rings on the OEM grille)


I like the look of the badge itself, but what I don't like is the way the black plastic backing / mounting plate sits on top of the grille, as opposed to the stock grille that allows the badge to be recessed down into it, so you don't really see the plastic backing. If the RS4 grille had a cutout or recess for mounting the S4 badge into it, that would be the winner for me.
So I guess I'm saying that I'm on the fence with it.





Thanks for the Pics! How did you get the OEM badge to stay on the grille? The chrome around the outside I could not decide what way to go. I figured I would try this one if I do not like it, they are not crazy expensive. To even it out I got rid of the chrome around the fogs also.

[SteveYem]

Thanks for the Pics! How did you get the OEM badge to stay on the grille? The chrome around the outside I could not decide what way to go. I figured I would try this one if I do not like it, they are not crazy expensive. To even it out I got rid of the chrome around the fogs also.

Don't get me wrong, the black surround doesn't look bad on your color, but I feel that the on Ice Silver (and Monsoon Gray), the chrome surround helps to ease the transition from the gray to the black honeycomb.

For badge mounting- it's a bit convoluted but I'll try to summarize here. Feel free to PM me for any questions

1) Purchased a replica S4 grille badge (here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUDI-S4-FRONT-GRILLE-EMBLEM-BADGE-CHROME-A4-S4-B8-/251279290031?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AS4&hash=item3a8169aeaf&vxp=mtr) because I wanted to leave my OEM grille and badge intact....and based on how excessively the OEM badge is glued to the grille, I did not trust myself to do a clean job removing it. Quality of this particular replica badge is ~9/10, especially for $15.

2) I had some old Rally Armour mudflaps from the Subaru days laying around the garage. Any semi-rigid mudflap type material will do. This will be used as the backing for the badge. I cut out a little "parallelogram" shaped piece that was roughly the same dimensions as the black plastic backing/mounting piece of the S4 badge. Then I had to trim two of the corners off (as shown in the photo below) to allow clearance for installation. I will cover that in Step 5.
Also, cut a slit lengthwise in the middle of the piece. This is where the modified S4 badge will hook into it.

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p467/sry110/2012%20Audi%20S4/BF2E585A-9C6E-4194-A08D-0FE6EFEABE0D-15932-000019188EE1D3F1.jpg

3) Use a rotary tool (e.g. Dremel) with a cutoff wheel attachment to do some minor surgery on your replica S4 badge (this is another reason to buy a replica badge....if you fuck up, it's just $15 out the window). Cut down the three 'ribs' so that they only come up to the base of the main mounting tab. Also trim the 'ridges' on either side of the main mounting tab down to the same height as the three 'ribs'. See below photo.....sorry for the over-exposure:

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p467/sry110/2012%20Audi%20S4/743BA1F8-BE0A-4246-8A53-79D55A4DAD94-15932-0000191886BF5EF2.jpg

4) Trim down the tip of the 'barb' on the main mounting tab so that it fits through the slit in your mudflap backing piece more easily. You don't have to take much off....just trim a little and see if it will fit through, then remove more if needed. See below:

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p467/sry110/2012%20Audi%20S4/16BF2D16-86F1-43F5-BAAC-9D872C29543E-15932-000019189668F1F4.jpg

5) Fit the now modified S4 badge main mounting tab into the mudflap backing piece so that the trimmed corners of the mudflap piece are to the right side of the badge. (Refer to photo below).
Now here is the tricky part: You're going to fish the backing piece in from the front/outside of the grille, while it is connected to the badge. The corners you trimmed in Step 2 facilitate maneuvering the backing piece through the honeycomb.
The way I did it was as follows:
5a) Starting with the badge+backing assembly in it's 'horizontal' position, i.e. the way it will eventually sit on the grille, rotate it maybe 30 degrees counter clockwise, and also rock the left side of the badge back toward the grille.
5b) Fish the left corners of the backing piece through the honeycomb, and once the corners are through 'slide' the badge as far to the left as possible. At this point the backing is still held to the badge by the main mounting tab, and you should see that your trimmed corners on the right side of the backing piece are clearing the right side of the honeycomb section that you are in.
5c) CAREFULLY (because the RS4 replica grille is made of cheap, brittle Chinese plastic), CAREFULLY push the right side of the mudflap backing piece through the honeycomb, ensuring that both of your trimmed corners clear the inner surface of the honeycomb and pop out the other side. I used a small screwdriver to help push the backing piece through.
5d) With the backing piece now fully 'engaged' on the back side (inside) surface of the grille, slide the badge back to the right to get it centered within the honeycomb that you are occupying. You should also be able to rotate the badge slightly in both directions to achieve the desired alignment.

Here is how it looks on the inside of the grille, looking down from the top:
http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p467/sry110/2012%20Audi%20S4/D75FC5DF-226D-46BA-8926-E690945861CE-15932-000019187C18F353.jpg

6) Once you get the badge where you want it, add a SMALL drop of super glue where the mudflap backing piece meets the back of the grill. This will be enough to keep the badge+backing assembly from migrating under normal driving/washing activity, but as long as you use a small amount of glue the bond can be easily broken at a later date allowing for relocation or removal of the badge. Many choose to use a more permanent means of adhering the badge to the grille, e.g. epoxy adhesive, but I wanted to have the option of removing the badge later without permanently deforming the grille.

NOTE: The reason you fish it in from the outside is because the distance between the back of the badge and the mudflap backing piece is slightly shorter than the thickness of the RS4 grille honeycomb, and this prevents the backing from being installed by reaching behind the grille with the badge in place. Having a light "press", achieved by following these steps, allows the badge assembly to lightly squeeze the grille, which is the main mechanism for holding the badge in place.

[schirm]

Dude awesome wright up, thanks!!

[jfabes]

1) why did you jack the car up?
2) there are lots of ways to secure the badge....i drilled two holes in the back of mine and put two stiff wires through that press it against the grill as well as 3m double sided tape on the whole back surface. it doesn't move
3) good luck with the plastidip on the fog grills....down that low, they will chip quickly and you will be redipping often. You should wrap them instead long term.
4) keep the rings silver...looks better...unless all your badges on the car are black for uniformity.

[schirm]

1) why did you jack the car up?
2) there are lots of ways to secure the badge....i drilled two holes in the back of mine and put two stiff wires through that press it against the grill as well as 3m double sided tape on the whole back surface. it doesn't move
3) good luck with the plastidip on the fog grills....down that low, they will chip quickly and you will be redipping often. You should wrap them instead long term.
4) keep the rings silver...looks better...unless all your badges on the car are black for uniformity.

My car was jacked up just to take the belly pan bolts off. I could not get my screwdriver in without hitting the ground, It actually made it easier when I was taking off the bolt inside the wheel well. Kinda jacked it and just left it jacked for the whole process.

I was thinking about putting holes in the back like you said.