SteveYem's 2015 S4 Progress Thread

[SteveYem]

Just over a month ago, I traded my 2012 S4 for a 2015 S4. The 2012 S4 had a fair amount of modifications, most of which I was able to transfer directly to the new car. Reasons for trading:
* The new front and rear end design was growing on me
* Updated MMI system
* Did not want a black DD anymore
* Loved the B8, was out of warranty on it and wanted to stay in an S4 for years to come. When I put down my deposit in September I figured 2015 is possibly the last year of the B8.5 generation, meaning possibly the last year to get a manual transmission in this car (although based on various discussions here we may see a B8.5 again in MY2016, but I digress).
* Opportunity to upgrade to an S4 with Sport Rear Differential

When I finally decided which options and color I wanted, my dealer located one that was allocated to a different dealer and was about to be loaded onto the boat in Germany. They got the car reallocated to their lot, I put down my deposit and ~5 weeks later it was time to trade.

During the wait, I put the 2012 back to stock as much as possible. Almost all of the parts directly swap onto the 2015 B8.5 model, so I would be able to dive right into modifying the new one.

Specs on the new car are:
* 2015 Audi S4
* 6MT
* Daytona Gray Pearl
* Quattro with Sport Rear Differential
* Technology Package (includes MMI with navigation and Side Assist)
* Black leather with black alcantara interior
* Bang & Olufsen sound
* 18" wheels with all-season tires

I asked the dealer to leave the shipping cover on the car so I could unwrap it myself:
http://i.imgur.com/eFvD1og.png

Moved out of the rain, unwrapping almost done:
http://i.imgur.com/Vs25Af0.png?1

The new one next to the old one (and my wife's white mkV GTI on 18" Alzor Ti rotor reps to the far right):
http://i.imgur.com/YnzkQ2V.png


The night I brought it home, I removed the horrendous 18" stock wheels and put my summer setup on - Avant Garde M510 in 19x9.5 +40 with Michelin PSS 255/35-19. Stock ride height is heinous:
http://i.imgur.com/0RgrjWU.png

5 days (and ~50 miles driven) after I brought it home I took it to a local shop to have 35% 3M Color Stable tint (sides and rear window) and Xpel Ultimate clear paint protection film installed on the front bumper, full hood and full front fenders. The silly "V6T" badges were removed to install the Xpel film:
http://i.imgur.com/jsVuFGs.png

The next weekend I had a set of H&R Street Performance coilovers installed:
http://i.imgur.com/iE7KP4F.png

http://i.imgur.com/QmS0mD7.png

http://i.imgur.com/luNLDcw.png


Somewhere in here I installed my Eurocode Alu Kreuz drivetrain stabilizer and 034 Motorsports solid transmission mount, as well as a bunch of VCDS (Vag-com) mods.

Then the cold weather set in, and I had to enter winter mode. I sold the stock 18" wheels and all-season tires and turned that money around on a set of replica 18" 5 tri-spoke 'peelers' with Michelin Alpin Pilot PA4 winter performance tires. My Yakima Whispbar roof bars also went on at this time. EDIT - Not easily visible, but I coated the 'bottom' surface of the rear bumper, as well as the leading edge of the rear bumper behind the rear wheels, in clear plastidip. I saw how chewed up those areas were on my B8 and wanted to try to preserve them. Didn't want to deal with Xpel or some other clear film so I thought clear P-dip was a decent compromise. :
http://i.imgur.com/WtzNxJL.png

http://i.imgur.com/jP6Oij8.png

Then I installed my red Supercharged badges and Thule universal ski/snowboard racks, as well as my AWE Touring exhaust system and Eurocode rear sway bar and solid endlinks (not pictured):
http://i.imgur.com/6TiKKMJ.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/qmxNa56.png

Since the last pic I've swapped the stock fog light bulbs out for yellow Hoen 35W bulbs. AWE resonated downpipes will be installed hopefully within the coming week, and I have a Roc Euro short shift kit, Apikol rear diff mount and Eurocode front sway bar and solid endlinks waiting to be installed if I can find a not-so-cold day to do it.
Thanks for looking, and I'll be sure to post updates when (not if) I make any changes!

[MrFunk]

Nice - reasoning for new one makes all the sense in the world. Good trade.
Will you be tuning? Only thing I'd not like is the lowered top speed due to the all season OE setup you got. Tune will resolve that [:D]

[SteveYem]

Nice - reasoning for new one makes all the sense in the world. Good trade.
Will you be tuning? Only thing I'd not like is the lowered top speed due to the all season OE setup you got. Tune will resolve that [:D]

I'm on the fence as of yet regarding tuning. I'll probably go at least ~5-10k miles to make sure the engine and trans are "good" before even seriously considering it. For instance I currently have an unusual (IMO) vibration that occurs every time the engine speed goes through the ~1700-2000 RPM range, loaded or unloaded, regardless of which gear I am in. Seems like there is something a bit out of balance causing an excitation in that speed range. I'm very in-tune with that kind of stuff and never noticed it on my B8, so that's an example of something I'll get Audi service to check out before considering a tune.
I have a vag-com cable so I believe I can change the top speed limit via VCDS, but to be honest the fastest I ever had the B8 was probably 105 mph so it wouldn't really matter anyway.

[drob23]

pretty sure you can't change the top speed limit with vcds.

[b8audis4]

Looks good Steve! Any review of your sport diff vs non sport diff S4?

[SteveYem]

pretty sure you can't change the top speed limit with vcds.

Hmmm you may be right. For some reason I remembered reading that it was possible via VCDS, but now I can't find it (probably because I was imagining it). At any rate, I'm not concerned about it. I don't believe it affects the engine output other than cutting fuel at 135 mph, and I can live with that.

[Blurspeed]

Looks good man. Nice wheels :)

[adrianm8]

Welcome to the B8.5 world! Now you just need an HR Z and you'll be complete. [:D]

[drob23]

Hmmm you may be right. For some reason I remembered reading that it was possible via VCDS, but now I can't find it (probably because I was imagining it). At any rate, I'm not concerned about it. I don't believe it affects the engine output other than cutting fuel at 135 mph, and I can live with that.
Awesome thread btw, very comprehensive. Also interested in your thoughts regarding the diff. Daytona looks fantastic, you choose correct in my eyes.

[CaptSlow]

I have the exact same configuration, only mine is white, S Tronic, and came with summers. I want to get rid of my ugly 18's but been too much of a chicken shit to buy new tires and wheels.

[dansjuice]

Its amazing what a change is stance does to the car. Upgrade!

[SteveYem]

Looks good Steve! Any review of your sport diff vs non sport diff S4?

Thank you! I can feel the sport diff doing its thing and I am happy with the upgrade. I was driving in some slushy/snowy crap a couple weeks ago and was doing about 40mph on a twisty corporate park road on my way home, and I felt that the rear end of the car would occasionally "nudge" outward (I don't want to say oversteer...but sort of) to keep the front end of the car pointed into the turn. I've taken that same road in similar conditions in my non sport diff B8 and that car tended to plow out which required me to pay a lot of attention to my speed.

I've felt the sport diff working in dry conditions as well and while it is noticeable, I wouldn't say my B8 was undrivable in comparison. Unfortunately my relatively squishy winter tires were installed before I really start getting aggressive with the car, so my opinion my change in the spring when the summer rubber goes back on.


Looks good man. Nice wheels :)

Thanks [up]


Welcome to the B8.5 world! Now you just need an HR Z and you'll be complete. [:D]

HA. I told myself that selling the Z was going to justify the difference owed for this trade. I think buying a newer Z would be counterproductive. Dat HR though.....and being able to swap all my mods over.....


Awesome thread btw, very comprehensive. Also interested in your thoughts regarding the diff. Daytona looks fantastic, you choose correct in my eyes.

I appreciate your affirmation. See, all those "should I make this trade?" threads finally paid off!
Overall sentiment is that doing the trade was worth it for the list of reasons provided in my first post, but (for me) not worth it to get the sport diff alone. Hydraulic vs electric assist steering notwithstanding, I'm glad I waited to upgrade to a B8.5 instead of trading over to a different B8.

[b8audis4]

Thank you! I can feel the sport diff doing its thing and I am happy with the upgrade. I was driving in some slushy/snowy crap a couple weeks ago and was doing about 40mph on a twisty corporate park road on my way home, and I felt that the rear end of the car would occasionally "nudge" outward (I don't want to say oversteer...but sort of) to keep the front end of the car pointed into the turn. I've taken that same road in similar conditions in my non sport diff B8 and that car tended to plow out which required me to pay a lot of attention to my speed.

I've felt the sport diff working in dry conditions as well and while it is noticeable, I wouldn't say my B8 was undrivable in comparison. Unfortunately my relatively squishy winter tires were installed before I really start getting aggressive with the car, so my opinion my change in the spring when the summer rubber goes back on.



Thanks [up]



HA. I told myself that selling the Z was going to justify the difference owed for this trade. I think buying a newer Z would be counterproductive. Dat HR though.....and being able to swap all my mods over.....



I appreciate your affirmation. See, all those "should I make this trade?" threads finally paid off!
Overall sentiment is that doing the trade was worth it for the list of reasons provided in my first post, but (for me) not worth it to get the sport diff alone. Hydraulic vs electric assist steering notwithstanding, I'm glad I waited to upgrade to a B8.5 instead of trading over to a different B8.

Ok thanks Steve! PM me and maybe we can set up a meet at Pittsburgh C&C next year. Would love to talk cars.

[SteveYem]

Ok thanks Steve! PM me and maybe we can set up a meet at Pittsburgh C&C next year. Would love to talk cars.

Well, I'm out on the "east coast" near Philly, but I do have friends moving up to Meadville within the next few months so I may be making a trip out that way come spring/summer time. Would be an excellent excuse for a road trip in the S4. I'll let you know!

[b8audis4]

Well, I'm out on the "east coast" near Philly, but I do have friends moving up to Meadville within the next few months so I may be making a trip out that way come spring/summer time. Would be an excellent excuse for a road trip in the S4. I'll let you know!

Sounds good. Didn't realize you were out that way. But yes if you are heading out that way on a C&C weekend let me know.

[doug97gxe]

deja vu .. lol

[SteveYem]

deja vu .. lol

Yeah I know I've posted all those photos before, but I wanted to compile them all in once place for future reference!

[doug97gxe]

oh i didn't mean it like that.. i just didn't know this was your username over on this forum

[SteveYem]

oh i didn't mean it like that.. i just didn't know this was your username over on this forum

oh haha...you're that Doug. I did change some of the wording, but yeah I pretty much copied it from over there : )

[doug97gxe]

yeah same doug.. someone had doug over here so i went with my old maxima username

[Rodmar]

Car looks great, it's nice to get into the 2015 I bet.

[PSUGOLD]

Looks good. Maybe I will meet you one day at one of the Saturday AM meets at Starbucks in Doylestown or the West Chester Cars and Coffee. Not much for the winter, but come spring, the cars are all over. A few S4's in the group along with the usual Ferraris, Lambos, Vipers, Etc.....

[GeoJoe]

Nice upgrade! I'm sure the MMI is a welcomed change. Good evolution of pics...

[saxon]

Nice to see the thread, looking forward to meeting you out at some meets next spring

Just tune it :)

[GrkA4]

Nice to see the thread, looking forward to meeting you out at some meets next spring

Just tune it :)

This. Always nice to have another Philly person on the board.

[slowbmw]

Well, I'm out on the "east coast" near Philly, but I do have friends moving up to Meadville within the next few months so I may be making a trip out that way come spring/summer time. Would be an excellent excuse for a road trip in the S4. I'll let you know!


Great looking car! And great choice going with the sport differential. It really is a world of difference. I am also in the Pittsburgh area, would love to meet up with some other S4 members for a cruise/bs session come spring time!

[chaos2984]

Nice man. how was uwrapping it. I bet that was fun. Did you get to keep the shipping car cover? Is it reusable or trash once it comes off? I would of love to so that with mine but I got a lot junker but I took the 10K discount lol. Id love to do the European deliverly next time too. Have fun with the car you will enjoy the new features. I love the flat bottom wheel so nice and new looking. How is your MMI in cold start boot up. Mine takes forever like longer than the Secondary air system to run. Im going to take it in and bitch about that. But I like the audi connect and new MMI. I like the led's for interior lights and tag lights. their are many suttle features that I like with the mid model refresh.

[Okan509]

Looks great man!

[jokingjimmy]

Great looking car! Hopeufully I'll be able to talk the wife into allowing me to drop my baby an inch or so. She doesn't want warranty issues, so for now, it's a no go lol. Man it looks SO much better dropped a little though. I'll admit half of the mods you talk about I have no idea, as I'm relatively new to the whole S4 world, mods included. I'm sure I'll start picking up some here and there [o_o]

Great post, btw. This thread should be kept for posterity's sake!

[chaos2984]

Great looking car! Hopeufully I'll be able to talk the wife into allowing me to drop my baby an inch or so. She doesn't want warranty issues, so for now, it's a no go lol. Man it looks SO much better dropped a little though. I'll admit half of the mods you talk about I have no idea, as I'm relatively new to the whole S4 world, mods included. I'm sure I'll start picking up some here and there [o_o]

Great post, btw. This thread should be kept for posterity's sake!

Yea the B8.5's need a little drop they look like a B5 Allroad a little lol. I think some h&r's will do the S4 a little good. Yea you will catch on. Just read and you will get a grasp of what everyone is doing as far as std mods. I don't want to lower mine right now due to warranty and the wife drives it also. I will put some springs on it sometime in the future.

The mods ive done to mine so far are the normal vag com mods, 20% tint windows, Roc euro intake, and full AWE touring exhaust. She sounds amazing with the intake and exhaust and the wife kinda likes it. Its not lout when normal drving but when you stand on it, it gets loud. But for now that's the extent of my moding until I get some milage on the car. I want to chip it eventually.

[Wilbur]

Great looking car! Hopeufully I'll be able to talk the wife into allowing me to drop my baby an inch or so. She doesn't want warranty issues, so for now, it's a no go lol. Man it looks SO much better dropped a little though. I'll admit half of the mods you talk about I have no idea, as I'm relatively new to the whole S4 world, mods included. I'm sure I'll start picking up some here and there [o_o]

Great post, btw. This thread should be kept for posterity's sake!

I dropped my last 2 and was told there would be no warranty issues. Even sent last one back with springs still installed.

[jokingjimmy]

Yea the B8.5's need a little drop they look like a B5 Allroad a little lol. I think some h&r's will do the S4 a little good. Yea you will catch on. Just read and you will get a grasp of what everyone is doing as far as std mods. I don't want to lower mine right now due to warranty and the wife drives it also. I will put some springs on it sometime in the future.

The mods ive done to mine so far are the normal vag com mods, 20% tint windows, Roc euro intake, and full AWE touring exhaust. She sounds amazing with the intake and exhaust and the wife kinda likes it. Its not lout when normal drving but when you stand on it, it gets loud. But for now that's the extent of my moding until I get some milage on the car. I want to chip it eventually.

Yeah, we are a 3M Crystalline family, so did the 70% windshield and 40% windows and sunroof. In Florida, I've seen a huge difference vs color stable and ceramic, and a bonus - she can still see out the windows at night (astigmatism). The things I'd like to do soon are intake (still researching that one) and an RS4 style "Honeycomb" grill. I don't think those will affect warranty, so should be good there. Exhaust would be nice too! I will have to wait to be closer to warranty expiry to do the chip/tune (the pulley swap scares me, but we'll see), exhaust and suspension drop. Belly in the weeds is hot stuff :D

[Wilbur]

Looks great Steve. I love those wheels. I got 19 Grey Vossens for my Daytona.....wish I had yours.................

[Sales@DriveAuto]

Looks great, very clean and tasteful.

[SteveYem]

Nice man. how was uwrapping it. I bet that was fun. Did you get to keep the shipping car cover? Is it reusable or trash once it comes off? I would of love to so that with mine but I got a lot junker but I took the 10K discount lol. Id love to do the European deliverly next time too. Have fun with the car you will enjoy the new features. I love the flat bottom wheel so nice and new looking. How is your MMI in cold start boot up. Mine takes forever like longer than the Secondary air system to run. Im going to take it in and bitch about that. But I like the audi connect and new MMI. I like the led's for interior lights and tag lights. their are many suttle features that I like with the mid model refresh.

Unwrapping was fun! There were what seemed to be way too many white plastic clips holding the cover down to the bottom of the car, and I could tell my sales guy was 'over it', but that's too bad....I was the one shelling out the big money, not him. MMI boot-up is hit or miss, just like it was in my B8. Sometimes it comes on right away, other times I wait 15-20 seconds for it to come on and even longer until I can actually control anything. Overall I'm happy with the car although the steering is wonky.
You got LED interior lights? I think mine are incandescent like the B8.


Looks great man!

Thanks!


Great looking car! Hopeufully I'll be able to talk the wife into allowing me to drop my baby an inch or so. She doesn't want warranty issues, so for now, it's a no go lol. Man it looks SO much better dropped a little though. I'll admit half of the mods you talk about I have no idea, as I'm relatively new to the whole S4 world, mods included. I'm sure I'll start picking up some here and there [o_o]

Great post, btw. This thread should be kept for posterity's sake!


Yea the B8.5's need a little drop they look like a B5 Allroad a little lol. I think some h&r's will do the S4 a little good. Yea you will catch on. Just read and you will get a grasp of what everyone is doing as far as std mods. I don't want to lower mine right now due to warranty and the wife drives it also. I will put some springs on it sometime in the future.

The mods ive done to mine so far are the normal vag com mods, 20% tint windows, Roc euro intake, and full AWE touring exhaust. She sounds amazing with the intake and exhaust and the wife kinda likes it. Its not lout when normal drving but when you stand on it, it gets loud. But for now that's the extent of my moding until I get some milage on the car. I want to chip it eventually.

All it really needs is H&R OE springs on stock dampers (~$250 if you DIY) and 35%-20% tint all around (another $250) to look proper. Shouldn't run into any warranty issues unless something happens to your stock dampers, which is very rare.



Looks great Steve. I love those wheels. I got 19 Grey Vossens for my Daytona.....wish I had yours.................

Thanks man! I was pretty set on having bright silver wheels on this car to offer a lot of contrast with the Daytona paint, as well as tie in with the alu accents around the car. Unlike most people on here, I actually like the amount of "bling" on the car....I think it's just the right amount and a good confluence aggressiveness, loudness and class.



Looks great, very clean and tasteful.

Thanks, that's what I'm going for!

[SteveYem]

This week I installed Hoen 35W yellow fog light bulbs, and used black TrimBrite tape to black out the center sections of the OEM grille:

http://i.imgur.com/vh8ZPJe.png

http://i.imgur.com/ObH61NS.png

http://i.imgur.com/JA9u7e4.png

http://i.imgur.com/3uVR1Cp.png

http://i.imgur.com/FyizsAk.png

http://i.imgur.com/vhc0Xwq.png

http://i.imgur.com/Y3OzVFb.png

http://i.imgur.com/bP58YbG.png

[rhoads36]

I have a monsoon grey b8.5 with the alu bits. I would have to agree that it's the right amount of bling. Seems like so many people go with the black optics these days. Anyways the Daytona looks sharp! I would have picked over monsoon had it been a choice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jzamorski]

Congrats on the '15...hope to see you around town sometime. I'll show you what that tune is like :)

[Jango3434]

Only one thing missing... Two holes in the hood with mesh :)

[SteveYem]

Only one thing missing... Two holes in the hood with mesh :)

Yeah but then I'd have to move the rings like 10" lower and that's a lot of effort :)

[mrebusa]

Any pics with the fogs on at night, I really like the yellow look

[jygesq]

Yeah but then I'd have to move the rings like 10" lower and that's a lot of effort :) I notice supercharged badges, bet that adds at least 20 hp

[SteveYem]

Took the S4 on its first road trip last week - up to Boston for New Years, then over to Stratton VT for a couple days of snowboarding. We even got to drive in some snow on the way back to PA. I love seeing those boards clamped to the roof....looks like it was meant to be.

http://i.imgur.com/9HaLv5d.png

[jygesq]

Do you snow tires n your car now? Seems like 19 inch wheels

[chillindrdude]

nice to see another boarder! [up]

[SteveYem]

Do you snow tires n your car now? Seems like 19 inch wheels

These are actually 18x8 et35 replicas (Alzor brand) of the OEM 19" wheels, with 245/40R18 Michelin Alpin PA4 winter tires.


nice to see another boarder! [up]

Hell yeah! Gotta get it in while my joints still allow for it.

[richib86]

Do you snow tires n your car now? Seems like 19 inch wheels

you can run snows on the factory 19's, i do

[SteveYem]

you can run snows on the factory 19's, i do

+1, I ran 19" winter performance tires on my 19" OEM wheels on my B8. It looks way better on 19" wheels, but I decided to go with 18" this time around in an effort to have a little more cushion since I am running coilovers versus the B8 on H&R OE springs. I'm not sure it makes an appreciable difference though, and kind of wish I had gone with 19" again.

[ishowerinjager]

OP how do you like your wisp bars? are they reasonably quiet on the road a highway speed? have you tried 4 boards? I'm thinking about getting them but all the guys in the shops that carry both yakima and thule keep trying to persuade me to buy thule instead and im not sure why

[SteveYem]

OP how do you like your wisp bars? are they reasonably quiet on the road a highway speed? have you tried 4 boards? I'm thinking about getting them but all the guys in the shops that carry both yakima and thule keep trying to persuade me to buy thule instead and im not sure why

With just the Whispbars mounted (i.e. the bars alone, no racks attached) the noise is minimal....it's there if you're listening for it, but it fades into the background at highway speed. The Thule universal racks are a different story...very loud due to not being very aerodynamic at all. Yakima makes a Whispbar snowboard/ski carrier (Model# WB300) which appears to be aerodynamically 'slick' and I imagine would reduce wind noise. I had a set but returned them, reason being that the width of the WB300 carrier was such that both bindings of my board would not fit between the carriers. The Thule universal carriers are much thinner (probably ~50% as wide as the WB300) and my bindings just barely fit between the carriers, but it works.

I have only done two boards at a time. I flush mounted the carriers to the Whispbars which reduces the clearance between the board and the roof, so flipping a board upside down to carry 3 or 4 would have the bindings touching the roof. Even using the mounts that came with the Thule carriers, which provide another ~1" of clearance, I would be leery of carrying a board bindings-down for fear of marring the roof paint.

If you are transporting skis only, I would recommend spending the extra cash and going with something more aerodynamic like the WB300 or similar.

[KRp220]

+1, I ran 19" winter performance tires on my 19" OEM wheels on my B8. It looks way better on 19" wheels, but I decided to go with 18" this time around in an effort to have a little more cushion since I am running coilovers versus the B8 on H&R OE springs. I'm not sure it makes an appreciable difference though, and kind of wish I had gone with 19" again.

having driven in snow with both H&R Oe's AND coilovers, did you have any issues being low during winter conditions?

[richib86]

having driven in snow with both H&R Oe's AND coilovers, did you have any issues being low during winter conditions?

i ran kw v3's on my b8 and h&r OE sports on my b8.5, both cars had 19's with snows and neither car skips a beat in the snow. only issue you run into being lowered is ground clearance with chunks of ice in the road and snow getting packed inside the belly pan and collapsing under the weight. havent had an issue with the belly pan on the b8's but did with my rs4 lowered in the winter

[KRp220]

i ran kw v3's on my b8 and h&r OE sports on my b8.5, both cars had 19's with snows and neither car skips a beat in the snow. only issue you run into being lowered is ground clearance with chunks of ice in the road and snow getting packed inside the belly pan and collapsing under the weight. havent had an issue with the belly pan on the b8's but did with my rs4 lowered in the winter

good to know. thanks for the info richi

[SteveYem]

having driven in snow with both H&R Oe's AND coilovers, did you have any issues being low during winter conditions?

The deepest snow I have driven in was probably ~3" in the B8 on H&R OE springs, and ~1-2" in the B8.5 on H&R coilovers. I never noticed any issues in the B8, but I did notice while driving home during a snow storm last Saturday that typically "normal" size clumps of ice/snow in the middle of the lane were contacting something on the bottom of the car resulting in a nice "thud" sound. I'm assuming it was either the front or intermediate belly pan (the one below the transmission), as they appear to be the lowest points up front. A nice feature of these cars is that you still have ~5" ground clearance between the front bumper lip and flat pavement even when the car is lowered to the point of having the tops of the tires even with the fender arches, so it can look good without sacrificing all functionality.

On a related note, I swear the ride quality improved (i.e. felt softer and more comfortable) by the end of my 9 hour drive home from Vermont. It makes me think that these shocks needed a long continuous run to really wear-in. Maybe the heat generated by continuously working them for a long period of time allowed some clearances to open up. I dunno, just speculating and don't really know the ins and outs of these dampers....but either my butt dyno was worn down by the end of that drive and was giving false readings, or there's something to it. They are H&R Street Performance coilovers BTW.

[3798j]

Steve, Enjoyed your thread very much. There's a lot to like and you did it with class, taste and an attention to detail. Nice, nice, nice S4.

[NYCB8S4]

so f**king clean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SteveYem]

Steve, Enjoyed your thread very much. There's a lot to like and you did it with class, taste and an attention to detail. Nice, nice, nice S4.

Thanks very much for the kind words!



so f**king clean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks! Clean is what I am going for. A teaser of something that will make it a bit cleaner:
http://i.imgur.com/lzvUUhN.png

[JVDMN]

Steve, I love your car. It's exactly what I will be looking for in a couple of months. The Daytona Gray is by far the best color I've seen on the S4!

[SteveYem]

I installed my European spec headlights today and applied Xpel Ultimate clear protective film:
http://i.imgur.com/Zw1wFEq.png

[theedge111]

I installed my European spec headlights today and applied Xpel Ultimate clear protective film:
http://i.imgur.com/SfKlFBN.png

Looks great Steve, where did you buy the ecodes from?

[SteveYem]

Looks great Steve, where did you buy the ecodes from?

Thanks! They are a used set that I found on ebay.de (German eBay).

[golfinz]

E codes look great Steve!

[Rodmar]

You bastard!

[SteveYem]

You bastard!

[:D]

[Rodmar]

[:D]

I woulda much preferred this method over mine. It was just a pain and a mess lol. Luckily no condensation yet so I think I'll be fine.

Looks good either way.

[Trevor08]

Man, I love those headlights! Car is super clean. I like.

[SteveYem]

Man, I love those headlights! Car is super clean. I like.

Thanks! I like them, too, but it's kind of funny how I now feel the front end of the car is missing something, i.e. the punch of color from the amber reflectors. But I'm sure I'll get over that! Here's a quick shot of the full car in its e-coded glory:

http://i.imgur.com/3W5iPp4.png?1

[Trevor08]

Thanks! I like them, too, but it's kind of funny how I now feel the front end of the car is missing something, i.e. the punch of color from the amber reflectors. But I'm sure I'll get over that! Here's a quick shot of the full car in its e-coded glory:



Hah, yeah. I hear you. My S4 is the first car I've owned that I haven't had "clear corners" on immediately. It's kinda of weird to me too!

[scottykenneth]

Nice ride Steve. Pm'd ya

[drob23]

Thanks! I like them, too, but it's kind of funny how I now feel the front end of the car is missing something, i.e. the punch of color from the amber reflectors. But I'm sure I'll get over that! Here's a quick shot of the full car in its e-coded glory:

http://i.imgur.com/3W5iPp4.png?1
Lol@steve, where second guessing every decision is a way of life. :)

Car looks great btw, I like my j codes, but full ecodes look great!

[BillyG]

Awesome, informative thread, thanks for posting all of this! Your new car is beautiful, and excellent choices for your mods. I also like the bling! Hopefully I didn't miss this detail, but did you (or do you have plans to) get a tune?

I'm in a very similar situation: Traded in my 2010 S4 (for a 2015 SQ5, but that's another story). Just placed an order for a 2015 Daytona Gray S4 Premium+ that should arrive in May. Looking forward to starting over again like you did!

[EWM AMIN]

Love it man.. Good build! Looks sexy, and love the colour!

I was debating doing the same for the roof racks... From what looks like the same reason too :)

Look me up if you're ever interested in carving up in Canada :).

[SteveYem]

Awesome, informative thread, thanks for posting all of this! Your new car is beautiful, and excellent choices for your mods. I also like the bling! Hopefully I didn't miss this detail, but did you (or do you have plans to) get a tune?

I'm in a very similar situation: Traded in my 2010 S4 (for a 2015 SQ5, but that's another story). Just placed an order for a 2015 Daytona Gray S4 Premium+ that should arrive in May. Looking forward to starting over again like you did!

Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the thread! No plans to tune just yet...I'm still happy with the stock performance, and even happier that I have no warranty worries i.e. TD1. If/when a flash-from-home solution comes out, I might change my tune (sorry for the pun)




Love it man.. Good build! Looks sexy, and love the colour!

I was debating doing the same for the roof racks... From what looks like the same reason too :)

Look me up if you're ever interested in carving up in Canada :).

Thanks! Dat Lava Grey, tho....


No new modifications since my last post, but here she was after a fun drive in the snow last weekend up in the Poconos:
http://i.imgur.com/gDTEGgd.png

[SteveYem]

It's been quite a while since I last updated this thread but I thought I'd keep it going.

In spring of 2015 I went back to the AG M510 for my summer setup:
http://i.imgur.com/t1bou0N.png

but shortly thereafter I got the itch to go for a more OEM+ look, so I found a set of S5 spec 'peelers' from a local member in decent condition:
http://i.imgur.com/wLi9fcO.png

http://i.imgur.com/TPBUiK9.jpg


Around that time I also installed a CTS Turbo intake but I do not have any pictures to show. Fast forward to spring 2016, I replaced the CTS Turbo intake with the ECS Tuning Luft-Technik intake w/ carbon fiber intake tube:
http://i.imgur.com/HfRltnb.jpg

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


and a couple weeks later I installed an OEM black optics grille which I purchased in mint condition from another AZ member:
http://i.imgur.com/im1LUOy.jpg


Most recently, I replaced my rear Eurocode sway bar end links (whose spherical bearings were failing) with a set of Moog solid endlinks with urethane inserts:
http://i.imgur.com/MAzRyfQ.jpg


and finally (for this update), still in the pursuit of OEM+ goodness, I replaced the S5 peelers with a set of S4 spec 'rotors' 19x8.5 et43 with 10mm spacers front and rear:
http://i.imgur.com/nFLwl1I.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IlbI4Mn.jpg

[jygesq]

new wheels look great. car looks so much better w/o roof rack!!

[jokingjimmy]

Yeah those peelers have definitely been growing on me since I bought my cars. Wasn't a fan, but now I am. Car looks great!

[saxon]

Nice updates steve!

any reason you didnt get s5 spec rotors instead?

[SteveYem]

Nice updates steve!

any reason you didnt get s5 spec rotors instead?


I tried a couple of different avenues of obtaining a set of S5 rotors that didn't work out - bought a set of refurbed wheels from an online vendor and when I got them I saw that they were powder coated (poorly) instead of painted, and the skim cutting of the machined 'wedges' on the spokes was done poorly, so I returned them. Then I had a set in mint condition lined up from another AZ member which he was going to sell to me once his new aftermarket wheels came in, but the manufacturer ended up delaying his order indefinitely so he had to keep his. In the end, I'm actually fairly happy with the 19x8.5 version. The face concavity is actually very similar to that of the S5 peelers which I thought was 'just right' for this car. I would have preferred to get the little bit of tire stretch provided by the 9" width on the 255/35 tires, but I have the wheels spaced to where I think it looks ok and there is only rubbing over large bumps.

[Bartlett]

How do you like the fitment of the S5 peelers? Does it protrude outside of the fenders or is it flush?

[KLX]

It's been quite a while since I last updated this thread but I thought I'd keep it going.

In spring of 2015 I went back to the AG M510 for my summer setup:
http://i.imgur.com/t1bou0N.png

but shortly thereafter I got the itch to go for a more OEM+ look, so I found a set of S5 spec 'peelers' from a local member in decent condition:
http://i.imgur.com/wLi9fcO.png

http://i.imgur.com/TPBUiK9.jpg


Around that time I also installed a CTS Turbo intake but I do not have any pictures to show. Fast forward to spring 2016, I replaced the CTS Turbo intake with the ECS Tuning Luft-Technik intake w/ carbon fiber intake tube:
http://i.imgur.com/HfRltnb.jpg

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


and a couple weeks later I installed an OEM black optics grille which I purchased in mint condition from another AZ member:
http://i.imgur.com/im1LUOy.jpg


Most recently, I replaced my rear Eurocode sway bar end links (whose spherical bearings were failing) with a set of Moog solid endlinks with urethane inserts:
http://i.imgur.com/MAzRyfQ.jpg


and finally (for this update), still in the pursuit of OEM+ goodness, I replaced the S5 peelers with a set of S4 spec 'rotors' 19x8.5 et43 with 10mm spacers front and rear:
http://i.imgur.com/nFLwl1I.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IlbI4Mn.jpg

I have a same set of wheels, question any vibration with the spacers??
https://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/medium/photo2106.jpg

[SteveYem]

I have a same set of wheels, question any vibration with the spacers??
https://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/medium/photo2106.jpg

No vibration issues, but it’s important to use spacers that are made to fit the OEM Audi wheels to ensure that they center properly to prevent vibration. The ones I used are from ECS.