has anyone relocated their battery to the trunk?

[yakendo]

I've read a number of posts that indicate RS4's have their battery relocated to the trunk.

Is this true? If so, does anyone know if there is an OE part(s)/kit # to make the swap easy in a S4?

Also, does anyone have picture of a relocated battery?
TYIA

[RAudi Driver]

Yes, the battery is in the trunk along with an air compressor and some sort of tank that is used with the air compressor to fill your tire when it gets flat. I havent' really investigated it yet. There is also a piece of styrofoam that houses it all in the well.

if you wanted to do this to your car, there are parts that you will need to get for where your battery currently sits in the cowl. In the RS4, if one was to under the hood for the battery, they wouled see two metal posts but no battery. These posts are used as jumpers. If I had the S4 and did the relocation, I would get these parts as well as it might actually make the job much easier. I will post some pics tomorrow when I get a chance.

[yakendo]

Thank you very much, Ed!
Sweet...I had planned on removing the spare tire, for weight reduction,anyway ...I already pay for 24/7 road service.

I'm glad there is an OE solution so I can have Rector Audi do the work correctly..

[yakendo]

Ttt

[i_eat_staples]

didnt Jet Jockey over on audiworld do this to his b6a4?

[yakendo]

What... there is another Audi based forum on the internet? I better look into this rumor!

Jk: thanks for the tip

[va-terps4]

The battery being mounted in the rear is the reason we don't get the RS4 Avant here in the US.

[i_eat_staples]

What... there is another Audi based forum on the internet? I better lot into this rumor!

Jk: thanks for the tip

also:
a4mods.com (good walkthroughs)
http://forums.fourtitude.com (general info)

but az and audiworld offer the most traffic

[B18b1ex]

The battery being mounted in the rear is the reason we don't get the RS4 Avant here in the US.

Please explain.

[V-8]

Please explain.

http://www.audiworld.com/news/07/rs4.../content.shtml

Third paragraph:

"Audi of America was well in tune with the situation and sought to homologate the RS4 Avant. Unfortunately, the design of the car became an impossible stumbling block based on US vehicle safety standards. The specific problem was Avant’s open trunk design combined with the battery location in the rear of the vehicle. Massive costs would be incurred to either relocate the battery and redesign the electrical system or to reinforce the area around the battery. In both cases additional crash testing would be required. The cost of doing this additional design work and testing would have made the price of each RS4 Avant astronomical."

[Lugi20]

^^ Thats rediculous.

Its good enough to crash at high speeds on the Autobahn, but not good enough to crash at low speeds in the states! I love this logic.

[jcg05c]

Jet Jockey is on Audizine too btw.

[Josh S4]

http://www.audiworld.com/news/07/rs4.../content.shtml

Third paragraph:

"Audi of America was well in tune with the situation and sought to homologate the RS4 Avant. Unfortunately, the design of the car became an impossible stumbling block based on US vehicle safety standards. The specific problem was Avant’s open trunk design combined with the battery location in the rear of the vehicle. Massive costs would be incurred to either relocate the battery and redesign the electrical system or to reinforce the area around the battery. In both cases additional crash testing would be required. The cost of doing this additional design work and testing would have made the price of each RS4 Avant astronomical."

That is pretty crazy and wouldn't understand why a car couldn't be federalized based on a battery located within the car. I just came from a BMW M Coupe and the battery was also in the hatch. I believe the only requirement was the battery vent tube had to be vented outside the vehicle to rid the car or potentially harmful battery vapors.

[B18b1ex]

http://www.audiworld.com/news/07/rs4.../content.shtml

Third paragraph:

"Audi of America was well in tune with the situation and sought to homologate the RS4 Avant. Unfortunately, the design of the car became an impossible stumbling block based on US vehicle safety standards. The specific problem was Avant’s open trunk design combined with the battery location in the rear of the vehicle. Massive costs would be incurred to either relocate the battery and redesign the electrical system or to reinforce the area around the battery. In both cases additional crash testing would be required. The cost of doing this additional design work and testing would have made the price of each RS4 Avant astronomical."

The previous a6's and 100 series Audi's had the batteries under the back seat. I think there are several cars that have the batteries located within the cabin

[V-8]

That is pretty crazy and wouldn't understand why a car couldn't be federalized based on a battery located within the car. I just came from a BMW M Coupe and the battery was also in the hatch. I believe the only requirement was the battery vent tube had to be vented outside the vehicle to rid the car or potentially harmful battery vapors.

North America is BMW's largest market which means when they design cars they usually keep US DOT crash standards in mind. Audi didn't consider North America when they designed the RS4, neither the first (B5) nor second generation (B7). We're lucky that we even have the sedan, it just worked out that enough cost-effective changes could be made to get it over here. Audi is clearly trying to improve the image of their brand and increase market share in the US though.

[V-8]

The previous a6's and 100 series Audi's had the batteries under the back seat. I think there are several cars that have the batteries located within the cabin

It's not just about battery location, it's about failing US DOT crash tests due to a combination of design choices. They could have redesigned the car and performed more crash tests, but the North American RS4 Avant market is not large enough to support the additional costs without passing much of the burden onto the customer.