And so it begins ... Part II

[Sly Raskal]

Part I: Getting the car. DONE.

Part II: Modification

Well I just made the never ending plunge into modifying my Avant and I've only had it for 2 weeks!

A few minutes ago I placed an order for:

• Front Plate Filler (all black)
• RS4 e-brake handle
• RS4 rear sway bar kit

In addition, I'm getting my VMR Boost Gauge installed next week. Let's just say I'm very ... ... right now

I'll post up pics after I get everything installed and a review of the VMR Boost Gauge.

[Sly Raskal]

My first question to you guys is about the RS4 rear sway bar upgrade. Typically whenever you work on the suspension, like swapping out springs, installing coilovers, etc. they say you should get an alignment. So since the rear sway bar is a suspension component, is an alignment recommended after that upgrade as well?

[DarkW!sh]

noice list and i cant really answer your qustion cant wait to see it in a year bro

[JGreen76]

My first question to you guys is about the RS4 rear sway bar upgrade. Typically whenever you work on the suspension, like swapping out springs, installing coilovers, etc. they say you should get an alignment. So since the rear sway bar is a suspension component, is an alignment recommended after that upgrade as well?

I think so, I just put on CO's, my sways are on the way... was waiting for the sways before doing the alignment.

[jejeclown]

i would do an alignment just in case. better safe than sorry

[Sly Raskal]

i would do an alignment just in case. better safe than sorry

Very true, it would royally suck to have my tires wear prematurely.

[AudiWxGuy]

I think you need to do one for C/O's for sure. Not too sure about a sway though.

[supamannn99]

i was fine when i did my sways. no alignments. and my tires are wearing somewhat evenly and it's been almost 9k miles

[Glassnpowder98]

I'm pretty sure that you do not need to get an alignment done for just the sway bar. You aren't adjusting any of the angles of your suspension components, just adding a bar that is the same length as your old one, just thicker. However, if you're changing suspension parts or raising/lowering more than 1/2 inch you definitely need to get an alignment done.

[minameismud]

My first question to you guys is about the RS4 rear sway bar upgrade. Typically whenever you work on the suspension, like swapping out springs, installing coilovers, etc. they say you should get an alignment. So since the rear sway bar is a suspension component, is an alignment recommended after that upgrade as well?

um...no. it's a sway bar. you car's stance won't change AT ALL after installation. even more to the point, it's the rear sway bar. if you were doing the front, yeah, maybe, but a sway bar won't change the ride height or suspension geometry of your car. all it does is force the left and right side suspensions to compress the same amount under cornering. a thicker sway bar just increases this force.

sorry if that sounded like a rant, but there's no need to blow $100+ on an alignment if you don't have to.

what i DO recommend is that you buy the proper RS4 sway brackets, because the ones you currently have (stock OR s-line) aren't big enough to fit without much swearing. i ended up cross-threading one of the bolts that tightens the passenger-side bracket down and having to drop another $130 for a mechanic to re-thread the hole. yeah, that's my own dumb fault for forcing it, but the proper size brackets would have avoided it.

[DoThisMyWay]

I agree w/ glassen.

[Sly Raskal]

um...no. it's a sway bar. you car's stance won't change AT ALL after installation. even more to the point, it's the rear sway bar. if you were doing the front, yeah, maybe, but a sway bar won't change the ride height or suspension geometry of your car. all it does is force the left and right side suspensions to compress the same amount under cornering. a thicker sway bar just increases this force.

sorry if that sounded like a rant, but there's no need to blow $100+ on an alignment if you don't have to.

what i DO recommend is that you buy the proper RS4 sway brackets, because the ones you currently have (stock OR s-line) aren't big enough to fit without much swearing. i ended up cross-threading one of the bolts that tightens the passenger-side bracket down and having to drop another $130 for a mechanic to re-thread the hole. yeah, that's my own dumb fault for forcing it, but the proper size brackets would have avoided it.

Thanks for the great info dude, and didn't sound like a rant at all.

I have asked about the brackets in other threads and a majority of the people kept reusing the stock brackets and it puzzled me but I never got a definitive answer. I too always wondered how everyone else thinks it's ok to reuse the stock brackets with the new bushings and a larger diameter sway. It's going to put more pressure on the bushings and the bolts holding the brackets because there isn't as much room for the sway to move.

In any case thanks for the extra advice, I think I will replace the brackets when I do the install. Have any suggestions as to where I can pick up the brackets for cheap? Unfortunately ECS doesn't sell the RS4 sway bar brackets.


Also, as for the alignment, I understand the need for an alignment when altering suspension components that change your vehicles ride height. I guess I just figured since you are unbolting components that are part of the suspension that things could get out of whack and hence do an alignment to be safe. I'm still on edge about this, even though everything everyone has said makes sense regarding when it should be done.

[WantAvant]

When are you gonna throw some coilovers on that thing??

[Sly Raskal]

When are you gonna throw some coilovers on that thing??

I dunno, I have mixed feelings about coilovers. I love that you can fine tune everything (height, dampening, etc), but I get worried because what if a shock blows out. As far as I know you have to remove the assembly, send it in, they service the shock and send it back to you. I can't be without my car for days on end. Do they make CO systems where you can just replace the shock and don't have to worry about sending it in for service like the Teins?

Also, the more expensive mods are going to be hard[er] for me to do, but I'm gonna try. I'm trying to balance my budget between modifying the Avant and my GS-R Sedan which I love just as much as my Avant.

I think the next thing I have lined up for the Avant will be the snub mount if I can decide on which one is better (APR, ECS or the other one that's out there), Tint, and replacing the DRL's with yellow bulbs if feel confident enough to begin doing surgery on her, makes me a little nervous.

[IceMole]

no for sway, yes for CO

[CZA420tAvant]

where did you order the swaybar from?

[Sly Raskal]

where did you order the swaybar from?

ECS.

Buying all three parts was about $20 in shipping whereas if I bought the sway later would have been $10 more. Also, no sales tax.

[Raymax_2.0t]

Does the sway at ecs come with the new brackets, or do you have to get them extra?

[4RingRook]

^^ I think ECS' site sells the sway and says you can reuse OEM equip, so I think you have to buy them extra.

To Sly... I can't wait to see the finished product man! Do you have any pics of the GS-R? I've always liked those cars.

[Sly Raskal]

^^ I think ECS' site sells the sway and says you can reuse OEM equip, so I think you have to buy them extra.

Yea, I'm gonna have to figure out where to buy the brackets separately. I'm not gonna use the same brackets and force them to fit a part that is obviously bigger.

To Sly... I can't wait to see the finished product man! Do you have any pics of the GS-R? I've always liked those cars.

She still needs a little bit of TLC, but it's a work in progress. She was completely stock when I picked her up, but then again I still dont' know exactly what the previous owner did to her. One day at the mall I dropped my pen under the driver seat, moved the seat and found a pioneer amp just sitting there lolz. I sitll need to take it out as it's not hooked up to anything, probably gonna sell it on eBay.

She's getting a new clutch w/type R flywheel on Monday along with the much needed alignment as you'll see why in the 2nd portion of the post below...

When I picked her up in January of '08...

.. ..

From 2 weeks ago when my bro-in-law and I finally finished installing my new koni yellows, neuspeed sport springs, and 17"x7" Enkei RPF1's w/ Yokohama S.drive (205/40).

..

And shot of both my babies...



My bro-in-law and I are taking the front suspension apart again tomorrow on the teggy and raising up the spring perches two notches (about .5") because it's sitting way lower than I expected in the front and it's rubbing like hell on sharp turns. I'm still waiting for my wheel caps to come in, and I ordered a set of Enkei lugs and locks to match the wheels valve stem color, but the retards sent me 4 sets of lugs instead of 3 sets of lugs and 1 set of locks. :\

[i3oricua]

You don't need an alignment done until you lower (or raise) the car. The sway change won't effect your alignment unless you did something really wrong. Speaking of Integras, click my link which takes you to my cardomain and check it out. I think you'll see a somewhat mirror image or get some insight of what you can do with your Integra. If you don't see what I'm talking about let me know and I'll steer you in the right direction.

Edit: I noticed that link only takes you to my Audi page. Try this.

[Sly Raskal]

You don't need an alignment done until you lower (or raise) the car. The sway change won't effect your alignment unless you did something really wrong. Speaking of Integras, click my link which takes you to my cardomain and check it out. I think you'll see a somewhat mirror image or get some insight of what you can do with your Integra. If you don't see what I'm talking about let me know and I'll steer you in the right direction.

Edit: I noticed that link only takes you to my Audi page. Try this.

Thanks for the advice.

Is that your Integra? This is actually my 2nd Integra. I used to have a '97 GS-R Sedan, white as well. It was totalled in a hit and run. :( Anyway, being that it's being driven more than the Avant I'm planning on doing some mods to improve it's efficiency and performance. I'm not gonna do cams or cam gears as that will require a tune. I'm more inclined to do bolt on mods like intake and headers which are next in line after getting the clutch replaced. I may do an ignition upgrade. Right now with gas prices the way they are, i'm really interested to see just how efficient I can get this car to run while still adding some performance to it. Even still, there is a lot more I want to do, but it'll be little by little.

[supamannn99]

when me and a friend installed my RS4 sway bar i bought from ECS, i didn't even think twice about buying bigger brackets until it was time to put it on. that sucker was such a bitch to put on.. it took us about 2 hours to do both with maximum effort. but i think im gonna get bigger ones pretty soon just to be safe. luckily i didn't cross thread any of the bolts

[i3oricua]

Thanks for the advice.

Is that your Integra? This is actually my 2nd Integra. I used to have a '97 GS-R Sedan, white as well. It was totalled in a hit and run. :( Anyway, being that it's being driven more than the Avant I'm planning on doing some mods to improve it's efficiency and performance. I'm not gonna do cams or cam gears as that will require a tune. I'm more inclined to do bolt on mods like intake and headers which are next in line after getting the clutch replaced. I may do an ignition upgrade. Right now with gas prices the way they are, i'm really interested to see just how efficient I can get this car to run while still adding some performance to it. Even still, there is a lot more I want to do, but it'll be little by little.

Yeah that was my Integra. I totaled it too in Germany when I blew a tire out and almost went over a cliff. I did a lot of work to it engine wise too. I put together a turbo kit for it with a Ram Horn style turbo manifold, Tial Wastegate, Blitz Blow-off valve, Starion intercooler, 440cc injectors, and other stuff not really worth mentioning right now. I also had a stage 2 clutch in (which felt wonderful). The clutch felt like it added horsepower but in reality is just let me put the power to the ground instead of losing it in the drivetrain. If you have any questions let me know, its been a while since I had it but I can still remember quite a bit about it. Also check out www.honda-tech.com A lot of info there but a lot of kiddies on there too. A good place to buy parts there also but be careful.

[Sly Raskal]

Visited the Audi dealership this morning and found out some info about the brackets and some other info that wasn't known to me.

For the 22mm RS4 sway, the bracket ran about $13/ea. Not a bad price IMO.

The extra information I found out is that they list two different sized sway bars for the RS4 in their computer system. One that is 20mm and another that is 22mm but both came up for the RS4. Could the 20mm sway be off the S4? They list the 22mm sway as part of the super sport suspension. In any case, the bracket for the 22mm sway was about $7 cheaper than the bracket for the 20mm. The bracket for the 20mm sway was about $21 in their system.

I'm gonna pick up the brackets tomorrow as I wanted to verify the size of the RS4 sway that I purchased first. My order with ECS hasn't shipped yet, hopefully later this week it will.

[minameismud]

the sway i got through the Performance Cafe group buy here is 22mm according to the thread. if you ordered the sway from ECS, they should give the size on the product page.

[Sly Raskal]

the sway i got through the Performance Cafe group buy here is 22mm according to the thread. if you ordered the sway from ECS, they should give the size on the product page.

I'm not doubting the size of the sway I ordered. I"m already aware that the sway I purchased is 22mm.

My question is why does the Audi part catalog list two sways for the RS4 in their system. Is the 20mm sway part of the S4 suspension?

[Sly Raskal]

Picked up the RS4 22mm sway clips/brackets this past Tuesday. Cost about $13/ea + tax. I heard another guy on the board got them for as low as $8 from a dealer.

Anyway, in case you guys are interested, the part # for clip/bracket for the 22mm sway is 8E0-511-439, but please verify when purchasing to be sure.

[AudiWxGuy]

Could it be a front and rear sway?

[Sly Raskal]

Could it be a front and rear sway?

[Sly Raskal]

Last Wednesday I went down to VMR to have my VMR Boost Gauge installed. Don happily agreed to help me with the install. Much thanks to him for taking the time to do the install for me!!

I like the OEM look of the gauge as well as the fact that the needle matches the OEM needles quite well.

Here are the pics of the install....

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I haven't driven the car much the since the install, but I'm pleased with the quality and the look of the gauge.

The install, from my perspective as Don was doing the work and me lending a hand here and there, seemed very easy if you knew what you were doing. After Don finished, I think I could have managed the install myself, but I still learned a few things watching him do the install.

If there is anything I can change about the gauge it would only be that I wish it was a little dimmer. It is much brighter than the stock gauges. Other than that, everything else is

Also, a tip for the installation that I didn't think of until afterwards. You should use some of that rubber heat activated shrink tubing and put it around the wires going to the gauge. That way you can't see the wires through the vent opening or at least it'll blend in with everything else. Here is what mine looks like....




And on my way home from the install saw this bad boy on the 55 to the 5 interchange...



Challenger SRT8. This thing looks amazing in person!!

[Sly Raskal]

My best friend came out last night to hang out, he hadn't seen my car yet since I took delivery except for pics. He suggested putting tint on the gauge to reduce the brightness since it is brighter than the stock gauges. What do you guys think of that idea?

[VMRWheels]

My best friend came out last night to hang out, he hadn't seen my car yet since I took delivery except for pics. He suggested putting tint on the gauge to reduce the brightness since it is brighter than the stock gauges. What do you guys think of that idea?

Gauge looks great in the car. Tint probably will make it dimmer.

-Charles@VMRWheels
www.vmrwheels.com

[Sly Raskal]

Wanted to share this...



A buddy of mine made that graphic using images of my actual car.

[spitfire11]

Check out the FAQ for info about the sway bars.

16 is stock a4 diameter, 18 is s-line, 20 is s4, and 22 is rs4.

Like was said earlier, no need to get an alignment.

And for what it's worth, I bought the entire RS4 sway bar assembly including brackets at the dealership for less than it cost anywhere online.

Easy 45 min install and super fun results!

[eMacPaul]

Wanted to share this...



A buddy of mine made that graphic using images of my actual car.

That's pretty cool!

[Hyphy]

That autobot picture is pretty cool. haha

[Sly Raskal]

That autobot picture is pretty cool. haha

[Sly Raskal]

Added a mod to the Avant yesterday. Now I can keep my drinks cool. :cool: LOL

Went down to oempl.us yesterday and with their help had the cool box installed while I took some pics for them which they'll hopefully be posting sometime soon.

Props to oempl.us for being so helpful. Thanks guys!

[Hyphy]

Whata guy