Lurker converted to owner

[latchkeykid]

Hello all!

Well I have been lurking these forums for quite some time and reading all of your posts...yes kind of creepy and a little bit like a stalker. Anyway, I just put in a deposit for a 2005.5 Black/Black S4 and just got the paper work in. The unfortunate thing is that the car is located in Minneapolis and I am in Texas but I got a pretty good deal for the color combination i wanted so it was worth it. I will be flying up there next week to pick it up and make a nice road trip back home.

This will be my first non-japanese car and I have been doing a lot of research on here because I don't even know how to change the wheels on a german car. My previous cars were a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse and a 2004 Subaru WRX so be prepared to be asked a lot of silly questions throughout the upcoming weeks.

I plan on my first upgrade to be either a Kenwood dnx7120 or a Pioneer Avic series dvd/video system since I will be making a long road trip back to Texas. Question is, does anyone know a good car stereo installer in Minneapolis that can install one of these for me while i'm there picking up my car?

Also, I have already picked the wheels I want but cannot decide on the size. Either 18x8 or 19x8.5...the advantage to the 18x8 is that I can use the stock tires that already come with the car and save a little cash but the 19s on your rides looks soo sweet!

Thanks and hope to hear from all of you.

Forgot to add that I will post pics as soon as I get the car...I've seen what happened to the poor fools that did not post pics in the past.

[V8S4Fun]

Good to have you, ask away that's what the forum is for!!! You will get all different responses on the wheel question. As far as the DVD...go with the factory RNS-E, you won't regret it! Oh, get pics up ASAP

[RAudi Driver]

You should wait till you get home to get the stereo installed. If there is a future problem, you'll want to be able to go back to the installer.

Anyways, congrats and welcome to Audizine.

[S4J]

^^What RAudi said!^^ and welcome.

[Chapunki]

What wheels did you pick? 19's are definitely the way to go if you have decent roads.

[latchkeykid]

Unfortunately the car doesn't come with factory navi so that isnt an option and I want the ipod/video functionality anyway.

Sigh...the long trip home doesn't sound so great without episodes of The Office, Robot Chicken, and Harvey Birdman playing in the background.

The wheels I'm considering are definitely not very popular among board members...since they are a Flat Black mesh Time Attacks. I guess to each their own.

[snopyro]

Congrats and welcome. You should be able to use the AUX port of the RNS-e Nav unit to play your videos (or at least hook up your iPod). As far as flat black time attacks... who says they are a bad choice? Here's Danny's avant with some CE28's on.

[FastB7S4]

Congrats and stick with the RNS-E for a much cleaner interior.

[latchkeykid]

I finally got some pics online and wanted to share them with you guys. Tell what you think.

I do have a black rs4 grill coming in the mail and waiting to get my next paycheck for the suspension and exhaust.

Thanks!

[Beelzeebub]

I finally got some pics online and wanted to share them with you guys. Tell what you think.

I do have a black rs4 grill coming in the mail and waiting to get my next paycheck for the suspension and exhaust.

Thanks!

Very nice! congrats. Are those 19" wheels? Is that a DVD on the MMI? if so, how did you get to make it play dvds?

EDIT: sorry my bad. not MMI.

[FastB7S4]

Nice. Very black. The RS4 grill will complete the theme.

[latchkeykid]

The wheels are VMR rs4 reps and they are 18x8.5. I couldn't afford to get new tires so I just got the same size rims that I already had and swapped tires. The headunit is the kenwood dnx5120 and is absolutely awesome! I have my 160G Ipod hooked up to it and never have to switch cds or dvds to watch movies or play music.

[ginkof]

those are some sweet tires you have on that car! definitely very nice looking! do the clear corner mod up front and get rid of the crappy orange!

[DuncanC]

Looks HAWT! Congrats!

[pismojeff]

nice ride... love the trim. now you need to lower and go 19" gunmetal. just my opinion

[latchkeykid]

Funny thing is that the rims were gunmetal and then I powdercoated them black. The trim is just black vinyl tape and came out ok but not great unfortunately.

[pismojeff]

ha, oh well. each person has their own taste. car still looks very nice. looks very up to date and it is an 05.5... nice purchase!

[gjc]

Why not replace the trim? You manually stuck black vinyl tape on it, how did that one go?

Love the car, would have kept the gunmetal but I understand the look you're going for. It will go nicely with the black Ti grill.

[JOS4AUDI]

wow those wheels look great! you did a nice job good looking s4.

[FastB7S4]

Why not replace the trim? You manually stuck black vinyl tape on it, how did that one go?

I believe the trim from a Ti edition is very pricey and is also a PIA to remove and install.

[latchkeykid]

Well replacing the trim was just too expensive. Even if I bought the trim at discount it would be $400 and that is not even with it installed. Compare that to a $20 automotive vinyl and 3 hours of work. Thanks for all the comments btw!

Well as soon as I replied I saw the post above. Taping the trim was pretty straightforward except for the rear corner window that looks like a triangle. That curve was tricky and took me a few tries and it still is not perfect. The rest looks alright though.

[Beelzeebub]

The wheels are VMR rs4 reps and they are 18x8.5. I couldn't afford to get new tires so I just got the same size rims that I already had and swapped tires. The headunit is the kenwood dnx5120 and is absolutely awesome! I have my 160G Ipod hooked up to it and never have to switch cds or dvds to watch movies or play music.

sweet!

[szinkuti]

where in texas are u?

[latchkeykid]

I am in Plano, TX. How about yourself?

[sakimano]

I swear, I've seen you give that advice to at least 1 other dude on Audizine. Both times I thought...'that's some good thinking'.

edit: just noticed...this is a thread from the dead now that his pics are up

TOUGH looking car. Lotsa black happening. I like it.

You should wait till you get home to get the stereo installed. If there is a future problem, you'll want to be able to go back to the installer.

Anyways, congrats and welcome to Audizine.

[khyber]

That is clean! I'm never really a fan of black on black but that looks good, nice car!

[Tiny2000]

Your car looks great, and good choice on wheels/tires. I'd get Pilot Sports for my next summers if there's a good deal, but they are quite $$$

Do you know if the automotive vinyl comes in the grey colour that would match the rear lower valence? My chrome trim is all cloudy white now and I have to do something, it is looking quite ghetto now. I think grey would match well, and not look as badass as a blacked-out look

[RAudi Driver]

Absolutely great looking car. You are going in the right direction on your visual mods.

[cotmfk]

Congrats on the car!!

[diytuner]

Hey, I saw your car over by Stonebriar Mall today... very nice. I can't wait to get my own.

[whartung]

Congrats and welcome. You should be able to use the AUX port of the RNS-e Nav unit to play your videos (or at least hook up your iPod). As far as flat black time attacks... who says they are a bad choice? Here's Danny's avant with some CE28's on.

what AUX port on the RNS-E?



also,
looks great. The matte black wheels look great. If only they were 19's.

And for pictures, the vinyl on the trim turned out great.


Also consider the black S4 grille vs the black RS4 grille. I think they'll both look great on the car, I just sometimes dont think the rs4 grille's hexagons dont look as good without the matching hexagon mesh in the fog grille.

[latchkeykid]

Thanks guys for all the comments...I really love the car and cant wait to get it to the finished product I have imagined in my head.

Your car looks great, and good choice on wheels/tires. I'd get Pilot Sports for my next summers if there's a good deal, but they are quite $$$

Do you know if the automotive vinyl comes in the grey colour that would match the rear lower valence? My chrome trim is all cloudy white now and I have to do something, it is looking quite ghetto now. I think grey would match well, and not look as badass as a blacked-out look

Yeah I absolutely love the Pilot Sport but I'm wary of how its going to handle in the cold. I don't know if the vinyl is offered in grey or not because I bought it off of ebay. The black does match the rubber around the windows though very well so I would say go with the matte black because the grey would contrast with the matte black rubber.

[latchkeykid]

diytuner: Yeah I was around there because I work at the T-Mobile office off of warren and tollway. You live or work in that area?

what AUX port on the RNS-E?



also,
looks great. The matte black wheels look great. If only they were 19's.

And for pictures, the vinyl on the trim turned out great.


Also consider the black S4 grille vs the black RS4 grille. I think they'll both look great on the car, I just sometimes dont think the rs4 grille's hexagons dont look as good without the matching hexagon mesh in the fog grille.

It was actually a really hard decision to go with either 19 or 18 rs4 reps but the cost of tires really got me in the 18s. Hopefully it will look better with a nice drop.

I didn't even know that the black s4 grille and the rs4 grill were different. I guess I will go and look up pictures and see what the difference is. I just figured it would look like what I have now but in black. Thanks for the suggestion but its already being shipped unfortuntately...

[diytuner]

diytuner: Yeah I was around there because I work at the T-Mobile office off of warren and tollway. You live or work in that area?
..

Yeah, I live over off of Legacy. Was taking my wife over to the mall.
I would love to get an up close look at your S4 if possible. I am in the process
of saving up to buy one in March and keeping my eye open for a White B7

[latchkeykid]

Yeah, I live over off of Legacy. Was taking my wife over to the mall.
I would love to get an up close look at your S4 if possible. I am in the process
of saving up to buy one in March and keeping my eye open for a White B7

I used to live off of Preston and Legacy as well...whenever you want to check out my car I am down. White b7s look freaking sweet...I was really wanting white but the black was too good of a deal to pass up. When I was looking, white s4s rarely came up in the classifieds...alot of grey though.

[ghost_whip]

The murdered look may be played out, but your S4 looks awesome! drop it and those 18s will look like 19s

[quattro.it]

Welcome to the 'zine! Your S4 looks great. Is it MT6 or AT6?

[latchkeykid]

Thanks and it is a manual.

[ALWAYS4UDI]

How did you like working with Carousel Audi? I thought about buying my next S from them, since my local dealership is a boat full of idiots. I've heard great things about Carousel.

[Sharkfin]

looks great, I suggest you get new interior trim because the wood seems out of place with all that black