European RS4 seats and TTS steering wheel?

[Freebs]

Hello every one

Well I am new to these forums and new to Audi in general. I have always been a GM guy still with a long list of GMs (TT ZO6 to an 87 GNX to name a few).

Any way getting to the point I am looking a picking up a 2007 RS4 and I have seen 2 different styles of seats and 2 different styles of steering wheels in a few of them. I was told by a friend who works at an Audi dealership that the seats I like are a European spec (pictures below) and are “illegal” for North American vehicles? Now I have been tuning/modifying cars since I could drive and have bought and used many different Sparco and Recaro aftermarket seats in my vehicles with no problems so I don’t see how these could be illegal to use? Anyone know any different? Also if they can be used here, where would one buy them?
Secondly the steering wheel picture below is the other style of steering wheel I saw in a RS4. From what I can tell there is the one from the TTS that people have used and a Euro Spec RS4. Are they a direct swap? or is there stuff needed to be done?






Thanks for any help or info you can give me.

ahah and as a little added bonus I think I am done with GM (well maybe other than a ZR1 ahah) I have seen the light and I am walking towards it.

[drew]

Hello every one

Well I am new to these forums and new to Audi in general. I have always been a GM guy still with a long list of GMs (TT ZO6 to an 87 GNX to name a few).

Any way getting to the point I am looking a picking up a 2007 RS4 and I have seen 2 different styles of seats and 2 different styles of steering wheels in a few of them. I was told by a friend who works at an Audi dealership that the seats I like are a European spec (pictures below) and are “illegal” for North American vehicles? Now I have been tuning/modifying cars since I could drive and have bought and used many different Sparco and Recaro aftermarket seats in my vehicles with no problems so I don’t see how these could be illegal to use? Anyone know any different? Also if they can be used here, where would one buy them?
Secondly the steering wheel picture below is the other style of steering wheel I saw in a RS4. From what I can tell it is from a TTS? Or again is this a European spec part? And where could one get this?

Thanks for any help or info you can give me.

ahah and as a little added bonus I think I am done with GM (well maybe other than a ZR1 ahah) I have seen the light and I am walking towards it.

i don't think they are "illegal" per-se but they do not have the side airbags

[CanuckRS]

that's my pic...haha. it's the Euro RS4 steering wheel. Lots of places sell it now.

[B6JoeS4]

what pictures?

well, for the steering wheel, the us spec one is all round and all leather and the euro spec has a flat bottom with silver on the flat bottom part. euro seats are not illegal in the us and even if they were, who is going to know?

[Freebs]

Well if its just the side air bags than I dont see them being illegal than. Thanks, how about the steering wheel? As the picture I found even has the RS4 stamped into it so I am guessing its a Euro spec but are there any places one could order these?

[SebringSilver]

That isn't the TT-S steering wheel.

This is the TT-S steering wheel.

[Freebs]

that's my pic...haha. it's the Euro RS4 steering wheel. Lots of places sell it now.

:P a fellow BC member hey... Kelowna boy here...

Where did you pick your steering wheel up from? As I said I am new to the Audi world, so not sure of all the famous Audi tuners and performance parts sellers, any Canadian companies?

That isn't the TT-S steering wheel.

This is the TT-S steering wheel.

Ahh yes.. I changed my post up.. I had seen one that didnt have the RS4 stamped into it and another that looked like the TTS

[B6JoeS4]

dealership can order them but other than that you might find one on ebay or the audizine classifides but i doubt it. the steering wheel will be over a grand. you can also use lamborghini sttering wheels which you can get with carbon fiber accents

[B6JoeS4]

heres one

http://www.performance-cafe.com/prod...7d4697ec75dc2c

[Freebs]

dealership can order them but other than that you might find one on ebay or the audizine classifides but i doubt it. the steering wheel will be over a grand. you can also use lamborghini sttering wheels which you can get with carbon fiber accents

And did it just bolt right up? like the air bag and every thing else?

$1000 isnt bad at all when its a "race style" as well as keeping the safty of the air bag.

[SebringSilver]

:P a fellow BC member hey... Kelowna boy here...

Where did you pick your steering wheel up from? As I said I am new to the Audi world, so not sure of all the famous Audi tuners and performance parts sellers, any Canadian companies?



Ahh yes.. I changed my post up.. I had seen one that didnt have the RS4 stamped into it and another that looked like the TTS

Good luck with your search for an RS4. If successful, I am sure you're going to love the car. It's just absolutely amazing.

[B6JoeS4]

the airbags are not interchangeable. the us one is a box like shape whereas the euro one is round.

heres the one you need:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Audi-A8-S8-RS4-B...3286.m63.l1177

[Freebs]

Good luck with your search for an RS4. If successful, I am sure you're going to love the car. It's just absolutely amazing.

Thank you and that’s what I have been told. There are two in town for sale at a dealer ship my friends father owns so I am going to take a test drive in one of them, but when it comes to buying one I will be picking one up from the states. Here in Canada they still sell for $60,000-$80,000 but I spend most of my summers down in phoenix racing so I will look while I am down there where I have found a few going for 38-40k (45-50k CDN) which isnt a lot off but I might as well if I am down there.

the airbags are not interchangeable. the us one is a box like shape whereas the euro one is round.

heres the one you need:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Audi-A8-S8-RS4-B...3286.m63.l1177

Awesome, thank you very much for the help.

[B6JoeS4]

no prob

[B6JoeS4]

if you are doing racing, the deffinately find one with euro seats becaue it has the holes for a harness

[Freebs]

if you are doing racing, the deffinately find one with euro seats becaue it has the holes for a harness

Well the RS4 will most likely be used as a daily driver, as the Z06 takes the roll of the racer but who knows :P my main reason for looking at the RS4 is the AWD. I have always had traction issues with all the RWD cars even high powered FWD so I want to try my hand at an AWD vehicle.

[SebringSilver]

Well the RS4 will most likely be used as a daily driver, as the Z06 takes the roll of the racer but who knows :P my main reason for looking at the RS4 is the AWD. I have always had traction issues with all the RWD cars even high powered FWD so I want to try my hand at an AWD vehicle.

You'll have no trouble with traction when you're in an Audi with the Torsen differential. Not sure about the Haldex cars, but if you've got the torque sensing type of Quattro, and with the right tires, you're pretty much unstoppable.

[Freebs]

You'll have no trouble with traction when you're in an Audi with the Torsen differential. Not sure about the Haldex cars, but if you've got the torque sensing type of Quattro, and with the right tires, you're pretty much unstoppable.

thats what I like to hear. I have been looking at every thing from a 07 STi to a 09 Evo MR even the new Nissan GTR and I had never really thought about an Audi but I got reading more into them and from what I have read they have the best AWD system out of any auto manufacture.

[SebringSilver]

thats what I like to hear. I have been looking at every thing from a 07 STi to a 09 Evo MR even the new Nissan GTR and I had never really thought about an Audi but I got reading more into them and from what I have read they have the best AWD system out of any auto manufacture.

Nothing wrong with the AWD systems on those other cars you mentioned either, but Audi's been using AWD on road cars for performance-reasons (not off-roading reasons) longer than anybody else aside from the Jensen Interceptors of yore. Experience pays off, and I believe many people here will agree (and drivers of other makes will also do the same, perhaps grudgingly) that the Audi experience is one that's built around a confidence-inspiring sense of omnipotence, no matter what the road conditions are.

Mind you, sometimes, it can go to your head and driver error prevails over engineering prowess.

[Yessir Man]

This should be very helpful.

http://www.gmgracing.com/audi_rs4.shtml

[Freebs]

This should be very helpful.

http://www.gmgracing.com/audi_rs4.shtml

helps out a lot... some nice parts on there

ahah wow and I thought the Lingenfelter TT kit for my Z06 was expensive ahah you guys dont screw around with cheap parts thats for sure.

[Yessir Man]

helps out a lot... some nice parts on there

ahah wow and I thought the Lingenfelter TT kit for my Z06 was expensive ahah you guys dont screw around with cheap parts thats for sure.

lol you end up paying more for mods than what you paid for the car

[Maverick]

as for the Euro RS4 seats, they are expensive to get them here.
Installation is very easy. I can swap you the seats in less than 1 hour. you will get a air bag warning light, that will be up to you whey you want the RS4 seats or now.
the seats are manually adjusted, so no more seat memory. they are heated. can't think of anything else. the best thing about the RS4 seats, it is so effing comfortable and light. Lotus uses this seats as well.

look up a thread I started that I swaped seats in my B6 A4.
click here to get rid of the air bag warning.
steering wheel swap. there is a write up for the B7 If I rememeber correctly.

Good luck and be ready to spend $7K+

[Sharkfin]

I have had three guys who have done the rs4/tts wheel swap with perfection, if you have any questions let me know.

[KryptoniK]

I just got the Euro-RS4 seats and steering wheel. Amazing, the car looks and feels so much more exotic and unique.

The seats are WAY more supportive and tighter than US. They are still heated. The only power adjustments are lumbar support and leg support. Recline, forward/back, up/down are manual. No airbag. They're officially 25 lbs lighter per seat than the US seats, weighed myself ;) So an instant 50lbs savings from that alone.

The steering wheel looks and feels great. It's thicker and has deeper thumb grooves. Only down-side is you lose the bluetooth and radio functions. I don't miss them one bit.



I got the Euro-RS4 interior from ebay-Germany. I couldn't purchase the seats alone unfortunately, so I had to get the 4 door panels, rear seats and rear side airbags along with it. Went for $4,500.00 after shipping/customs/taxes/currency exchange. Great deal! Only thing I swapped was the front seats since the rest of the interior parts are the same as US. Hoping to sell my US seats and the rest of the interior that came in.

The steering wheel I got for about $800.00 and the aribag (seperate) for $450.00 from a local dealer.

Good luck with the future purchase of an RS4! You're going to love every bit of it.

-Dave-

[Sharkfin]

Lucky man, i'd love to have that interior!

[sakimano]

that's my pic...haha. it's the Euro RS4 steering wheel. Lots of places sell it now.

sell him your car

[skoTner]

I bought a TT flat bottom steering-wheel a while ago and fitted it today:



Easy fit, but haven't gotten the buttons to work yet.

[Sharkfin]

^there is a DIY in the b7 a4 section where you have to do some rewiring with the harness and it works perfectly

[CanuckRS]

You should make me an offer on my RS4 ;) Used to be in Calgary, but now in the okanagan. Best of luck finding an RS4, it's a phenomenal vehicle.

[whartung]

to clear up the illegality of the RS4 seats.

The reason why the euro RS4s have the seats and wheels while the US ones dont is because of crash testing. In europe, I believe the A4 or maybe even the S4 crash test ratings were applied to the RS4, which is acceptable. They figure the RS4 and the S4 will perform the same in an accident, so they didn't bother crash testing the RS4 specifically. Upon importation to the united states, our wonderful IIHS decided that it wasn't in fact acceptable for them to not crash test the RS4, and instead to just crash test the S4, because the seats and airbags were different, and therefore required separate tests. Audi decided that it was not cost efficient to do extra crash tests on the RS4s, when they could just swap out the seats and wheels for the same ones in the S4 and make the car street legal in the states that way.

Fun story. Audi cheaped out on us by refusing to wreck a couple RS4s, and we lose that awesome interior. Oh well.

That kind of answers the illegality question. They are not illegal, they are only illegal for Audi to produce, as they haven't had the proper crash tests required for a production vehicle in the US.

[EYE4SPEED]

I bought a TT flat bottom steering-wheel a while ago and fitted it today:



Easy fit, but haven't gotten the buttons to work yet.

Looks great...

Is it possible to buy a replacement "S4" flag for the insert? I like that wheel, but not if I can't change out the TT-S to S4.

[skoTner]

^there is a DIY in the b7 a4 section where you have to do some rewiring with the harness and it works perfectly

Do you have the link? Can't seem to find it...

Is it possible to buy a replacement "S4" flag for the insert? I like that wheel, but not if I can't change out the TT-S to S4.

Yes, you find several on eBay. That's what I did to mine... it said TTS when I bought it, but I swapped the flag/badge with for a S-line badge/flag. Looks great.

[charliemike]

Upon importation to the united states, our wonderful IIHS decided that it wasn't in fact acceptable for them to not crash test the RS4, and instead to just crash test the S4, because the seats and airbags were different, and therefore required separate tests.

All due respect but the IIHS doesn't certify cars. IIHS is a research group set up by the insurance conglomerates.

NHTSA does the FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) certification.

[skoTner]

^there is a DIY in the b7 a4 section where you have to do some rewiring with the harness and it works perfectly

Found it, used it and the buttons now work. Thank you SO much! :D I now have a fully working TT steering wheel in my A5.

[chaos2984]

to clear up the illegality of the RS4 seats.

The reason why the euro RS4s have the seats and wheels while the US ones dont is because of crash testing. In europe, I believe the A4 or maybe even the S4 crash test ratings were applied to the RS4, which is acceptable. They figure the RS4 and the S4 will perform the same in an accident, so they didn't bother crash testing the RS4 specifically. Upon importation to the united states, our wonderful IIHS decided that it wasn't in fact acceptable for them to not crash test the RS4, and instead to just crash test the S4, because the seats and airbags were different, and therefore required separate tests. Audi decided that it was not cost efficient to do extra crash tests on the RS4s, when they could just swap out the seats and wheels for the same ones in the S4 and make the car street legal in the states that way.

Fun story. Audi cheaped out on us by refusing to wreck a couple RS4s, and we lose that awesome interior. Oh well.

That kind of answers the illegality question. They are not illegal, they are only illegal for Audi to produce, as they haven't had the proper crash tests required for a production vehicle in the US.

somewhat not true at all. Every car that comes into the US has to be crash tested. Thats why european cars were never brought over they didnt want to crash one and confirm to our standards. Then again us american's as a whole do not know how to drive at all.

Just look at what u have to do to get a licence in germany.

[whartung]

Yeah sorry about the iihs screw up. Whatever organization does it. I was quotin the article from memory

somewhat not true at all. Every car that comes into the US has to be crash tested. Thats why european cars were never brought over they didnt want to crash one and confirm to our standards. Then again us american's as a whole do not know how to drive at all.

Just look at what u have to do to get a licence in germany.

I don't see how getting a license is relevant. Regardless, thw article I read said what I told you. The rs4 wasn't crash tested separately from the s4 which is why they have identical interiors

[Sharkfin]

Found it, used it and the buttons now work. Thank you SO much! :D I now have a fully working TT steering wheel in my A5.

great! +1 rep for me

[scotty607]

I just bought a euro steering wheel for the RS4 as well. I saw in the service room when I was gettin my car repaired. I bought outa pure beauty, but I didnt realize you lose certain functions. My hopes are that when the install my wheel that they set all th ebuttons up. One of u said u lose Blue Tooth. Does that mean my phone will not be hands free??? Is that TRUE?!!!! That will be kinda sucky. Everything else I think is fine. However, those seats are awesome. I would love to do a set in my ride but to lose all these functions this car is a little disturbing. I actually heard the seats were not heated! But, if they are, I can see myself in them some day. I have Recarros in my Celica and they are outstanding seats.

[chaos2984]

Yeah sorry about the iihs screw up. Whatever organization does it. I was quotin the article from memory



I don't see how getting a license is relevant. Regardless, thw article I read said what I told you. The rs4 wasn't crash tested separately from the s4 which is why they have identical interiors

the licence is relavant if people know what to do in a collision event and know how to avoid an accident. They can build cars with less safety stuff. europe's standard for saftey are alot lower than ours. Our safety standards are so high.

I dont know y the steering wheel isnt safe. I dont see a diff with a flat bottom vs a round one. And the seats. who cares about side airbags. I know there not required by law i believe. Unless theries something wrong with the Seat itself. But look what the evo's are running and porsche's something similar to the RS4. But ohwell.