Finally some pics of my recent mods

[mbgt72]

Nothing too extravagant here, just doing what I can to make my S stand out a little more and a few personal touches that I enjoy. I enjoy small modding with what my budget will allow. But most of all I enjoy this amazing car!



My most recent and current favorite are the H&R C.O. I just got them installed the other day. The car is sitting right around 25.25" all around, but still may have a tad of settling to do. I'm planning on doing some 19" wheels in the spring (thinking either RS4 reps or the V710), but for now I'm loving the new look! ! !

(Please forgive me in advance for the awful photo quality! I was in a rush, and didn't realize the light would show up in the way it did, along with the car still being a little dirty. And on top of all that, the camera was dying fast as I was trying to click away, it actually died after about 4 pics)







Next was my exhaust bypass, and I'm still working on the video. I wish I had some by now, but just haven't gotten the chance to do it. I know some aren't a fan of this, but I was just going for the sound and not a real performance gain. For the money, it was what I wanted. And even though the videos posted sound like crap, every car person I've been around has loved it, even the European performance shop that put my c.o. on said the sound was quite impressive.

The resonators are still there, and these are installed right before the mufflers. I have screw on plates that cap off the opening and force all the exhaust back through the muffler. I didn't feel like paying the extra 300 for the butterfly valve when I was going to leave it open 90% of the time if not more. I've actually yet to put the caps on other then to test fit them after installed b/c I've enjoyed the sound so much. Even on 5 hour drives, there isn't a great deal of drone or anything to irritate me.






Next is a custom Ashtray Delete I made over the summer out of fiberglass. I don't have a lot of fiberglass experience, but wanted some more storage space and was jealous of the setup that the A3 folks were able to do. I removed the ashtray and made it in several steps. It was A LOT more intensive then I was hoping for. Let me say that again, with my skills, it was A LOT more intensive then I was looking for.

I used about 15 sheets of tinfoil glued together to give me rough shapes to mold the fiberglass to. Starting with the bottom curved surface, then adding vertical sides, then the top flanges. Finally I filled in any crevasses with body filler, sanded, and then applied spray on plastic dip to give a rubberized texture. After this I connected an aftermarket cigarette lighter for power, along with an split power for the iPod charger, aux line out, and the RSN-E Aux line in conversion.










Finally is a custom made side wall sub box I had made by LosLabs.com They made it for 150 plus 20 dollar shipping which isn't bad at all. It's made out of marine grade fiberglass and is right around 1 cubic foot. I realize this is a tad small since I have a 10" JL Audio W7, but I added plenty of pollyfill and so far it seems to be working out great. I had to cut the carpeted sidewall for it to fit (which I wasn't crazy about) and also had to create a way to secure it from behind (which also wasn't too difficult, but was not forewarned about). However, for the space savings and price, it's very tough to beat. I still have some slight adjustments to be made as it is not perfect, but had to a long commute and needed it in before everything was just right. I'm also planning on securing the amp behind the other sidewall with all wires hidden. Once this is done I think it should be looking very clean.













I hope ya'll like, and I just thought I'd share a little of my current mods. If you have any questions feel free and I'll do my best to get back with all of you. Many people on the this forum have been very helpful and I'd just like to say thanks again to you all!

[VagStaR]

Hey thats a great looking car I really love the drop, and I did the same thing to my exhaust when I had my 93 (saab). I'm really sorry about this, but that ash tray delete is butt ugly.

[notachance]

^what he said

[FastB7S4]

drop looks good. ash tray delete looks like you just took off the CF trim piece (even though you did fiberglass stuff).

[AudiOso]

Nice drop... the ashtray stuff = FAIL

[EssPhore]

I agree with the rest, delete the homemade delete. There is a vendor out there that sells an actual storage tray that replaces the ashtray. I don't remember off hand who it is, but with a little searching I'm sure you can find them.

Sean

[Justchill30]

Yep.....Ashtray = Fail...everything else looks good and Im sure sounds great! Audi have such nice interiors, don't ruin the inside with that crap......Sorry

[sakimano]

maybe the ashtray is just dirty? the plastic trim around looks dusty/dirty too.

(hoping for that)

I kept waiting for an 'after' pic...!


p.s. how does the exhaust bypass work? can you 'activate' it with an on-off switch?

The RS4 has something similar (not really, but the S button is really just exchaust flaps being opened). I wonder if you could put an S button in the S4 and wire the exhaust thing to that.

[Auditude2.0T]

I hope your kidding about that ash tray. that would bug me sooo much. everything else is mint.

[cam]

have the ash tray delete wrapped in suede or cloth by an upholstery shop, it will look mint after that,

[ngng]

what's with your floormats...did you cut up a doormat?

[littleredwagen]

have the ash tray delete wrapped in suede or cloth by an upholstery shop, it will look mint after that,

or get it wrapped in CF to match the trim. The ash tray is a good start, needs to be blended in.

Everything looks good

[mbgt72]

Ashtray:
Yes, I understand the ashtray delete looks awful in the pictures, but in person it's honestly not like that. The flash from the camera reflected very poorly and shows every subtle little bump. However in person, the black coating absorbs light and doesn't show nearly as much. I am looking to maybe strip it and re-wrap with something else, however, if it was with CF, every single rise or fall would just look hideous, and getting it factory perfect would be very very very time intensive. Also the cigarette lighter typically sits much more flush, and actually has a black coating also, but since I have been moving stuff around, it got pushed out. I'm not sure why it appears so silver in the picture either. I understand that in these pictures it looks hideous. But I was trying to show something that could be done as an alternative and had hoped that someone would make one as a creative option. As of now, no it has not been made. They made one for the A3 (I believe), but not our car. I don't smoke and won't ever allow someone to smoke in the car so having the astray removed isn't a huge issue. I really wanted to have a little more space as I typically don't drive with my cell phone in my pocket and wanted a way to have access to my iPod without using up both my cup holders or having wires running everywhere.

When on-taking the project I was certainly aiming on a factory finish, and was wanting to wrap in CF. But due to the cramped location and my ability I wasn't able to get nearly the desired finish. All I can say is that it does look much much better in person and am sorry to offend so many with a mod I was wanting to try out for more convenience. Also, my original plans were to have the iPod tray below the tray and have a cutout that the iPod sat in and connected with the dock below. However there is very very little space beyond what I was able to get out of the current setup. I had hoped for a much larger area to utilize, but it simply was not available. I wish it turned out better, yes, but I'm still very glad that I did it, I use it every day, rather than just being frustrated without having enough space for my desires. (Also I did look at the iPod holders made by pro clip or someone of that sort. And yes they look amazing, but personally was not crazy about their mounting locations and thus opted for another route).


Floor mats:
The floor mats were just some winter floor mats from Costco I picked up recently b/c we've been having a lot of rain and mud on the streets. I take them out in the summer, or when the weather is better. But I was wanting to protect my factory mats from more abuse than necessary. I know they don't look the best, but my factory mats were already worn when I got the car. And I while I do my best to shampoo them when I detail and vacuum them often, I just wanted to do what I could to help prolong their life. Also, not all people that ride in my car appreciate cars or respect them as much as I do. It's shocking how many people will leave your floor mats looking like they've been sitting outside for weeks.


Coil Overs:
I appreciate the comments on the drop. So far I love it, and would even go as far as to say that the H&R's actually ride better then the stock did for probably 85% of road conditions. So far it seems that, while the initial impact of a bump in the road is more dramatic, there is much less of a 'bouncy' feel after the bump. And there's the obvious advantage that they feel much more connected to the road and cornering is now even more of a blast. While I am not about to admit these come close to some other c.o. options out there, considering tracking the car will be rare at best, for me, this is a great setup and I'm very happy. And on smooth roads, I'd almost go as far as to say these feel smoother than my stock setup did. Maybe that's just my mind playing games as it's a new toy, but I'm certainly happy with them.


Exhaust:
As far as the exhaust setup, it is currently set up as a Y pipe (1 in 2 out) with one of the outlets going to the stock mufflers and the second being a direct outflow bypassing the mufflers. People that make these also sell a butterfly valve system with a remote switch where one could open or close them inside the car. But I opted to just have a faceplate with a gasket that I would have to crawl under the back of the car and screw on (actually not as bad as it sounds, though it may be a bit more difficult with it lowered now). The sound is without a doubt much louder, obviously, but is certainly livable for me and is my dd. There is no question that it is modified when you start the car, or are driving, but it is also not as loud as many trucks I have heard. Most that have heard it are impressed and like it, although to each his own. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get any video up, but am working on that. However, most of the videos I've heard that have something similar sound awful. So I'm not sure if that's b/c of the people taking the video, or something with the tone of the exhaust.

[sakimano]

is that car FULLY optioned? has everything from where I sit...NAV etc. Even rear window shades and carbon fibre trim.

rear heated seats?

[mbgt72]

is that car FULLY optioned? has everything from where I sit...NAV etc. Even rear window shades and carbon fibre trim.

rear heated seats?

To my knowledge and from what I understand about the available options, yes it is. (I thought that the rear heated seats were just part of the cold weather package or something of that nature). The only option that it doesn't that that I know of (and I don't really understand what exactly it entails) would be the "Titanium" option. I've heard of this mentioned, but am not exactly sure what it is, or if it's exclusive to the RS4 or DTM versions. When I found it back in May of 2008, it had the RSN-E, heated seats all round, sat radio obviously and leather seats (not the alcanta inserts). So I'm not sure if the leather is the stock or upgraded option for the seats. I was originally looking for one with the alcanta seats, but later moved away from this due to seeing some for sale that showed some wear pretty bad wear.

[sakimano]

Titanium wasn't an option, so cross that off.

Titanium was offered on RS4 and A4, but not S4. It's just a package that darkens up the trim and changes wheels to gunmetal.

the DTM package (not sure what it was actually called on S4) wasn't offered in your car's year (which appears to be 2006?)

To my knowledge and from what I understand about the available options, yes it is. (I thought that the rear heated seats were just part of the cold weather package or something of that nature). The only option that it doesn't that that I know of (and I don't really understand what exactly it entails) would be the "Titanium" option. I've heard of this mentioned, but am not exactly sure what it is, or if it's exclusive to the RS4 or DTM versions. When I found it back in May of 2008, it had the RSN-E, heated seats all round, sat radio obviously and leather seats (not the alcanta inserts). So I'm not sure if the leather is the stock or upgraded option for the seats. I was originally looking for one with the alcanta seats, but later moved away from this due to seeing some for sale that showed some wear pretty bad wear.

[mbgt72]

Titanium wasn't an option, so cross that off.

Titanium was offered on RS4 and A4, but not S4. It's just a package that darkens up the trim and changes wheels to gunmetal.

the DTM package (not sure what it was actually called on S4) wasn't offered in your car's year (which appears to be 2006?)

Ah, ok, thanks for the clarification. Yea, technically mine is a 2005.5 so I believe I still have the 50/50 power split even though I have a manual. Hopefully after wheels my next mod may be the Stasis Center Differential if it's available.

[sakimano]

Ah, ok, thanks for the clarification. Yea, technically mine is a 2005.5 so I believe I still have the 50/50 power split even though I have a manual. Hopefully after wheels my next mod may be the Stasis Center Differential if it's available.

I like the stock look. What wheels are you thinking? If you are thinking RS4 reps, post a thread requesting pics. That always goes over well here.

[mbgt72]

I like the stock look. What wheels are you thinking? If you are thinking RS4 reps, post a thread requesting pics. That always goes over well here.

I was thinking about some GM VMR V710 wheels in 19" (basically the HRE monoblock). I also thinking about the RS4 reps, but figure that they seem a slight bit overplayed now. I absolutely love them, so I'm not knocking anyone who has them by any means! However, I like to to be a little different, and I am on a budget for the wheels.

Here is a pic roughly, (these are real HRE's and I'm not sure whose car it is, but I know it's been posted before, so I'm not trying to steal your car, but I do think that it is very hot!)



Tell me what you guys think, or what else you might recommend! ! !

Here's the link as if all of you haven't already seen them around:
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243846


(Also a slight reason that I'm kind of leaning toward these over the RS4's is b/c I was told that Audi is now offering the RS4 style wheel as an option on most any of the new models that you buy, as an upgraded wheel option. I'm not positive that this is true, and know that if I had GM, that yes it would stand out more, but didn't like the idea of seeing a lot of Audi's all rolling with that wheel when I just bought it aftermarket trying to be different.)

[UberDave]

Get one of these to fit your Ipod in the ashtray and put the CF cover back on...

http://stores.homestead.com/2point5/...OCK/Detail.bok

[FastB7S4]

(Also a slight reason that I'm kind of leaning toward these over the RS4's is b/c I was told that Audi is now offering the RS4 style wheel as an option on most any of the new models that you buy, as an upgraded wheel option. I'm not positive that this is true, and know that if I had GM, that yes it would stand out more, but didn't like the idea of seeing a lot of Audi's all rolling with that wheel when I just bought it aftermarket trying to be different.)

It's true. You can get them on anything from a A3 to a Q7. Readily available as they are and now also an OEM option, it is still a very rare wheel where I live. I don't see them that often...OEM or replica.

[EYE4SPEED]

Where did you put your amp? I ran both a 12W7 - used JL 1000 and had to mount it to the Prowedge box. When I had my 10W7 - used JL 500, had it custom mounted and trim paneled into the trunk. Just enough room for a set of clubs, but not much else.

[mbgt72]

Where did you put your amp? I ran both a 12W7 - used JL 1000 and had to mount it to the Prowedge box. When I had my 10W7 - used JL 500, had it custom mounted and trim paneled into the trunk. Just enough room for a set of clubs, but not much else.

Yea, I feel your pain. I originally built a prowedge box for my 10" and put it in my BMW 325ci. Then built a ported box to fight snug in my BMW, but when I got this car, it was too tall to fit the ported box in, plus it weighed a F***ton. I think the box alone for my ported one was about 90 pounds, haha. But this new box only weighs about 20-25, so that's a nice change up. Plus I now have pretty much my entire trunk back! ! !

The breaking point was when I had a blowout on the interstate driving back home from college at about 6:30 over Thanksgiving break. Having to pull everything out of my tunk, including the sub, was not something I was too keen on. So I was about to build a fiberglass box, but found that one for literally what it would have cost me just in supplies. So I ordered it that day, great service, great product, and very nice people to deal with.

Anyway, on to your question. I have a Rockford Punch (I think the P5002). It's a 2ch, bridgeable for 500RMS. I currently have it mounted on the back of the passenger rear seat. The old sub box used to cover up the amp and wiring. However, now that I have moved the sub, I will soon be moving the amp onto a piece of board and securing it behind the passenger trunk wall behind the carpeted area. I'll probably just run the wiring under the trunk floor mat, and it should be a pretty clean install all in all. Once it's done, when the trunk is open, the only thing you should be able to see is the side of the W7's face and the black grill protecting it.

[sakimano]

It's true. You can get them on anything from a A3 to a Q7. Readily available as they are and now also an OEM option, it is still a very rare wheel where I live. I don't see them that often...OEM or replica.

same here (re RS4 style wheels)...I have seen like 3 sets on non-RS4s, including trips to the dealership near my house about once a month.

I think you and I live in the NorthEast where wheel modding isn't quite the rage it is down in Kull-lee-for-nee-a. Check the posts from those guys when someone mentions RS4 wheels...they whip into a frenzy.

[RudeBwoi]

exterior looks great

interior looks ashy....armor all

that ipod dock that uberdave linked may be the answer to your prayers