Mrav's Build Thread

[Mrav]

So as one of the newest members of AZ, I was guided towards starting a build thread so I could annoy the hell out of everyone with my questions, guilt-free

To start off and to give you some specs, I got the 09 Premium Plus (no nav) almost exactly a week ago with 22000 miles on it. Here's a picture of my beloved car on the first night I got it. As a general note, I apologize for the crappy quality (I took them with my phone) and will be taking the pictures with a proper DLSR from now on.




I just got it tinted this weekend, and here's a picture of it right when I picked it up.




I'll also be installing mud flaps and chrome exhaust tips (debating) in the next couple weeks.

I know the number one recommendation is to drop the car, but I have a lot of questions/concerns about it. One of them being this:



With barely any clearance at work, even one mistake could be costly to my bumper. I know, I could be extra careful when parking, but I feel like I'd be spending more time checking my surroundings than enjoying when I drive. Also, the car has brand new shocks so if anything, I'd rather wait till I need to get them replaced before I spend the cash on buying new ones.


I welcome any and all suggestions! Or if you want some more pictures, let me know. I'd be glad to share.


EDIT, 8/13/12:

Just had a brief photoshoot to give you guys something better looking than those cellphone pics haha.

[aznpxdd]

Ugh, I hate seeing cars parked like that since my car is pretty low. You definitely need to watch your surroundings more after dropping, but I wouldn't say anything out of the ordinary. I mean, I wouldn't park over the curb even IF I had clearance, but that's just me.

If your car has brand new shocks, you can just pick up some H&R OE/Sports springs and they will go just fine with your new shocks. Get the tips if you aren't planning on changing exhaust any time soon, they do improve the rear aesthetics quite a lot for small $, but obviously useless if you are replacing the exhaust soon anyways. Oh, and get a filler plate, fuck front plates in CA

[Okan509]

Ugh, I hate seeing cars parked like that since my car is pretty low. You definitely need to watch your surroundings more after dropping, but I wouldn't say anything out of the ordinary. I mean, I wouldn't park over the curb even IF I had clearance, but that's just me.

If your car has brand new shocks, you can just pick up some H&R OE/Sports springs and they will go just fine with your new shocks. Get the tips if you aren't planning on changing exhaust any time soon, they do improve the rear aesthetics quite a lot for small $, but obviously useless if you are replacing the exhaust soon anyways. Oh, and get a filler plate, fuck front plates in CA

+1, OP mentality seems a bit of the uninformed.

[Mrav]

Ugh, I hate seeing cars parked like that since my car is pretty low. You definitely need to watch your surroundings more after dropping, but I wouldn't say anything out of the ordinary. I mean, I wouldn't park over the curb even IF I had clearance, but that's just me.

If your car has brand new shocks, you can just pick up some H&R OE/Sports springs and they will go just fine with your new shocks. Get the tips if you aren't planning on changing exhaust any time soon, they do improve the rear aesthetics quite a lot for small $, but obviously useless if you are replacing the exhaust soon anyways. Oh, and get a filler plate, fuck front plates in CA

I agree, I would avoid it if I could too, but I can't confidently say I will never ever get too close to the curb. Mistakes can be made and the cost of this one just seems so high. I guess first thing to do is get comfortable enough to avoid the curb every single time.

Thanks for the tip about the springs. I'm guessing they stiffen up the ride a bit too, which is definitely something I want to do.

You have no idea how tempted I am to get rid of the front license plate. It's definitely one of the most useless laws around.

[Mrav]

+1, OP mentality seems a bit of the uninformed.

+2 sir, my mentality is as uninformed as it can get. If you have any good reading recommendations to help me get up to speed, I'd love to learn. Learning is part of the reason why I came to AZ in the first place.

[Mtoor]

+2 sir, my mentality is as uninformed as it can get. If you have any good reading recommendations to help me get up to speed, I'd love to learn. Learning is part of the reason why I came to AZ in the first place.

Use the search, most questions you'll have probably have been discussed.

What's your main goal with your car? Looks, performance, both?

Performance wise, most like to go with a tune, GIAC, APR two of the more popular options.
Looks wise a drop will help, oe hr springs or even sport hr springs will be fine with stock shocks. Wheels make the world of a difference but if you like your stocks, spacers are a cost effective way to improve their look.

Here's a white A4, with HR sports

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ght=Rs4+wheels

[name.goes.here]

+2 sir, my mentality is as uninformed as it can get. If you have any good reading recommendations to help me get up to speed, I'd love to learn. Learning is part of the reason why I came to AZ in the first place.

OP - Welcome - no shame in starting from scratch with one's knowledge. My only advice would be, regardless of whether or not you change your height, be very, very careful of curbs.

[Okan509]

+2 sir, my mentality is as uninformed as it can get. If you have any good reading recommendations to help me get up to speed, I'd love to learn. Learning is part of the reason why I came to AZ in the first place.

the stickies at the top is a good start. I didn't mean it in a bashing way. The suspension thread and wheel thread will give you some idea. When you see some option that you like, go to the search and search for those "springs" or "coilovers" specifically and you should be up to speed in no time

[Mrav]

Use the search, most questions you'll have probably have been discussed.

What's your main goal with your car? Looks, performance, both?

Performance wise, most like to go with a tune, GIAC, APR two of the more popular options.
Looks wise a drop will help, oe hr springs or even sport hr springs will be fine with stock shocks. Wheels make the world of a difference but if you like your stocks, spacers are a cost effective way to improve their look.

Here's a white A4, with HR sports

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ght=Rs4+wheels

Thanks for the link! Visually seeing it helps a lot more. I'm not sure if it's because of his wheels or if its been dropped that much, but that may be a bit too low for me. I like it dropped, but just slightly. My kind of drop: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...=1#post4044596 I like that there's still room between the top of the tire and the wheel well.

As for my goal, my goal is a bit of both. I have a vag-com on the road map, and in terms of performance, the only thing I truly want is a slightly tighter suspension. I'm guessing I could kill two birds with one stone if I get the right suspension that lowers the car a bit and also tightens it up.

I looked up the GIAC (thanks for the recommendation) and am seeing reports of about +20 HP and torque, which makes it seem pretty interesting. I didn't find anything about the mileage though. I'm guessing a slight drop, but nothing too significant, right? I am also looking into a potentially new exhaust, but no real plans just yet.

OP - Welcome - no shame in starting from scratch with one's knowledge. My only advice would be, regardless of whether or not you change your height, be very, very careful of curbs.

Curbs are my worst nightmare.

the stickies at the top is a good start. I didn't mean it in a bashing way. The suspension thread and wheel thread will give you some idea. When you see some option that you like, go to the search and search for those "springs" or "coilovers" specifically and you should be up to speed in no time

I know you didn't, so no worries. Search has been my favorite tool, but it's much harder since I don't always get to ask the questions myself.

[AS4]

congrats on the car! & yeah just like everyone said, be careful with of curbs. i already had a small incident
cant wait to see the future mods!

[Mrav]

I did some some searching on the forums but I didn't see anything come up for DIY mud flaps. Anyway, I picked some up immediately as a duct tape solution for now so that I don't have to keep cleaning my car every day, and will pick up some great looking ones soon.

Anyway, I tried installing them and while the back will fit just fine, I don't think the fronts will fit. I have a feeling I picked up the wrong pair, but I was hoping someone would be able to help convince me otherwise.

Keep in mind that I'm holding the flaps off to the side to show what the corresponding area of the body looks like, but as far as I can tell, I have to drill a hole into the car???

[jjh939]

Congrats on your new car bud!

[Mrav]

Alright, did a few things over the last couple weeks-

1) Changed the rear license plate lights to LEDs.

Used Festoon error free bulbs. At only $15 each, price should not be a constraint for anyone. Tip, don't forget to buy 2 since there are two lights :) Also, when installing the lights, pay attention to the positives and negatives. There are enough pics of this mod floating around, so not going to bother adding a pic, but if you want one, just PM me.


2) Changed the fog lamp lights to H11 Hoen 55W xenonmatch bulbs.

Simple pull out and replace DIY. I didn't take pictures from the front since the bright light causes exposure issues with the camera, but here's an image showing the difference between the xenonmatch bulbs vs stock. As you can see, the xenonmatch lights do, gasp, match but aren't as bright as the stock pair. However, they are still fairly bright and if fog isn't an issue for you, then I would recommend this pair. Came for about $40, including shipping. It made a world of difference for me since my license plate lights are also LED.



3) VAG-COM

With Stubek's help (in reality, he actually did all the work), I made a couple VAG-COM changes including the needle sweep, remote window open/close, unlock MMI, lap timer, and no LED DRL wink with turn signal. Big thanks Kevin!


4) Dipped the rear emblems

I wanted to get more contrast to them since they're essentially hidden against the white body of the car. The DIY videos make it look simple, but its actually very very very simple.



5) Door warning light LEDs

Again, no big deal, but listing it here to list everything done. Realistically, the next two mods will be a muffler delete and cold air intake.

To do mods list:
Muffler delete
Wheel spacers
Oil catch can
Sway bars
Cold air intake
Trunk LED light
Sport suspension
Black out chrome window accents

[Wah]

Congrats! Good luck with the mods...as others have mentioned, you will definitely need to watch out more for curbs after lowered, that is if it is in your mod plan at all.

[Mrav]

Congrats! Good luck with the mods...as others have mentioned, you will definitely need to watch out more for curbs after lowered, that is if it is in your mod plan at all.

Thanks. Im thinking about handcuffing the suspension mod with a front parking sensor mod so that I avoid headaches later on. All it takes is 1" to ruin the bumper, especially considering the curbs I posted in one of my earlier posts

[NPuter]

Thanks. Im thinking about handcuffing the suspension mod with a front parking sensor mod so that I avoid headaches later on. All it takes is 1" to ruin the bumper, especially considering the curbs I posted in one of my earlier posts

Like aznpxdd said, always try to not park over the curb - even if you know you have more than enough clearance. You will learn how to judge the car. I always back in when possible.
I'm actually least worried about curbs now, those are no problem. What I really worry about are steep driveways and large speed bumps - there's very little you can do about those besides hitting them at an angle, but that only does so much...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Mrav]

Like aznpxdd said, always try to not park over the curb - even if you know you have more than enough clearance. You will learn how to judge the car. I always back in when possible.
I'm actually least worried about curbs now, those are no problem. What I really worry about are steep driveways and large speed bumps - there's very little you can do about those besides hitting them at an angle, but that only does so much...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Couldn't agree more, but the front parking sensor is just for peace of mind. Saving the bumper even once will make up for the cost of the sensors haha.

[Stubek]

Car looks great

[Mrav]

Car looks great

Inspired by your car

[jbradle7]

Nice car, happy modding!

[Lloydeezy E]

looking good. have fun!

[Mrav]

Thanks guys!

Question - I'm noticing some people have opted for only the rear sway bar rather than both. What's the thinking behind that? Does the front sway have minimal impact on the handling or something?

[Frinkferta]

"With barely any clearance at work, even one mistake could be costly to my bumper. I know, I could be extra careful when parking, but I feel like I'd be spending more time checking my surroundings than enjoying when I drive. Also, the car has brand new shocks so if anything, I'd rather wait till I need to get them replaced before I spend the cash on buying new ones."

It might be a pain, but for a peace of mind you could reverse park into spots with curbs to avoid damaging your bumper. I know this can't be done everywhere, but it can sometimes be an option. Just my logic.

[Mrav]

With barely any clearance at work, even one mistake could be costly to my bumper. I know, I could be extra careful when parking, but I feel like I'd be spending more time checking my surroundings than enjoying when I drive. Also, the car has brand new shocks so if anything, I'd rather wait till I need to get them replaced before I spend the cash on buying new ones.

It might be a pain, but for a peace of mind you could reverse park into spots with curbs to avoid damaging your bumper. I know this can't be done everywhere, but it can sometimes be an option. Just my logic.

Haha you and I are on the same wavelength Frinkferta. I want to enjoy the drive as much as I want the ride to look good. Unfortunately they're mutually exclusive sometimes

[Mrav]

So I got rear-ended today. Heartbroken to see the car messed up, but thankfully it wasn't too major. I will need to get a new valence and bumper though. I'm considering using this opportunity to get some upgrades though.

What are everyone's recommendations? I can't make up my mind at all on what I want to get done. I'm not going to go all-out, but definitely do SOMETHING. Now I just need to know what that something would be!

[[email protected]]

How about going with the S-line rear diffuser or the Avant diffuser if it fits and go with a custom dual exhaust system.

Something like this :

[Mrav]

That was one of my top choices as it makes the most sense, but I have too many things on the to-do list to be able to decide which one to go with. Other ideas I'm considering are side blades, front parking sensor, and H&R springs but let's see. Right now I'm just trying to collect ideas!

[Nano909]

Well this hasn't been updated in quite a while. You've got 8 years worth of stuff to fill us in on 🙂

[Aris3.2]

Well this hasn't been updated in quite a while. You've got 8 years worth of stuff to fill us in on 🙂

This was never a build thread on the first place just the op being happy he bought the car.
This was a really bump from the dead😂

[Nano909]

This was never a build thread on the first place just the op being happy he bought the car.
This was a really bump from the dead

Reading owns you.

[Aris3.2]

Reading owns you.

Ehm?
Didn’t mean to offend.
I had a “friendlier” note in my mind when i wrote it.
But writing has no emotions so sometimes gets misinterpreted.

[Nano909]

Ehm?
Didn’t mean to offend.
I had a “friendlier” note in my mind when i wrote it.
But writing has no emotions so sometimes gets misinterpreted.

Just not sure sure why you'd say it isn't a build thread, when in fact it says it in the title.

[Mrav]

Haha I'll give this an update since you asked. I'd say ultimately this thread started out with more ambition than what resulted so really, neither of you are wrong!

Since the last update many years ago, I
- Upgraded to APR Stage 1
- Upgraded the intake then went back to stock with an intake hose upgrade
- Added the RS4 Grille
- Switched to the 19" S5 wheels. Plastidipped them then decided I liked the chrome finish and went back
- Added a trunk spoiler lip
- Threw in a JL 10" subwoofer
- Did a chrome delete on the window trim then reverted back to the stock chrome trim

But it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. I also dealt with a case of grand theft auto. No idea how he managed to turn the car on as he didn't seem to have hotwired it, and both the key and the valet key were inside the house with me. Regardless, he cracked the intake manifold, stole my VCDS, dented the rear quarter panel, broke the glove compartment (it was locked closed), broke the center console cover, flat spotted the tires, and caused some misfires as well.

Luckily, I had a GPS on my car so he was caught and arrested within 30 minutes of me realizing the car was gone.

I then spent 6 weeks dealing with insurance and getting everything fixed. Some things could never be restored to factory, like the center console, but for the most part, I got her back to the same shape as before.

Now I have a new valance and valved cat-back exhaust by ECS Tuning waiting to get installed. And I'm struggling to get Homelink working with my new garage. Really hoping I didn't screw something up when I changed the grille.

[Aris3.2]

Is this the same car you got rear ended?Such a shame you had to go through all that bs.
At least that gps sorted out the situation pretty quickly.
Images worth a thousands words.

[Mrav]

Ha yup. Poor girl's gone through a lot, but I'm doing what I can to take care of her.

[Nano909]

Damn dude, you did have a rough time these few years. Glad everything is working out though and you didnt give up.

[Mrav]

Just installed the ECS Tuning non-resonated valved catback exhaust and I'm loving it! Great sound, slight bump in performance. Super happy. Got the dual exit valence as well. Will add pics soon!

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...03353ecs04kt3/

[TwinTipSkier]

Approaching 10 years with her? Congrats!

I have a soft spot for white A4s. Current pics please!