Tim's B8 build thread.

[DoctorB8]

So finally a while into ownership, and the mod itch has only grew, here is my build thread.

To start off, I started this too late and didn't take enough pictures of the progress itself. But from now on ill do my best to keep it updated.

So this is her day one. 2011 A4 Premium Plus. 8 speed tip.
Here is the flip side... It had 97k on the odometer. That's right, a 2011 with almost 100k. Ended up being a retired guys car the he drove to Florida and back almost every week according to my SA. The mileage did scare me, but with the highway miles and the amazing condition of the body and interior, I bit the bullet. To save for the already long post ahead, I ran into an oil consumption issue that landed me a new turbo, engine, and trans. So truthfully, this car basically has 10k on it with everything installed.








So after the little hiccup and a new car basically. I decided to take advantage of the APR sale and go Stage 1. Stage one was awesome. Took about 50 miles for the ecu to really "learn" the new software but it was awesome. As a matter of fact, gas mileage went up about 4 mpg even with me driving spiritedly.

The rest I figured I'd do them when needed kind of a deal. I had a bulb burn out on the license plate so I went LED from USP



Shortly after that, I decided to do some vagcom mods and meet just a b8 and we became close friends. We basically did all the mods possible lol. VIM is cool especially with long travels and passengers.

Soon after I had a big itch. Even though the "big stuff" was new, I still had 100k on everything else. So I replaced the cat to an 034 hfc and went stage 2+. Dear god what a difference. I also switched the coils to r8's and ngk recommended coils for stage 2.





Shortly after I got a new set of wheels. VMR 710s 19 in graphite. Don't mind the ride hight, I still need to lower it.





Then I did USP LED interior kit.



Next came a full stasis exhaust from Glenn (just a b8)

Here's us installing it




And finally installed the valance today.


Left to install is:
Rs grille
Ecode trufit hoses
Ecode hfip
Coilovers
And that will be it for the winter. Then will be ko4 :)

[Okan509]

looks good! always been a fan of that valence. not a fan of the badging, however.

[A4 Centaur]

Nice ride! Lose the APR badges.

[Ajp428]

how do you like going from stage 1 to stage 2. i have a test pipe waiting in my garage and im itching for it. big difference or what?

[DoctorB8]

Here is a mod list to date. Everything ordered is marked as ordered and needs to be installed.
Vagcom
-Disable wink
-VIM
-Hidden menu
-Audi Drive Select
-Windows
-ambiance
-enable gear select
-disable wink
And many many more

Exhaust
-034 HFC
-Stasis Cat back

Intake
-K&N drop in (soon to be changed to afe)
-ecode turbo inlet hose
-ecode hfip
-ecode trufit hoses

Suspension
-ST coilovers
-ecode alu kruz (ordered)
-ecode sways (ordered)
-ecode end links (ordered)

Wheels
-VMR 710 19's
-tires pilot as 3 235/35/19 (ordered)

Interior
-stronic shift knob (ordered)
-all weather mats
-RS5 aluminum pedals and dead pedal
-flat bottom wheel (still looking for one)
-LEDs

Exterior
-votex 3.2 valance
-USP license plate LEDs
-RS grille
-Trunk lip spoiler

I think I got everything. Feel free to ask me to expand on anything info wise.

[DoctorB8]

how do you like going from stage 1 to stage 2. i have a test pipe waiting in my garage and im itching for it. big difference or what?

Love it! Deff more high end punch. 3-4k rpm is awesome. 1st and 2nd gear pulls munch harder too. Well worth it!

[DoctorB8]

Nice ride! Lose the APR badges.

Knew someone would hate on the badges haha. I actually don't mind it at all. Keeps it unique. If anything I'll take down the A4 badge.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Coming along nicely, Tim I agree, clean up the lid!

[DoctorB8]

Coming along nicely, Tim I agree, clean up the lid!

At least I'm not throwing on RS badges all over the car don't be haten! Haha

[Ajp428]

Love it! Deff more high end punch. 3-4k rpm is awesome. 1st and 2nd gear pulls munch harder too. Well worth it!

did you get any increase in mpg like stage 1 cuz i did too

[DoctorB8]

did you get any increase in mpg like stage 1 cuz i did too

I want to say yes. I've been driving really spirited though haha. Today on my want back and forth between class and my apartment I tried to conserve as much gas as possible and I was averaging about 26mpg without and WOT's but a few hard accelerations

[DoctorB8]

Figured I'd post this here too. Thursday, 12/5 I plan to have a meet at MetLife stadium and then cruse on over to the Shannon rose on rt 3 for anyone in the tri state. Little birthday car meet ;)

[DoctorB8]

http://youtu.be/XPw5IiFfPdM

Here is a warm start up vid with the new exhaust.

[DoctorB8]

http://youtu.be/bX1Ka8B2UnQ

Stock exhaust with 034 hfc cold start.

[Mops@Nemesis]

At least I'm not throwing on RS badges all over the car don't be haten! Haha

:P Needs a FB wheel, imo.

[DoctorB8]

:P Needs a FB wheel, imo.

Grr you hit a soft spot there sir haha. You know the story of that one!

[AWDLover]

You can use the video button right next to the image button when posting. Nice build

[DoctorB8]

You can use the video button right next to the image button when posting. Nice build

Don't have one there. Just uploaded to YouTube.

[Just A B8]

Good start on things.

[DoctorB8]

Good start on things.

You know just taking it easy :p

[DoctorB8]

So tomorrow I'm going to be installing my afe pro dry s and parting ways with the K&N in there now. I went forth and decided to clean the maf as a precaution due to the K&N being an oil based filter.

This is all you will need along with a shop rag.


Locate these two screws on the air box where the maf sensor is housed. You will need a tamperproof torx key to get them out.





Did my best to really depict how it looked but I couldn't really show it. Mine was caked with dust and a brownish oily film. Pictures do no justice at all. My apartments garage has terrible lighting and I really had to pee so camera was shaking haha.



Finally, using the cleaner. Spray the sensor. It comes with a straw to really get into the nooks of it. I was being carful not to place the sensor anywhere harmful. The cleaner drys fast but give it a couple extra minutes and a few blows to get any fluid out that puddles.

This is now it looked after



Reinstall and and start her up.

Obviously results may vary but initially I noticed a much much smoother idle and smoother start. The throttle response also has improved. I'll give it a few more miles before I can confirm this. All in all.. 15 min process for removal, cleaning, then added a few minutes to dry and reinstall.

[Greg Nelson]

I ran into an oil consumption issue that landed me a new turbo, engine, and trans. So truthfully, this car basically has 10k on it with everything installed.

And finally installed the valance today.

Truly amazing that Audi gave you new turbo, engine and trans on a car with 97K miles

I do like that rear valence - wonder why
A better (non-iPhone) pic needed.

looks good! always been a fan of that valence.

Only one of its kind with a mesh insert
How do I know

[DoctorB8]

Truly amazing that Audi gave you new turbo, engine and trans on a car with 97K miles

I do like that rear valence - wonder why
A better (non-iPhone) pic needed.

Only one of its kind with a mesh insert
How do I know

Trust me.. It wasn't easy.. Long fighting and legal files. And I love the valance!

[DoctorB8]

Some things going in this week :)









Really getting a feel for the car now so I can give an honest comparison with the upgrade.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Very nice pieces

[holyShred24]

Subscribed! Looks good and looking forward for the numbers after everything is installed!

[SManning]

Great build! Gets me itching to get started on mine...

[DoctorB8]

Little snow day. This morning my driveway was a sheet of ice luckily roads weren't to bad. Mods going in this week hopefully

[Frinkferta]

Nice to see another high mileage B8 on the road! However, you did get a new drivetran, so all of the major stuff it out of the way.

[DoctorB8]

definitely was a headache to get to that position, but all in all I did come out on top, which I cant complain about. Regardless of the poor service the sales department at Audi of Newton gave me, the service department was tip top.

Nice to see another high mileage B8 on the road! However, you did get a new drivetran, so all of the major stuff it out of the way.

As for a baseline for the hoses and pipe going in and my MAF cleaning with the new filter...

The K&N I had in before was good and all but I started to hear a very loud and annoying hiss while accelerating. As stated in my previous post, the filter also made me MAF sensor pretty oily.
Once I cleaned and installed the aFe Pro Dry S filter the hiss definitely dampened. I can confirm that my gas consumption has improved as well with the cleaning and new filter. Since I swapped them and cleaned the sensor I went from 25mpg to about 30mpg all highway on may way to school and back from this weekend. This was with minimal hard pushes both ways to get a good reading. With weekly mix of city and highway driving prior to the switch I was averaging 19-21mpg according to the gas cubby app. When I fill up this week I'll post the average.

Baseline:
Hard to make a baseline without knowing much of what to expect and not having logging ready. I wish to have my APR mobile doggle installed this week prior to the install so I can give actual numbers. But here is what I expect on a Stage 2+ APR car with the HFIP and trufit hoses. Based on these expectations I will review post install..
-reduced turbo lag
-Increased engine note
-Better throttle response
-little tq and hp increase

Ill do my best in making a detailed DIY for the install. I also picked up a few clamps that were recommended due to the chances of the hoses popping off.


Other than that.. Stay tuned

[DoctorB8]

They said I need more low.. So I got more low parts :)



Also confirming my observations with the new air filter and maf cleaning...

[Mops@Nemesis]

Its cold up there!

Moar lowwww

[DoctorB8]

Today is the day. Just finishing up a few papers and research and I'll be heading over to prime motoring for a coilover install and then meeting up with Glenn (just a b8) for the hose and grille install. Stay tuned

[DoctorB8]

Little teaser before finishing the grille and hoses. Coils done.

[DoctorB8]

So how to deal with uneven ground and poor lighting for DIY installs? You go to ikea of course!



Or at least that's how Glenn and I did it. The install for the coilovers was taken care by the great guys at prime motoring. Other than a minor noise issue that I will trouble shoot tomorrow, I am loving the quality of ride and hight of the st's.



Do as far as the hoses and grille goes... It's honestly pretty straight forward but time consuming. After putting the car on the ramps and removing the under guard and bumper you have full access mines the hfip which requires the drive front wheel to be remover for better access. First thing we did was go right for the turbo inlet. The new ecode piece is massive compared to the stock one.



Awkward angles do make it uncomfortable reaching for a few screws but it's all very accessible.




I highly recommend anyone going with the hose kit to get the clamps I pictured above. The quality and strength is superior to the stock ones.

While I was doing the hoses and pipe, Glenn went ahead and installed the grille.



Doing the hfip it was much easier to access the bolts with the bumper off, however one bolt is tucked deep behind the liner and needs the wheel removed to access it. The rest if the process was a breeze.




Initially I noticed a much faster spooling time and better throttle response with the install. It's still fresh so I'll give it a few days then give my review.

[DoctorB8]

So I'm experiencing a little squeak type noise at low speeds in the front with the st's. I'm assuming it should be the strut mounts being that they have 100k on them lol. Going to replace them and hopefully the sound will go. What do you guys suggest? Oem or aftermarket. Is there anything aftermarket? I know 034 had some high density mounts but I don't know if they make them for the b8

[Mops@Nemesis]

Looks great! Lol at ikea.

[DoctorB8]

Took her for a little bath during a study break to get some salt off



And as she sits in the driveway. Still can't stop smiling every time I look at the car.

[Just A B8]

Looking good Tim.

You should have waited on the car wash. Isn't it suppose to snow more tonight through tomorrow?

[DoctorB8]

Going to be in the garage until thursday. I have exams all week :(

Looking good Tim.

You should have waited on the car wash. Isn't it suppose to snow more tonight through tomorrow?