Tim's B8 build thread.

[DoctorB8]

Installed the 034 catch can today. Will be installing an apikol rear diff bushing and eurocode pully tomorrow if time permits. Diy on the catch can is straight forward.

[DoctorB8]

Installed the apikol mount. Initial reaction is nothing but smiles. Stiffed things up.. Also stiffened the car :)

[Highlander1010]

Installed the apikol mount. Initial reaction is nothing but smiles. Stiffed things up.. Also stiffened the car :)

+1

[DoctorB8]

Little Black and white tonight.

[Ajp428]

thanks again tim!!

[DoctorB8]

No problem sir. Nothing a little polish muscle won't fix.

thanks again tim!!

[DoctorB8]

Getting a weird noise from the back end of my exhaust at idle. Almost sounds like drips of water. Any idea that that can be?

[DoctorB8]

Nvm found it. Pebble stuck in the valance hahaha

[DoctorB8]

looks so beautiful, needs some body kits
check here some of them http://parts4euro.com/-body-kits-c-2_1348_260_569.html

Thanks for the link. If I'm going to be doing a body kit it's going to be something more dramatic than a few carbon pieces. Plus imo carbon on a black car can be hit or miss. There are plans of going quad tip in my near future and if I do go that route I would get the deval valance and that's about the only carbon fiber add on for the exterior I think looks fantastic. Anything else is too tacky.

[DoctorB8]

Finally some proper shots with my new camera.

[DoctorB8]

Fu*kin jersey potholes.

[VAZSTEVEN]

Fu*kin jersey potholes.

Dam Tim!! I was seriously contemplating whether or not new rims and coilovers would be a smart purchase. This is the main reason why I am still in the 4x4 stance.

[DoctorB8]

Dam Tim!! I was seriously contemplating whether or not new rims and coilovers would be a smart purchase. This is the main reason why I am still in the 4x4 stance.

This one was unavoidable unfortunately. A bed of screws and surgical blades would have been less harmful than this pothole. Already at drive auto getting it taken care of and just got off the phone with the state. Reported the pothole and they are emailing me a damage claims form so should be getting my money back

[ibiswhite_2.0]

First off, I wanted to say thank you! you have inspired me to mod my B8 a4. Second, I noticed one of your posts stating you installed this apikol mount. how hard was that to do? I am searching the reason for this upgrade, and it is said to eliminate the clunk from the rear diff?

[DoctorB8]

First off, I wanted to say thank you! you have inspired me to mod my B8 a4. Second, I noticed one of your posts stating you installed this apikol mount. how hard was that to do? I am searching the reason for this upgrade, and it is said to eliminate the clunk from the rear diff?

It stiffens up the drive. If you are tip, you may notice the hard shifts in the low gears. Especially from 1 to 2 to 3, or 3 to 2 to 1. You tend to get that thump and push from the rear. The apikol eliminates that by adding a bushing and washed to the rear diff. Trust me, for the price, it is worth every penny.. install is ridiculously easy. In fact, opening the bottle of beer after might be more challenging. In all, you may even notice overall stiffness gained in the car as well. I noticed that for sure.

Glad I have been able to be inspirational too!

[Jerry1847]

curiosity, did you do all this between Dec and now? Looks killer!

you gonna tint when it gets warm?

[raha_ang]

It stiffens up the drive. If you are tip, you may notice the hard shifts in the low gears. Especially from 1 to 2 to 3, or 3 to 2 to 1. You tend to get that thump and push from the rear. The apikol eliminates that by adding a bushing and washed to the rear diff. Trust me, for the price, it is worth every penny.. install is ridiculously easy. In fact, opening the bottle of beer after might be more challenging. In all, you may even notice overall stiffness gained in the car as well. I noticed that for sure.

Glad I have been able to be inspirational too!

Where can I get one from?
Would LOVE to eliminate that bump and shudder from the back.

[DoctorB8]

Apikol's website directly.. To your door for just under $100. dont know about anyhwere else.

Where can I get one from?
Would LOVE to eliminate that bump and shudder from the back.

[DoctorB8]

curiosity, did you do all this between Dec and now? Looks killer!

you gonna tint when it gets warm?

A majority of it yes. the "big stuff". Small things were since I got it.
As far as tint goes, I'm not so sure... I kinda dig the whole fishbowl look. One thing for sure though is wrapping the chrome window trim to matte black.

[Quattro Kim]

On your list of Vagcom mods you listed "enabled gear select". What does that do or encompass?

[Quattro Kim]

On your list of Vagcom mods you listed "enabled gear select". What does that do or encompass?

[DoctorB8]

On your list of Vagcom mods you listed "enabled gear select". What does that do or encompass?

On the display it shows you what gear you are in rather than the typical D or S

[DoctorB8]

Installed this bad boy today. Will have better pics later as I had a customer to detail today. Overall smooth install minus a ground hic up. One of the grounds were not connecting properly which randomly caused my horn to be on constantly in the middle of Saturday traffic on the Long Island expressway. Say the least I have concluded that nj drivers do not give the bird as much as ny drivers :)

Ended up pulling the fuse for the horn and drove to my brother in law where we pulled the airbag off and corrected this issue by soldering the wires and correcting the one ground pin that seemed to have been bent.

[DoctorB8]

Finally got around to taking some good shots. Did a few things. First I debadged the a4 and swapped my chrome plates for black. Thinking about plastidipping the silver in my valance to black tomorrow.



If you notice I didn't snag a pic of the plates just yet.

Next I detailed the engine bay a bit. Did a full wash down and scrub with some apc. Blow dry. And then in and out spray and trim finish.







Also went ahead and drained the catch can. Yuck.



And last but not least. The wheel. Opted the thinner style compared the the newer thick one. plus this one came with paddles at a price I could not beat.









That's about it for now. detailing is starting to pick up now so I'll be posting some shots in the detailing section of the audis I do.

[raha_ang]

Mate, the car looks amazing!!!

A few quick questions:

1. How did you drain the catch can?
2. Can you elaborate on the engine detail please. Is it simply spray something on and hose it off?
3. Love the steering wheel. Same controls as my current one and its flat bottom. Where did you get it from and how hard was it to install?

Thanks in advance.

[DoctorB8]

Mate, the car looks amazing!!!

A few quick questions:

1. How did you drain the catch can?
2. Can you elaborate on the engine detail please. Is it simply spray something on and hose it off?
3. Love the steering wheel. Same controls as my current one and its flat bottom. Where did you get it from and how hard was it to install?

Thanks in advance.

1. There is a bolt on the bottom of the can that allows you to drain it. Little messy when you do it. I'm working on a can to ground drain where I can just use a fumoto style drain.
2. I let the engine cool. Rinsed the engine down with the hose on a shower setting. Sprayed all purpose cleaner all over. Used a long handle brush and scrubbed. Rinsed again. I then used my air gun to blow most of the water off. Turned the engine one and got it to temp to allow all the water left to evaporate. Finally once I turned it off I just dressed the plastics with a water based trim restorer and where I couldn't reach I used an in and out spray.
3.install is fairly easy. You need to disconnect the battery first. Locate the 2 30t torx screws on the wheel and remove them. Unplug the airbag. Take the old wheel off with a 55t torx. The wheel I got required the harness to be slightly modified (only the grounds) so I used my old harness and jumped the grounds and soldered them. Finally reconnect it all and with vagcom program the paddles in.

Thanks for the admiration! :)

[diego_demarco]

Where did you get the pedals? How much was the wheel :O

[DoctorB8]

Where did you get the pedals? How much was the wheel :O

Pedals was from a forum member. They are the rs pedals. And the wheel was from a supplier in the UK I worked with before.

[Ajp428]

Still so awesome haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[raha_ang]

1. There is a bolt on the bottom of the can that allows you to drain it. Little messy when you do it. I'm working on a can to ground drain where I can just use a fumoto style drain.
2. I let the engine cool. Rinsed the engine down with the hose on a shower setting. Sprayed all purpose cleaner all over. Used a long handle brush and scrubbed. Rinsed again. I then used my air gun to blow most of the water off. Turned the engine one and got it to temp to allow all the water left to evaporate. Finally once I turned it off I just dressed the plastics with a water based trim restorer and where I couldn't reach I used an in and out spray.
3.install is fairly easy. You need to disconnect the battery first. Locate the 2 30t torx screws on the wheel and remove them. Unplug the airbag. Take the old wheel off with a 55t torx. The wheel I got required the harness to be slightly modified (only the grounds) so I used my old harness and jumped the grounds and soldered them. Finally reconnect it all and with vagcom program the paddles in.

Thanks for the admiration! :)

1. Does the car need to be jacked to get to it?
2. I used to degrease my old car like that but wasn't too confident doing it with my Audi, too many wires everywhere lol
3. I don't have a vagcom so it looks like I wont be able to do it, spewing :(

Do you reckon Audi would do it for me if I gave them the steering wheel lol

[DoctorB8]

1. Does the car need to be jacked to get to it?
2. I used to degrease my old car like that but wasn't too confident doing it with my Audi, too many wires everywhere lol
3. I don't have a vagcom so it looks like I wont be able to do it, spewing :( Do you reckon Audi would do it for me if I gave them the steering wheel lol

No need to jack the car. If you see a few posts up you can see where I installed the catch can. Just need to pop the hood, remove the 2 screws holding the can and then there is a screw on the bottom you undo to drain.

I heard of people using a citrus degreaser but I just used chemical guys apc and it worked great with a little agitation

you can get a wheel without paddles. If you want them I'm sure if you post in your regional forums that you need help with someone with a vagcom someone can chime in. In regards to audi.. If you get the exact wheel I did which would require relocating wires on the harness, I highly doubt it. Better luck with some indy shop if you want to go that route. Alex on the forums here has harnesses already made with the flat bottoms but they are hella pricey

[Beef]

That's a sexy ass wheel. I need to get one eventually.

Damn, jealous you got a new turbo, engine, and trans, my dealership only offered to replace pistons/rings for $5400+tax.

Lookin like a solid build, keep up the good work.

[DoctorB8]

So its been a while since I did any updates on here. Even with a nice little vacation from school and work last week, still ended up having a lot to do.

So here's what's up to date.
Did a full spring detail on my car. I didn't book any clients last week to allow myself the entire week to jump in and out of working on the car to detail it. Something about doing your own car compared to a customers car is just beyond meditating. Very laid back, had a beer next to me, and took all the Sweet time I wanted.
Ended up doing 3 steps with the buffer to rid swirls. It was heavy...



Pretty much paints our entire winter here in nj with all the salt and sand. To my surprise though, not many paint chips. Most I repaired with touch up. Here's a few shots through the steps.
Started with a dish soap wash, clay, Mr pink foam, and wash again. Dried with the master blaster and drying towel.

After the wash.



Step 1 with fg400



Step 2 with sf 4000



Step 3 with Chemical Guys Black light



And then flip and repeat.



And the final product after it has been sealed with sonax pns



In all it took me the whole week basically. I stopped inbetween to do some work and assignments and then came back and finished this.

Next I felt the calipers needed a little loving. The rusty gray was no bueno.



Primer down after a good scrub



And 2 coats later...





finally I attached my rocker guards but it's a rainy day here today so I'll get pics on a nicer day.

[DoctorB8]

Been away for a while, but for good reasons! School has been going a lot more smoothly, and with the warmer weather, even more details are expected. Today, been busy building my Facebook page and website. So far I came up with a logo using a b5 s4 nogaro I detailed.



As for the car...
had to tame a pig in the engine bay this week. 1 of 2 things was a pinched breather hose, and the other a full catch can.
Sometime this week I plan on making a drain with a check valve for the cc.

Other than that...
KO4 V3.0. More on this soon ;)

[DoctorB8]

Today was a strain none the less. Starting at 1:30 pm and finishing at 1:30am solely on a carbon cleaning. The DIY is pretty straight forward. Main issues I ran into were the bottom bolts and dropping them took me an hour to find 1 bolt that a dropped. And just as an obvious FYI... dont open the door when you disconnect the fuel line! Mucho No Bueno. The manifold does require a good tug to get off and be prepared to have some fuel loss regardless.
In all, if it wasnt for the extra hour looking for the bolt, I'd say total work time on this is about 5 hours. It took me an hour to take off the manifold at first. DanQ's pictures are extremely helpful. When I was done with the cleaning, I lost the last bolt. It took me only 20 minutes to remove again. So its just about knowing around the manifold and locating things that make it faster.
I first let the BG and then scrub. this took much longer, but really achieved a good clean. (sorry no pictures of the cleaned manifold. it was late, I was tired, and just wanted to sleep. It's been a long week haha)
Only suggestion I like to add to DanQ and his DIY, is to use a shop vac to suck out as much as you can before blowing air into the inlets. might save a brain cell or two. this shit really is potent.
Lastly... MAKE SURE YOU CHECK ALL CONNECTION POINTS. You have been warned. I missed 2. You will be unplugging a lot and you can forget some since they are in awkward places. Next time I do this, I will check off each point and make sure.
In all, a fairly easy process with a decent sense of technical skill. It is just very time consuming and messy.
After turning the car on and running it for a little I did get a check engine light. pulled a P2008 code on my vag com, cleared it, drove again, and kept popping up. wasn't until I was super pissed that I thought to start reaching around the manifold and find a sensor that unplugged. Cleared the code again, drove it, and nothing. All rough idle seems to be gone and throttle response has returned.
My back hurts, and I inhaled to much BG cleaner so I have a massive headache. Time for a beer and bed. I'll post the dirty pics of the intake tomorrow.

[Just A B8]

Good job Tim.

[DoctorB8]

Sorry for the poor language skills above. Wrote that all last night after 12 hours of sniffing bg.

Here is where I was at with about 30k on the new engine.



It's only been the last 1k that I had my catch can so we will see how bad it is once I put on the new intake manifold once it comes out.

To clarify some things above...
Total process did take 12 hours.
2.5 hours of which were spent looking for one of the long bolts that I dropped. I thought the magnet head would be strong enough as it seemed to hold no problem, but the tight squeeze on the bottom row caused me to drop it. I ended up having to pull the belly pan off and Hellen Keller my way through the bottom of the engine bay to find it.
For the cleaning process... I let the BG sit in the inlets for about an hour before scrubbing the hell out of them. I used a gun cleaning kit, wire brush, and steel wool. I was achieving perfection so this was a really long process for me. Truthfully, with the same tools, you can poor some BG in and begin to scrub away in a minute or two and probably achieve the same results.
When plugging in the connectors... be sure to do all the connectors on the bottom first and make sure they click in all the way. Seems obvious, but I could have sworn I plugged them all in and threw a code, only to find out the sensor in the very bottom of the manifold was unplugged. I ended up getting really creative using a pair of tongs to connect it back in, as I wasn't going to rip apart the intake manifold for a third time.


Hope this clears some things up. If anyone in the NJ area is in need of a cleaning, I'd be willing to help but be prepared for a days worth of work. I can probably rip off the IM now in record timing haha.

[DoctorB8]

Good job Tim.

Thank you sir. You're next!

[dennisA4]

Car looks awesome. Classy choices. :)

[Mops@Nemesis]

Good stuff, buddy. Looking really nice