Facelit vs facelift fenders/doors/trunk

[ricekikr]

Are they exactly the same (without the moulding). Specifically the shape/contours/lines.

Ie without the moulding would it they interchange and match the doors perfectly?

Looking at both right now and it looks identical, but im not 100% til i mount them.

The doors also look identitical (lines), only that the facelift moulding covers the lines the doors have, whereas their exposed on the prefacelift.

If it is identitical, are the door mouldings holes also at the same exact position?

[GrapeBandit]

doors have different handles, fenders have different size turn signals, trunks identical.

[Nollywood]

With the facelift B5, lots of external panels changed. For Europe, the facelift occurred on cars built between September 1999 and August 2001. North American dates may well be different.

Door changes - moulding fitting, door handle recesses
Front fender changes - mouldings broader and flatter, repeater recess, leading edge for 1-piece headlamps.
Lower moulding changes - broader and flatter.
Hood changes - windshield washer jets concealed, moved to underside.
Trunk lid changes - license plate recess and plinth shape and profile, swage lines deleted, micro switch added to release trunk (Europe).
Rear bumper changes - swage line echoing side mouldings added, lower apron smoothed (Europe).
Front bumper changes - swage line echoing side mouldings added, lower valence smoothed, 1-piece lower grille added with foglamps (Europe).
Front grille changes - thicker, fewer slats.
Door mirror changes - housings have a more pronounced taper.

So in reality, the only external panels that carried over from pre-facelift to facelift, were the roof and rear quarters. All the facelift parts are simple bolt-on swaps.

[ricekikr]

Lower moulding changes - broader and flatter.

Rear bumper changes - swage line echoing side mouldings added, lower apron smoothed (Europe).

Lower moulding a Euro only thing? I didn't notice any difference.

Everything else is spot on. Thanks

[Nollywood]

Lower moulding a Euro only thing? I didn't notice any difference.

Everything else is spot on. Thanks

I said the facelift bumpers are different, and unique to European models. Swage line added echoing the side mouldings. The lower moulding changes are facelift B5's regardless of region. I believe you had a bit of a mix up with the quotes.

These are facelift Euro bumpers. Note the swage lines that replicate the side mouldings:

[GrapeBandit]

euro facelift a4 bumpers make me puke

[Nollywood]

euro facelift a4 bumpers make me puke

Lol...they can have that effect on some folk.

[ricekikr]

The lower moulding changes are facelift B5's regardless of region. I believe you had a bit of a mix up with the quotes.

Nope. I did mean the lower mouldings. Just assumed it was the lower DOOR mouldings. Confused. What exactly do you mean by "lower mouldings"?

[GrapeBandit]

Lol...they can have that effect on some folk.

add the euro facelift trunk to that list too. I like the preface with the vertical lines where the plate goes as opposed to the diagonal lines

[Nollywood]

Nope. I did mean the lower mouldings. Just assumed it was the lower DOOR mouldings. Confused. What exactly do you mean by "lower mouldings"?

My apologies, I meant the lower door / fender mouldings. Very early cars had hard, narrow plastic mouldings, facelift had the broader, soft ones that always seem to come away from the doors.

I think you did get a bit mixed up too, as in reading my response that the mouldings are a Euro thing.

[Nollywood]

add the euro facelift trunk to that list too. I like the preface with the vertical lines where the plate goes as opposed to the diagonal lines

I understand. Different strokes, huh?

[ricekikr]

My apologies, I meant the lower door / fender mouldings. Very early cars had hard, narrow plastic mouldings, facelift had the broader, soft ones that always seem to come away from the doors.

I think you did get a bit mixed up too, as in reading my response that the mouldings are a Euro thing.

The real early models haven't seen those in a long while. The pre-facelift also have the rubber mouldings that always crack. I thought the Euro facelift had even different rubber mouldings.

add the euro facelift trunk to that list too. I like the preface with the vertical lines where the plate goes as opposed to the diagonal lines

Had them side by side. The pre-face looks better all around (except for headlights), curvier. Facelift side looks almost flat. Always thought the facelift looked better, maybe because S4. The facelift a4 looks too adult. Even the preface aircon close/open thing (mostly black vs mostly white) vents looked better.

The facelift trunk flush key looks good though. Wish it had the horizontal swage lines like the pre-face.

[Nollywood]

I guess it's a thing of choice.

I have owned 3 pre-facelift, and 2 facelift B5's, and comparing both generations, I can't honestly think of any pre-facelift attribute I would choose over the facelift. Both are great cars, I love the B5, the pre-facelift was an awesome shape when it first went into production, but after owning facelift models, I wouldn't go back to a pre-'99 car.

Interior, and exterior, I would pick the facelift, I think the changes Audi made gave the car a much fresher look.

But as I said, I respect people's choices and preferences.