Zach's Blue on Black Build

[Zach L]

The Car:
2010 Audi A4 Quattro
6-speed manual
Sport Package, Premium Plus Package, Bang & Olufsen system
Aruba Blue Pearl Effect exterior
Black Leather interior

Latest photo:


I guess you could say I've been in the market for a while lol. I've been a VAG enthusiast and driver since I got my license at 16, but this is my first Audi.

Currently waiting for delivery of my new [to me] B8 A4 to arrive by shipping carrier! I have quite a few plans already in mind, as I've been considering a B8 as my new daily for over a year. First will be coilovers, followed by 19x9.5 or 19x10 wheels (square setup). I have several cars, so this one will be setup for comfort and aesthetics, not so much performance. The plan is to prep my lighter weight GTI as a more performance-focused track day car and canyon runner.

A month ago, after 215,000 problem-free miles, I blew the original, factory-installed turbo in my daily driver VW Mk5 GTI while on a 3-day canyon cruise through the Texas hill country. Ever since, I've been looking for the perfect A4 as my new daily... and I found it a few days ago! Car has the exact mix of features I was looking for.

Winter mode 17" wheels; should have the 18" Sport Package wheels


6-speed manual and black interior were must haves. Next most wanted option was the sports seats...





Currently at 54,000 miles

[bakedziti]

6MT with sport package, nice pick up!

[ToddBrunswick]

Congrats. First thing's first, ditch the honda license plate holder.

[Smellie]

Beautiful!

May I ask how much and how many miles?

[TurboNate]

Congrats brotha and welcome to the family!


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[redavant]

Congrats on your new toy! Nice color!


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[fasteddy91]

Congrats....keep an eye on the oil level.

[eirebob]

As bakedziti said ... manual trans sport pac ... a real sweet spot for the B8.

And welcome to the Aruba blue crew.

[Zach L]

Thanks for all the kind words guys

6MT with sport package, nice pick up!

Yep, those two are must haves IMO. Thanks!

Congrats. First thing's first, ditch the honda license plate holder.

Haha indeed! First time I see the car in person it's coming off

Beautiful!

May I ask how much and how many miles?

Thanks, it has 54,000 miles... not much for a 2010.

Congrats brotha and welcome to the family!

Thank you, I'm a 100% DIY guy so I'll try to contribute if things haven't been covered before.

Congrats on your new toy! Nice color!

Thanks, this was the only Aruba Blue on Black I found in the country. Turns out it was only available in 2010. I love it!

Congrats....keep an eye on the oil level.

Will do. I was looking for 2010+ with < 60,000 miles so I'd have substantial time before the 8 year/80,000 mile oil warranty ends.

As bakedziti said ... manual trans sport pac ... a real sweet spot for the B8.

Yep, and with the B&O... I jumped on it :)

[TurboNate]

Thank you, I'm a 100% DIY guy so I'll try to contribute if things haven't been covered before.

Looking forward to your DIY's!!


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[B G 8er]

Congrats. Sweet ride. Look for a skilled paintless dent repair guy.

[A4B8ueg]

Congratulations on the 6MT and welcome to the Aruba Blue family!


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Instagram: @arubablueb8

[Project Quattro]

Nice choice with the 6MT sport, they combine to make this platform a lot of fun. Aruba Blue is a great color, I'm looking forward to see how this turns out. And good call on the oil consumption... Call your local dealer with the VIN and they should be able to tell you if it's been through stage 2.


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[ChicagoDave]

Great find! The only thing that you could improve upon would be if it was an Avant (not that I'm partial... )

[Zach L]

Looking forward to your DIY's!!

This one I did for an FSI timing belt job has over 260,000 views. Would be relevant for TT and A3 owners - http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showth...ghlight=timing

Congrats. Sweet ride. Look for a skilled paintless dent repair guy.

Thanks! Anyone in Central Texas - the PDR guy to use is Chris @ Alpha Dent. He's been doing it full time for a living for many years. Works on many exotics.

Congratulations on the 6MT and welcome to the Aruba Blue family!
Instagram: @arubablueb8

Your car looks great! I'm digging the front end changes you've made. Perfect!

Nice choice with the 6MT sport, they combine to make this platform a lot of fun. Aruba Blue is a great color, I'm looking forward to see how this turns out. And good call on the oil consumption... Call your local dealer with the VIN and they should be able to tell you if it's been through stage 2.

Thanks for the tips! I'll give my local dealership a call.

Great find! The only thing that you could improve upon would be if it was an Avant (not that I'm partial... )

Haha I love the avant body style, but they only came with slushboxes. I wouldn't have even considered a B8 if I couldn't have a manual trans. :)

[Slick_B8]

Congrats on the new whip!! Aruba blue is a very special color and extremely hard to find as it only came in 2009 for the b8 platform aswell as 2010 but it had to be special ordered. Welcome to the aruba blue club 😆😆😆

[PurdueB8A4]

Awesome new ride! Love the Aruba A4s, was actually what I was looking for but couldn't find any Prestige models around the Midwest.

Excited to see what all you have planned for it, as I am slowly starting to piece my mod-list together!

[AUDIMAN33]

Nice

[homelessNY_LI]

Nice ride, hope it was worth the wait ^-^

[jokingjimmy]

Grats! That is a pretty car!

[Zach L]

Thanks everyone for the warm Audizine welcome!

As you can see from my signature below, I have my hands full with projects. Plans for the B8 will focus on reliability, comfort and aesthetics. Initial changes will be 19" wheels and coilovers, followed by an analog boost gauge to monitor for boost/vac leaks. Perhaps some changes to the PCV system.

For those on Tapatalk...

New daily driver:
Aruba Blue B8 A4 Quattro 6MT

Current Projects:
1972 VW Bus - in my family for over 40 years. Had been sitting in my uncle's garage for 20 years until a few months ago.
2006 GTI - previous daily driver. Bought it new and blew the turbo on it @ 215,000 miles last month.
1997 Golf - my bulletproof spare car... getting me to work at the moment.
1982 Rabbit Diesel - blown injector pump. Co-owner of this car with one of my best friends.

[eastcoastBrit]

Great looking B8 and incredible find! Impressed you found one with the sport package too....it's well worth it.

[wyld]

Perfect starting point :)

[TwinTipSkier]

Perfect starting point :)

"Starting point" I love you audizine community.

Nice colour OP. GL

[Zach L]

Great looking B8 and incredible find! Impressed you found one with the sport package too....it's well worth it.

It took quite a long time to find the right one. Luckily I had a car to get me around while I searched, so I was able to be really patient and search EVERYWHERE on the internetz

Perfect starting point :)

"Starting point" I love you audizine community.

Nice colour OP. GL

Haha indeed, I see them all as "starting points" as well. I'll try to post some pics of my other cars soon... they all have been modified in some way. Thanks guys!

[Zach L]

So I was browsing Craigslist 2 hours ago and this happened. Parts hoarding and I haven't even yet seen the car in person!

[Project Quattro]

So I was browsing Craigslist 2 hours ago and this happened. Parts hoarding and I haven't even yet seen the car in person!

S4 or S5 peelers?

[Zach L]

S4 or S5 peelers?

S5 of course! I'm kind of a fitment snob. The S4 Peelers just wouldn't have cut it haha

Suspension before wheels is something I usually live by, but this was just too good of a deal to pass up. Once I install some coilovers I'll go with a narrower tire to bring the car down a little more. The 255/35 should fill the wheel well nicely until the suspension is swapped out.

Home sweet home

[Project Quattro]

S5 of course! I'm kind of a fitment snob. The S4 Peelers just wouldn't have cut it haha

Suspension before wheels is something I usually live by, but this was just too good of a deal to pass up. Once I install some coilovers I'll go with a narrower tire to bring the car down a little more. The 255/35 should fill the wheel well nicely until the suspension is swapped out.

Home sweet home

Good choice! You've definitely done your homework.

[Zach L]

Short video the salesman sent me. Have to say I was kind of nervous the first time I watched.

The lighting shows the pearl effect of the Aruba Blue pretty well...

[Zach L]

Shipping carrier says the car should arrive tomorrow. I'm getting stoked!

Trying to suppress the urge to buy coilovers :D

[ryanhmusic]

Shipping carrier says the car should arrive tomorrow. I'm getting stoked!

Trying to suppress the urge to buy coilovers :D

stop suppressing, just order. PSS10s.

you'll thank me

[Zach L]

stop suppressing, just order. PSS10s.

you'll thank me

Haha I know the PSS10's are truly great coilovers... I have ridden quite a bit in an identical car that had them, but not worth the hefty price increase IMO. Just as with any other product sold, there's a diminishing margin of return as you spend more. I feel the ST coilovers will be right in the sweet spot. I do all my own wrenching, so it won't be too expensive if I want to upgrade later on.

[Zach L]

Car arrived early this morning! The carrier went through Wyoming and a snow storm so the car was covered in a layer of grime.




Had it less than an hour before this happened...



A quick wash and pics at the office :D

[ryanhmusic]

Haha I know the PSS10's are truly great coilovers... I have ridden quite a bit in an identical car that had them, but not worth the hefty price increase IMO. Just as with any other product sold, there's a diminishing margin of return as you spend more. I feel the ST coilovers will be right in the sweet spot. I do all my own wrenching, so it won't be too expensive if I want to upgrade later on.

STs are great too actually -- I just vastly prefer bilstein's offerings but I totally understand...order them! that car will look unbelievable with a little drop on those S5 Peelers

[PurdueB8A4]

Car arrived early this morning! The carrier went through Wyoming and a snow storm so the car was covered in a layer of grime.




Had it less than an hour before this happened...



A quick wash and pics at the office :D

Love the peelers! Trying to find a set myself!

Good looking blue heeler as well, have had two, they're great/intelligent dogs!

[Zach L]

STs are great too actually -- I just vastly prefer bilstein's offerings but I totally understand...order them! that car will look unbelievable with a little drop on those S5 Peelers

Thanks! I have a feeling it won't be 4x4 too long :D

Love the peelers! Trying to find a set myself!

Good looking blue heeler as well, have had two, they're great/intelligent dogs!

Thanks! Keep an eye on Craigslist ;) I had to drive 1.5 hours to get the Peelers from San Antonio. The heeler is my boy Ryder... best dog I've ever had! :)

[Project Quattro]

Those wheels look great! Drop it (I strenuously recommend OE sport suspension for daily use) and it'll look amazing.


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[Zach L]

Comparison shot. Factory 'Sport' suspension with 19x9 et33 S5 peelers vs 17" non-Sport wheels

[Zach L]

Took the car for a short drive after watching the F1 race live at 7:00am this morning. Still clean from a quick wash yesterday! Went up to Mt. Bonnell.



This car just drives SO well. I love it