5 weeks off, crazy bored, need DIY upgrade advice...

[eightamrock]

Hey Everyone,

A few months ago I posted that I wanted to sell my '16 S4 6MT because I wasn't too happy with it. A lot of you wrote me back and said I was crazy, and you convinced me to keep it. I am happy I did, so thank you for that.

Now here is the story, I left my job and will be starting a new one in 5 weeks. I'm looking for a few upgrades I can DIY in my garage. I'm reasonably mechanically inclined. I've change brake pads, done oil changes, intake installs, audio system upgrades on other cars I've owned including 2 GTI's. I have a 3 ton jack, and a fairly good assortment of tools to work with. Will buy anything I need to do a job really.

What are some fun DIY upgrades I could do to my car over the next several weeks? Things I am considering and would love folks to weigh in on effort and skill needed (stole a lot from this build thread);

1. Stoptech brake upgrade. Would love to get the new calipers and slotted rotors on there. The stock brakes are great, but I want to tune and the feedback on this upgrade is incredible.
2. If 1 is too difficult, I want to at least paint the calipers. Ive never done this before, but my glacier white needs red calipers to match my lava interior.
3. Laminx the fog lenses. - I just ordered those yellow 2.7k philips bulbs, but I really love the look of the tinted lenses. Ive never done this, any tips on it?
4. Chassis cross-brace ( do I need to drill and tap mounting points for this?)
5. All those various inserts and bushing upgrades. Transmission mount insert
6. P3 Boost gauge and tap. (Will the boost tap TD1 me?)
7. Upper strut mount bar
8. RS4 Grill
9. Coil-overs. Can I do this? Probably not right? Too many tools needed that I'd have to buy Im thinking.
10. Rear sway bars
11. Spacers for stock black optics rims
12. Exhaust tips

Im trying to avoid anything that will cause a TD1 for now, I want to get to about 20k miles before I chip it. Im OK with TD1 on suspension, but not the drive train. Ill do intake, exhaust, and chip later on.

Any other thoughts? I can probably spend $5k, will save in labor if I can do it myself so that should be a good amount of parts.

Happy 4th of July, America!

[14S4GWM]

You can knock out 3-8 in a day no problem for about 1500$

You need to get new stretch bolts for number 4 and that's it for that.

[mintytoo]

I got the stretch bolts pretty fast from genuineaudiparts.com

For B8.5, I believe you need these bolts :

parts no: N91151101 (4) M12 x 1.5 x 42mm Hex Bolts - 18mm head

parts no: WHT005372 (2) M12 x 1.5 x 51mm Poly Bolts -

Sounds like a fun couple of weeks to play with your car.

[14S4GWM]

I got the stretch bolts pretty fast from genuineaudiparts.com

For B8.5, I believe you need these bolts :

parts no: N91151101 (4) M12 x 1.5 x 42mm Hex Bolts - 18mm head

parts no: WHT005372 (2) M12 x 1.5 x 51mm Poly Bolts -

Sounds like a fun couple of weeks to play with your car.

Correct on the bolts. Or he can get them here

[mintytoo]

GAP - $23 shipped via FedEx.

[14S4GWM]

An intake takes 20 minutes to swap out for the dealer visit and you can't go wrong with one.

[eightamrock]

An intake takes 20 minutes to swap out for the dealer visit and you can't go wrong with one.

I didn't think about taking it out. I guess it's really only at 10k mile intervals. Seems like a small investment for some good gains


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[eightamrock]

I got the stretch bolts pretty fast from genuineaudiparts.com

For B8.5, I believe you need these bolts :

parts no: N91151101 (4) M12 x 1.5 x 42mm Hex Bolts - 18mm head

parts no: WHT005372 (2) M12 x 1.5 x 51mm Poly Bolts -

Sounds like a fun couple of weeks to play with your car.

Awesome! Thanks for the info. Yes I'm looking forward to a few weeks of fun with her.


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[Hofahome]

I did coils. Don't do it man. Such a PITA.

[eightamrock]

I did coils. Don't do it man. Such a PITA.

Thats what I figured...... Thats the kind of thing you take to a shop I feel like.

[MrFunk]

With that much time off you could really do all the mods listed. But the below ones are relatively easy.


2. If 1 is too difficult, I want to at least paint the calipers. Ive never done this before, but my glacier white needs red calipers to match my lava interior.
3. Laminx the fog lenses. - I just ordered those yellow 2.7k philips bulbs, but I really love the look of the tinted lenses. Ive never done this, any tips on it?
4. Chassis cross-brace ( do I need to drill and tap mounting points for this?)
5. All those various inserts and bushing upgrades. Transmission mount insert
7. Upper strut mount bar
8. RS4 Grill
11. Spacers for stock black optics rims

[chaos2984]

you could tackle european mods like power folding mirrors and front parking sensors.

[shonseb]

All the mentioned mods on the list are doable for diy with time and patience. You can do the coils with another person, I did mine with a friend in my a5, took a little over 3 hours. Air tools made a difference though. You can also add some bass to the stock system and dynamat the rear deck to improve the sound. Rs4 door handles are a nice touch too. And last but not least, a good deep detail with polish, sealing and waxing makes a big difference.

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[Canadianwraith]

Wrap your calipers instead of painting. Just did mine in 3M reflective yellow, looks fantastic

[eightamrock]

Wrap your calipers instead of painting. Just did mine in 3M reflective yellow, looks fantastic

Will that hold up against the heat? That's a great idea.


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[eightamrock]

So I ordered up a bunch of parts today. I'm stuck on the suspension, though I have searched and read a lot of threads about it. I have one question that maybe someone here could answer for me from their own experience...

I've landed on an H&R suspension kit, the question is which.

Just a cup kit: https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B8_S4...its/ES3010022/
Or the complete coilover kit: https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B8_S4...nd-R/ES240272/

The Price difference is pretty negligible, so either is completely in budget.

Will the cup kit and the coilover kit ride the same at the minimum drop heights? I dont want a really rough ride and it been my experience that coilovers are a little rougher in general than just springs/shock combos. If they will ride the same at the 1.2" drop then I might get the coils, only because I'd like the option to slam it every once and a while. Otherwise 99% of my ride will be at the 1-1.2" drop height.

Some of have just done the OE springs on stock shocks, but Im leery of bounce with that setup, I think you need to match new shocks with springs.

So many threads and I have read them all, its super subjective.

What say you?

[14S4GWM]

Great sale on a bunch of stuff you want, you won't get it cheaper, buy it now. Just popped up today. Free shipping on all of it.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...0#post11734220

[eightamrock]

A little update on progress.

I did;
35% window tint
Philips 2.7k LED fogs
yellow laminx on those same fogs for added yellowing
P3 Boost Gauge install
ECS Boost tap (this ended up being a nightmare because of a sheered bolt)
Full kohlefaser luft-technik intake system
Im going in friday for an APR stage 2 pulley and ECU flash
ECS Trans mount insert
ECS various suspension inserts

I have a few questions for those smarter than I am about this....

Im torn between doing the rest of the suspension work (coil overs, sway bars, cross braces, wheel spacers) now vs doing some kind of brake upgrade. I've read that you don't really need to do a brake upgrade unless you are tracking the car, Im not. Just some spirited driving. The car has 5k miles on it, but I know that these tunes can pretty much shred a stock clutch, so Im wondering what to save my money for...

1. Brakes?
2. Suspension?
3. The myriad of things that might go wrong after this tune? (Also, anything I need to worry about with the tune? Fuel injectors, Cats, anything?)

Advice is welcomed...

[Rocket Tech]

Forget the brakes. Zero gain for your driving needs.

Day to day driving experience is greatly enhanced by doing sway bars. Everyone says to do the rear at least. I did front/rear and solid end links at the same time, completely changed the handling of the car and every time I change direction in this car I'm reminded how much it's improved. Caveat, I also did Bilstein coilovers when i did the rest of the suspension. Even in comfort mode the car's handling is noticeably improved over stock.

I've heard stage 2 will abuse the clutch so plan on upgrading that in the future. Surprised you're going with tune considering you wanted to avoid td1 on power train.

[eightamrock]

Forget the brakes. Zero gain for your driving needs.

Day to day driving experience is greatly enhanced by doing sway bars. Everyone says to do the rear at least. I did front/rear and solid end links at the same time, completely changed the handling of the car and every time I change direction in this car I'm reminded how much it's improved. Caveat, I also did Bilstein coilovers when i did the rest of the suspension. Even in comfort mode the car's handling is noticeably improved over stock.

I've heard stage 2 will abuse the clutch so plan on upgrading that in the future. Surprised you're going with tune considering you wanted to avoid td1 on power train.

Thanks for the tip! Yes I want to avoid TD1, but I'm told that flashing back to stock before taking it in can solve that problem. Have you heard differently?


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[14S4GWM]

Thanks for the tip! Yes I want to avoid TD1, but I'm told that flashing back to stock before taking it in can solve that problem. Have you heard differently?


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You should read up some more on this. Its hit or miss when playing this game and Audi is getting better at detecting things.

[cspcrx]

Forget the brakes. Zero gain for your driving needs.

Day to day driving experience is greatly enhanced by doing sway bars. Everyone says to do the rear at least. I did front/rear and solid end links at the same time, completely changed the handling of the car and every time I change direction in this car I'm reminded how much it's improved. Caveat, I also did Bilstein coilovers when i did the rest of the suspension. Even in comfort mode the car's handling is noticeably improved over stock.

I've heard stage 2 will abuse the clutch so plan on upgrading that in the future. Surprised you're going with tune considering you wanted to avoid td1 on power train.

I disagree here. If you making the car go faster would you not want the ability to stop faster?

[CELison]

I disagree here. If you making the car go faster would you not want the ability to stop faster?

I disagree too. Especially since stock B8 brakes are far from powerful. When I had stock HP2s on my B5, I had better stopping performance.

[u2nelson]

Might I shamelessly plug the CR-15 upper strut tower brace, it really does work well. No cutting, drilling or welding, it just bolts right in, 15 minute job. PM me for info.

Lots of reviews http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ut-Tower-Brace

[eightamrock]

It's the little things.



And the fantastic things. I can finally hear the supercharger!


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[AKPS4]

I disagree too. Especially since stock B8 brakes are far from powerful. When I had stock HP2s on my B5, I had better stopping performance.

There really isn't anymore gain from brakes unless you track. On the street you won't do constant stopping and accelerating at full force to use the benefit of upgraded brakes. The stock brakes are way more than capable for an emergency stop. By the time you have to do it again they would be cool enough to work just as good. If you need to brake like you are on the track while you are on the street... You need to learn to drive. Where the brakes would help would be somewhere like at the dragons tail.

I have a stop tech trophy kit and there is no difference for the street except the immediately improved pedal feel.

[CELison]

Stock brakes absolutely fade. Under normal driving conditions they're fine, but they aren't up to the task of extended spirited driving.