Xander's Allroad - Introduction, Progression & Updates

[xander3zero]

Xander's Allroad

Car and Options:
2013 Audi Allroad in Monsoon Gray Metallic
Premium Plus Package with MMI Nav+, Bang & Olufsen, Sport Package and Advanced Key

Current Modifications:

Performance:
aFe Pro Dry Air Filter
ECS Complete Drivetrain Mount Kit

Interior:
Hardwired Passport Escort Max II Radar Detector

Exterior:
12.5mm/17.5mm Front/Rear Wheel Spacers
Suntek CXP 35% on Side Windows and Rear Windshield

Hello All!

I've decided to start a dedicated thread in which I will detail the progress and updates to my new (to me) B8.5 Allroad. I'm sure that not many of you know me, so I will begin with a bit of an introduction.

My names Alex, I currently live in Rhode Island, and have been a member here on AZ for a few years now. My first Audi (and first car) was a 2006 A4 Quattro with a 6MT gearbox. I bought it a couple years ago when I first joined AZ, and racked it up to just about 125k miles. The B7 A4 was pretty good to me, with the usual highs and lows, that most B7 owners experience. I was pretty active within the B7 forums and tastefully modded (I think) my car with items such as coilovers, exhaust, suspension/drivetrain goodies, interior/exterior mods, etc. Here are a few pictures of my B7:

As I aged I began to like the coilovers and exhaust less and less as I live in New England and the car is my daily driver. I graduated from URI in 2015 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Soon after I graduated from URI I began my career as a ME. I continued to put the miles on my B7 but secretly started to consider another car. At first I considered B7 S4s, then B8 S4s, then B8 S5s... then winter hit and my search concluding for the time being. This spring I really started to realize the I needed something more practical as I am an avid surfer and shooter, and my hobbies demanded a more practical car. With this in mind I began looking for clean B8 Avants, which I searched and searched for months without any luck of finding a decent deal nearby. I don't even know how it happened but overnight I went from wanting a B8 Avant to wanting a B8.5 Allroad. I guess it was due to the overall updated look, technology, and recent progression in the reliability of these cars that Audi has made.

At this point I made up my mind that I was going to broaden my search to the entire nation. I had never bought a car sight unseen before so I did my research on shipping, 3rd party inspections, everything you would need to know to buy a car out of state and sight unseen. After a short time I found the one I was looking for. 2013 Allroad Premium Plus in Monsoon Gray metallic with Navigation, Bang & Olufsen, Advanced Key, and most importantly Sport Package. Monsoon Gray was my favorite color as I love the contrast of the darker wheel arches on the lighter gray paint. The Sport Package was an absolute must have with the sport seats and 3-Spoke steering wheel with paddle shifters. Added on top of my favorite color, with all the right options, was low miles, very well maintained at an Audi dealer and a price several thousand below book value.

I began to turn some stones immediately, contacting the dealership (in Texas) and doing some research. After a couple of emails with the sales person I located a 3rd Party car inspector who inspected the car top to bottom and gave me a full report of the cars condition. After being incredibly pleased with the results I began the buying process. The dealership sold cars out of state regularly and they were pretty good about helping me through the process and overnighting paperwork for me to complete. Fast forward a couple weeks and the delivery truck rolled up:

You can't tell from the picture, but I had never seen a car so dirty. It was covered from whatever filth is on the way from Texas to Rhode Island, so after a quick inspection to make sure no damage occurred during shipping, I decided to clean the car top to bottom, inside and out. Not typically something I had expected to do the first day I got my new car, but it was absolutely necessary! After a couple hours this is what I was left with:

So that's it, this is my thread where I will detail any progress or updates with my car. I'm not calling it a build thread because I'm really not planning on doing anything drastic to the car, but my future plans include some minor modifications such as 034 drivetrain upgrades (diff. mounts, sway bar, trans mount), and possibly some others that won't impede on the practicality of the car. Honestly, I am blown away with the level of refinement of this car and every second I have spent driving it since I got it has been sheer joy.

I'm looking forward to performing my own maintenance as I did with my B7, and keeping it clean and healthy while it takes me surfing, shooting, road tripping, and of course, to work. I am sure I will miss the manual transmission of my B7 but I am loving the 8 speed in the Allroad and the car is just so quiet and comfortable to drive that I cannot believe its mine. I spent countless hours over the last 6-8 months looking at cars and now the wait has finally payed off.

I'm hoping to get back to being active on the forums here, and I hope to contribute my knowledge to the new and growing Allroad community. There is so much information here on AZ that helped me research new cars, and all that is made possible by the community, so my goal is to try and give back to the people here any way I can help. I am going to try and update this post or add to this thread with any maintenance or modifications I do as well as more pictures to keep the thread going.

Thanks everyone for reading, and I'm looking forward to enjoying my new home in the B8 Forums! I'll finish up with a quick shot of my new Allroad at the sea wall in Narragansett, RI.

[Powderhound]

Nice wrote up and great looking allroad. You definetely did your homework...nice find, hope it treats you well. Oh, and "not planning to do anything drastic", time will tell!

[hyperunion]

Congrats!.. excellent allroad!.. welcome to the b8 forum!

[adamazing]

That basketball hoop looks like it's set to 8 feet. Was someone having a Sprite Slam Dunk Contest in their driveway?

[Project Quattro]

Welcome to the B8 section! I bought my B8.5 and said I'd leave it alone too... Well, you can see how that turned out...


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[xander3zero]

Nice wrote up and great looking allroad. You definetely did your homework...nice find, hope it treats you well. Oh, and "not planning to do anything drastic", time will tell!

Thanks! And I know, I drove my B7 stock for about a year before I began to get the mod bug, but being on the forums here and knowing whats out there is going to make it difficult not to mod. I do have a VAG-COM cable so I will prob start out with some of the more common VAG mods and then move on to the simple ones like the drivetrain insert package from 034 Motorsports. Also I will hardwire my radar detector and some other minor interior mods, possibly p3 vent gauge or something. Suspension and exhaust are absolutely the two things that I want to leave stock on this car though.

That basketball hoop looks like it's set to 8 feet. Was someone having a Sprite Slam Dunk Contest in their driveway?

Lol! Caught me. Actually that photo was taken at my parents place where I wash my cars and I haven't used that hoop in years, but I think my dad lets some neighbors use it occasionally. He even painted the whole key and 3-point line for me when I was younger!

Welcome to the B8 section! I bought my B8.5 and said I'd leave it alone too... Well, you can see how that turned out...


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Well obviously we have to "pretend" that we won't mod our cars when we first get them...we all know how long that will last haha

[AllroadCorbin]

Jordan lets get this guy on rotors and coils and maybe a k04. #makehimbroke2k16

Welcome to the AR club btw. I love this things


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[treginginco]

Congrats!!! Enjoy.... as the AR is a great vehicle. Nearly 4 years and 82k miles later --- I'm still loving mine.

[AllroadCorbin]

Congrats!!! Enjoy.... as the AR is a great vehicle. Nearly 4 years and 82k miles later --- I'm still loving mine.

Same. 100k miles on mine. Tuned for 60,000 of them!

[xander3zero]

Same. 100k miles on mine. Tuned for 60,000 of them!

I'm assuming APR tune? I would probably consider an APR stage 1 tune in the short future, I had their tune on my B7 and was very happy with it.

also, loving the #makehimbroke2k16 haha

[AllroadCorbin]

Yes APR and yea you're screwed!


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[earhythmic]

Welcome! Great color choice, twinsies!




I told myself I wouldn't do anything drastic either

[dropshadow]

Welcome! Nice car. I've added this thread to the megathread project post.

[Rickashae13]

Awesome! Congrats on the new ride and great colour but I'm a bit biased lol.



Looking forward to the mod updates!

[Killerboots]

Congrats! Great seeing more allroads around. But you might as well delete your account and sign off AZ if you're trying to keep that thing stock.

While I like the allroad in stock form, it only gets BETTER with each additional mod.

Good luck and look forward to your inevitable progress.

[xander3zero]

Welcome! Nice car. I've added this thread to the megathread project post.

Thank you!

Awesome! Congrats on the new ride and great colour but I'm a bit biased lol.



Looking forward to the mod updates!

Yeah, something about that Monsoon Gray on a nice overcast day...

Congrats! Great seeing more allroads around. But you might as well delete your account and sign off AZ if you're trying to keep that thing stock.

While I like the allroad in stock form, it only gets BETTER with each additional mod.

Good luck and look forward to your inevitable progress.

Lol I know, I know but the roads around here suck and some of the spots I frequent to surf have awful parking so the ground clearance is important to me. I can definitely see stiffening up the drivetrain with a 034 x-brace, rear sway bar, etc. First things first, I want to make sure that I get this baby up to my maintenance standards. Just over 42k on the clock so I am going to just do a 45k service myself. Speaking of this, have people been changing the tranny fluid/filter on these B8.5s, and if so whats the typical interval? Same question for the fuel filter (which I think is now attached to the fuel pump assembly in the tank)?

[AllroadCorbin]

Thank you!



Yeah, something about that Monsoon Gray on a nice overcast day...



Lol I know, I know but the roads around here suck and some of the spots I frequent to surf have awful parking so the ground clearance is important to me. I can definitely see stiffening up the drivetrain with a 034 x-brace, rear sway bar, etc. First things first, I want to make sure that I get this baby up to my maintenance standards. Just over 42k on the clock so I am going to just do a 45k service myself. Speaking of this, have people been changing the tranny fluid/filter on these B8.5s, and if so whats the typical interval? Same question for the fuel filter (which I think is now attached to the fuel pump assembly in the tank)?

Ive done both a tranny fluid drain/ service and a fuel pump swap. Search for the ZF8 NOT lifetime fluid thread I made. Audi is fucking out of their minds because they recommend never servicing the tranny as if its a solo cup. I called people at ZF in germany and they said that advice is absurd. Audi does it to show low maintenance costs but its a terrible idea. Do a fluid drain at or before 70k. Earlier if you're all city. I did mine at 80k ish after realizing audi was full of crap. It really helped my shift quality. Be sure to use LifeGaurd fluid and do the whole pan drop thing. Its a $600-1000 service.

The fuel pump I did DIY with a friend on AZ. Caution: the B8 filter is very different than the B8.5 allroad filter because our cars are E85 capable. Our filter is sometimes $249 but can be found for less. I made the mistake of buying a B8 one and trying it. Do it when your tank is super low and buy a fuck load of paper towel and long ass yellow dish gloves

[xander3zero]

Welcome! Nice car. I've added this thread to the megathread project post.

Awesome! Congrats on the new ride and great colour but I'm a bit biased lol.



Looking forward to the mod updates!

Ive done both a tranny fluid drain/ service and a fuel pump swap. Search for the ZF8 NOT lifetime fluid thread I made. Audi is fucking out of their minds because they recommend never servicing the tranny as if its a solo cup. I called people at ZF in germany and they said that advice is absurd. Audi does it to show low maintenance costs but its a terrible idea. Do a fluid drain at or before 70k. Earlier if you're all city. I did mine at 80k ish after realizing audi was full of crap. It really helped my shift quality. Be sure to use LifeGaurd fluid and do the whole pan drop thing. Its a $600-1000 service.

The fuel pump I did DIY with a friend on AZ. Caution: the B8 filter is very different than the B8.5 allroad filter because our cars are E85 capable. Our filter is sometimes $249 but can be found for less. I made the mistake of buying a B8 one and trying it. Do it when your tank is super low and buy a fuck load of paper towel and long ass yellow dish gloves

awesome thanks for the advice... did you do the tranny service yourself or have it done at the dealer?

as far as the filter goes... I found two parts on europaparts that come up as "fitting my vehicle"... and one from ECS Tuning.

https://www.europaparts.com/fuel-filter-8k0201511a.html PN: 8K0201511A I am guessing this is the one to avoid?

https://www.europaparts.com/fuel-fil...0201511ta.html PN: 8K0201511TA And I would guess this is the correct part since the fitment says 2013- for application list?

https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-All_R....0T/ES2540812/ PN: 8K0201511TA This filter from ECS is the same part number as the one from Europa, but this one is Genuine OEM (hence the price difference) and the Europa one is Siemens VDO.

[ToddBrunswick]

awesome thanks for the advice... did you do the tranny service yourself or have it done at the dealer?

I can speak for @AllroadCorbin when I say he's serviced hundreds, if not thousands, of trannys around the world. And he's always left them completely drained of fluids.

[AllroadCorbin]

I can speak for @AllroadCorbin when I say he's serviced hundreds, if not thousands, of trannys around the world. And he's always left them completely drained of fluids.

I always finish the job

[Project Quattro]

Jordan lets get this guy on rotors and coils and maybe a k04. #makehimbroke2k16

Welcome to the AR club btw. I love this things


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I approve of this plan.

[treginginco]

i can speak for @allroadcorbin when i say he's serviced hundreds, if not thousands, of trannys around the world. And he's always left them completely drained of fluids.

ha!!!!! Best reply of 2016!!!!

[AllroadCorbin]

PR has taken over this thread. Probably should start another before mods move it to chat hahahaha


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[xander3zero]

Just to keep it on topic here is a short list of the top of my head for future maintenance and mods...Let me know what you guys think and have anything I should move up to the top of my list.

Planning to do the following maintenance in the next couple weeks (currently @ 42k miles so I will call it a 45k maintenance):
Oil and filter change
K&N air filter
Cabin air filter
check the rest of the fluids and brake system
Probably add a dipstick

Non-maintenance items:
Basic VAG mods and probably add ADS
all weather floor mats and trunk mat (probably OEM)
hard-wire my radar detector

Mods for the future:
034 drivetrain insert package
034 x brace, RSB and end links
034 solid motor mounts (when stock ones start to leak)
APR Stage 1
maybe p3 cars vent gauge

[Teslatim]

I could be biased... But monsooooooooon is sooooo choice.


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[hyperunion]

Just to keep it on topic here is a short list of the top of my head for future maintenance and mods...Let me know what you guys think and have anything I should move up to the top of my list.

Planning to do the following maintenance in the next couple weeks (currently @ 42k miles so I will call it a 45k maintenance):
Oil and filter change
K&N air filter
Cabin air filter
check the rest of the fluids and brake system
Probably add a dipstick

Non-maintenance items:
Basic VAG mods and probably add ADS
all weather floor mats and trunk mat (probably OEM)
hard-wire my radar detector

Mods for the future:
034 drivetrain insert package
034 x brace, RSB and end links
034 solid motor mounts (when stock ones start to leak)
APR Stage 1
maybe p3 cars vent gauge

Better off using the non oiled afe dryflow filter, most people on here use that along with a silicone turbo inlet hose utilizing the factory airbox!..

[xander3zero]

Better off using the non oiled afe dryflow filter, most people on here use that along with a silicone turbo inlet hose utilizing the factory airbox!..

Thanks for the tip. So this is the filter most guys are running as opposed to an oiled K&N?

AFE MagnumFLOW Pro-Dry Air Filter
https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-All_R...ter/ES2532404/

As far as oil selection goes, I've always run Liqui-Moly 5w40 full synthetic in my B7 with good results and will run the same in the Allroad unless anyone has better suggestions?

[Project Quattro]

Just to keep it on topic here is a short list of the top of my head for future maintenance and mods...Let me know what you guys think and have anything I should move up to the top of my list.

Planning to do the following maintenance in the next couple weeks (currently @ 42k miles so I will call it a 45k maintenance):
Oil and filter change
K&N air filter
Cabin air filter
check the rest of the fluids and brake system
Probably add a dipstick

Non-maintenance items:
Basic VAG mods and probably add ADS
all weather floor mats and trunk mat (probably OEM)
hard-wire my radar detector

Mods for the future:
034 drivetrain insert package
034 x brace, RSB and end links
034 solid motor mounts (when stock ones start to leak)
APR Stage 1
maybe p3 cars vent gauge

Corbin has those motor mounts and hates them. And definitely use the dry filter; oiled ones will wreak havoc with your MAF. I used this one:

https://www.amazon.com/aFe-Filters-3...+dry+S+audi+a4

[xander3zero]

Corbin has those motor mounts and hates them. And definitely use the dry filter; oiled ones will wreak havoc with your MAF. I used this one:

https://www.amazon.com/aFe-Filters-3...+dry+S+audi+a4

He hates the density line motor mounts? I had them on my B7 and never had any issues or added NVH. I'll definitely be going with the AFE dry filter though.

[Project Quattro]

He hates the density line motor mounts? I had them on my B7 and never had any issues or added NVH. I'll definitely be going with the AFE dry filter though.

@allroadcorbin those are the mounts you have, no?

[pwdrskr]

Just to keep it on topic here is a short list of the top of my head for future maintenance and mods...Let me know what you guys think and have anything I should move up to the top of my list.

Planning to do the following maintenance in the next couple weeks (currently @ 42k miles so I will call it a 45k maintenance):
Oil and filter change
K&N air filter
Cabin air filter
check the rest of the fluids and brake system
Probably add a dipstick

Non-maintenance items:
Basic VAG mods and probably add ADS
all weather floor mats and trunk mat (probably OEM)
hard-wire my radar detector

Mods for the future:
034 drivetrain insert package
034 x brace, RSB and end links
034 solid motor mounts (when stock ones start to leak)
APR Stage 1
maybe p3 cars vent gauge

I think I have an extra ECS V1 radar detector hard wire kit if you're interested. LMK

[xander3zero]

I think I have an extra ECS V1 radar detector hard wire kit if you're interested. LMK

Thanks for the offer, but I have a Escort Passport detector so I will just buy another escort hardwire kit.

[FastFour]

Do people actually have trouble w/ K&N's or is it just the fashionable thing to say on car forums. I have them on all of my cars (and in cars past) and have never ever had a problem with the factory oil or my reoils.

[xander3zero]

Do people actually have trouble w/ K&N's or is it just the fashionable thing to say on car forums. I have them on all of my cars (and in cars past) and have never ever had a problem with the factory oil or my reoils.

I ran a K&N in my B7 for several years with no issues. Even when I cleaned and re oiled it myself I never had any issues, but I made sure that there was just a thin film of oil on it.

[integroid]

Do people actually have trouble w/ K&N's or is it just the fashionable thing to say on car forums. I have them on all of my cars (and in cars past) and have never ever had a problem with the factory oil or my reoils.

I have ran them on MAF and MAP based cars with zero issues. I think most of the issues from MAF based cars comes from owners cleaning and putting on way too much oil on it.

[xander3zero]

Any of you guys ever run spacers on the stock 18" wheels at stock ride height? I know it is typically frowned upon to put spacers on stock suspension, but I feel like the rugged look of the Allroad may be able to pull off some spacers at stock ride height. I was thinking maybe 10/15mm front/rear or maybe even 15/20mm. Let me know what you guys think and if you have any pics, id love to see them.

[zcspec]

Any of you guys ever run spacers on the stock 18" wheels at stock ride height? I know it is typically frowned upon to put spacers on stock suspension, but I feel like the rugged look of the Allroad may be able to pull off some spacers at stock ride height. I was thinking maybe 10/15mm front/rear or maybe even 15/20mm. Let me know what you guys think and if you have any pics, id love to see them.

I run my stock wheels with snow tires in the winter @ lowered heights with 20mm front/rear spacers. If you're going to run OEM height, you could get away with 25mm front/rear. 10/15 wont do anything for our flares.

[djnuge]

Which brand of spacers are you running?

[xander3zero]

Did a few very minor things this weekend:

1) Replaced the 12V outlet cover on the rear of the center console (was missing when I bought the car).
2) Put some nice 316 stainless low-profile socket head cap screws on my license plates. Can't stand how quick shitty hardware will rust out your plate.
3) Did a couple minor VAGCOM mods like needle gauge sweep, automatic gear selection, etc etc.

Also got a chance give her a nice bath.

[jtdbsr]

Any of you guys ever run spacers on the stock 18" wheels at stock ride height? I know it is typically frowned upon to put spacers on stock suspension, but I feel like the rugged look of the Allroad may be able to pull off some spacers at stock ride height. I was thinking maybe 10/15mm front/rear or maybe even 15/20mm. Let me know what you guys think and if you have any pics, id love to see them.

I run my stock wheels with snow tires in the winter @ lowered heights with 20mm front/rear spacers. If you're going to run OEM height, you could get away with 25mm front/rear. 10/15 wont do anything for our flares.

I have 10F/15R ECS spacers at stock ride height, the sidewalls are in line with the inner lip of the flares. Makes it look OEM in good way.