New B8 Owner! Couple questions on mods

[BlackAllOver]

Hey all, new owner of a 2011 B8 P+. Been browsing for the past 3 weeks and now since the car is here I've been trying start on a few mods (as of now no performance mods but soon in the future). The previous owner didn't do anything besides window tinting..

The work in progress:


OEM grille to RS4 style: Anyone know of a good website or how to know if good quality when looking on eBay? I've seen prices on eBay from $80-200+, private websites always $220+

DRL brightness adjustment:
I'm already wishing the lights had a brighter, whiter look to them. A friend of mine drives a 2016 and his lights seem to be extremely bright and a fresh-white color anytime of the day. Afaik the DRLs are set to 100% default when headlights are off. Is the only other option to get them looking brighter/whiter during the day by installing new bulbs? If so, any led shop recommendations besides superbrightleds? Figured if this is my only option, I can install these when putting in the new grille.
Also bought an OBD2 adapter & pro subscription for the Carista app to change DRL brightness for when the headlights are on.. but turns out they don't support this function (yet! emailed the dev and he said he's looking at getting his lawyers to approve it first). I did end up getting green screen access though, is there a way to adjust brightness through there? I can't justify spending $350 on VCDS just for that one change although it'd be nice if buying and installing new bulbs could knock this out for me too.

Steering wheel:
Really wanna upgrade from the OEM stock wheel to any kind of 3 spoke s-line wheel. The one the car came with just feels bad and clunky with no grip at all. With this I'm more worried about being able to use the stock air bag, and keeping the function of the steering wheel options after install because a lot of these wheels come with options that my original wheel doesn't have. Don't really care about paddle shifters and a flat bottom as much.
I've been browsing cars-equipment.com and they have some great prices but haven't seen much mention of them here. What do you guys think?

Wheels:
It still has the stock 17" wheels on it. Was gonna move up to 19s but I don't wanna slow down any performance, and 18s don't seem to look much different so I'm thinking of sticking with the 17s. I'm coming in with no knowledge on this so any brand recommendations? Looking for a black-on-black or black/gray look. ECStuning best site?

Thanks

[JDillon15]

Hey all, new owner of a 2011 B8 P+. Been browsing for the past 3 weeks and now since the car is here I've been trying start on a few mods (as of now no performance mods but soon in the future). The previous owner didn't do anything besides window tinting..

The work in progress:


OEM grille to RS4 style: Anyone know of a good website or how to know if good quality when looking on eBay? I've seen prices on eBay from $80-200+, private websites always $220+

DRL brightness adjustment:
I'm already wishing the lights had a brighter, whiter look to them. A friend of mine drives a 2016 and his lights seem to be extremely bright and a fresh-white color anytime of the day. Afaik the DRLs are set to 100% default when headlights are off. Is the only other option to get them looking brighter/whiter during the day by installing new bulbs? If so, any led shop recommendations besides superbrightleds? Figured if this is my only option, I can install these when putting in the new grille.
Also bought an OBD2 adapter & pro subscription for the Carista app to change DRL brightness for when the headlights are on.. but turns out they don't support this function (yet! emailed the dev and he said he's looking at getting his lawyers to approve it first). I did end up getting green screen access though, is there a way to adjust brightness through there? I can't justify spending $350 on VCDS just for that one change although it'd be nice if buying and installing new bulbs could knock this out for me too.

Steering wheel:
Really wanna upgrade from the OEM stock wheel to any kind of 3 spoke s-line wheel. The one the car came with just feels bad and clunky with no grip at all. With this I'm more worried about being able to use the stock air bag, and keeping the function of the steering wheel options after install because a lot of these wheels come with options that my original wheel doesn't have. Don't really care about paddle shifters and a flat bottom as much.
I've been browsing cars-equipment.com and they have some great prices but haven't seen much mention of them here. What do you guys think?

Wheels:
It still has the stock 17" wheels on it. Was gonna move up to 19s but I don't wanna slow down any performance, and 18s don't seem to look much different so I'm thinking of sticking with the 17s. I'm coming in with no knowledge on this so any brand recommendations? Looking for a black-on-black or black/gray look. ECStuning best site?

Thanks

18s look much different than 17s... and I highly doubt you would be able to tell any difference in performance with the 19s unless you were tracking/dragging the car.

I thought 17s looked small on the B7 platform, and IIRC, the B8 platform is bigger. 18s would be my vote.

[hyperunion]

Some people feel our cars need 19s or 20s... But I prefer light weight 18 inch wheels... Meaty tires and good brake clearance.. the lightest the better... My oz setup run around 18lbs per wheel
In the end it's all about your preferences...

[Poodini]

Hey all, new owner of a 2011 B8 P+.

**WELCOME ABOARD!

The work in progress:


OEM grille to RS4 style: Anyone know of a good website or how to know if good quality when looking on eBay? I've seen prices on eBay from $80-200+, private websites always $220+

DRL brightness adjustment:

Also bought an OBD2 adapter & pro subscription for the Carista app to change DRL brightness
** you'll be able to adjust/personalize several things with the Carista app but it's not as comprehensive as VAG/Ross Tech. Will still allow you to adjust your DRL's.

Steering wheel:
Really wanna upgrade from the OEM stock wheel to any kind of 3 spoke s-line wheel.
** I'll have a 3 spoke, SLine steering wheel up for sale very soon! Totally compatible and will be a direct plug'n'play!

Wheels:
18"s would be s good compromise. Def go with an offset so as to fill the wheel well in a bit more so as to bring it closer to flush. However, with bigger wheel/higher-low profile tire, comes the need to lower it to reduce the dreaded 'gap'!

Thanks

Sent from my iPhone usingTapatalk

[Smellie]

I ran a 12.35 in the 1/4 with 19x10's and autox fine. You are fine for performance with 19s.

You cannot use the stock airbag if you get a 3spoke. That being said, most people sell 3 spoke s-line wheels with the airbag for around $400

I believe you can adjust DRL brightness using a VAG-COM cable

[Project Quattro]

Taking these in order:

RS grilles can be purchased almost anywhere; I've seen versions from different vendors and they're essentially interchangeable. Waiting for a sale or buying a ~$150 one on eBay would be my suggestion.

DRL brightness can unfortunately only be done with a VAGCOM currently. Post in your local regional section and I suspect someone will help out for a 6-pack of beer. AFAIK those LEDs aren't serviceable easily, so if you want them brighter or a different hue that might be a large endeavor.

You're correct that later 3-spoke steering wheels won't work right on our cars, but you definitely want paddle shifters. @lambda13 sourced one pretty cheaply and may be able to advise further.

18s make a HUGE difference over 17s, and I personally don't notice much performance difference between 18 and 19. I ran 18s to reuse the brand new tires that came with my car and I don't regret it, but I'd never consider 17s.




Sent from the Pedal Responce boardroom

[BlackAllOver]

Preciate the help guys!

Looks like the RS grilles on eBay that are sub $150 all have a permanent front plate filler and I'd prefer a full grille without one or at least one that I can take off if need be. Something like http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b...-$174-2828052/. Looks like I'll be dropping the $150+, thought I was getting away with a steal.

@Poodini I've got the carista full version and it doesn't allow you to customize your DRL's apart from choosing which lights act as the DRL's. I've enabled the in-dash display and still can't configure brightness, but I emailed their support team and they're looking to add brightness adjustment in the near future. So I'll be looking for getting help from someone with a VAG-COM nearby with those.

With the DRLs, since I can only really program the brightness with VAG-COM and even then I think the bulbs are bit yellow, is there a way to replace the bulbs (not the headlamps used at night) to a brigher, whiter bulb without having to reprogram via VAG-COM or getting any error codes? Similar to what was done to this B7: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...56-for-7506LL). It would be great if I could do this when I'm switching out the grille and fog lamps since I'll already have the front bumper off.

You guys are pretty much right with the 17s being too small. 18s look much better and 19s even more, but I'll probably stick with 18s. My current tires are semi-new though so I'll wait until they're close to done and grab some 18s around then.