Some questions picked up a 2013 A4

[marjen]

Hi All,

We just got my wife a 2013 A4 and I am looking to make some additions and looking for some advice.

1. Any recommendations on upgrades to get us navigation and backup camera? We have a premium model so its missing both those features. Any 3rd party solutions that have worked out?
2. Any black mess grilles that look like the s4 but don't say s4 on them?
3. How is the stock intercooler on this car? I have a 15 mustang ecoboost and the first upgrade recommended is a new intercooler. Seeing how both cars are 4 cylinder turbos, was wondering if the same issue exists with the a4?
4. Looking for a slight drop what are the best lower springs that will go about 1" all the way around?
5. Any place to get black trim to replace the chrome around the windows? The car is black and the chrome drives me nuts. I could always plastids but figured I would see if there is an easier solution.

Thanks.

[A4 Centaur]

Welcome!

I just swapped out the OEM TDi FMIC with the APR bar and plate version.

Works way better than the stock FMIC, just seems to flow air better and I've pick up some lost HP it appears.

Not cheap, but fit was perfect!

[hyperunion]

Apr front mount,.afe dryflow drop in. and apr stg1... Fill up with e85 and enjoy.....

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[marjen]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am not looking for anything crazy. This is my wife's car, she drives pretty conservative. On the intercooler just looking to see if an upgrade is needed and looking from something that would be a stock location no mod replacement. Don't need top of the line.

[willski]

you dont need an upgraded intercooler for a stock 2.0T

[hyperunion]

you dont need an upgraded intercooler for a stock 2.0T

No problem Mr heatsoak!.. lol

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[AUDIMAN33]

You can get a black optic grill and trim. If you order a new grill, the black optic grill is expensive, same thing goes for the trim. I believe the trim is 1,500-2,000 without install. Cheaper option would be to go for the RS4 grill and paint the trim...

[willski]

you dont need an upgraded intercooler for a stock 2.0T

No problem Mr heatsoak!.. lol

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Happy to be proven wrong, but I've never heard of anyone needing to upgrade the cooler on a B8 A4 unless they've started modding. I certainly wouldn't categorise it as an issue like the OP is worried about. Maybe it's just me but I think the stock cooler is pretty big! Although my last two cars were a WRX (you want to talk heatsoak?) and an S15, which has a stock cooler the size of a cereal box (see)

[hyperunion]

Happy to be proven wrong, but I've never heard of anyone needing to upgrade the cooler on a B8 A4 unless they've started modding. I certainly wouldn't categorise it as an issue like the OP is worried about.

Like I said ... Stg1 ... E85

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[treginginco]

There are several people who updated their intercooler with the one for the 3.0TDI, which is a supposed bolt on replacement.

I've been to Las Vegas in the heat the of summer and that's when I have been able to really feel heatsoak ---- that and on the track.


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[AUDIMAN33]

Happy to be proven wrong, but I've never heard of anyone needing to upgrade the cooler on a B8 A4 unless they've started modding. I certainly wouldn't categorise it as an issue like the OP is worried about. Maybe it's just me but I think the stock cooler is pretty big! Although my last two cars were a WRX (you want to talk heatsoak?) and an S15, which has a stock cooler the size of a cereal box (see)

+1 I've never heard of it either.

[A4 Centaur]

Stock FMIC is 6 Ltrs. TDi is 8 Ltrs.

AWE and APR are much better

[19birel]

If the car is not receiving performance upgrades and your wife doesn't do any spirited driving then upgrading from the stock intercooler is a waste of money as the benefits of a larger capacity unit would not at all be exploited.

As far as trim goes you can get some black vinyl to wrap it with, I would recommend using the more expensive brands such as 3M because cheaper ones are a little harder to work with and scratch easily.

For the grill, a very popular mod is the RS4 grill, ECS tuning carries them and it might give you the look you're after, however it doesn't have the center bar like the A/S4 grills so you would have to paint your crash bar black so it isn't visible behind the mesh. Alternatively you could wrap the chrome trim on your existing grill with the aforementioned vinyl wrap.

Lastly, as far as suspension goes, H&R offers Sport springs that will give you a drop of about 1". However, it is recommended that you upgrade the shocks as well, especially if the car is not equipped with the factory sport suspension. The Bilstein B12 Pro kit (Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs) is a popular choice for these cars, but it is important to remember that with lowering the car you will sacrifice your ride quality a bit in exchange for the improved performance and aesthetics so keep that in mind.

If you want to look into that stuff more, you can search the forum and find quite a bit of info on pretty much anything pertaining to the modification or maintenance of your car, hopefully this was enough to get you pointed in the right direction.

[marjen]

1. Ok so sounds like if keeping engine/turbo/tune stock, an intercooler really is not needed. Just was wondering as on the ecoboost mustangs the stock intercooler is just garbage so upgrading is almost a requirement even stock due to heatsoak.
2. I guess I will look at plastic-dipping or wrapping the chrome trim as it looks like OEM options are crazy expensive.
3. On the grille looks like the only all black mesh option is the S4 grilles. I just dont like badging on a car that indicates a different model. IE its not an S4 so sucks that the only options say S4, would be nice if there was one that just said quattro or something.
4. I will look into H&R springs. I am aware they can impact ride quality but man that gap is so big :)

[19birel]

1. Ok so sounds like if keeping engine/turbo/tune stock, an intercooler really is not needed. Just was wondering as on the ecoboost mustangs the stock intercooler is just garbage so upgrading is almost a requirement even stock due to heatsoak.
2. I guess I will look at plastic-dipping or wrapping the chrome trim as it looks like OEM options are crazy expensive.
3. On the grille looks like the only all black mesh option is the S4 grilles. I just dont like badging on a car that indicates a different model. IE its not an S4 so sucks that the only options say S4, would be nice if there was one that just said quattro or something.
4. I will look into H&R springs. I am aware they can impact ride quality but man that gap is so big :)

You can remove the S4/RS4 badges from those grills