A4 building by whats77iananame

[whats77inaname]

A little preview....


As I've started building, I figured, oh hey, I should go ahead and start a build thread. I'm originally a Honda guy, having built a 2nd-gen CRX Si, a couple del sols (one of which my friend and I built and stuck in a poor-man's Type R w/a Toda Spec B head package....13.2 @ 106, n.a.), an Acura Legend, and my most recent 2, a 6MT E90 M3 (sold it late in 2018) and my VehiCROSS, the latter I converted to a 5MT. I pretty much do all my own work, as I prefer to make sure it's done right....and if it isn't, then it's on me.

If you'd like, you can read about those two in a few posts I've created outlining their builds.
Legend: http://forums.acuralegend.org/buildi...ame-t1899.html


VehiCROSS: http://www.vehicross.info/showthread...a-build-thread


M3:

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1518235

On to the Audi....

A friend of mine who ended up picking up an E92 M3 a few years ago returned the favor when I indicated I was going to sell the M3 in anticipation of a life change I was making. I've always had something to tinker with car-wise, and although I still had the VX, I needed something a bit more fuel efficient. He has an A4 and after giving it some thought, I started searching. I'm partial to white or black exteriors, and then I came across this picture on CarGurus:



It's a 2010 Aruba Blue Pearl w/tan and gray interior, so since I really liked the colorway, I decided to pursue it. CPO, completely dealer serviced, and Audi fixed the oil burning @ 100k, under warranty. Win x 3. Clean Carfax, and it has a Revo Stage I tune, too. Score! The owner had put in 19k miles since the top end rebuild and encountered no issues. My friend and I hopped a flight to pick it up in July 2018.

It looked as good in person as it did online. The previous owner was so kind as to *NOT* vacuum up all the dog hair in the trunk (acted like he was surprised when he saw it, but he wasn't), nor the dried Coke/coffee on the side of the armrest. Kinda slovenly, but whatever. After jumping through all the hoops he had us go through b/c he'd never done a fly-in and buy sale before, it was good to finally get the title. A week before we flew in to pick it up, I shipped the seller a paint protectant that looks like glue, and dries clear. My co-driver and I pulled into a CVS parking lot and covered the front-facing surfaces.





We drove it straight through from Hartford, CT to Austin, Tx, leaving Hartford @ around 3pm Friday and arriving in Austin @ 8pm the next day. It didn't burn a drop of oil.







I'd been perusing various threads in clarifying my vision about how I wanted to build this car. I ran across Lettuce's build thread and was really impressed with what he did, so I'm going to be taking some ideas from him, mixing them with a few of my own, and we'll see where I end up. I'm really a big sleeper fan, especially when it comes to the interior. Out of sight, out of mind. I've had a few vehicles broken into in my time, so I tend to go for really stealth installs. There are some things I'm going to incorporate from my M3 build. The finished product may not be everyone's cup of tea, but then again, I'm not out to really impress anyone, so....



The first mod:

[whats77inaname]

Shortly before I purchased the car, I joined audizine and started researching potential mods. I started scrounging for parts and since I don't like to do work twice, I waited until I picked up what I needed for an intercooler upgrade and a methanol install. I had a few tricks up my sleeve and was eager to see if I could pull them off. Over about 2 months, I acquired:



-a replacement RS style grille and fog light surrounds,
-a boost tap,
-a throttle body spacer with a threaded tap,
-a used Alu Kruez,
-an ECS tuning upper intake hose,
-a Treadstone TR8 intercooler and associated silicone hoses, clamps, and reducers (thanks @Lettuce for that thorough explanation in your post, https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...1#post11043526),
-and a Snow methanol kit. I waited for everything to come in before yanking the front bumper for installation.







My friend and I pulled the front bumper off. While I worked on pulling the stock IC, he pulled the OEM grilles and installed the replacements. After getting the IC off we mocked up the new one. The size difference is nothing to sneeze at.



Here's one of those love-it-or-hate-it things. Following my desire to be unassuming, I painted the front of the IC black. I know there are those that will want to debate the laws of thermodynamics and heat transfer, and that people are on both sides of the fence about this, but once again, I'm going to do me, so I painted it, along with the front bumper reinforcement. Prior to selling the M3, I removed the Laser Interceptor I installed. Of course it had to be reinstalled in the Audi. Using a couple polycarbonate spacers, they screwed right in, and the diode peeps out on each side w/out obstruction.



Before anyone says anything about them not being mounted horizontally, they are the BMW specific unit designed to mount vertically in the BMW grilles. When I had it on the M3, that one mod saved me more $$$ than I could count. I ran it in conjunction with a V1, which I'm planning for a pretty clean install in the not-too-distant future. I spent a little time and did some routing so you can't see the wires, so it all worked out.





After getting the necessary holes drilled in the reinforcement bar, we got the TR8 IC bolted into place and drilled out one of the silicone hoses for the nozzle plate for the meth nozzle. All the clamps were tightened down and we were in business!



As for the methanol kit, I originally ordered a Snow Stage II kit https://www.snowperformance.net/Stag...-p/sno-212.htm (p/n SNO-212) from Amazon for a little under $400. Fast forward to when I got the kit, and I was instead sent a SNO-410 (https://www.snowperformance.net/6-7-...-p/sno-410.htm) dual nozzle diesel kit, complete with a 7 gallon methanol tank and the VC-50 boost gauge/meth controller!



I sent a message to the seller via Amazon and let them know about the mix-up in the event they wanted me to send the kit back given the huge price difference, but they never responded. Oh well. I ordered the smaller reservoir w/the low level sensor from eBay, and a 60 ml/min (SNO-40600) nozzle and black methanol hose from Amazon.

Taking a cue from @ddun and his thread (https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...Meth-anonymous), we installed the tank and the pump under the windshield cowl.







The pump fits nicely under the tank and the solenoid slid in place behind the firewall heat shielding. The main hose w/the 175 ml/min nozzle runs down to the intercooler for IAT cooling, and the 60 ml/min nozzle runs to the throttle body spacer. There's a bracket that I bent slightly so that I could position the nozzle @ the 9 o'clock position. I then covered all visible methanol tubing w/wire loom so unless you really know what the engine bay looks like, you won't notice anything out of the ordinary.





Bringing the boost line and wiring into the cabin was my next task, and I can thank @phillips2024 and his write up (https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...S4-DIY-Install) for helping me get this done as easily as possible.





After that was accomplished, it was time to get the gauge installed. Shortly after I purchased the car, I picked up a spare ashtray assembly from a member here. My initial plans were to install my Valentine1 remote units in here, as well as the power switch + mode switches for the LI, as the Snow kit I purchased didn't contain the VC-50 gauge. Since this mixup contained the VC-50, after I received it, I had a sneaking suspicion that it'd fit in the ashtray, along w/the switches for the LI. It took me about 6 hrs with the Rotozip (and the ruining of one of the ashtrays), but I was right, and everything fit accordingly.









Awesome that I can leave the car, shut the ashtray, and no one is any the wiser. I connected all the wiring, mounting the brain for the LI in an open slot under the dash.



I also installed an OBDII splitter so that I have 3 OBDII ports available for use: one for my BT adapter for Carista, 1 for another project I'm entertaining, and the last for regular OBDII utilization.



All the extra wiring was then velcroed together, and I ran the wiring from the LI brain to the speaker I mounted in the headliner.


I finished up around 5 in the am, and took it out in the morning, intending to take it to work. There were no boost leaks, which I was really pleased about, especially considering all of the potential spots where that could have happened. It did, however, stumble out of the driveway and up the street, and the methanol wasn't turned on, which had me worried. Almost as if it wasn't boosting. I backed it up, almost leaving it to tinker around with it after work, but I decided to give it a shakedown run before I parked it. Coming from BMW and having to deal with the ECU having to adapt, I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't consider this as an option, b/c after I drove it up the street and on the freeway, it didn't experience any problems, so I drove it to work with no issues.

Shortly after all of this, on a trip to Dallas with the S.O., the car flashed a code for a split second when it stumbled. After arriving @ our destination, and attempting to start the car a couple hours later, it wouldn't turn over. I attempted to turn it over for 30 minutes, and it finally started. It was sluggish at first, then straightened out. A couple weeks later, I attempted to leave work to get to the gym, and went through the starting debacle again. After doing some research, I determined that I had an injector stuck open. FCPEuro to the rescue. Lifetime replacement on failed parts? Yessir!



Thanks to the tutorial by @Dan_Q (https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...ight=manifold) and one I found on Youtube, I got the manifold free from the engine....


...and the old injectors off.



The throttle body was spotless, btw.



After replacing the injectors and buttoning it all up, it was time for an oil change to get rid of the contaminated oil.

[whats77inaname]

The brake sensor came on around October 2018. A quick front pad change and all was good.





Installation of the rear Laser Interceptor sensors happened shortly thereafter.

I had to flip the rear license plate mount in order to get them on,



As well as trim the rear license plate light surrounds a bit.



I was steadily accumulating parts just enjoying the car for a bit. I went on a trip in November, and when I came back on Thanksgiving Eve, the car wouldn't start. That turned into a debacle that you can read about here https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...A4-won-t-crank I thought it was the starter, so I replaced it (major PITA, but I'm pretty proficient at it now).



I had picked up IE's 3" HFC + downpipe during their Black Friday sale,



and since the cat had to be separated from the turbo to replace the harness, aaaaaannnnnd I had to wait for the replacement harness, it was as good a time as any to replace the OEM setup. I was pretty happy that the cat-to-turbo bolts came right off



once I figured out how to remove the bottom one closest to the engine



The cat-to-resonator bolts were rusted, and I had to Rotozip them off. Success!









The harness came in,



so out with the old, in with the new.





New cat installed



I found an AfE dry filter on Amazon for $30, so I went ahead and picked it up.



All told, it was almost 7 weeks before it was back on the road again.

[whats77inaname]

I have an affinity for Japanese wheels, always have. I've been looking for some 18s so I have a wider selection of tires. I couldn't find what I was looking for, and then I stumbled across a set of wheels on a VW Passat that were 5x114.3. It was then I found out about these awesome things called wobble bolts https://www.ecstuning.com/News/Wobble_Bolts_14x15x27/

It so happened that those wheels were exactly what I was looking for. I watched them for 2 months before I contacted the guy selling them. After we negotiated a price, I went ahead and picked up center caps. They're very, very close in color to the Aruba Blue.



I drove to meet the fellow, and loaded them up:





2 piece Work CR2Ps, 18x9.5, +38mm. They were custom made to allow enough room for a big brake kit up front. The tires are pretty shot, so I'll be replacing those.

[whats77inaname]

I'd been perusing the forums to build out the suspension. I picked up a CR-15, and came across this thread:

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...ever-installed

No one had talked to him, so I reached out in PM. A week later, a package arrived:









True to his word, everything was brand new. For all of that, I paid...$370 shipped!

I did some more accumulating, and it turned into this:



The ECS complete drivetrain mount insert kit, as well as dust boots for the end links were added. An Ultra Racing LCA bar rounds out the mods.

I rented a lift @ DIY garage the last weekend of January 2019, and my friend and I installed everything save the rear LCA bar.

















The car handles soooooooo much better now. The body roll has been reduced tremendously. I have a lot more confidence in the car now, and the tires reach their limit wayyyyy before the suspension does.

At this point, that's about it. Now that I'm relatively caught up, I'll be updating this thread on the regular. There are a few more parts that have come in over the past few days, some I've squirreled away in anticipation of the future, and a few I still need to acquire. I'd like to get the suspension finished, so I'll be looking at getting some springs/coilovers to drop it a bit, and some tires (most likely Firehawks) so I can get the wheels on, albeit not necessarily in that order.

[whats77inaname]

Last night was fun. I finally got my USRT Boost Trigga installed so that I can run a 2nd nozzle for the throttle body. Special thanks to @AUDacIouS4 for providing some insight on setup. I still have to dial it in. This pic was taken before I wrapped the wires in loom so it looks stock under the hood. More fun and games tomorrow....

[whats77inaname]

Yesterday was productive. In the morning, I rented some lift time and installed the ECS Streetshield I picked up awhile back. Although I read that it could be installed in tandem w/the Alu Kruez, I never found a picture, so here's one I took after my install. Later on that afternoon I drove down to San Antonio and picked up a lightly used H&R coilover kit I found on Craigslist. The seller was a fellow enthusiast that sold the car, a '15 S4. Final price was $650! Wrenches not pictured. I'm going to try and install them sometime this week/next weekend.

[vbtravisd]

The car is coming along great man! Real tasteful mods! How do you like the sound of the IE downpipe and the resonator delete?

[whats77inaname]

The car is coming along great man! Real tasteful mods! How do you like the sound of the IE downpipe and the resonator delete?

Thank you, sir! I envisioned how I wanted this build to go when I picked up the car, and it's rounding into shape nicely.

As far as the DP, this was my M w/the one-off catted x-pipe and Corsa exhaust I pieced together for it:



It was largely quiet when I wanted it to be, and intoxicating when I wanted otherwise. Moving from the V8 to the I4, I knew that the exhaust wasn't going to be ferociously loud no matter what I did, so I decided to take a different route: I want it to be as near-stock sounding as possible . I want the car to be largely unassuming. Given that everyone has wheels and a drop nowadays, it'll be somewhat of a sleeper. That way when I finally upgrade the turbo and tune and I start running against V8s , they'll be somewhat surprised. Think Tesla P90D quiet *lol*. There's a local B8 with a very loud aftermarket exhaust that, in my observation, seems to like to announce his arrival. At this stage in the game, I desire the opposite. I'll borrow the term "Silent Runner" from someone I know. That's what I'm looking for.

As it stands, the IE does introduce more bark and a more throaty tone to the cabin. It doesn't sound harsh at all; it's very pleasant, as it is noticeably more audible than the stock exhaust. The increase in power, however, and the way it augments future mods was my main reason for acquisition.

[vbtravisd]

I totally understand! I did the same thing, searched a ton of builds to get some ideas and made a plan before I started buying parts.

That M sounds great... and I share the exact same sentiment! I have loud exhaust on my old rx7... but that was a different time! My car hauls my wife and 2 kids, it is my commuter to work and I also take regular 3-4 hour work trips. I wanted my driving experience during those trips to be sporty and fun but not headache inciting. I think your goal of a "silent runner" is spot on... I will be watching what you do here closely!

Great job again man! Stoked to see how it comes together and performs for you. :beer:

[kaz02a4]

What a wild build. You bought that car right near my hometown! Glad its serving you well. I'll be checking in on this thread for progress and inspiration :)

[whats77inaname]

A little mock up of something I'm working on. In my M3, I had a Valentine 1 mounted in the rear headrest with the remote power unit and remote display mounted in the ashtray. Since the Snow Controller/Boost gauge is in there, I had to come up with something else. I wanted the remote display within my line of sight, but kinda blended in, so looking around the interior, I thought it would fit next to the nav screen. I picked up an extra trim piece a few months ago so that I could verify it would work, and it's a bit tight, but it'll do. This process is going to be a bit long as I'm waiting for a part to come from China, but the majority of it I can install w/out that one part.

Some of the stuffing had to be pulled out of the headrest to get the V1 in, which is normal:


Here's the mock up:


I had to pull out the heat gun to clear out a little space behind the dash so that the RJ-11 jack attached to the remote display will fit. To the right of the picture you can see the screen edge. I used the rounded end of a screwdriver to make an indention in the FRP.


More coming tomorrow.

[whats77inaname]

What a wild build. You bought that car right near my hometown! Glad its serving you well. I'll be checking in on this thread for progress and inspiration :)

Thank you sir! I'll try not to disappoint

When I installed the LI, I went ahead and ran the phone cord from the back of the car to the front in anticipation of installing the V1 at some point. Getting it through the seat cushion and up into the headrest post was the most time consuming part of this entire install. The space is super, super tight. I ended up feeding some methanol hose from the top and using a pair of needle nose pliers, I grabbed it, then used electrical tape connect the hose and the cable. I was then able to feed it back through.


The metal part of the headrest is a hollow metal rod shaped like an upside down letter U. To run the cable into the post, I had to cut a small notch out of said rod. I fed the cord into the bottom of the rod and out through the notch, which is near the top of the leather portion of the headrest. From there, I fed it *into* the headrest. Next I crimped on a new RJ-11 end and then tested power to the unit.






V1 in the headrest:


Everything in place:


I couldn't find a decent spot on the dash to mount the remote unit, so I stuck it to the bottom of the driver's seat using 3M VHB. It's discretely positioned, and you wouldn't know it's there unless I said something; at the same time, it's easily reachable. I velcro'ed the 2 cords running into the unit out of the way, as well as making sure to leave enough slack for the seat to move.


Remote display unit tested and working:


In trying to figure out how to mount the remote display, I completely marred the finish, so I ordered another, which should be here by Tuesday. After my first failure, I decided to take a different approach, so I had to run out and grab this:


I'll pick this up once the new display arrives.

[whats77inaname]

All right, the new display came in, so it's been plastic welded in place. I'm waiting for 1 more trim piece specifically to clean up the view from the front by addressing the rough edges. So far, I'm very, very pleased with the results.

Welded in place.


Day view:


Night view:

[kaz02a4]

Fantastic work! Now I'm looking at V1s...super clean mock-up. Can't wait to see the finished product with the new trim piece.

[BeerBrent]

This post is property of BeerBrent
All rights reserved

[whats77inaname]

Fantastic work! Now I'm looking at V1s...super clean mock-up. Can't wait to see the finished product with the new trim piece.

Thanks! I've been beta-testing the setup, and it's been awesome. The location is such that sunlight doesn't wash it out, which is what I was aiming for. I purchased another OEM surround trim as I'm going to tweak the setup a bit. Given that I've been spending around $20 shipped for each piece, the investment isn't *so* bad. I think I'll be able to eliminate the need for the last trim piece I ordered, but I'm working on something to provide that extra bit of subterfuge

This post is property of BeerBrent
All rights reserved

*lol*

[whats77inaname]

After I received the new OEM surround and the new remote display, I changed plans up a bit. I'd been slowly coming to the realization that I would have to separate the back of the surround in order to cut the space I need correctly. As you can see in the pics, there piece is plastic welded with 14 welds, so I set about drilling them all out. It took me about an hour for that.




When I disassembled the new display, I remembered that on the previous unit, I had leveled the edges b/c I didn't think the display would fit. By keeping the edges in place, I could hide the cuts.


I pulled out my ruler and took measurements to make a template for the cuts I needed (2.25 inches x 2.3mm....yeah, I know, two different units, but the most accurate.) I started etching the separated panels.


The new display in place, with a small triangle cut out to match the contours of the curved display. During the separation of the plastic welds, it cracked and the contoured corner piece cracked off. It was a clean break, and I was able to save the piece, and you can't see the damage.


Preparing the plastic strips for plastic welding the new display in place.


All done, nice and clean.

[whats77inaname]

I had 3 LEDs out on one of the tail lights, so I picked up an OEM replacement on eBay.


I've been seeing random misfires when I hook up the VAGCOM, so I decided to go ahead and replace the spark plugs and coils. @FCPeuro and their lifetime warranty FTW. NGKs and Bosch red tops.




When I pulled out the plugs, they actually didn't look bad, and they were actually gapped correctly for a stage 1 tune (.028). I contemplated sticking them back in, but figured I might has well start with a clean slate, and since I won't have to pay for plugs in the future due to FCP Euro, I went ahead and replaced them. And the coil I pulled out of cylinder 2, for whatever reason, was different than the other 3, which was interesting.


Done.


After test driving, the changes are *definitely* noticeable. The cars feels more responsive to throttle input, and once underway, seems to be carrying more speed. I haven't dyno'ed, so it could be a placebo effect, but I really don't think so.

[whats77inaname]

Updating as it's been a couple weeks. Firestone is running an in-store special today, $100 off for a $500 spend. I snagged some Firehawk Indy 500s in 255/40/18 for a carry out price of $557. They'll be in later this week, then it'll be off to either Goodyear or the normal Discount Tire I visit for installation using the Hunter Auto34.

[whats77inaname]

Update since the last post, as it's been a bit. Over the past 6 weeks, things started to pick up steam. I finally got the tires installed and mounted everything. Before going on the car, I added a little curbing protection for the lip from Rim Blades.


Done, and added the center caps.


The install was easy, and I like the way they look. The Work CR2P...laser etched wheel style, finish, offset, size and serial number on the barrel. Small touches like this separate them from their competitors.


2 of the wheels are R-disk designed, to allow for BBK caliper clearance. The wheel tire setup specs:
Wheels: 18x9.5 +38
Tires: 255/40/18
Done....and waiting to be dropped.


I picked up an OEM S4 rear section and transported it back. On the way home, I guess driving in the left lane on an open stretch of road when there’s a sign that says “Left lane for passing only” is a thing in East Texas.


It was finally time to convert from the stock exhaust to the dual S4 exhaust setup.






I scored a super rare Finest Car Art S-line quad tip valence for the install a few months ago, so that went on.


My friend Jaron at gearheadsautofab custom made a 3" mid-pipe to connect to the 3" downpipe and 3" transition into the rear exhaust. I wanted to make sure that the IE downpipe wasn't modified in the event I ever decided to part out the car.


After driving around on it for a week, it was a bit too loud for my taste, so I picked up a Vibrant resonator that he's going to weld into the mid-pipe.

This weekend, my friend and I finally got around to installing the H&R coilover setup I picked up a few months ago.....which would have gone oh-so-much faster if H&R would update their technical specifications page from, "hey, use your current bump stops when you install the kit" leaving people bewildered because the front set DON'T FIT to "hey, for this setup, the bump stops are actually built *into* the front shocks, so don't worry about reusing the front set". I didn't realize this until I did some digging on Audizine and found some obscure post that referenced this.
I didn't come across old guys post (https://tinyurl.com/y5t7vwy8) about using McMaster-Carr's 1130lb burst strength cable ties to keep the compressed spring in place until the *day of* our start. I ended up picking up some 175lb burst strength cable ties from Home Depot and attached several.


Rears out


In the midst of the install, we had some obstacles to overcome, and I able to add some new tools to the collection, namely a pass thru socket set. For removing the top nut from the shock, this is the way to go. You can pick up a set from Harbor Freight for $20. We also utilized one of the best tools I've ever purchased that continues to pay dividends to this day, the MAC Tools made-for-Honda ball joint separator, P/N 07AAC-SJCA120....for the 6 ball joints that needed to be reused. I've used many a different type of ball joint tool in the past, but this one is hands down the best one I've ever used, with the widest opening. I've had this one for the past 15 years, and have used it on every single car (and truck) I've owned with no problem. It simply works. To remove the 4 small ball joints, we stuck a 5.5mm socket in the jaw and compressed it, using the socket the push the joint up. To remove the pinch bolt, we broke the nut from the bolt, then put the nut on the last 4 threads or so. We simultaneously used an impact to spin the bolt and a hammer on the nut. As we hammered the nut, by not really pressing the impact on the nut, the 2 movements created helped back out the bolt to the point where we could get a pry bar between it and the knuckle to extract it.


Fronts out:




The ECS Tuning install instructions for the KW say to make sure to clean the upper pivot arm ball joints of all buildup and debris so that they can be reseated. Truer words have never been written. We cleaned the male and female sides, then sandpapered, then cleaned them again, then lubricated them, but still couldn't get them back into place. C-clamp? Nope, that didn't work either. After about an hour or so of futility, we thought about a dremel.


The standard little sandpaper drum fits perfectly into steering knuckle holes, so after a thorough cleaning of them and the arms, the arms slid easily into place. Polished now:


H&R in:


Oh, and I guess the previous owner used the car to plow fields or something because all that dirt (and acorn shells and leaves) came from under the car from various frame nooks and crannies. Soap bottle used for reference, not for cleaning, btw.


Since I picked up some hub-centric rings, I went ahead and finally installed them.


Now that the setup has settled a bit after driving on it, I'm going to raise the back end a bit more. Although it sits lower than I'd like, surprisingly it doesn't rub and the ride was consigned by the s.o.

[JeriQo]

this is a great read! thanks for taking your time to make this thread!

[whats77inaname]

this is a great read! thanks for taking your time to make this thread!

You're welcome. Didn't think anyone would really go through all of it, but there are some things that I'm doing that I haven't seen in other builds, so I figured that I could share some ideas.

I'm glad *someone* has found it interesting

[whats77inaname]

Time for a summer update. I'm going to break this down over a few days b/c there's kind of a lot to cover. First off...the S4 exhaust with resonator delete that I had done earlier....yeah, that wasn't working for me. The car was waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too raspy sounding for my taste, and it was just generally loud. Besides that, the car wouldn't idle smoothly, and overall, my joy of driving it was greatly diminished. Start up was an ordeal, I hated driving through my neighborhood at night and I really felt bad for my neighbors b/c it was so high pitched and just....*loud*. I tried to mitigate that by installing a Vibrant resonator.



In order to install it, I had to lop off about 10" of the IE downpipe. Here it is all clamped into place.



After driving around like that for about a month, I was still really unhappy with the sound, and I knew what I had to do. I found the OE resonator on eBay for $90 shipped, and visited my friend the welder. Here he is holding the piece du jour.




We moved the Y farther upstream, so that the y connects to the IE downpipe via a v-band instead of regular exhaust clamps (which I could never get to stop leaking.)





And now it sounds *exactly* like I want it, which is to say when it's idling, it *definitely* doesn't sound stock, as it's a bit more gutteral and a tad louder. When I'm putting about, it maintains these characteristics, but a bit louder. When I get on it, yessssssssssss. It isn't raspy, it isn't tinny, it's pretty much exactly how I want it to sound. Startup is again pleasant, and it is no longer attention grabbing. The best part is since it's moving from a 3" downpipe to dual 2+" exhaust pipes, flow restriction is mitigated.

[69senator]

Great build thread, any updates?

[IbisB8.5]

Do you have any pictures of the upper part of your exhaust? Near the Y pipe.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[whats77inaname]

Great build thread, any updates?

Sorry for the extended break....life called :-)

Quite a bit to add, I'll start this weekend.

Do you have any pictures of the upper part of your exhaust? Near the Y pipe.

I *might*. I'll run through my pics and see.

[69senator]

Sorry for the extended break....life called :-)

Quite a bit to add, I'll start this weekend.



I *might*. I'll run through my pics and see.

alright awesome

[schwiz23]

This thread is amazing. Great job on all the mods!

[whats77inaname]

alright awesome

I checked for more pics, I don't have any except that one. I'll try and slide a cam under the car and get a pic. Sorry I didn't get pics up last week, I'm chasing a fuel leak into the oil, and I replaced the injectors, did a DIY walnut blasting and changed the plugs last weekend. Still chasing it, so pics'll have to wait a minute

This thread is amazing. Great job on all the mods!

Thank you, sir! More to come!

[whats77inaname]

Since I have all the time in the world now, I'm going to try and catch this up.



I threw a CEL, P2015, which indicates a faulty intake runner flap issue. I did a little search online for the code, and found this nifty little kit made by ECS to fix the issue. I was very appreciative that they had install instructions as well.

http://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts...021071ecs01~a/

It came with everything needed, including the hex key required to install it.





One of the hex-head bolts is next to impossible to install given the length of the hex key, so the easiest solution was the cut the hex key with a set of bolt cutters.



Once everything was installed and snugged up, the CEL disappeared, and hasn't been back since.

Something else I did after I saw some other boost gauge kit was to install an inline filter. As you can see, it was well worth the install.



You can pick them up here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074C4T4WS/

[whats77inaname]

The Snow methanol kit I picked up came with a 7 gallon reservoir, which wasn't going to happen, so I picked up their 3 qt reservoir. I was then going through 3 qts of methanol pretty much with every tank of gas, give or take, and I hated having to constantly fill the reservoir so frequently. I needed something bigger. I didn't really want to use the windshield washer fluid reservoir, b/c even *that* wasn't big enough. I did quite a bit of research, but couldn't find a tank that quite fit my criteria:
1) It had to allow a stealth install; it couldn't be something blatant, like a tank in the trunk that you can see as soon as you open the lid, or even under the spare tire well, and b) it had to be a clean install, meaning, it had to look OEMish. I bounced back and forth on the Snow 2.5 gallon tank for a couple weeks. I looked at the dimensions and I thought that I could somehow fit it in a way that met my requirements. The most logical space was the cavity between the 2 firewalls. The space to the left of the pump was the target.



The tank didn't physically fit....initially. Buuuuuuutttt....I have a lot of patience, and more importantly in this case....a heat gun. After test fitting and heating and repeating this process for about 2 hours, this is what I came up with:







Now to address the other issues with the tank. On the 3 qt tank, the line pickup is on the bottom of the tank, which works out perfectly. On the larger tank, the pickup is on the far side of the tank, and due to the angle, I couldn't get it to bend without kinking. Fortunately, it has a flat spot where it looks like there *should* be a line tap.



Using a stepped drill bit, I drilled it out, and then I separated the line pickup on the smaller tank, and transplanted it to the hole I just drilled in larger tank. I plastic welded it in place, and over the next couple days, I applied a couple layers of epoxy over the seam. I also closed the original line pick up on the original pickup spot.


I let everything cure for 48 hrs and verified it didn't leak. The new volume is no longer 2.5 gallons, but a little over 2.25 gallons. Not bad. I re-oriented the pump so that it's upside down. I made a cardboard template and after cutting a hole in the part that covers the firewall cavity, I had to massage it a little and take out some of the underside plastic. The final result:






To make it easy to fill, I can't say enough about having one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Completely eliminates trying to position and pour out of an awkward container at awkward angles. It comes with the bottle neck adapters, so don't order those separately. Makes filling the tank a breeze, and is worth every penny in time (and methanol) saved. Runs on 4 AA batteries.

I've been running this setup in this configuration for the past 6 months.

[whats77inaname]

Now that all the supporting mods have been installed, it was time for the fun stuff. With the endgame being a Spawne32 researched ebay turbo, it was time to focus on the tuning setup. I was initially going to go APR b/c I really appreciated the fact that you could change the tune on the fly. My thought process was that I wanted to run the 100 octane tune, but if I were taking a road-trip, and had to run a lower octane tune because I ran out of methanol, I could just switch the tune at the gas station and be on my way. However, after taking in feedback between the 2 companies, I decided to go with IE.


With that decision out of the way, I was bent on finding a switch-on-the-fly solution. The only way I could do that is with a CarPC setup. I had one in my M3 and my Acura, so I'm pretty familiar with how to go about it. With the M3, I was able to find an interface that sits between the iDrive and the LVDS so that one could input up to 3 devices and use the iDrive controller to select the input and display it on the screen in HD. I figured there had to be one available for the Audi. It took me a little while, but I finally found it. It's powered by a 5V USB input, which is awesome, b/c I have a 4 port, 12v powered USB power supply/hub from previous CarPC installs. This USB power supply is not made anymore, so I'm glad I kept it.



Bad news is the Audi interface unit doesn't come with English instructions, but I found them.....eventually.

Now I had to find a computer....something really small, preferably touchscreen, and something that could be preferably be powered by a USB port and could output to HDMI, as the interface has a HDMI input. This one was going to be a needle in a haystack. It took me a couple months, but one day I accidentally stumbled on a picture and came across this:

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/gole-gole1

It's perfect for what I need....and bonus....it dual boots to Android. So, Google Maps and all that fun stuff. It has wi-fi so I can run use my phone as a hot-spot so that I can switch the tune on the fly. See, the one part of the IE tune that isn't so awesome? In order to switch the tune, you have to have an internet connection. They don't store the tunes locally on the machine, and in talking to them, they don't intend to. You have to connect online every time you want to switch tunes.

This Gole unit has been out of production for 3 years now, so what are the chances that I'd find one on eBay the day I found out about it, and that the auction ended a day later? Chances are slim and none, but it all worked out.


Booted into Android:



As it stands now, I haven't installed the hub and interface, I just have the IE software loaded on the Gole, along w/a 256GB microsd card so that I can store datalogs. It'll also allow me to store music and/or hit streaming sites, etc. Glad I have unlimited data on my phone.








I also loaded Teamviewer on it so I can reach it from my LT and my Linux server inside the house....pull log files, transfer music, etc. I don't have to stay in the garage to do that, as it of course can connect to it over the home wi-fi.


I got the display resolution so that it perfectly fits the data logging screen:


The end game is to have the Gole hooked up the the interface so that I can display it on the car display. I picked a foldable wireless keyboard for it. With the power draw being so low, I plan on leaving it on all the time.

[whats77inaname]

Kinda build related....launching a B8.5 design on Saturday (4/11/20).

b85.jpg

As there will be limited quantities, they're available to y'all now, before the general public. Link is in my sig.

B8 will be coming in abt a week

[whats77inaname]

In sticking with the blue theme, I opted for some lit door sills. My main issue was that most didn't offer front and rear, so that was a deal breaker. Early last year, I found these on eBay after a bit of searching. I was a little leery as they were coming from Russia. They're nickel-plated and came (after waiting 3 months) nicely polished. The only issue I had was that one of the connections had broken, so I had to pull out the soldering gun and take care of it. Sucks that I installed it first and didn't realize the issue as the wiring is covered under adhesive backed foil.


The old sills came off nicely using trim removal tools.




I used adhesive remover to get rid of the residue, and then it was time for the install.


They are wired to the footwell lights on either side of the dashboard, so I connected the fronts to the rears and then ran them together.


I'm pretty stoked about these. They get a lot of compliments when they're seen, and they're exceptionally bright and crisp. The top covering is a piece of plexiglass.

[19birel]

The Gole install you did is neat! Where do you store the unit/have it mounted?

[whats77inaname]

The Gole install you did is neat! Where do you store the unit/have it mounted?

Thank you, sir! I usually don't tip my hand about that kind of stuff....why make it easy for thieves, right?....but I will say this: the near future plan is to convert the stock LCD to touchscreen and have the Gole display to it with the ability to switch back and forth between it and the stock display. Waiting for a couple parts to arrive next week so I can start the work.

[19birel]

Thank you, sir! I usually don't tip my hand about that kind of stuff....why make it easy for thieves, right?....but I will say this: the near future plan is to convert the stock LCD to touchscreen and have the Gole display to it with the ability to switch back and forth between it and the stock display. Waiting for a couple parts to arrive next week so I can start the work.

That would be slick! I think there was actually a guy over on the C6 forum that did something like that to his A6 Avant a while back.

[whats77inaname]

That would be slick! I think there was actually a guy over on the C6 forum that did something like that to his A6 Avant a while back.

I found a 4 wire resistive (vs capacitive) touchscreen overlay and 4 wire to USB mouse adapter (pretty much converts the touch to mouse functionality) and both were relatively inexpensive. The overly is 7" as opposed to the 6.5" actual size of the OEM LCD, but the good news is that the screen comes with config software (for Windows) so one can, in theory, set boundaries so that it reflects the 6.5". The only thing I'm unsure of is will the screen work in Android mode. I'll know more when it arrives, but hopefully it'll be good.

[whats77inaname]

A couple randoms I took the other day that I enjoyed. Taken as "before" images as both are soon to be rendered obsolete.



Finest CAR ART rear valence from the 2012 group buy that I was lucky to get my hands on yeaaarrrrrs later. Reading the original group buy thread, I was expecting a struggle installing it, but everything went smoothly.


B8 RS4 rep bumper cover I've had for about the past 8 months along w/s-line side blades in for paint. Bumper cover also had some minor repair work as there were some imperfections since it was used. I'm partial to the A4 fog lights, so I think I'm going to figure out a way to keep them. We'll see in a week or so. Definitely contemplating a DIY XPEL film install for the bumper cover, as I recently DIY wrapped the hood and roof of my truck and I feel pretty comfortable doing that now.