New A4 owner, modding has already started, pic heavy

[dpbayly]

Hi all,

I picked up my new motor (A4 3.0 V6 avant) a week ago and im loving it i brought it home and the other halfs first comment was "oh its an estate my dad drives an estate...." ggrrr.

That aside im a big fan of the avant, i've seen some modified ones that look awesome.

Here's some pics of it day after i got it home:

Im a mechanic and im lucky enough that i have my own keys to the work shops so i have use of anything i want when i want (outside workshop hours) which includes the spray shop. First little mod i carried out was to change the OEM HID bulbs for 8000k ones :

new one on the right

Next thing i did was to change a load of the the front suspension arms and both front drop links along with a new temp sensor to get the dash gauge working again.

This was followed by whipping the drivers front seat out and stripping it down to repair the heater element for the heated seat. This was a mission due to it having leather sporty bucket type seats with loads of adjustable bits, as i was taking it apart and stripping it down i was getting more and more nervous about getting it back together but it was all good in the end and the seat works perfect again:

Then Monday i decided to attack the exterior so ordred a set of Apex 40mm lowering springs and a set of A4 B5 spring perches (gain 10-15mm more drop up front) they arrived yesterday so fitted them last night:

Before:

rear

front

After:

rear

front

well chuffed with how it sits now.

Also monday i ordered a new front wing as for some random reason the drivers front wing has bad rust (the only bit on the whole car) that arrived yesterday too so at lunch i prep'ed it and whacked it in the spray booth ready for spraying which i did this evening before leaving work:

And the final thing i ordered Monday the most exciting thing i ordered was the FULL Votex kit from TPS Audi, not cheap but id rather it fit perfect and looks right rather than having to bodge it about, tonight when i got home i wet flated it all ready for spraying friday after work I'll then give it a good baking in the booth so its fully gone off ready for me to fit it all this Satuday:

Today i ordered a couple of other bits that will hopefully turn up by the weekend LED side light bulbs and LED fog light bulbs.

Opinions wanted as im unsure on this particular mod it's probably already been done by other's here's a novice photoshop:

not my car just a pic i found on the net

stock votex look:

Mod front end votex (i have stock grill but will be dechromed satin black)

Hopefully i will be able to post some finished pics Sunday fingers crossed....

 

[Sandra]

Hi, welcome to audi-sport.net. Very good and informative 1st post. Where are you located? Hope you enjoy the forum. x

 

[C6 DRN]

Nice car, sitting much better.. got any other ideas? as for the grill...i think it could be pulled off if you sprayed it and also the grill gloss?

p.s how lucky/handy having the keys and also the fact your boss lets you!

 

[dubstar74]

Lovely Avant coming along nicely...the grill though I reckon should be left without that black bit!

 

[beachbuggy]

How much was the votex kit? If you don't me asking?

 

[quattrojames]

Welcome to the forum :icon_thumright:

Your car reminds me of mine when it was sat at SE height with silver RS6 wheels!

I wouldn't blacken the bumper myself, several have done it over the years but it doesn't work in my opinion.

If you're going to fit the Votex yourself, and you've got time ...... have a look at this thread:

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/project-room/106814-a4-b6-avant-made-tdi.html

The way the Votex lower is blended into the upper totally transforms it, the Votext fitment has always been their weakest point.

 

[dpbayly]

Thanks,

I'll try and answer all the questions in this one post as appose to loads of reply posts,


Sandra-Thanks I'm in Cambridgeshire in a little village called Litlington


Inglis- Thanks, yep having my own keys and an understanding boss is a massive plus, As for the grill i was going for satin so if i did the bumper section too that would also be satin, i will probably get it all fitted up then live with it a week or so and then make my mind up.


dubstar74- Thanks, and Im edging that way to be honest.


beachbuggy- Not cheap the entire kit (front valance, rear valance, side skirts and spoiler) came in at 939.60 inc vat

Quattrojames- Thanks, i have considered doing it that way but for now Im just fitting it standard but in the near future i will be blowing over the whole bumper with fresh paint as it has a fair few stone chips so i may do it then.

 

[Neilb1]

couple of questions first the car is looking goos and is giving me ideas for my avant,

Do you have a link to the 8000k bulbs and the A4 B5 spring perches ?

 

[dpbayly]

couple of questions first the car is looking goos and is giving me ideas for my avant,

Do you have a link to the 8000k bulbs and the A4 B5 spring perches ?

Thanks, as long as yours is fitted with factory HID's then these are the ones i bought:
NEW HID XENON D1S REPLACEMENT BULB 8000K X 2 PCS | eBay

As for the spring perches i bought them from TPS who sell only VAG parts, we have an account and they deliver to my garage but i think they have branches all over the UK, they cost me £18 each.

Trade Parts Specialists

 

[krisavant]

Good work so far, nice car!! :icon_thumright:
I'm in the 'leave the middle bit in-between the grills standard though' clang.

 

[dpbayly]

Good work so far, nice car!! :icon_thumright:
I'm in the 'leave the middle bit in-between the grills standard though' clang.

Thanks, it is likely to be left standard i think

 

[dpbayly]

couple of questions first the car is looking goos and is giving me ideas for my avant,

Do you have a link to the 8000k bulbs and the A4 B5 spring perches ?

Thanks,

i did reply earlier but for some reason it hasn't appeared so here it is again.

Bulbs as long as you have factory fitted HID's then these are the ones i got:

NEW HID XENON D1S REPLACEMENT BULB 8000K X 2 PCS | eBay

as for the spring perches i got them from TPS we have an account with them and they deliver to my garage but Im sure they have branches all over the place, i paid £18 each.

 

[SmoothAssault]

Sandra-Thanks I'm in Cambridgeshire in a little village called Litlington

Not too far from me, I'm in St Neots.

Car's looking good, nice work.

Really don't think you should paint that middle section of the bumper black, I've seen it done and although from the front it looks like a cool idea, in real life, at any other angle it just looks a bit weird. Plus it's a bit like pretending to be a B7, which I'd say is on a par with sticking an RS4 badge on the back, not gonna fool anyone.

However, each to their own! If you do it with vinyl you could always peel it off when you get bored of it.

 

[dpbayly]

Ignore that ebay link, ive just noticed they have jump right up in price i should think they have no stock left so bump the price up to put people off bidding as i only paid 26 for them... there the bulbs you need though.

 

[dpbayly]

Not too far from me, I'm in St Neots.

Car's looking good, nice work.

Really don't think you should paint that middle section of the bumper black, I've seen it done and although from the front it looks like a cool idea, in real life, at any other angle it just looks a bit weird. Plus it's a bit like pretending to be a B7, which I'd say is on a par with sticking an RS4 badge on the back, not gonna fool anyone.

However, each to their own! If you do it with vinyl you could always peel it off when you get bored of it.

Not to far at all then,

Thinking about it i can see your right about looking wrong at different angles as the lines would be all wrong so with that thought in mind im scrapping that idea.

 

[starnon]

Not to far at all then,

Thinking about it i can see your right about looking wrong at different angles as the lines would be all wrong so with that thought in mind im scrapping that idea.

There was someone in here who bought a car with this kind of mod done to it. From head-on it seems like it might be fine, but it actually looked really wrong. I saw on another forum where people had blacked out the bottom bar of the bonnet grill and with the S Line lower grill (which has no chrome top bar) it's the most effective way of getting a single-grill appearance. Though it worked best on black cars!

 

[Neilb1]

going to say them bulbs are very dear

 

[Ian-83]

Cars looking good so far. will be nice to see it with the Votex kit on. Another member here from Cambridge

 

[Turkster]

very nice , id not paint the front bumper to join the grilles up, it looks gtreat as it is, welcome to our forum,

 

[dpbayly]

Thanks all,

Decision made wont be painting the bit between grill and bumper.

This evening i fitted the new wing, went better than i thought, i was sure i took a pic of it fitted but its not on the phone??

Here's it stripped:

 

[JasonS]

I'm just down the road in Royston, I'll look out for you when I'm out and about..

 

[hades-]

so glad your not painting the middle bit
it would have looked ****

 

[dpbayly]

I'm just down the road in Royston, I'll look out for you when I'm out and about..

cool,

i was looking at cab but given the time of year i opted for the avant.... maybe next spring

 

[dpbayly]

so glad your not painting the middle bit
it would have looked ****

Yep, glad i didn't get it all painted up only to then see the error of my ways

 

[dpbayly]

Cant wait till the morning im like a kid on christmas eve,

This evening i set up everything in the booth for spraying:

Then sprayed it and baked it for 45 mins so it will be ready for me to start fitting tomorrow at 7am:

 

[adamss24]

Very nice ! Post a few pictures when it's all ready, would love to see the outcome ! Cheers.

 

[Golfedd]

Like the plans for this, love the dedication... will look ace! nicely done sir

 

[dpbayly]

Thanks.

Its all done now along with a few other bits and im loving it:

 

[Golfedd]

really good! came out very nice... The only thing I'm not a fan of is the black/clear rear lights. I prefer the look of OEM red's HOWEVER it's not my car just my opinion. Over all VERY nice mate!

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Looks ****** brilliant - any more plans? You thought about de-badging the rear?

 

[dpbayly]

Looks ****** brilliant - any more plans? You thought about de-badging the rear?

Thanks,

I thought about de-badging the rear but did this at the weekend instead and i like how it looks, matches the lights and another thing it will go with that im going to be getting done is dark window tints B post back so not touching front side windows:

Something else ive done thats not in this post is the converting of my front fogs to LED DRL's so there on all the time the ignition is on, heres a write up with a how too i did.

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a4-a4-...558-fog-drl-conversion-carried-out-today.html

 

[190sline]

Loving the thread I noticed you changed the exhaust. What exhaust is it?

 

[dpbayly]

Loving the thread I noticed you changed the exhaust. What exhaust is it?

Thanks,

I cheated its not a system its new 4" stainless tips welded to stock back boxes but i did remove the centre box and replaced that with a pair of straight pipes this has made it a bit more vocal but not over the top.

just before i removed the old pea shooters to weld on the new big boys

 

[190sline]

Ohh I thought about cutting the centre section myself lol I thought about using two rs4 backboxs instead i haven't had time to check if they would fit without to much faffing around.

 

[dpbayly]

Mine was a dead cheap mod, trims were 13.99 each off ebay and I had the replacement straight pipe lying around at work, took around 45 mins to do the whole lot inc welding the trims on and it sounds quite nice not over powering.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

They look good in black, but not sure if it clutters up the back end - maybe darken the chrome boot strip as well?
Looks pretty much the same as mine, apart from the colour (I prefer yours...lol)

Do you have xenons in your fogs or LED's?

I would kill for the use of a ramp - hate laying on the driveway in this cold weather. (and its almost clutch time...eek)

 

[dpbayly]

They look good in black, but not sure if it clutters up the back end - maybe darken the chrome boot strip as well?
Looks pretty much the same as mine, apart from the colour (I prefer yours...lol)

Do you have xenons in your fogs or LED's?

I would kill for the use of a ramp - hate laying on the driveway in this cold weather. (and its almost clutch time...eek)

Thanks,

Already on the case blacking the strip this week sometime,

The bulbs in the old fog light units are LED i couldn't use xenons as they would be too bright as Im running them as DRL's so there on all the time the ignition is on.

Here's the bulbs:

Having the use of the workshop and spray shop along with all the equipment is a massive bonus Im fortunate enough that i have my own set of keys to both workshops and an understanding boss that lets me use them anytime i want... many times Ive been in there swapping engines in my motors at 4am....

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Having the use of the workshop and spray shop along with all the equipment is a massive bonus Im fortunate enough that i have my own set of keys to both workshops and an understanding boss that lets me use them anytime i want... many times Ive been in there swapping engines in my motors at 4am....

Sweet, are you local?

 

[dpbayly]

Afraid not to you, I live in a little village called Litlington near Cambridge

 

[mattyb6]

Sorry to bring this thread back uup but how did u fit your rear votex bumper?

And before fitting it did it seem flimsy and un-sturdy at all?

Cheers