Bought a Cab, lots of Qs, please answer if you can

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wywywywy

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Hi all,

Just bought a B6 3.0 V6 RS4 rep. I have always liked the look, quality and interior design of the A4 cab. Would have preferred a 1.8T but after reading about the problems I am sort of glad I got a 3.0 instead, even though it has way less potential.

Being an Audi it is extremely smooth but I couldn't help but think that the car is not exactly exciting to drive, time for a few mods I think. By the way the RNS-E sat nav isn't very good is it :( Not at all comparable to TomTom but oh well give and take.

This being my first VAG I have a few questions if that's okay.

1. I get on average 24mpg doing roughly 60% town 40% motorway. I know the fuel consumption is definitely not going to be as good as the 1.8T but does this sound normal?

2. What is the difference between an RS4 bonnet and an A4 bonnet?

3. What front seats can I fit into my car? Would a B7 saloon one fit? What about, for example, the B5 RS4 ones? And do I need to disconnect battery when doing so (don't know how sensitive are the airbags on the A4)?

4. How do you remove the rear quarter panels? Google isn't helping.

5. What upgrade options do I have when it comes to brakes? I prefer one from another Audi model rather than going aftermarket. Ideally I would want the B7 RS4 ones but I can imagine they are REALLY expensive. For example, do the front and rear brakes from an S4 4.2 345mm front 300mm rear fit? If so what do I need other than calipers discs and pads? The car has 312mm front as far as I can see.

6. Do suspension kits designed for saloon/avant fit? Do suspension kits designed for the B7 cab fit? Do suspension kits designed for the quattro fit?

7. What wheel offset would be the best on 19" wheels? And what is the maximum width of wheels can I get away on the rear? Bearing in mind the RS4 arches and future lowering (around 30mm probably).

8. How much should I be looking at for a cambelt/waterpump change? Just so to make sure I don't get ripped off really.

9. Are B7 cab rear lights physically compatible with B6 cabs? I know the wiring is a bit different but that can easily be solved.

10. Just wondering what your personal opinions are. Should I take the RS4 badges off or leave them on?

Your help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks!!
 
Welcome to the forum :sign_welcome:

1. I get on average 24mpg doing roughly 60% town 40% motorway. I know the fuel consumption is definitely not going to be as good as the 1.8T but does this sound normal?

This would seem about right from what other 3.0 owners have said.

2. What is the difference between an RS4 bonnet and an A4 bonnet?

They obviously didn't do a B6 RS4 - cabby bonnets aren't compatible with saloon/avant because the grille is part of the bumper on the cab not the bonnet like on the others. A B7 RS4 cabby bonnet may be the same, but I'm not sure on that.

3. What front seats can I fit into my car? Would a B7 saloon one fit? What about, for example, the B5 RS4 ones? And do I need to disconnect battery when doing so (don't know how sensitive are the airbags on the A4)?

I think any of them would fit - I understand that as long as you disconnect the battery you will be fine. Just don't turn the ignition on while they're disconnected or you may get a warning light which will need VAGcom to remove.

4. How do you remove the rear quarter panels? Google isn't helping.

Nor can I sorry......

5. What upgrade options do I have when it comes to brakes? I prefer one from another Audi model rather than going aftermarket. Ideally I would want the B7 RS4 ones but I can imagine they are REALLY expensive. For example, do the front and rear brakes from an S4 4.2 345mm front 300mm rear fit? If so what do I need other than calipers discs and pads? The car has 312mm front as far as I can see.

S4 from a B6 or B5 brakes will fit, as will either RS4 brakes. B5 S4 brakes are a popular mod as S4 owners often upgrade theirs. You've listed all you need I think, plus caliper carriers.

6. Do suspension kits designed for saloon/avant fit? Do suspension kits designed for the B7 cab fit? Do suspension kits designed for the quattro fit?

I'm not sure on suspension, I think I've read somewhere that Avant/cab suspension is the same but I'm not 100% sure. Quattro suspension is not compatible with fwd on saloons or avants, so I'd be surprised if it was on cabs.

7. What wheel offset would be the best on 19" wheels? And what is the maximum width of wheels can I get away on the rear? Bearing in mind the RS4 arches and future lowering (around 30mm probably).

Does the car have flared RS4 arches now then? If so then I think with 19" wheels at 9J the offset on an RS4 is 29 from memory.

8. How much should I be looking at for a cambelt/waterpump change? Just so to make sure I don't get ripped off really.

£500 ish from an independent I reckon.

9. Are B7 cab rear lights physically compatible with B6 cabs? I know the wiring is a bit different but that can easily be solved.

Yes they will fit but as you say I think you need a Kufatec wiring adapter. 1wheelonly has done this mod so he will be able to give you more help.

10. Just wondering what your personal opinions are. Should I take the RS4 badges off or leave them on?

If it's a spitting image of an RS4 externally, with flared arches, 19"'s, RS4 grille and bumpers then I'd keep them. If not, then no no no no no ....... :no:

:sign_pics:
 
Sorry just to add a bit of info.

Externally the car has B7 front lights, RS4 front arches, RS4 bumpers, RS4 skirts, and RS4 wheels. All are genuine as far as I can see except the wheels which are likely replicas as front and rear are of the same width.
I am not sure whether the bonnet and rear arches are RS4 items because they are so hard to tell. That's why I asked how to take the rear quarters off to check the part number.

Will take some pics as soon as I have a chance to clean the car!
 
Hi and :sign_welcome:, put some pics up ,i have seen a couple of rs4 reps on ebay and they looked good

By the way the RNS-E sat nav isn't very good is it :( Not at all comparable to TomTom but oh well![/QUOTE]

Thats why i fitted the kenwood system, sat-nav is by garmin, bluetooth by parrott and of course the DVD player and added DVB are a massive bonus:icon_thumright: .As James says it depends on the look as to weather you loose the badges or not.
 
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Sorry quick & stupid question... my tax disc dropped behind the dash >__<
What is the easiest way to get it out?
 
Is this the car that somebody has been trying to sell for the last 6 months on ebay, its blue

Looks spot on apart from the B6 rear lights

Was up for 17k, how much did you pay
 
im guessing its this one ....http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-AUDI-RS4...ewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item414e0d603a

it claims alot of genuine parts but theres no way its got the rear quaters, the wheels are deffo fakes the exhaust looks to small, it also states s4 interior, it isnt ! im guessing that the steering wheel hasnt been done properly either ( non of the functions work ) and why do a b7 lift and leave b6 rear lights in it ???
 
wywywywy said:
Sorry quick & stupid question... my tax disc dropped behind the dash >__<
What is the easiest way to get it out?
Click to expand...

Yeah easy, get a ruler and put some tape on it. the poke it down there. hopefully it will stick on!!

I had to remove some old parking tickets this way...
 
1wheelonly said:
im guessing its this one ....http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-AUDI-RS4...ewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item414e0d603a

it claims alot of genuine parts but theres no way its got the rear quaters, the wheels are deffo fakes the exhaust looks to small, it also states s4 interior, it isnt ! im guessing that the steering wheel hasnt been done properly either ( non of the functions work ) and why do a b7 lift and leave b6 rear lights in it ???
Click to expand...

probably a good chance it had a good front end smash!
 
1wheelonly said:
im guessing its this one ....http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-AUDI-RS4...ewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item414e0d603a

it claims alot of genuine parts but theres no way its got the rear quaters, the wheels are deffo fakes the exhaust looks to small, it also states s4 interior, it isnt ! im guessing that the steering wheel hasnt been done properly either ( non of the functions work ) and why do a b7 lift and leave b6 rear lights in it ???
Click to expand...

The description is a copy and paste from another car, and I knew about that already. So let's ignore the descriptions which aren't accurate. This is also why the price is much lower than other RS4 reps. As far as I know nobody in the world has got the RS4 steering wheel buttons to work (would love to be proven wrong though!). But yea leaving B6 rear lights in is proper cheap.

What is the difference between A4 and S4 interior by the way?

And I don't think it has been involved in a front end crash, I took it to a friend's bodyshop to check. Everything is nice and straight (but very dirty).
 
wywywywy said:
The description is a copy and paste from another car, and I knew about that already. So let's ignore the descriptions which aren't accurate. This is also why the price is much lower than other RS4 reps. As far as I know nobody in the world has got the RS4 steering wheel buttons to work (would love to be proven wrong though!). But yea leaving B6 rear lights in is proper cheap.

What is the difference between A4 and S4 interior by the way?

And I don't think it has been involved in a front end crash, I took it to a friend's bodyshop to check. Everything is nice and straight (but very dirty).
Click to expand...

Thats good, It looks like it has been modded well. If anyone can get the steering wheel working it will be some of the people on here..
 
iyrix said:
probably a good chance it had a good front end smash!
Click to expand...

Normal A4 - S4/RS4 Differences.

Xenon front lights and pop out washers
S4 - RS4 on Mph dials
S4 - RS4 Wing mirrors (Metal)
Full electric seats
Interior trim on S4 is ALU and RS4 Carbon
S4 Leather seats have a band round them and if RS4 most are recaro bucket type


Was going to mention a few thoughts I had over the times it had been advertised, the rear lights used to annoy me no end, why spend all that cash and then leave the rear lights. I did suspect it had a crash myself, and also thought it must of had a problem due to the amount of times it had been put on ebay and by more than 1 person I thought. ( I monitor ebay every day looking for that elusive bargain !!) and was going to ask how long the previous owner had it before you

There used to be a few RS4 wanabees posted on ebay by an asian guy from Bradford, he had at least 3 accounts and used to bid and win his own auctions (trying to bump up the price) he sold the cars numerous times using different accounts but the same pictures !! not saying that is the one you have but the rear light thing rings a few bells
 
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quattrojames said:
S4 from a B6 or B5 brakes will fit, as will either RS4 brakes. B5 S4 brakes are a popular mod as S4 owners often upgrade theirs. You've listed all you need I think, plus caliper carriers.
Click to expand...


I am more thinking of the B7 S4 4.2L brakes, will they fit?
Because the B5 S4 ones are not too much of an upgrade.

As for the Xenon light units, are they plug and play? I was going to go for an aftermarket HID kit, which I have on my previous cars (with projector headlights), but after reading some of the threads here, OE units seem to be more of a safe bet.

This is not the Bradford one by the way, as far as I know that one is still for sale! And for £16.5k.

And I have to say, thank you guys for feeding me the knowledge.
 
the older chrome b5 ones were metal mate, i can assure you that the later ones are plastic, ask about mate, got a genuine set on mine now, 100%
 
Most of the newer mirrors since 03 are indeed alum plated plastic, the RS4 saloon & avant are solid afaik given they're of a fixed position, where as the cab uses the same alum plated plastic covers as say the S3 8P & other S cars on a number of chassis's.
 
wywywywy said:
The description is a copy and paste from another car, and I knew about that already. So let's ignore the descriptions which aren't accurate. This is also why the price is much lower than other RS4 reps. As far as I know nobody in the world has got the RS4 steering wheel buttons to work (would love to be proven wrong though!). But yea leaving B6 rear lights in is proper cheap.

What is the difference between A4 and S4 interior by the way?

And I don't think it has been involved in a front end crash, I took it to a friend's bodyshop to check. Everything is nice and straight (but very dirty).
Click to expand...

Steering wheel

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...-2002-Audi-24...&highlight=rs4+steering+wheel
 
To finish it off you will have to cut the rear quarter to put RS4 unit on and also get some RS4 mirrors.

RS4 trim in the cab looked a lot like yours althoug you could upgrade to the Recaro's if you wanted from new.

If you get the rear quarters done you could fit rims with a et29 offset and if your doing all this them you need to fit the B7 RS4 front brakes which will be a bolt on job requiring brake lines, callipers, discs, and carriers.

RS4 bonnet is lighter (made from ally) than a A4 bonnet and thats all the difference.
 
yes, think its due to the door having no frame round it, therefore the bracketery is alot smaller on the cabs so they kept the old design, lazy really and a shame, i like the look of the teardrop ones
 
Well seeing as you told me the RS4 mirrors are plastic, I have had to go and get some.

1wheel what actual colour are yours (Chrome, Brushed Alu, Matt Alu)
 
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have i just read the right ??? it states if you want the mirrors the same colour as the car its an EXTRA of £85 WTF !!!

blacky there a brushed ally ( sort of satin finish ) very similar to the windscreen surround mate
 
Many thanks for the tips guys.

docurley said:
To finish it off you will have to cut the rear quarter to put RS4 unit on and also get some RS4 mirrors.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, on the the rear quarter panels can be taken off and replaced instead of bonding a skin on, unlike the saloon/avant, am I wrong?



And just to reiterate a few questions that I have asked previously.

- I am more thinking of the B7 S4 4.2L brakes, will they fit? Because the B5 S4 ones are not too much of an upgrade.

- As for the Xenon light units, are they plug and play? I was going to go for an aftermarket HID kit, which I have on my previous cars (with projector headlights), but after reading some of the threads here, OE units seem to be more of a safe bet.

- How do you remove the rear quarter panels? Google isn't helping.

- Do suspension kits designed for saloon/avant fit? Do suspension kits designed for the B7 cab fit?

And one more... on VW cars, Porsche brakes are a popular and easy upgrade with off the shelf brackets etc. I assume the same goes for the A4 B6?

I think the priority for me right now is service, cambelt, xenon, brakes, suspension, rear lights, rear quarter, and then maybe exhaust. The brakes and suspensions are particularly disappointing on the A4... even though it's a Sport model.

Again, many thanks!
 
Just found a few good things :D

Firstly the B7 S4 brake calipers are exactly the same with the 288mm ones, just with difference carriers.

Secondly the exhaust tips on the car are just bolt-on, so I can just buy RS4 style ones until I get a custom exhaust later in the year.

And lastly the B6 and B7 rear lights have the same connectors, just different pin arrangements. So I don't even need the Kufatec adapters!
 
wywywywy said:
And lastly the B6 and B7 rear lights have the same connectors, just different pin arrangements. So I don't even need the Kufatec adapters!
Click to expand...


no they aint mate, plugs are a much smaller one on the b7, yes pin swap, along with correct resistor, one has to be bridged etc.
i have fitted a fair ild few now and can assure you there different.
 
1wheelonly said:
no they aint mate, plugs are a much smaller one on the b7, yes pin swap, along with correct resistor, one has to be bridged etc.
i have fitted a fair ild few now and can assure you there different.
Click to expand...



Ditto 1wheel, I thought I'd wait as its his turn to correct someone
 
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blackpool1974 said:
Thanks 1Wheel your avatar has just made me spit tea all over my laptop screen :hubbahubba:
Click to expand...

avatar26332_3.gif
1wheel - Is this the new airbag upgrade you have been telling me about :icon_thumright:
 
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