What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?

[Jamsmoo]

Welcome to the club James, that makes about 5 B7 owners that I know of with the rs4 fbsw retro fitted, nice one.
Looks in nice cond too which is allways a bonus as most are well worn.
They are so much nicer than the large OEM ones.
Also a nice alternative to the other offerings that can be fitted , just a nice clean and simple setup without shed loads of buttons for everything including making an expresso..lol

It looked in good condition in the pics I was sent ,but they often don’t show exactly what your looking at properly
Luckily it was only 1/2hr away and i was pleasantly surprised just how good it is.


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[Jamsmoo]

Not that it will make any real difference, don't forget to change the steering wheel coding to that one.

Need to find a near by vcds


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[Charlie Farley]

It looked in good condition in the pics I was sent ,but they often don’t show exactly what your looking at properly
Luckily it was only 1/2hr away and i was pleasantly surprised just how good it is.


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you can get a good idea on how well its been used by the button letters, and the cond of the leather around the outer edges.

 

[Charlie Farley]

If you dont have vcds james, dont worry too much about coding it in, just change it next time you are have any coding done.

 

[Jamsmoo]

PR-2PX ? If my search is correct


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[Charlie Farley]

Ineedy, and it's on the vcds list when you do update it.

You just need some s4 Recaro's now.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Spent an hour this afternoon having my front alignment redone as my steering wheel was off centre to the left, not normally an issue but its been doing my head in this week, constantly giving me the feeling i'm turning left and then compensating for it, all good now.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Just found this in my B7 folder.

 

[Jamsmoo]

Spent an hour this afternoon having my front alignment redone as my steering wheel was off centre to the left, not normally an issue but its been doing my head in this week, constantly giving me the feeling i'm turning left and then compensating for it, all good now.

Needed mine doing since I did my lower front arms at the turn of the year


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[Jamsmoo]

Just been for a quick drive ,the feel of the aesthetics of the wheel are a massive improvement,makes the driver seat such a nicer place to be


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[Charlie Farley]

It really is a much nicer item, not too thick and a nice flowing shape, and not forgetting it looks great too.

 

[Jamsmoo]

Just been for a quick drive ,the feel of the aesthetics of the wheel are a massive improvement,makes the driver seat such a nicer place to be


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I meant the feel and the aesthetics


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[Charlie Farley]

With the alpine HU i have fitted i dont have any issues with the reduced multifuctions of the sports wheel.
I have steering wheel full button control over the driver display settings etc so its all good, voice control over tel an dtxt messages etc via the alpine HU, i dont need anything else.

 

[Jamsmoo]

I think maybe I’ll be looking at a hu as my next mod


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[Charlie Farley]

I think maybe I’ll be looking at a hu as my next mod


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what do you have at the moment?

 

[Jamsmoo]

8eo 035 192 rnse


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[Charlie Farley]

Time for a change then, as good as the rnse is, new kit has way more to offer, i would'nt go back to rnse now from the alpine hu and it tech.

 

[Jamsmoo]

I think your right Rob ,I do like the rnse system but it’s almost archaic now


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[Charlie Farley]

It works fine , but thats about it, technology has progressed a lot since the these head unit were cutting edge, so sometimes one has to move on too .

 

[B7Tourer]

I have steering wheel full button control over the driver display settings etc so its all good, voice control over tel an dtxt messages etc via the alpine HU, i dont need anything else.

Yes the RNSE is very antiquated now sadly. Shame as it was state of the art then, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and Hazy Days are still selling them for over a grand! I have the standard MFSW steering wheel that came with the BT phone prep in my S-line Avant and I consider those controls the minimum: prev/next track, vol/pause, Mic button. But if like Charley you get that working too with a modern HU, and the sports wheel, then voice command is the essential one. Android Auto or Carplay make a huge difference to these cars now. What Audi called MMI on these B7s means you don't lose much integration either.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Carplay with the alpine unit is seemless, you'd think it came from audi that way.

 

[Rob Avant]

I think maybe I’ll be looking at a hu as my next mod


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Go and see these guys, best in the area…

CEN | Audio Specialist | Apple CarPlay

CEN is the UK's leading Audio Specialist and Authorised Dealers for Alpine, Sony, Pioneer, Audison, Helix, Match, Thinkware, BlackVue, Hertz, JL Audio, Focal, Morel, Dynamat, Dodo Mat and many more fantastic brands.

www.cen.uk

 

[Jamestnewson]

Had the flexi pipes and exhaust realigned today. Always wondered why one side of the exhaust was slightly lower on one side.

When it was up on the ramp you could clearly see the miltek had been badly fitted. Had the exhaust company remove, re-weld and refit it correctly. All looks good now and sounds much better now that the flexi pipes are replaced.

 

[Jamestnewson]

Also looks like someone may have been in the cats at some point

 

[Rob Avant]

Nothing to the old wagon today… fitted a new gear knob and gaiter in the MK4 as the old one was pretty shabby.
Oh and I’m definitely starting to get steering wheel envy… need a FBSW and soon

 

[Charlie Farley]

Always something to do Rob..lol
Anything in mind fbsw wise.

 

[Charlie Farley]

When I was getting my front-end re-alignment on wed the guy commented on my fbsw, he thought it looked just right, functional, and not overly cluttered with buttons all over the place, which is how i like it, less is more these days for me.

 

[tr7]

Rob I'm surprised you don't have a set of Alu/RS4 Pedals

Def make that next on your list

 

[Charlie Farley]

I did, sadly I left them in the garage to long and I’m pretty sure they were thrown out during a tidy up.
Keep thinking about another set but just not progressed any further to be honest.

 

[B7Tourer]

the guy commented on my fbsw, he thought it looked just right, functional, and not overly cluttered with buttons all over the place, which is how i like it, less is more these days for me.

Wow that looks absolutely a spotless interior, I thought mine was good, especially after I'd replaced all switches. including A/C and light switch, but it looks a bit 'old' compared to yours - I'm gonna have to give it a really good spruce up, car's valeted every week but I rarely get the interior done, just do that myself, from time to time. I'll have to get some elbow grease going. I hear what you're saying about buttons, non of them from the B7s, including the standard MSFW are anything like modern wheels. I'm glad I've got what I've got though.

The front ends take a battering don't they, and I only drive legal limits these days. Spent the day, addressing the stone chips on the bonnet; some micro surface rust spots; touched em up for now - looks OK if you don't get too close. But the whole front end will be re-sprayed in my brother's shop, when I fit the new lights, in 2-3 months. He's already painted that bonnet a few years back. Another local sprayer made a bit of a mess of the wings, at first by not drying the paint out; went milky in the rain on the way back; more or less sorted but they will need a proper buffing at the time too, as will a lot of everywhere, ideally. She's not a disgrace by any means and looks nice when clean, but it's not good enough, you know?

 

[Rob Avant]

Always something to do Rob..lol
Anything in mind fbsw wise.

Possibly the S3 route, depends which one works best. The B7 RS4 ones never appear at a reasonable price these days. Need to get the passenger seat Recaro sorted first though.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Any progress on that Passenger seat prob Rob?

 

[Rob Avant]

Any progress on that Passenger seat prob Rob?

No, unfortunately not. Need to leave it with the garage. They are mad busy and I’m at the back of the queue as it’s mates rates and they are prioritising full paying customers (understandably) hoping to get it sorted by the summer!

 

[Charlie Farley]

 

[Charlie Farley]

Penciled in the second week in June for the big engine out project, just awaiting a few sundry parts and then I'm semi-organized, and that is about as organized as i will ever be..lol

 

[NM07]

Sounds great Rob, make sure to post lots of progress pics for us

 

[Jamestnewson]

Why is it when you try and fix one thing you find about 3 other things that need fixing.

Took the bumper off today to get at the headlight washer and replaced the pump, but still no joy so will look for replacement washer jets as the wiring has continuity.

When the garage did the timing chains it looks like they broke the bumper fixings at the front and forgot to put all the underside fixings back. Also noticed the bumper height adjuster is completely broken on one side.

I’ll also take the opportunity to install the drl v2 kit from em tuning, new d1s bulbs, new lenses and remove the orange cover in the headlights whilst they’re out.

Also had a look under the battery today to see if the drains were clogged. One was completely clogged and the other was missing. A right mess under there but all clean now and 16 years of dirt removed.

 

[Rob Avant]

Why is it when you try and fix one thing you find about 3 other things that need fixing.

Took the bumper off today to get at the headlight washer and replaced the pump, but still no joy so will look for replacement washer jets as the wiring has continuity.

When the garage did the timing chains it looks like they broke the bumper fixings at the front and forgot to put all the underside fixings back. Also noticed the bumper height adjuster is completely broken on one side.

I’ll also take the opportunity to install the drl v2 kit from em tuning, new d1s bulbs, new lenses and remove the orange cover in the headlights whilst they’re out.

Also had a look under the battery today to see if the drains were clogged. One was completely clogged and the other was missing. A right mess under there but all clean now and 16 years of dirt removed.

Those bumper adjusters aren’t a great design. Mine fell to bits the first time I took the front off. Cheap enough to get direct from Audi and easy job to refit. The battery compartment drain plugs are annual maintenance, just making sure they don’t fill up with crud again.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Time today to order some new spark plugs, a bit overdue for replacement.

Also just removed my K&N free flow panel airfilter to check it, well and truly clagged up after 12months, currently having a few hours of gentle degreasing in a bucket of degreaser. ..lol, its pretty mucky to say the least.

fitted my standby oem panel filter for a few days whilst the K&N dries out fully.

 

[Gmac]

Wing mirror swap done this afternoon. Pleased with the result. Must be at least 15bhp gain too! Lol