I definitely would consider wrapping, it’d be much appreciated if you could please! No rush however so only when its convenient
thanks!
Back Again... Noggy B5 S4
- Thread starter S4 Muzza
- Start date
thanks!
Here you go bud. The lighting in my garage is awful so it doesn’t look like a great match to the RS mirrors but it’s as close as I could find to the OEM brushed aluminium.
Appreciate that, where would be best place to order?Here you go bud. The lighting in my garage is awful so it doesn’t look like a great match to the RS mirrors but it’s as close as I could find to the OEM brushed aluminium.
I’d hazard a guess and say eBay, just search 3M ME-904 or something. I’ve never actually bought any, that was a free sample I requested from a kitchen fitting company believe it or not. Think they advertise it for wrapping old kitchen units! But I’ve used 3M Di-noc carbon wrap on various car parts before so I’m sure it’ll be absolutely fine for wing mirrors.Appreciate that, where would be best place to order?
Thanks for the tips, will give it a try sometime in the near future!
any new updates with your motor? Always love seeing a clean noggy
Yes indeed!
So it was MOT time again, less than 700 miles done this year. Shameful! Anyway it passed no bother with a couple of things to look at before next time. Front suspension arm bush is looking a little worse for wear so I’ll get that swapped out, and he noticed some corrosion starting on the front subframe. Nothing serious yet but I’ll need to get under there, rub it down and get it sealed. I didn’t get that far when I did the rest earlier in the year. It was nice to get the car up on a ramp and have a good look underneath, pretty happy with how its looking.
Day before MOT was a little stressful. Stupid me left it to the last-minute thinking nothing would need doing… I never drive the car when it’s raining so haven’t used the wipers in a while, turns out they were running super slow! I got lucky here and after a few cycles they sped up, not back to full speed but enough to pass an MOT. General consensus seems to be the spindles have seized up rather than it being the actual motor so I’ll pull it all out soon, clean them and grease them up.
Moved onto the indicators – sure enough, all fine last time I drove but now, bulb out. It was the front one as well, most annoying to change! So a mad dash over to ECP before closing for a bulb and then had a very reluctant Mrs holding a torch while I put the headlight back in.
Along she went the next day and all was well but a couple of things for me to get sorted over the coming months
As the eagle eyed viewers will have noticed, the car is now on a set of D2 S8 alloys. A set came up for sale down south, recently refurbished, exactly what I was after, but the seller refused to post. Fortunately I was able to find someone through the EditionNoggy group that was willing to collect, wrap and post up for me. So I can’t thank Mike enough for that. I wasted no time in removing the tyres, selling them, having my Potenza’s fitted and getting them on the car. Currently with 15mm spacers on the front and 20mm on the back.
I think these are the OEM wheels I’ve been searching for, absolutely love them. Its cliché but the photos don’t do them justice, they fill the arches perfectly and of course look totally original given the near identical design to standard 17’s.
As luck would have it, while I was searching for these, I cam across a single wheel on eBay for absolute pennies. So I bought it, meaning I’ve got a complete set of 5. Condition looked really bad from the seller’s photos and I didn’t expect much given what I paid, but a few hours cleaning and polishing and it came up great, more than acceptable for a 5th spare anyway.
Yes, that really is the same wheel after nothing more than a clean, polish and touch up!
And continuing the wheel theme, I’ve been on the lookout for a single BBS CH012 for a couple of years now, always fancied having the full set of 5. But sets of 4 are near impossible to find never mind singles. I was just heading off to bed one night and thought I’d do a quick check on eBay and bang, I got a search result on German eBay! A single wheel with less than 30 minutes to go in the auction. So of course I won it and even with shipping, it again came in at an absolute steal, less than £90 all in. Similar to above I wasn’t holding out much hope for condition given the price and photos, but this one literally came up like new aside from some very light kerbing to a small section. Why do people not clean up their sh*t before advertising it?!?
Lastly I picked up some part worn tyres for each of the spares, a Bridgestone Potenza to match the rest of the D2 wheels and a Falken FK510 to match the rest of the CH’s. Happy days!
Decided it was time to tackle the sluggish wipers. A bit of research suggested the issue would almost certainly be seized spindles rather than the motor.
First off the wiper arms wouldn’t budge, sorted that by purchasing a wiper arm puller. I had no idea such a tool existed to be honest, but it certainly did the trick. Removed all the plastic trim at the bottom of the windscreen, unbolted/unplugged the mechanism/motor, and realised it wouldn’t budge because of the ECU box. So I unplugged and removed the ECU, repositioned the box, and out it came.
There was a lot of rubbish in there so gave it a good clean too.
Also took the opportunity to replace the pollen filter while I had easy access, again a lot of stuff in there that shouldn’t be!
I then set about dismantling the mechanism and what a laugh that was. There’s a c-clip on each spindle holding it in place in the barrel – n/s came off no hassle but o/s was a different story. Spent a good hour wrestling with it before it final popped off. Went to remove the spindles and much the same story – n/s slipped straight out, o/s was another hour-long battle. This was clearly what was causing the issue. I actually have no idea how the motor was able to move the o/s wiper arm at all, it was seized solid. Old motor clearly has more strength left in it than me.
Anyway after a lot of twisting and pulling, mallet met spindle and out it came. The rubbing down of the spindles/barrels, greasing and reassembly was a 10 minute job after all that hassle! Back in it went and I put everything back together. There’s a decent amount of trim to remove and replace!
All in working order now, in fact I think they’re running smoother than when I bought the car 4 years ago. So a worthwhile job. Unsure if I’ve reset the drivers side wiper a little too high though – thoughts? Easy enough to loosen off and move round a few teeth.
In other news, I bought an E46 lip spoiler a few weeks back. Bit of a late-night eBay purchase but for £35 I figured why not. Have to say the shape and length are almost perfect for the B5 boot lid, I was pleasantly surprised. 50/50 on whether I’ll actually fit it, not sure if I’ll be straying too far from the OEM look I like with the addition of a spoiler, albeit a very small one. But I’ll paint it before making any decisions. Part number in photos for anyone else interested in one.
And last but not least, I bought myself a full Recaro interior (no photos yet unfortunately). Came up for sale near-by and it was a bit of an impulse purchase. Whether it’ll ever see the car I don’t know yet. My standard black leathers are immaculate, like they could probably pass for not far off new. The Recaro’s are ivory (not my first choice), they need a good clean/tidy and they came out an avant, so the rears will need modifying to fit my saloon. So very undecided. I’ll see how they scrub up, but they could well be available soon if anyone’s looking for a set
First off the wiper arms wouldn’t budge, sorted that by purchasing a wiper arm puller. I had no idea such a tool existed to be honest, but it certainly did the trick. Removed all the plastic trim at the bottom of the windscreen, unbolted/unplugged the mechanism/motor, and realised it wouldn’t budge because of the ECU box. So I unplugged and removed the ECU, repositioned the box, and out it came.
There was a lot of rubbish in there so gave it a good clean too.
Also took the opportunity to replace the pollen filter while I had easy access, again a lot of stuff in there that shouldn’t be!
I then set about dismantling the mechanism and what a laugh that was. There’s a c-clip on each spindle holding it in place in the barrel – n/s came off no hassle but o/s was a different story. Spent a good hour wrestling with it before it final popped off. Went to remove the spindles and much the same story – n/s slipped straight out, o/s was another hour-long battle. This was clearly what was causing the issue. I actually have no idea how the motor was able to move the o/s wiper arm at all, it was seized solid. Old motor clearly has more strength left in it than me.
Anyway after a lot of twisting and pulling, mallet met spindle and out it came. The rubbing down of the spindles/barrels, greasing and reassembly was a 10 minute job after all that hassle! Back in it went and I put everything back together. There’s a decent amount of trim to remove and replace!
All in working order now, in fact I think they’re running smoother than when I bought the car 4 years ago. So a worthwhile job. Unsure if I’ve reset the drivers side wiper a little too high though – thoughts? Easy enough to loosen off and move round a few teeth.
In other news, I bought an E46 lip spoiler a few weeks back. Bit of a late-night eBay purchase but for £35 I figured why not. Have to say the shape and length are almost perfect for the B5 boot lid, I was pleasantly surprised. 50/50 on whether I’ll actually fit it, not sure if I’ll be straying too far from the OEM look I like with the addition of a spoiler, albeit a very small one. But I’ll paint it before making any decisions. Part number in photos for anyone else interested in one.
And last but not least, I bought myself a full Recaro interior (no photos yet unfortunately). Came up for sale near-by and it was a bit of an impulse purchase. Whether it’ll ever see the car I don’t know yet. My standard black leathers are immaculate, like they could probably pass for not far off new. The Recaro’s are ivory (not my first choice), they need a good clean/tidy and they came out an avant, so the rears will need modifying to fit my saloon. So very undecided. I’ll see how they scrub up, but they could well be available soon if anyone’s looking for a set
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Great work on the wiper mechanism. They can be a panic at they. Mine must have seized much the same as yours, but as I delayed removing it, it snapped the cast boss on the off side. Such a difference when they are greased up isn’t it.
Theh can indeed! I couldn’t believe the difference after a little rub down and some grease, felt brand new.
Yeah I really need to paint it soon, hard to properly tell how it’ll look when it’s not the right colour. But it’ll hopefully be nice addition!
Ok so a decent sized update incoming.
First off I bought myself another rear arb a few weeks back, a slightly thicker 21mm H&R one this time. Pulled the old one off and stuck the new one on, nice and easy. Sprayed another quick layer of undersea on while I had the car up, so looking as fresh as can be expected.
Unfortunately I noticed one of my Mcgard locking wheel nuts seems to be on the verge of failing, not overly happy as these are only used with the BBS wheels, they've probably seen less than 1k on the car and maybe a dozen removals/refits. I've emailed Opie Oils where I bought them but not expecting to get anywhere.
Also got round to swapping my spare wheel over to match the rest
So, on to the meaty stuff. My clutch has been slipping for a little while now. Car has still be perfectly drivable but it obviously needed changed and fortunately i've had my RS4 clutch kit sitting in the loft since before they were NLA. There were a couple of smaller jobs needing doing as well so i decided to get the car into Jimbo and have it all done by someone who knows these cars well. Also a great excuse for a little road trip!
I set off at 5.30am on Thursday morning, first stop Tesco for some momentum. Can you tell I spent a few hours polishing it the day before?
Got down to Jimbo's around 9am, had a coffee and he was getting stuck in by half 9. I was amazed how quickly the box was out, seriously impressive how well he knows these cars. It was great to watch and as much as i'd never attempt something like this myself, I learnt a lot. So a massive thanks to Jimbo for having me and for doing all the work.
My genuine RS4 pressure plate, friction disc and release bearing were all fitted along with some fresh flywheel bolts. While the downpipes were off I was able to get in and have a nosey at the turbo's and I was pleasantly surprised,: virtually no play in the shafts at all. The benefits of buying a car thats had an easy life I guess. The flywheel was also looking nice and healthy so more good news there. I also asked Jimbo to inspect for any oil leaks while he was in there as I thought i potentially had a small leak towards the back of the engine, but again more good news in that there was nothing to report, all dry. I think i've maybe been looking at general road grime and slime, who knows, always hard to tell when the cars on stands and you're on your back with zero room! Needless to say I was happy how everything went and the clean bill of health.
As for the range of smaller bits and pieces, I had the diff and gearbox oil refreshed as I had no record of them having ever been done. Same for the fuel filter - it came off and sure enough it was dated April 2000. Had a bit of bother with a leaking banjo when the fresh one went on but Jimbo had that sorted without too much hassle.
Some may remember when I had the major timing belt service done, Audi supplied me with the wrong aux belt so it couldn't be done at the same time. So I had that done too for piece of mind.
Jim also noticed the small hoses coming off my DV's were the wrong size so he replaced those, and also gave the car boost leak test before he finished. We had a small leak but fortunately it was coming from a slightly loose jubilee clip on one of my lobsters so a nice easy fix. No other leaks to report.
And last but not least, he supplied a new set of under tray fixings - i've been holding it on predominantly with zip ties to date.
Safe to say I was over the moon with how it all went. No more slipping clutch, a few good jobs ticked off the list for piece of mind and a clean bill of health, no codes and no leaks. Car feels as good as ever, top man Jimbo!
Think i'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a new wiper mechanism. Started raining around 20 minutes from home and while its no longer seized, I think the teeth on the o/s spindle are knackered. They don't seem to be gripping the wiper arm very well and its barely moving while the n/s side arm is wiping away. I'll pull it back out and have a look but probably easier to get a good used one and be done with it!
First off I bought myself another rear arb a few weeks back, a slightly thicker 21mm H&R one this time. Pulled the old one off and stuck the new one on, nice and easy. Sprayed another quick layer of undersea on while I had the car up, so looking as fresh as can be expected.
Unfortunately I noticed one of my Mcgard locking wheel nuts seems to be on the verge of failing, not overly happy as these are only used with the BBS wheels, they've probably seen less than 1k on the car and maybe a dozen removals/refits. I've emailed Opie Oils where I bought them but not expecting to get anywhere.
Also got round to swapping my spare wheel over to match the rest
So, on to the meaty stuff. My clutch has been slipping for a little while now. Car has still be perfectly drivable but it obviously needed changed and fortunately i've had my RS4 clutch kit sitting in the loft since before they were NLA. There were a couple of smaller jobs needing doing as well so i decided to get the car into Jimbo and have it all done by someone who knows these cars well. Also a great excuse for a little road trip!
I set off at 5.30am on Thursday morning, first stop Tesco for some momentum. Can you tell I spent a few hours polishing it the day before?
Got down to Jimbo's around 9am, had a coffee and he was getting stuck in by half 9. I was amazed how quickly the box was out, seriously impressive how well he knows these cars. It was great to watch and as much as i'd never attempt something like this myself, I learnt a lot. So a massive thanks to Jimbo for having me and for doing all the work.
My genuine RS4 pressure plate, friction disc and release bearing were all fitted along with some fresh flywheel bolts. While the downpipes were off I was able to get in and have a nosey at the turbo's and I was pleasantly surprised,: virtually no play in the shafts at all. The benefits of buying a car thats had an easy life I guess. The flywheel was also looking nice and healthy so more good news there. I also asked Jimbo to inspect for any oil leaks while he was in there as I thought i potentially had a small leak towards the back of the engine, but again more good news in that there was nothing to report, all dry. I think i've maybe been looking at general road grime and slime, who knows, always hard to tell when the cars on stands and you're on your back with zero room! Needless to say I was happy how everything went and the clean bill of health.
As for the range of smaller bits and pieces, I had the diff and gearbox oil refreshed as I had no record of them having ever been done. Same for the fuel filter - it came off and sure enough it was dated April 2000. Had a bit of bother with a leaking banjo when the fresh one went on but Jimbo had that sorted without too much hassle.
Some may remember when I had the major timing belt service done, Audi supplied me with the wrong aux belt so it couldn't be done at the same time. So I had that done too for piece of mind.
Jim also noticed the small hoses coming off my DV's were the wrong size so he replaced those, and also gave the car boost leak test before he finished. We had a small leak but fortunately it was coming from a slightly loose jubilee clip on one of my lobsters so a nice easy fix. No other leaks to report.
And last but not least, he supplied a new set of under tray fixings - i've been holding it on predominantly with zip ties to date.
Safe to say I was over the moon with how it all went. No more slipping clutch, a few good jobs ticked off the list for piece of mind and a clean bill of health, no codes and no leaks. Car feels as good as ever, top man Jimbo!
Think i'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a new wiper mechanism. Started raining around 20 minutes from home and while its no longer seized, I think the teeth on the o/s spindle are knackered. They don't seem to be gripping the wiper arm very well and its barely moving while the n/s side arm is wiping away. I'll pull it back out and have a look but probably easier to get a good used one and be done with it!
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Hi there, great write up on the clutch change and additional items. I sse you travelled a fair distance to get the work done by someone you trust with the car - whereabouts is Jimbo's place ? Car is looking really well. i especially like the 18" D2 S8 rims - they obviously look OEM but that extra inch and spacers just fill the arches that bit better. As you may have seen on Midas's thread i've now got an A6 C5 Biturbo manual - bit of a rolling project but i'm enjoying the silky smooth V6 coming from a 4 pot diesel! LOL. I've done the cambelt, and water pump - just 'acquaint' myself with the car!
Thanks bud! Jimbo is in a little town called Settle in North Yorkshire. First time I've been down that way, nice part of the world. To be fair it wasn't a bad drive at all, i'm about an hour or so over to the M6, 90 minutes down there, then half an hour over to Settle. Just over 3 hours with a stop.
Yeah i agree, the S8 wheels look great. By far the best OEM audi wheel for this shape in my opinion. Fills the arches and looks like it could have come from the factory with them.
Its a good engine if looked after. I like the C5 shape too, couple of subtle mods can really take years off them. I had a C5 RS6 a few years back and loved it, great big cruiser and insanely fast!
So that’s where Jimbo is located, that’s literally round the corner from me. Good to know.
Nice bit of work done there, must have been so so so much easier doing that fuel filter on a ramp, was an absolute chore doing that on my back. And then have to do it again because my banjo and hose were knackered.
Id say you’ll be lucky to get a brand new RHD wiper mechanism. I tried and failed and I’m in the parts game. I had to buy a LHD unit from AUTODOC in Germany. Then disassemble mine, and kind of recondition it using all the new spindles and linkages Etc. It’s like night and day when refitted, I was amazed at the difference.
Nice bit of work done there, must have been so so so much easier doing that fuel filter on a ramp, was an absolute chore doing that on my back. And then have to do it again because my banjo and hose were knackered.
Id say you’ll be lucky to get a brand new RHD wiper mechanism. I tried and failed and I’m in the parts game. I had to buy a LHD unit from AUTODOC in Germany. Then disassemble mine, and kind of recondition it using all the new spindles and linkages Etc. It’s like night and day when refitted, I was amazed at the difference.
Yeah he's in Settle, very good man to know. He has a full time job and does the cars in his own time making the amount of knowledge and expertise he has even more impressive!
It was quite a job getting the banjo to stop leaking after we put the new filter in but got there in the end, I can imagine it being a real pain on your back, under the car with petrol spraying everywhere...
Oh i never meant a brand new one, just a better condition second hand one. Its becoming more and more the case that B5 things only come in 2 forms - used or refurbed!
These are the ivory Recaro's I picked up a few months back. I've started giving them some tlc and they're coming up well, but its unlikely they'll be going in the car. Just can be bothered making the avant rears fit my saloon and the more I look at my black leathers the more I think i'm quite happy with them (unless anyone has some poles for sale...)
I'll stick a proper advert up soon but if anyone's interested feel free to drop me a message.
I'll stick a proper advert up soon but if anyone's interested feel free to drop me a message.
Finally had the airbag recall done this morning, on my drive, by the AA. Got nowhere with Audi due to having the RS wheel fitted and also my complete unwillingness to leave the car at a dealership. Recently saw on another forum that the AA had been contracted by Audi to do the recall so got in touch 3 weeks ago and today was the day.
I removed the RS wheel while he did the necessary on the original wheel which was effected by the recall. Once done, we stuck the original wheel back on so he could get all the videos and photos he needed etc. Then swapped them back over when he left. Literally couldn't have been more straight forward. The guy was brand new, loved the car, even went out for a blast after
For anyone wondering, the part in question is the square bit, held on by 4 small bolts. It was a simple case of removing and replacing this.
I removed the RS wheel while he did the necessary on the original wheel which was effected by the recall. Once done, we stuck the original wheel back on so he could get all the videos and photos he needed etc. Then swapped them back over when he left. Literally couldn't have been more straight forward. The guy was brand new, loved the car, even went out for a blast after
For anyone wondering, the part in question is the square bit, held on by 4 small bolts. It was a simple case of removing and replacing this.
It’s weird because when they did mine, my airbag got completely changed. I could tell as the plastics were a very slightly different colour, and the Audi badge in the middle was less scratched then my old one.
Late reply, apologies. You're not the first person who's said that, but having watched the guy do mine I honestly have no idea why there would be any need to change the full airbag. Boggles the mind how Audi think sometimes!
As suspected, the teeth on my drivers side wiper spindle were totally gone. Same goes for the teeth on the wiper arm itself. How I didn't notice this when I had the mechanism out last time I'll never know. Anyway I picked up a working used mechanism off facebook and the kind chap agreed to throw in his wiper arms free of charge. So out came the mechanism again. I had planned to just do a straight swap but I had no idea how old the motor was on the replacement so decided to butcher it for parts, keep my motor and just replace the offending spindle. Job done, back in and all working (for now...). Its amazing how quick the job is after you've done it once!
Wife was out and I didn't want to leave the engine bay in pieces so resorted to some remote parenting
And now on to more existing things - new seats! I've been keeping my eye our for a set of Recaro Pole Positions for a little while now, not desperate for them but if something came up I decided I'd take the plunge. Well a set came up about 90 minutes from me. Price was initially way too high for me so I left it, and the price slowly came down. I shot an offer over which was initially refused but a few days later, a deal was struck. So i picked these up at the weekend. Over the moon with them!
Now, ideally I wanted a set of OEM ones out of and old mk1 TTQS, but they are just mental money at the moment. There isn't much change to be had from £3k which is bonkers. I was however pleasantly surprised to find these stickers on the base of the seat, so they have originated from an Audi at some point. Another sticker is dated Feb 2002 which would tie in with the mk1 TT.
So it appears i've possibly ended up with the exact seats I wanted after all, albeit with a re-trim, and for considerably less than the ones advertised as being from a TT are fetching. And speaking of the re-trim, I think the blue stitching and 'Recaro' badge will work perfectly with the car, nice and subtle. However I'll probably have the cushions re-trimmed in black or grey alcantara at some point. The tartan isn't really to my taste but maybe it'll grow on me.
They came with what I believe are a set of Recaro side mounts, sliders of unknown brand and a set of Planted Technology bases. Unfortunately these bases are from a Z4 so will only be usable with some modification. Failing that i'll need to try a different route. If anyone has any fitting tips please feel free to share!
With the latest purchase, I'll have a few things up for sale to soften the blow on my bank account. I've already got an advert up for my BBS RS795's and my OZ Superturismo's will be up for sale soon as will my ivory Recaro interior. Drop me a PM if anyone's interested in anything!
Wife was out and I didn't want to leave the engine bay in pieces so resorted to some remote parenting
And now on to more existing things - new seats! I've been keeping my eye our for a set of Recaro Pole Positions for a little while now, not desperate for them but if something came up I decided I'd take the plunge. Well a set came up about 90 minutes from me. Price was initially way too high for me so I left it, and the price slowly came down. I shot an offer over which was initially refused but a few days later, a deal was struck. So i picked these up at the weekend. Over the moon with them!
Now, ideally I wanted a set of OEM ones out of and old mk1 TTQS, but they are just mental money at the moment. There isn't much change to be had from £3k which is bonkers. I was however pleasantly surprised to find these stickers on the base of the seat, so they have originated from an Audi at some point. Another sticker is dated Feb 2002 which would tie in with the mk1 TT.
So it appears i've possibly ended up with the exact seats I wanted after all, albeit with a re-trim, and for considerably less than the ones advertised as being from a TT are fetching. And speaking of the re-trim, I think the blue stitching and 'Recaro' badge will work perfectly with the car, nice and subtle. However I'll probably have the cushions re-trimmed in black or grey alcantara at some point. The tartan isn't really to my taste but maybe it'll grow on me.
They came with what I believe are a set of Recaro side mounts, sliders of unknown brand and a set of Planted Technology bases. Unfortunately these bases are from a Z4 so will only be usable with some modification. Failing that i'll need to try a different route. If anyone has any fitting tips please feel free to share!
With the latest purchase, I'll have a few things up for sale to soften the blow on my bank account. I've already got an advert up for my BBS RS795's and my OZ Superturismo's will be up for sale soon as will my ivory Recaro interior. Drop me a PM if anyone's interested in anything!
Nice seats. I remember trying to shoehorn myself into a mates TTQS when they were brand new, and it was a trial getting sat correctly, lol. Probably better with a higher door aperture like the B5. In really good condition those aren’t they.
Yeah they’re a tight squeeze but super comfy and supportive. I’ve no doubt they’ll be more of a pain to get in and out of though.
They were fully re-trimmed around 3 years ago in bridge of weir nappa leather and highland granite tartan. They’ve been in a weekend car as well so not seen a huge amount of use since and you can really tell!
After picking up the poles at the end of last month, I’ve been busy getting the brackets ready to fit them to the car.
I manged to source a set of original B5 seat frames from an A4 being broken on one of the Facebook groups, so started off with these:
They were actually in remarkably good condition, felt a bit guilty butchering them. Anyway these were then trimmed down quite a bit to end up with this (they were actually trimmed down a little further but forgot to take a photo):
Having measured up the side mounts I had a pretty good idea how the brackets were going to look, so I got the flat bar ordered and got one side mocked up in the car:
I had to build the height up at the back a little to get the seating position I was after. The mounts that came with the seats don’t allow for a huge amount of adjustment in terms of seating angle so the right angle had to be found via the frame.
After doing the same for both sides, I had a mate do the welding:
Everything was then primed, painted and lacquered. They ended up looking better than new, shame to hide them away under the seats!
Into the car they went to make sure I was happy with everything before drilling the mounting holes. Also re-greased the rails as the sliders were extremely stiff. You'll also notice I have airbag resistors plugged into to avoid any lights on the dash.
No photos of the frames post-drilling but not much to report. Bit of a pain marking up the brackets due to the lack of access from underneath/behind the side mounts but got there in the end, all holes where they need to be.
I was starting to lose the light by the time I got them in over the weekend but here’s the finished product. I’m over the moon with them. The way they look, feel, drive, everything.
They are nice and tidy at the rear too, nothing sticking out or protruding which I’m happy about.
As you can see i've changed the Recaro branding on the side mounts to all black. I wanted them as OEM as possible and nothing too in-your-face. I also bought new mounting hardware but was still waiting for the black washers to arrive when I fitted them, so need to swap them over when they arrive.
So yeah, I’m happy I took the plunge and bought them. The only thing I’ve noticed is the seating position, while centred in the available space, is not exactly centred on the steering wheel. It's slightly to the right by a very small margin; i'll just need to get used to it. The way the brackets are designed I think I would have struggled to get the seat mounted any closer to the centre console anyway, at most I could maybe have mounted it 10mm closer. Maybe something to look at adjusting in future but for now I’ll just enjoy them.
Couple of things I’ve learnt so far:
I manged to source a set of original B5 seat frames from an A4 being broken on one of the Facebook groups, so started off with these:
They were actually in remarkably good condition, felt a bit guilty butchering them. Anyway these were then trimmed down quite a bit to end up with this (they were actually trimmed down a little further but forgot to take a photo):
Having measured up the side mounts I had a pretty good idea how the brackets were going to look, so I got the flat bar ordered and got one side mocked up in the car:
I had to build the height up at the back a little to get the seating position I was after. The mounts that came with the seats don’t allow for a huge amount of adjustment in terms of seating angle so the right angle had to be found via the frame.
After doing the same for both sides, I had a mate do the welding:
Everything was then primed, painted and lacquered. They ended up looking better than new, shame to hide them away under the seats!
Into the car they went to make sure I was happy with everything before drilling the mounting holes. Also re-greased the rails as the sliders were extremely stiff. You'll also notice I have airbag resistors plugged into to avoid any lights on the dash.
No photos of the frames post-drilling but not much to report. Bit of a pain marking up the brackets due to the lack of access from underneath/behind the side mounts but got there in the end, all holes where they need to be.
I was starting to lose the light by the time I got them in over the weekend but here’s the finished product. I’m over the moon with them. The way they look, feel, drive, everything.
They are nice and tidy at the rear too, nothing sticking out or protruding which I’m happy about.
As you can see i've changed the Recaro branding on the side mounts to all black. I wanted them as OEM as possible and nothing too in-your-face. I also bought new mounting hardware but was still waiting for the black washers to arrive when I fitted them, so need to swap them over when they arrive.
So yeah, I’m happy I took the plunge and bought them. The only thing I’ve noticed is the seating position, while centred in the available space, is not exactly centred on the steering wheel. It's slightly to the right by a very small margin; i'll just need to get used to it. The way the brackets are designed I think I would have struggled to get the seat mounted any closer to the centre console anyway, at most I could maybe have mounted it 10mm closer. Maybe something to look at adjusting in future but for now I’ll just enjoy them.
Couple of things I’ve learnt so far:
- Getting in and out of these is hard to do gracefully, it’ll take some practice and I’m not convinced it will ever be possible!
- They make you want to drive fast. They just make you feel so supported and really inspire confidence.
- I’ll need to watch the waistline. These feel perfect just now, supportive without being tight/restrictive.
- The seatbelt buckle could potentially do with lengthening slightly (I was warned about this before starting out). At present they sit below the level of the seat so you really have to reach down to buckle in. For a car that gets driven a couple of times a month I can live with it, but for something used more frequently I’d definitely have them lengthened. Again maybe something to look at in future but they’ll be fine for now.
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I had an advisory on my last MOT for one of the front upper suspension arms – only taken me 10 months to do something about it. I was originally just going to replace the offending item, then decided I’d do all the top arms, and eventually decided it was a good excuse to just go ahead and do everything. So I started looking for a full kit.
First thing I realised when you search for a front arm kit for the B5 S4; there are a lot of results. I’m almost certain the vast majority incorrectly claim to fit the B5 S4. And then there’s different part numbers for steel and aluminium uprights. Bit of a minefield. However I eventually narrowed it down to 2 kits, the Lemforder or Meyle HD (no surprise there). For anyone who’s read the full thread, you’ll know I try to go for genuine parts or as close as possible when it comes to servicing and maintenance, which probably points to the Lemforder Kit. However, I also don’t like spending money for the sake of it. The Lemforder kit was coming in at close to £500, the Meyle HD kit was coming in at just under £300, and both seem to be fairly well reviewed amongst fellow owners.
So I took the plunge and went for the Meyle kit. As above the best price I could find was a shade under £300 and that was from Autodoc for anyone looking. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived from Germany, quality seems very good and crucially all the parts were correct!
I thought I may as well share some part numbers in case anyone else finds them useful, but use at your own risk.
Part no. for full Meyle HD kit for B5 S4 (steel uprights) – 116 050 0029/HD
Full kit made up of the following:
All the required nuts and bolts
RHS front upper arm – 8E0 407 506 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8298 HD)
RHS rear upper arm = 8E0 407 510 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8293 HD)
LHS front upper arm – 8E0 407 505 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8297 HD)
LHS rear upper arm – 8E0 407 509 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8292 HD)
RHS & LHS front lower arm – 4D0 407 151 P (Meyle part no. 116 050 8228 HD
RHS rear lower arm – 8E0 407 694 AG (Meyle part no. 116 050 8300 HD)
LHS rear lower arm – 8E0 407 693 AG (Meyle part no. 116 050 8299 HD)
RHS arb link – 8D0 411 318 D (Meyle part no.116 060 0008)
LHS arb link – 8D0 411 317 D (Meyle part no. 116 060 0007)
RHS & LHS tie rod ends – 4F0 498 811 A (Meyle part no. 116 020 0008 HD)
If you have aluminium uprights, the THINK front lower arms you need are 4B3 407 151 K. I don’t have a Meyle number for this, not even sure they make a corresponding part. And I’d take the letters following the OEM part numbers with a pinch of salt, I believe some of these may have been superseded over the years, but the numbers should be correct.
Anyway I didn’t fancy doing the installation myself; don’t have much time for car stuff these days with the wee one and who wants to spend the time you do have playing with seized bolts. Easily a week long slog for someone of my skill level and patience. So off it went to a local VAG specialist I’ve been using for the last 10 years. 2 people, 4 hours, a blowtorch, and the job was done. I had a look at the old arms when they came off and sure enough they were original. You really cant argue with the quality Audi were producing back in the day, 22 years isn’t a bad shift! That being said, most of the rubbers were knackered, split and crumbling away. I’m very surprised I wasn’t getting any knocking.
The only thing I didn’t have fitted were the track rod ends. I’d seen a couple of people report that the Meyle ones weren’t the best and didn’t last very long, so I stuck with what was already on the car.
I’ve only driven the car from the garage back to the house but I can already feel the difference. Everything feels tight and solid; it’s just a better driving experience all round. I wasn’t expecting to feel a huge difference, as above I had no knocking and I thought it handled fine, but the old arms were clearly past their best. Very happy with the outcome.
In other news, I recently had the wheels on my daily B8 refurbished. I’ve never thought this style of wheel suited the B5 (sorry to anyone running them…) but I’m sorely tempted to try them after seeing how well they turned out! Think the colour would work well against the noggy, they’re slightly darker than my Superturismo’s.
Would highly recommend Quick Coat Alloys in Irvine if anyone in Ayrshire is looking to have wheels done. My usual place couldn’t take me until January so tried somewhere new. Excellent service and results from Andrew and a pleasure to deal with.
First thing I realised when you search for a front arm kit for the B5 S4; there are a lot of results. I’m almost certain the vast majority incorrectly claim to fit the B5 S4. And then there’s different part numbers for steel and aluminium uprights. Bit of a minefield. However I eventually narrowed it down to 2 kits, the Lemforder or Meyle HD (no surprise there). For anyone who’s read the full thread, you’ll know I try to go for genuine parts or as close as possible when it comes to servicing and maintenance, which probably points to the Lemforder Kit. However, I also don’t like spending money for the sake of it. The Lemforder kit was coming in at close to £500, the Meyle HD kit was coming in at just under £300, and both seem to be fairly well reviewed amongst fellow owners.
So I took the plunge and went for the Meyle kit. As above the best price I could find was a shade under £300 and that was from Autodoc for anyone looking. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived from Germany, quality seems very good and crucially all the parts were correct!
I thought I may as well share some part numbers in case anyone else finds them useful, but use at your own risk.
Part no. for full Meyle HD kit for B5 S4 (steel uprights) – 116 050 0029/HD
Full kit made up of the following:
All the required nuts and bolts
RHS front upper arm – 8E0 407 506 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8298 HD)
RHS rear upper arm = 8E0 407 510 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8293 HD)
LHS front upper arm – 8E0 407 505 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8297 HD)
LHS rear upper arm – 8E0 407 509 A (Meyle part no. 116 050 8292 HD)
RHS & LHS front lower arm – 4D0 407 151 P (Meyle part no. 116 050 8228 HD
RHS rear lower arm – 8E0 407 694 AG (Meyle part no. 116 050 8300 HD)
LHS rear lower arm – 8E0 407 693 AG (Meyle part no. 116 050 8299 HD)
RHS arb link – 8D0 411 318 D (Meyle part no.116 060 0008)
LHS arb link – 8D0 411 317 D (Meyle part no. 116 060 0007)
RHS & LHS tie rod ends – 4F0 498 811 A (Meyle part no. 116 020 0008 HD)
If you have aluminium uprights, the THINK front lower arms you need are 4B3 407 151 K. I don’t have a Meyle number for this, not even sure they make a corresponding part. And I’d take the letters following the OEM part numbers with a pinch of salt, I believe some of these may have been superseded over the years, but the numbers should be correct.
Anyway I didn’t fancy doing the installation myself; don’t have much time for car stuff these days with the wee one and who wants to spend the time you do have playing with seized bolts. Easily a week long slog for someone of my skill level and patience. So off it went to a local VAG specialist I’ve been using for the last 10 years. 2 people, 4 hours, a blowtorch, and the job was done. I had a look at the old arms when they came off and sure enough they were original. You really cant argue with the quality Audi were producing back in the day, 22 years isn’t a bad shift! That being said, most of the rubbers were knackered, split and crumbling away. I’m very surprised I wasn’t getting any knocking.
The only thing I didn’t have fitted were the track rod ends. I’d seen a couple of people report that the Meyle ones weren’t the best and didn’t last very long, so I stuck with what was already on the car.
I’ve only driven the car from the garage back to the house but I can already feel the difference. Everything feels tight and solid; it’s just a better driving experience all round. I wasn’t expecting to feel a huge difference, as above I had no knocking and I thought it handled fine, but the old arms were clearly past their best. Very happy with the outcome.
In other news, I recently had the wheels on my daily B8 refurbished. I’ve never thought this style of wheel suited the B5 (sorry to anyone running them…) but I’m sorely tempted to try them after seeing how well they turned out! Think the colour would work well against the noggy, they’re slightly darker than my Superturismo’s.
Would highly recommend Quick Coat Alloys in Irvine if anyone in Ayrshire is looking to have wheels done. My usual place couldn’t take me until January so tried somewhere new. Excellent service and results from Andrew and a pleasure to deal with.
Yep, love mine. Great upgrade and worth the effort. Yours are next level!Cheers guy, I am massively in love with the poles
Been busy moving house so not much happening with the car, I do now have a nice big double garage to keep it in though! Took advantage today and managed to get the front subframe rubbed down and undersealed while it was peeing down outside.
I also seem to have acquired another car... Picked up a little S3 just before Christmas. Its an MOT failure which popped up for sale on here, and it just so happened I was going to be within 15 minutes of the car on a family weekend away. So I popped by for a look and a deal was done with @danger S3 .
The car has failed on the front subframe, tyres and a corroded brake ferrule. My initial thoughts were to make a little track car out of it, but its in far better condition than I expected for the mileage (184k). Body work is good aside from the front wings. The interior is immaculate, a real credit to Alasdair. The engine bay is very tidy. And it drives absolutely fine. Its had an absolute fortune spent on it in the last 12 years, clutch, turbo, manifold, cat, Milltek, new sills, forge tip, new brakes, lots of servicing etc. Receipts and invoices from the previous owner (look away now Alasdair) total around £18k, so its been very well looked after. Certainly far too good to strip out and throw around a track. So my plan is to get it back on the road and then decide what to do with it. I'll either keep it for a little run around as it really doesn't owe me much, or sell it on.
I've already acquired a set of part worn Michelin's to stick on, and I've bought a fully refurbished genuine front sub-frame to replace the current one. I haven't even looked under the car yet so it may be that the current one is salvageable and the tester has been a little harsh, it certainly wouldn't surprise me given how nice the rest of the car is. But at least I have one ready to go on if not. Fingers crossed I can have it back on the road in a few months. I have a real soft spot for the old S3's after having one around 10 years ago. Still great looking cars in my opinion and the perfect buddy for the B5!
I also seem to have acquired another car... Picked up a little S3 just before Christmas. Its an MOT failure which popped up for sale on here, and it just so happened I was going to be within 15 minutes of the car on a family weekend away. So I popped by for a look and a deal was done with @danger S3 .
The car has failed on the front subframe, tyres and a corroded brake ferrule. My initial thoughts were to make a little track car out of it, but its in far better condition than I expected for the mileage (184k). Body work is good aside from the front wings. The interior is immaculate, a real credit to Alasdair. The engine bay is very tidy. And it drives absolutely fine. Its had an absolute fortune spent on it in the last 12 years, clutch, turbo, manifold, cat, Milltek, new sills, forge tip, new brakes, lots of servicing etc. Receipts and invoices from the previous owner (look away now Alasdair) total around £18k, so its been very well looked after. Certainly far too good to strip out and throw around a track. So my plan is to get it back on the road and then decide what to do with it. I'll either keep it for a little run around as it really doesn't owe me much, or sell it on.
I've already acquired a set of part worn Michelin's to stick on, and I've bought a fully refurbished genuine front sub-frame to replace the current one. I haven't even looked under the car yet so it may be that the current one is salvageable and the tester has been a little harsh, it certainly wouldn't surprise me given how nice the rest of the car is. But at least I have one ready to go on if not. Fingers crossed I can have it back on the road in a few months. I have a real soft spot for the old S3's after having one around 10 years ago. Still great looking cars in my opinion and the perfect buddy for the B5!
Can't believe it's been a full year since I was last at the MOT station, time flies. 868 miles this year, which unbelievably is an improvement on the previous years poor effort!
I'm hoping I can get the miles up a little this year as I can now get the car out the garage without having to move any other cars. It was a real pain having to move my A4 from in front of the garage at the last house every time I wanted the B5 out.
S3 is up on the stands for a bit of a refresh. Got some new tyres on, fitted a new exhaust hanger, painted some bits and pieces, stuck some new number plate bulbs in and given it a general tidy up. Its actually cleaner than the S4 just now
I'm hoping I can get the miles up a little this year as I can now get the car out the garage without having to move any other cars. It was a real pain having to move my A4 from in front of the garage at the last house every time I wanted the B5 out.
S3 is up on the stands for a bit of a refresh. Got some new tyres on, fitted a new exhaust hanger, painted some bits and pieces, stuck some new number plate bulbs in and given it a general tidy up. Its actually cleaner than the S4 just now
Serviced the car this week – oil, filter, spark plugs and a new 034 magnetic sump plug.
Been about 4 years but only 5k since I last did the plugs. I forgot/erased from my memory how much stuff needs to come out or get loosened to gain access. Certainly not the worst job, but that last clip at the back of the airbox is an absolute nightmare to do up. Gets you right when you think you’re on the home stretch. Spent the same amount of time on that as I did doing all 6 plugs. Anyway they all went in without a hitch. Gave me a chance to use my new torque wrench as well. Went with the same plugs as last time, NGK PFR6Q. I did notice quite a hefty hike in the price - £40 from Opie for a set when I last did them versus £75 this time! Fortunately I managed to find them cheaper elsewhere which Opie then kindly beat, so ended up paying around £55.
Went for a genuine filter, Fuchs Titan Super Syn 5w40 that I’ve been using for longer than I can remember, and I treated myself to an 034 magnetic sump plug. It was about 5/6 times as expensive as a normal plug but can be reused and comes with 10 washers. That’s how I justified it anyway. Oil change went smoothly until it came to filter removal – couldn’t budge it. In the end I had to puncture it with a screwdriver to get some leverage, job done. About 6.3 litres came out so 6.3 went back in, which from memory is about right. The owner’s manual states 6 litres with a filter change but almost everything I can find online suggests anywhere from 6.1 to 6.6 is pretty normal. New sump plug feels nice, fits good, not much else to say on that front!
I also popped the BMC filter out to have a look, it’s the one MRC put in a few years ago. Expected to at least have to give it a little clean but it literally looks brand new.
And all back together looking pretty!
Been about 4 years but only 5k since I last did the plugs. I forgot/erased from my memory how much stuff needs to come out or get loosened to gain access. Certainly not the worst job, but that last clip at the back of the airbox is an absolute nightmare to do up. Gets you right when you think you’re on the home stretch. Spent the same amount of time on that as I did doing all 6 plugs. Anyway they all went in without a hitch. Gave me a chance to use my new torque wrench as well. Went with the same plugs as last time, NGK PFR6Q. I did notice quite a hefty hike in the price - £40 from Opie for a set when I last did them versus £75 this time! Fortunately I managed to find them cheaper elsewhere which Opie then kindly beat, so ended up paying around £55.
Went for a genuine filter, Fuchs Titan Super Syn 5w40 that I’ve been using for longer than I can remember, and I treated myself to an 034 magnetic sump plug. It was about 5/6 times as expensive as a normal plug but can be reused and comes with 10 washers. That’s how I justified it anyway. Oil change went smoothly until it came to filter removal – couldn’t budge it. In the end I had to puncture it with a screwdriver to get some leverage, job done. About 6.3 litres came out so 6.3 went back in, which from memory is about right. The owner’s manual states 6 litres with a filter change but almost everything I can find online suggests anywhere from 6.1 to 6.6 is pretty normal. New sump plug feels nice, fits good, not much else to say on that front!
I also popped the BMC filter out to have a look, it’s the one MRC put in a few years ago. Expected to at least have to give it a little clean but it literally looks brand new.
And all back together looking pretty!
Well the S3 went off to a new home a little while ago. Sorted a number of issues/niggles out and it was bought buy a local guy, so I've seen it around town quite a bit. Nice having something to tinker with for a while. I managed to get pretty attached to this little thing in the short time I had it!
I also installed some garage flooring at the new house - over the moon with how it turned out! Super easy as well.
I was very luck a couple of weeks back to run into this beauty; my friend was having a car delivered and this was on the same truck! Beautiful F40 with less than 6k on the clock from new, and had apparently just been valued at £2.5million!
Nothing much been happening with the actual car though. With certain parts becoming harder and harder to find, I've decided to start collecting a bunch of stuff that may come in useful at some point. In the last few months I've had a set of rear strut towers delivered from America which I picked up for an absolute steal, as well as a full rear subframe which will need a complete overhaul. All safely tucked away in the attic for the foreseeable.
Also picked up a B5 RS4 gear knob in very good condition. I had planned to have it re-trimmed to match the RS steering wheel but when I compare it to the S4 one I've already had done, there really wouldn't be much difference! Also seems a shame to have this re-trimmed when the original perforated leather is still very presentable. So I'll hold on to it as is for now.
I'm also revisiting the idea of upgrading the brakes. Since selling the 18z's I've been looking into some 17z's which should still be a good upgrade whilst also allowing me to run the standard 17 inch wheels. I put the feelers out to a few breakers who have Cayenne's in stock and have found a set for very reasonable money, so hopefully everything comes together and I'll have them in the next week or so! For the kind of driving I do the standard brakes are probably fine, but again, I just can't help tinkering with stuff!
I also installed some garage flooring at the new house - over the moon with how it turned out! Super easy as well.
I was very luck a couple of weeks back to run into this beauty; my friend was having a car delivered and this was on the same truck! Beautiful F40 with less than 6k on the clock from new, and had apparently just been valued at £2.5million!
Nothing much been happening with the actual car though. With certain parts becoming harder and harder to find, I've decided to start collecting a bunch of stuff that may come in useful at some point. In the last few months I've had a set of rear strut towers delivered from America which I picked up for an absolute steal, as well as a full rear subframe which will need a complete overhaul. All safely tucked away in the attic for the foreseeable.
Also picked up a B5 RS4 gear knob in very good condition. I had planned to have it re-trimmed to match the RS steering wheel but when I compare it to the S4 one I've already had done, there really wouldn't be much difference! Also seems a shame to have this re-trimmed when the original perforated leather is still very presentable. So I'll hold on to it as is for now.
I'm also revisiting the idea of upgrading the brakes. Since selling the 18z's I've been looking into some 17z's which should still be a good upgrade whilst also allowing me to run the standard 17 inch wheels. I put the feelers out to a few breakers who have Cayenne's in stock and have found a set for very reasonable money, so hopefully everything comes together and I'll have them in the next week or so! For the kind of driving I do the standard brakes are probably fine, but again, I just can't help tinkering with stuff!
Been a while since I posted on here but I’ve still got it!
Had her in for the annual test last week - it was a nice snowy morning (-6 when I left house), so the 8 mile drive to the MOT station was fun.
450 miles covers since last year and as expected no issues. Legal for another year of siting in the garage…
Had her in for the annual test last week - it was a nice snowy morning (-6 when I left house), so the 8 mile drive to the MOT station was fun.
450 miles covers since last year and as expected no issues. Legal for another year of siting in the garage…
Attachments
More than a year since I updated this. Car hasn’t done many miles but a heck of a lot to report. Certainly a bit more than the usual annual MOT update…
After buying all the gear to do the 18z upgrade a while back, then selling it all when I changed my mind, I’ve had a hankering to revisit the subject. I didn’t go with the 18z’s as it would have prevented me from using the standard 17 inch wheels. So I’ve now opted for some 17z’s.
I picked these up off ebay for the very reasonable price of £150 delivered. They arrived and they were pretty much as expected – old, dirty, crusty but overall not in terrible shape.
I gave them a full strip down and rebuild with all new parts. I’ve never rebuilt a set of calipers before so found a couple of useful videos on Youtube (oh what did people do before the internet). I was surprised how straight forward it all was. Aside from one of the link pipes, which I had to proper butcher to get out, they came apart with relative ease and rebuilding them was even easier.
After fully dismantling them, cleaning them up and painting them, I was left with this bundle
And here’s the finished product. Delighted with how they turned out.
I’ve gone with Volvo V70R discs which are perfect for this set up, aside from the bolt holes. They need to be opened up slightly (16.8mm to 19mm) to suit the B5. I initially went down the lazy route – I have a engineering shop near-by so popped in to see if they’d do it for me, but they didn’t want to mess with any braking components, fair enough. So along to the local Toolstation I went and picked up a 19mm drill bit. Job done for less than a tenner (although I’m sure a professional would have been neater).
There’s loads of info online on this upgrade but here’s a list of what I needed and the cost involved:
Brembo 17z calipers - £150 (eBay from someone breaking a Cayenne)
Frentech Braking 17z rebuild kit - £110 (seals, dust covers, pistons and bleed nipples)
Link pipes - £28 (custom made from someone on eBay)
Febi pad fitting kit (182292) - £15 (Autodoc - PN)
Brembo discs (09.8614.11) - £105 (Autodoc)
Brembo pads (P85069) - £80 (Autodoc)
SID Motorsport mounting bolts - £35
HEL Performance brake lines (AUD-6-360) - £54
ATE Type 200 Dot 4 brake fluid - £15 (Autodoc)
Misc bits - £60 (paint, decals, brake cleaner, grease, drill bit etc)
Around £650 in total. For that, I have a fully rebuilt set of 17z’s as well as brand new discs, pads and all fitting hardware. I’d say that’s decent value for money for a BBK.
Anyway enough about brakes. I mentioned a while back I’d been gathering parts for an underside overhaul. To say this grew arms and legs would be an understatement. I started off gathering a few select bits and pieces as and when they popped up for sale, but somehow ended up with this absolute haul…
So yeah, I got a bit carried away. I also made the mistake of keeping a spreadsheet of everything I spent – that was a bad call. Eyewatering doesn’t cut it. I’ve probably missed some stuff but I did the following:
I spent a bit of time ceramic coating whatever I could before it all went on, no harm in adding a bit of extra protection before it all went on.
Although not really part of the underside refresh, I also bought a new (to me) exhaust for the car. It consists of a set of Originiall Fabrications 3” downpipes mated to a 3” system made my Stainless Creations in Falkirk. I got this from Ross (rosscopeco) who I know went through a few systems before he settled on this. I was looking for something a little quieter than my current system that still had a nice purr to it; I’d never actually heard this system but seemed like it would tick all the boxes.
It didn’t even cross my mind to fit all this myself, well beyond my skill/patience/knowledge levels, so I sent the car down to Jimbo a few months back. Made the 3 hour drive, dropped the car off, left all the parts, and headed home. It was actually nice to have an empty garage after having all this cluttering the place up for so long, probably took me over 2 years to accumulate it all.
With it being winter I didn’t overly miss the car for a few months, probably wouldn’t have left the garage anyway. Jimbo worked away on it when he could and kept me updated; no super nasty surprises but we did find one of my rear springs was snapped, so just as well new coilovers were part of the parts bundle. Also found a fair amount of rust in the arches when the liners came out.
Needless to say this all got dealt with before any new parts went on.
I actually don’t have too many photos of how well it turned out but here’s a few to whet your appetite!
Jimbo slapped a coating of clear waxoyl on everything as well which should keep it looking fresh for as long as possible. I need to get the BBS wheels back on soon so I’ll hopefully be able to grab some more photos when the cars jacked up.
I also had a new radiator fitted while the car was down there as I’d noticed a very slight leak over the previous year or so.
I collected her last week and brought all the old parts back up in the daily driver. Exhaust, coilovers and front arm kit all sold but I’ll be sending the rest off for blasting and powder coating in the coming weeks if anyone is looking for some shiny refurbished parts!
Back up the road and she was cleaned and straight in for an MOT a few days later. ‘F**k me mate, it’s like MOT’ing a 3 year old motor’ was music to my ears.
Glad it now looks as good underneath as it does on top. I’ve spent more on this refurbishment project than I did on purchasing the car 7 years ago… and I’ve questioned many times if it would be worthwhile and the comments from the MOT tester were at least some kind of validation! I’ll never get anywhere near my money back if I did sell but its done now and I’m happy with the car.
Got a few little niggles to sort out now but nothing major.
Lastly, as if all that wasn’t enough, I bought a full K04 kit for the car, again from Ross’ breaker. OEM BW K04 turbos (done around 35k miles from new), OEM RS4 inlets, OEM RS4 intercoolers and shrouds, hoses, Deka injectors, 044 fuel pump and 034 Motorsport basket. Price was very fair so seemed like a no brainer. Brakes, exhaust and clutch are all ready for the upgrade now, so this should be pretty much everything else I need should I decide to upgrade in future (that’ll be another visit to Jimbo).
725 miles covered in the last 12 months, somehow not my lowest! Although around 300 of those were the round trip to Jimbo…
After buying all the gear to do the 18z upgrade a while back, then selling it all when I changed my mind, I’ve had a hankering to revisit the subject. I didn’t go with the 18z’s as it would have prevented me from using the standard 17 inch wheels. So I’ve now opted for some 17z’s.
I picked these up off ebay for the very reasonable price of £150 delivered. They arrived and they were pretty much as expected – old, dirty, crusty but overall not in terrible shape.
I gave them a full strip down and rebuild with all new parts. I’ve never rebuilt a set of calipers before so found a couple of useful videos on Youtube (oh what did people do before the internet). I was surprised how straight forward it all was. Aside from one of the link pipes, which I had to proper butcher to get out, they came apart with relative ease and rebuilding them was even easier.
After fully dismantling them, cleaning them up and painting them, I was left with this bundle
And here’s the finished product. Delighted with how they turned out.
I’ve gone with Volvo V70R discs which are perfect for this set up, aside from the bolt holes. They need to be opened up slightly (16.8mm to 19mm) to suit the B5. I initially went down the lazy route – I have a engineering shop near-by so popped in to see if they’d do it for me, but they didn’t want to mess with any braking components, fair enough. So along to the local Toolstation I went and picked up a 19mm drill bit. Job done for less than a tenner (although I’m sure a professional would have been neater).
There’s loads of info online on this upgrade but here’s a list of what I needed and the cost involved:
Brembo 17z calipers - £150 (eBay from someone breaking a Cayenne)
Frentech Braking 17z rebuild kit - £110 (seals, dust covers, pistons and bleed nipples)
Link pipes - £28 (custom made from someone on eBay)
Febi pad fitting kit (182292) - £15 (Autodoc - PN)
Brembo discs (09.8614.11) - £105 (Autodoc)
Brembo pads (P85069) - £80 (Autodoc)
SID Motorsport mounting bolts - £35
HEL Performance brake lines (AUD-6-360) - £54
ATE Type 200 Dot 4 brake fluid - £15 (Autodoc)
Misc bits - £60 (paint, decals, brake cleaner, grease, drill bit etc)
Around £650 in total. For that, I have a fully rebuilt set of 17z’s as well as brand new discs, pads and all fitting hardware. I’d say that’s decent value for money for a BBK.
Anyway enough about brakes. I mentioned a while back I’d been gathering parts for an underside overhaul. To say this grew arms and legs would be an understatement. I started off gathering a few select bits and pieces as and when they popped up for sale, but somehow ended up with this absolute haul…
So yeah, I got a bit carried away. I also made the mistake of keeping a spreadsheet of everything I spent – that was a bad call. Eyewatering doesn’t cut it. I’ve probably missed some stuff but I did the following:
- Front & rear subframes blasted and powder coated (front fitted with Verkline polybushes, rear has solid bushes)
- Front subframe support brackets and cross brace also blasted and coated
- All uprights blasted and powder coated (rears fitted with Verkline lower polybush)
- New Lemforder front arm kit with inner & outer tie rods (new rack boots too)
- New KW V1 coilovers
- All 4 driveshafts refurbished
- New ABS sensors all round and headlight levels sensors with new arms
- Fully rebuilt 17z brake set up with new discs, pads, braided lines, fitting kit etc.
- Fully rebuilt OEM rear calipers with new discs, pads, OEM shields, braided lines etc.
- Front & rear H&R arbs blasted and powder coated (came out a beautiful merlin purple!)
- New arb bush brackets front & rear
- Engine mount brackets blasted and coated
- New 034 engine mounts
- Gearbox mount brackets blasted and coated
- New 034 gearbox mounts
- New OEM undertray rear mounting bar
- New handbrake cables
- New Powerflex snub mount with blasted and powder coated bracket
- Front upper suspension brackets/top hats
- New OEM diff crossmember
- Diff support bracket blated and powder coated
- New Verkline diff mount
- New exhaust hangers all round (rear hanger bracket blasted and coated too)
- New section of rear brake hard line
- Rear upper arms blasted and powder coated, fitted with Verkline polybushes
- Rear lower arms blasted and powder coated, fitted with Verkline polybushes
- ABS brackets blasted & powder coated
- OEM rear turrets imported from America (proper mint)
- New Lemforder rear drop links
- New Meyle rear tie bars
- New OEM headlight sensor bracket
- Stainless steel fuel tank straps
- Various new OEM fuel tank guards/shields
- And of course, a whole host of new nuts, bolts and washers (mix of genuine and aftermarket)
I spent a bit of time ceramic coating whatever I could before it all went on, no harm in adding a bit of extra protection before it all went on.
Although not really part of the underside refresh, I also bought a new (to me) exhaust for the car. It consists of a set of Originiall Fabrications 3” downpipes mated to a 3” system made my Stainless Creations in Falkirk. I got this from Ross (rosscopeco) who I know went through a few systems before he settled on this. I was looking for something a little quieter than my current system that still had a nice purr to it; I’d never actually heard this system but seemed like it would tick all the boxes.
It didn’t even cross my mind to fit all this myself, well beyond my skill/patience/knowledge levels, so I sent the car down to Jimbo a few months back. Made the 3 hour drive, dropped the car off, left all the parts, and headed home. It was actually nice to have an empty garage after having all this cluttering the place up for so long, probably took me over 2 years to accumulate it all.
With it being winter I didn’t overly miss the car for a few months, probably wouldn’t have left the garage anyway. Jimbo worked away on it when he could and kept me updated; no super nasty surprises but we did find one of my rear springs was snapped, so just as well new coilovers were part of the parts bundle. Also found a fair amount of rust in the arches when the liners came out.
Needless to say this all got dealt with before any new parts went on.
I actually don’t have too many photos of how well it turned out but here’s a few to whet your appetite!
Jimbo slapped a coating of clear waxoyl on everything as well which should keep it looking fresh for as long as possible. I need to get the BBS wheels back on soon so I’ll hopefully be able to grab some more photos when the cars jacked up.
I also had a new radiator fitted while the car was down there as I’d noticed a very slight leak over the previous year or so.
I collected her last week and brought all the old parts back up in the daily driver. Exhaust, coilovers and front arm kit all sold but I’ll be sending the rest off for blasting and powder coating in the coming weeks if anyone is looking for some shiny refurbished parts!
Back up the road and she was cleaned and straight in for an MOT a few days later. ‘F**k me mate, it’s like MOT’ing a 3 year old motor’ was music to my ears.
Glad it now looks as good underneath as it does on top. I’ve spent more on this refurbishment project than I did on purchasing the car 7 years ago… and I’ve questioned many times if it would be worthwhile and the comments from the MOT tester were at least some kind of validation! I’ll never get anywhere near my money back if I did sell but its done now and I’m happy with the car.
Got a few little niggles to sort out now but nothing major.
- Car needs properly set up and tracked before I can really drive it. I’m booked into Kenneth Brown Motor Engineering in Hillington next month, heard good things about him.
- I have a slight rattle coming from somewhere at around 3,000rpm. Jimbo thinks part of the exhaust system, which seems logical, but I can also hear a little rattle coming from somewhere while driving over rough ground, audible when the cars freewheeling. So it could just be a loose shield somewhere or something. I’ll need to investigate.
- The exhaust sounds lovely, so nice and quiet when cruising but a lovely growl under load, but it sits tight against my rear valance. Its booked into Cal-tek in Ayr next week to get the positioning tweaked.
- My ABS/traction control light has popped on a couple of time since I got the car back; doesn’t seem to be any rhyme nor rhythm to it. No particular speed, time and not necessarily under breaking. Will need to give it a scan and see what corner its coming from but my laptops on the blink.
- I also noticed the headlining was sagging when I got the car back to that’ll need to come out and get re-glued.
Lastly, as if all that wasn’t enough, I bought a full K04 kit for the car, again from Ross’ breaker. OEM BW K04 turbos (done around 35k miles from new), OEM RS4 inlets, OEM RS4 intercoolers and shrouds, hoses, Deka injectors, 044 fuel pump and 034 Motorsport basket. Price was very fair so seemed like a no brainer. Brakes, exhaust and clutch are all ready for the upgrade now, so this should be pretty much everything else I need should I decide to upgrade in future (that’ll be another visit to Jimbo).
725 miles covered in the last 12 months, somehow not my lowest! Although around 300 of those were the round trip to Jimbo…
Absolutely stunning work! This is exactly what I’ve been planning over the next year on my B5! Do you still
Have your old parts for sale?
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Have your old parts for sale?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk