Matt's B8 A4

[wilco184]

Hi,

I thought it'd be good to create a thread for my car, to track work done, mods and other stuff. I've posted in the welcome section before, here, but I thought a B8 specific thread is good for recording stuff.

I purchased a MY2010 A4 S-Line in Phantom Black recently, it's a 2.0 TDI with the CAGA engine and manual gearbox. In terms of specification, its pretty good as far as I can tell, with Bang and Olufsen, MMI 3G, 19 Inch Le Mans wheels, interior light pack, folding mirrors and a few other options.









There are some little jobs that I need to do to get it perfect but it's in great condition. There is an issue with a rear door lock (door won't open from outside), a couple of LEDs in the tail lights are out and a couple of interior light bulbs have failed but that's all fairly easy.

There's a few small things that I'd like to change/add, too. I've been looking through some threads on here for some ideas, so I'll try and get some stuff done soon. If there's any specific mods or retrofits that you think would be good for the car, then please let me know!

Anyway, thanks for reading, I'll update this thread when I can!

Thanks,

Matt.

 

[EXSpartan36]

Nice car. I'm going to follow this to see what you get up to maybe steal some ideas as I have the same model, engine and gearbox

 

[TechNick]

Hi Matt, welcome onboard! Very tidy looking and nicely spec'd car you've got there.

Ref the rear door lock - it's not something as simple as the child lock, is it? From memory, there's a switch you rotate with your key within the door shut. Expect you've already tried that, but just in case!

Ref the mods... I'm sure we can make plenty of suggestions but are there any particular areas you want to focus on (e.g. exterior appearance, performance, ICE), any themes (e.g. OEM+, 'stance', track weapon, show car) or specific budgets you'd want to stick within, to narrow down the suggestions a bit?
In terms of external appearance, many seem to start with the RS-style honeycombe front grills, although I think I'd be tempted to look at twin outlet exhaust options as an OEM+ enhancement, depending on your goals/budget, as before.


Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[wilco184]

Hi Nick, thanks for your welcome!

Ref the rear door lock - it's not something as simple as the child lock, is it? From memory, there's a switch you rotate with your key within the door shut. Expect you've already tried that, but just in case!

For the door lock, it's not in the child lock position, but when you first unlock the car, it won't open from the outside until it's been opened from inside. Once open, it will open happily again from the outside. It seems quite a common issue on here but I can't find a definitive answer with regard to if it can be repaired or must be replaced?

Ref the mods... I'm sure we can make plenty of suggestions but are there any particular areas you want to focus on (e.g. exterior appearance, performance, ICE), any themes (e.g. OEM+, 'stance', track weapon, show car)

Regarding mods, my A2 had a few OEM+ mods that were pretty subtle (MK2 RNSE as an example) and so I'll be keeping the same style for the A4, I think. I like the idea of de-chroming the exterior and I've been looking into options for how to do the window trim so far. Looks like you guys have some pretty neat solutions with wrap etc! I just need to get the little niggles mentioned sorted first.

Loving the widebody S4, by the way!

Regards,

Matt.

 

[EXSpartan36]

For the door lock, it's not in the child lock position, but when you first unlock the car, it won't open from the outside until it's been opened from inside. Once open, it will open happily again from the outside. It seems quite a common issue on here but I can't find a definitive answer with regard to if it can be repaired or must be replaced?

This has happened to 2 of my locks. Its was the door latch module on both occasions. Replaced them now working fine.

 

[wilco184]

This has happened to 2 of my locks. Its was the door latch module on both occasions. Replaced them now working fine.

Spot on, thanks for the tip! Did you get the parts from Audi or somewhere else?

Also, I forgot to mention this niggle in the original post but the navigation cannot find any satellites, even after a MMI reset. I've checked for fault codes stored and there are none, and I've checked the blue plug at the back of the 5F unit but this is undamaged and secure. Is there anything else that I should be checking before I replace the shark fin antenna?

Regards,

Matt.

 

[EXSpartan36]

Spot on, thanks for the tip! Did you get the parts from Audi or somewhere else?

I was lucky enough to have a used car warranty on the car at the time so the parts came from audi at an extortionate £121.83 each. If you message Mike in the parts request he should be able to do it cheaper.

It's possible that there is an antenna amplifier in the c-pilley for the GPS aerial. I don't have GPS so not 100% certain. I know there is one for the Bluetooth dock back there which I found when I swapped my shark fin.

 

[tolse7]

Nice need some folding mirrors like

 

[TechNick]

You're welcome Matt.

Shame the door lock isn't something simple. Does indeed sound like it could be the convenience/locking module then - don't think they're intended to be serviced but guess there's no harm in trying to clean/grease it up before replacing, in case it's a minor mechanical fault rather than electronic. Could even be a dry/cracked joint, if you're handy with a soldering iron.

Window trims are wrapped on mine, but they need redoing. Considering trying out the same Plasti Dip style paint as is on the bodywork, next time around (albeit plain gloss black). I'll then be in a position to compare and recommend which method seems to work best!

Thanks ref the widebody!
Hope you sort out the niggles without too much work/cost.

Nick

 

[wilco184]

Thanks for all the replies!

I thought I'd document my first little mod, nothing major though! I've taken the A4 and engine designation badges off the boot lid for the cleaner look.



And a little bit of time, heat and pushing/pulling later...



The navigation issue is ongoing, though I've started a thread in the navigation section here.

Regards,

Matt.

 

[wilco184]

The navigation issue got fixed a while ago, and it has been spot on ever since.

I finally got around to swapping out the rear door lock for a new part. I didn't want to messing about with this and taking the door card off multiple times and stuff so I got the part from Audi.



So, door card off.





Removing the securing bolts, disconnecting the cables and lifting the old lock out - DSLR won't fit in the door!





Reassembly is the reverse and job's a good'en. Fault codes cleared and everything's back to normal!

Regards,

Matt.

 

[CHEZ]

Nice kitchen tiles.....
The cars not bad either.
How did you replace the led lamps that were out in rear lights?

 

[wilco184]

Nice kitchen tiles.....
The cars not bad either.
How did you replace the led lamps that were out in rear lights?

Hi,

I haven't fixed the LED lamps in the rear lights yet, to date. I've popped the assembly out and the casing is sealed, so I can't see an easy way to replace just one lamp unfortunately. I'd be interested to hear if anyone's successfully repaired these though.

Regards,

Matt.

 

[wilco184]

As a quick update, I thought I'd add a few small jobs that have been done to the thread. There's nothing major...

I fitted a black grill. I wasn't a huge fan of the stone grey trim, and after some research into fitting a different grill on ASN, I changed it for this. The fog light surrounds were wrapped in satin black, to match. The registration plates also looked a bit untidy, so I swapped them for the Aluminium type from my local Audi dealership. At the same time as the 'plates, I purchased some LED number plate lights from Trups through ASN - very happy with them and they're the ideal amount of light, and not too bright like some.

The front tyres had worn, so swapped out the existing Michelin Pilot Super Sports for Pilot Sport 3's.

A few VCDS mods were added too, including the reversing sensor parking graphic, lap timer/oil temperature and drive select. Only engine and steering as configurable options for ADS on my car, though the choice of a different throttle response is nice.

Finally, the most recent little change has been the addition of a dashcam. My aim was to fit one that was as small and discreet as possible, and that I couldn't see from the drivers seat. Most available seemed to be fitted with an LCD screen which added bulk, but after searching Amazon I came across the Autovox D6 Pro. Link.

I mounted it behind the mirror, ran the cable that came with it through the headlining, down the passenger side A pillar and into the fusebox, and connected it to a switched supply via a fuse tap. It comes on and off with the ignition, can be set not to make a sound and can't be seen from the driver's seat at all. It's ended up as quite a neat install.

Regards,

Matt.