retro fit rear door sun blinds?

[mithril]

My wife and I recently added our first child to our family, and we need to provide some sort of sun protection for the car seat in the rear. My old 4.2 had the factory blinds, of course my S6 does not and I assume that rear door cards with roller blinds in Silver Napa w/ Alacantara insert aren't going to be easy to find used :( Is it possible to retro fit the blind assembly into the non-blind rear door cards? (ie. are the the same structure and just a piece needs to be removed to allow the blinds to be installed?)

Alternatively, if any one has those cards and wants to swap...... ;)

[gregory.fazekas]

why not just tint the windows with a 20 percent tint? Significantly cheeper and easier, plus most tints can provide a 100% UV protection

[mithril]

Thanks for the suggestion but I hate the look of tint, especially limo tint when the fronts aren't done. The only tint scenario I'd ever consider would be a smoked look so light most would never know it's there (ie. 70% on all windows). There's an optically clear UV film which blocks out 99% if UV that I've thought of as well but that's about it.

Other than the cosmetics, the main problem with tint is if cuts your vision at night and you can't remove it easily whereas the sun blinds can. Here in the PNW we have unbelievably dark rainy nights for 6 months of the year, I had 35% tint on all windows on my Corrado and hated the lack of night vision so much I pulled it off half way trough the first winter.

[Sparkstack]

I want to say there are differences. I'll get a picture of the internals of both for you later. I did the same thing you want to, and as luck would have it I have both cards lying around right now.

[BostonDriver]

The door cards are not compatible. You could just keep checking eBay and the various parts recyclers for the right panels. Unfortunately, sedan panels will not work since the shades are different shape than the avant. If you find a euro sedan (eBay Germany) with the alcantara inserts and willing to ship to the US, then just find a cheap set from an allroad and swap out the shades. One other alternative is to buy the OEM "aftermarket" shade which bolts to the top of the door panel. Adds some bulk, but works very well. Just requires a couple of holes to be drilled to install. Not sure where to buy them now, since our cars are so old now...

My A6 did not come with them (2002 you had to get the solar sunroof as part of that package), so I just found a set as well as the rear power sunshade to install into my car).

[C5S6]

We got by with a Babies 'r' Us suction cup mounted shade in C5 A6 Avant #1. Lasted through Avant #2. Cheapest solution and you can move it easily to whatever car baby is in.
The rear door shades are nice, I admit (we have them in the sedan), but your not going to easily find what you want in the shape you want it to be in (assuming less than perfect is not an option given the time & $ you are going to invest).

[Sparkstack]

Original:





Sunshade:





Note the raised sections where the shade mounts to the card

Not pictured, the slot the shade comes out of.

I'm sure you could retrofit if you were able to find the individual shades and the trim for the slot. But it's a lot of work. Plus parts cost.

If you are dead set on doing this keep trolling eBay for a set.

[mithril]

If you find a euro sedan (eBay Germany) with the alcantara inserts and willing to ship to the US, then just find a cheap set from an allroad and swap out the shades.

Not sure if I'm reading this right, but are you saying the insert portion of the door card is easily swappable?

Thanks for the pics Sparkstack, that confirms basically exactly what I figured would be the case. I think this may be the option that makes the most amount if sense. Not at cheap as a Baby's R Us suction roller blind but at least it's fitted for the car, removable and gives the added benefit of fuller rear window coverage than the OEM roller blind plus coverage over the luggage windows to help keep the heat down.

http://www.uvcarshades.co.uk/shades-avant-p-1230.html

[stef2.7t]

I thought that you could get a skeleton card from an allroad, swap out the alcantara inserts, and wood trim, and call it a day...

[Sparkstack]

I thought that you could get a skeleton card from an allroad, swap out the alcantara inserts, and wood trim, and call it a day...

Wood trim pops out. Inserts don't unless I'm missing something. The door cards are actually in 3 sections and are plastic welded together at the seams.

[mithril]

It is possible, dre did it when he swapped an AllRoad interior into his old 2.7T sedan but this thread makes it sound like it was a huge pain.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-interior-swap

[stef2.7t]

It's just a little glue. Prep yourself well with the right tools as Dre points out and have fun!

I personally think that doing these kinds of mods (that were never available) is definitely fun and worth while.

[mithril]

I agree, but this isn't a mod to retro fit something that was never available. The rear door sun blinds were available on the S6, it's just that my S6 didn't come with the the Hot Weather option :( "retrofitting" would be as easy as finding a used set with blinds and swapping them (as Sparkstack did) it's just difficult as my S6 has the silver napa interior with alcantara insert option making it a very rare item to try and find used. I'd also like to find a silver napa rear bench in just leather (no alcantara insert) as I expect it will be a lot easier to clean baby "fluids" off leather than out of white suede, but c'est la vie.

[stef2.7t]

Hm, I have not seen one S6 yet with the factory blinds. I'll have to keep a closer look.

[Sparkstack]

I'd also like to find a silver napa rear bench in just leather (no alcantara insert) as I expect it will be a lot easier to clean baby "fluids" off leather than out of white suede, but c'est la vie.

That's a little extreme. Babies aren't messy. 6 year olds on the other hand....

I've got two of these:

[buzztt]

theres another thread on here where someone bought some aftermarket ones from a company in the uk, apparently they are very good and cover the window completely, and are easy to install, cost was 180 for 2 i think, the thread was in the past few days

[mithril]

That's a little extreme. Babies aren't messy. 6 year olds on the other hand....

I've got two of these:

Agreed, that's why I wasn't willing to spend a huge amount on it. If I could find a deal on a silver bench then I'd swap it out and put the alcantara bench in storage but I don't expect that will happen. Does that seat protector work well with LATCH?

theres another thread on here where someone bought some aftermarket ones from a company in the uk, apparently they are very good and cover the window completely, and are easy to install, cost was 180 for 2 i think, the thread was in the past few days

Those are the one's I linked above. Best price I've found on them currently about 115 GBP shipped to the US. They are realistically the most logical option for what I want; better coverage than the generica rollerblinds from Baby's R Us and much cheaper/easier than sourcing or retrofitting OEM blinds.

[Sparkstack]

Does that seat protector work well with LATCH?

Yes. It's contoured around where the latch points would be.