Craig's Audi Journey

[csevans]

G'day,

New 2007 A4 Quattro owner here. (2 weeks old, still on the temp tags)
Bought for $6400, with 95k miles on it.
It has some "issues" that were making it hard for the dealership to sell.
Mechanically, it is sound ... but it needs some TLC to bring back to its prime.

List of fixes so far:
1. Wiper Blades (WTF? I guess I know how expensive Euro cars are to get parts for now)
2. Glove Box Hinge Repair - Yep. I went to open the glove box on my test drive, and it fell off.
3. Worn headlight switch. Paint had worn. Just usual wear and tear. It worked, but looked like crap.
4. Master (and slave) window switches - which also revealed that half my door card clips were missing/broken.
5. Side mirror adjustment. It worked just fine, but since I got a replacement as part of the bundle of switches (headlight, windows) I figured it was a good thing to do.
6. Center console cover replaced. The front catch was missing, and it was a bare plastic steel with no covering on it. After the broken glove box, this really annoyed the crap out of me.
7. Drivers sun visor clip replaced.
8. Missing trim piece on the card/coin drawer. OK, it worked, but begin front and center on the dash it was a visible annoyance.
9. AC Control unit - replaced with one that was "as new" and didnt have worn buttons. Discovered that there actually is an off button.

It was a smokers car, so it stank inside. I've scrubbed every surface ... but need to do it again.

Next week the existing Symphony HU is getting swapped out for a Pioneer AVIC-4201NEX. I'm not sure how closely it will integrate with the can-bus for car sensors. If anyone has a comment on that, I'd appreciate it (but thats not really why I bought it - but if it will replace the AC controller - it will free up space for a cubby hole in the console).

There are a number of other things I need to do - some more important than others.

In no particular order:
1. Refurb the rims. The are suffering from a bad case of curb rash. Will be sanding and stripping them - the question will then be polish and clear coat, or metallic anthracite plastidip. I kinda like the existing 5 spoke Audi rims - so no interest in replacing them yet, but happy to spend a little fixing them up.
2. Dimming, homelink enabled rearview mirror. I cant find the remote to the garage. Opening the front door, walking through the house, and opening the garage to drive in is getting old.
3. Cold air intake.
4. Diverter valve.
5. APR ECU Stage I/II programming (not until the DV is in place).
6. Coilover suspension (maybe a small drop - but the current shocks are a little spongy - not a surprise for a 10yo car).
7. Sway bar replacement.
8. Polish out the fine scratches on the car (waiting for the weather to warm up).
9. Body work - not sure how they managed it, but the drivers side front and rear fenders are buckled with no other evidence of damage.
10. Front/rear/sideskirt body kit. Nothing extreme. Its low on the list.

This isnt a project car per se. It will never be a concourse show queen ... but I plan on keeping it for awhile, so it cant hurt to get it back in shape.
I'm not a mechanic (I'm OK with electrical and handling a screw driver), or a panel beater so I'll be leaning on friends and local shops for a lot of the remaining work ... but there is no shame in that. If I can, friends will be guiding me through the stuff I haven't done before. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.

[Audibot]

Welcome! Good to see more B7s getting love!


For the smoke, I'd recommend getting an ozone or similar treatment after steam cleaning the surfaces. A professional interior detail may be required.

2. Do you need an autodim rearview? I have one in platinum I can sell. And does your car have homelink? The module itself is up front by the bumper and the controls are in the driver's visor.

3. CAI is basically useless on this car. Stock airbox is more than good enough--if you want, throw a higher flowing filter in there. Most "cold air intakes" tend to be "hot air intakes" because they don't seal correctly. Only gives you a change in sound. Save the money for another performance mod.

4. Rev D DV is perfectly fine and will handle anything you throw at it with the Stage 1/2 you are thinking of.

5. I'd recommend JHM's stage 1/2. APR tune is pretty old at this point (about 10 years, give or take) and JHM's is pretty recent and the reviews are fantastic. Many JHM stage 1 cars can handily beat APR stage 2.

6. Which coilovers are you thinking? I got Vogtland GT1s from Achtuning and they were fantastic for the price. Great ride (not harsh at all) and give you enough lowering. Was $960 shipped a couple years ago when I bought them.

9. What color is the car?

Also: A good bolt-on, low budget upgrade for the brakes is to get B6/B7 S4 fronts/rears (for the fronts, you don't need the caliper so much as the carrier itself) and braided stainless lines. The S4 rears are ventilated vs solid disc on the A4.

Regarding the radio integration with CAN, check out the audio or tech forums on AZ somewhere. They should be able to answer some questions.

[csevans]

Thanks for the heads up.

I'm at the point where I am starting to ask questions I can't find out easily in forums (not just here, but all over the place online and a ton of youtube videos).

Yeah - the CAI mod isnt so much for colder air, but for more of it :)
I'll look into the JHM ECS mod. APR seems to get most of the love, so that was my starting point when looking.

Hadn't decided on what coilovers I wanted, just that I wanted to move from the standard shock and coil system to something adjustable. That will probably be a summer project.

What color is the car?

MyA4B7.jpg

Black on black.
If you look closely you can see some of the damage on the front fender, and example of the curb rash thats on all the rims. Someone obviously parked by "touch"

====
I picked it up about 10 days ago, and pretty much immediately road tripped for 1500miles getting back home to a freeway covered in ice and snow slush (and plows out clearing it) on Sunday night. As a Subaru owner, I wasnt sure what to expect (been very happy with the AWD on my Legacy ... but needed a second car, and one with AWD hence the A4 Quattro). It performed like a champ. Really happy with the traction - esp seeing karma catch up with someone who had tailgated me for about 30 min before taking off ... and me passing them 15 min later ... off in a ditch with no way out.

[Audibot]

Thanks for the heads up.

I'm at the point where I am starting to ask questions I can't find out easily in forums (not just here, but all over the place online and a ton of youtube videos).

Yeah - the CAI mod isnt so much for colder air, but for more of it :)
I'll look into the JHM ECS mod. APR seems to get most of the love, so that was my starting point when looking.

Hadn't decided on what coilovers I wanted, just that I wanted to move from the standard shock and coil system to something adjustable. That will probably be a summer project.

What color is the car?

MyA4B7.jpg

Black on black.
If you look closely you can see some of the damage on the front fender, and example of the curb rash thats on all the rims. Someone obviously parked by "touch"

====
I picked it up about 10 days ago, and pretty much immediately road tripped for 1500miles getting back home to a freeway covered in ice and snow slush (and plows out clearing it) on Sunday night. As a Subaru owner, I wasnt sure what to expect (been very happy with the AWD on my Legacy ... but needed a second car, and one with AWD hence the A4 Quattro). It performed like a champ. Really happy with the traction - esp seeing karma catch up with someone who had tailgated me for about 30 min before taking off ... and me passing them 15 min later ... off in a ditch with no way out.

Hahaha I love good karma stories!

I find searching in the forum can be a pain sometimes, so Google search modifiers are usually a way to find stuff. usually site:audizine.com b7 [insert search term here]

If you had a Dolphin Grey car, I could help with the fender.

Forgot to ask, if the car is manual or automatic. In any event, best of luck!

[EvolutionArmory]

Cold air intakes are basically useless unless your turbo is so big that the box simply won’t fit anymore.

There are plenty of fast cars here with the stock airbox. It isn’t as restrictive as people think. Buy an intercooler if you want cooler air with better airflow

[csevans]

Hahaha I love good karma stories!

I find searching in the forum can be a pain sometimes, so Google search modifiers are usually a way to find stuff. usually site:audizine.com b7 [insert search term here]

If you had a Dolphin Grey car, I could help with the fender.

Forgot to ask, if the car is manual or automatic. In any event, best of luck!

I dont wish ill on anyone (most of the time), but this guy was being a dick. I'm not sure if they are used to driving in marginal conditions, but RWD American muscle might be good in a straight line - but out a bend in the road with some ice and snow slush ... and ... yeah, it doesnt end well. They weren't the only one. I saw a good dozen cars in a 60mile stretch in the ditch.

I signed up here because my searches for "Audi A4 B7 <insert subject>" kept leading me here :) ... I used google for forum searches all the time. Provided that the site is indexed, its often a better search engine than with the forum software has to offer.

And, its an auto - I'm OK with that. TBH - I haven't really driven a stick since I lived in LA. I ditched the stick for auto because of the stop/start freeway driving I had for my commute - and haven't driven anything else since. On my roadtrip, I did put the A4 into "manual" mode and played with the tipronic system a little. It was about what I expected :) - OK, but nothing special.

[csevans]

Cold air intakes are basically useless unless your turbo is so big that the box simply won’t fit anymore.

There are plenty of fast cars here with the stock airbox. It isn’t as restrictive as people think. Buy an intercooler if you want cooler air with better airflow

Thats 2 people saying not to bother with a CAI. I guess my knowledge* on that was from modding forums - where they might have a vested interest in selling the "big blue cone filter replacement (guaranteed 50HP+ performance boost!!!"

*I have no knowledge. I'm learning this stuff as I go. I need to trust what I read until I find out otherwise.

[Audibot]

Was asking if it was auto or manual because on the auto, if you go to stiffer mounts, the NVH really increases. OE mounts seem to really help dampen that out. Also some parts, like downpipes, are different on tiptronic than they are on manual cars, since the transmission is bigger on the autos.

[Older_not_Wiser]

Check cam follower promptly and Enfig for plug and play harness interfaces for your Pioneer. Also Enfig's HU surround is much nicer than others available

[EvolutionArmory]

If I were you I would get all of your maintenance squared away before you spend 1 dime on mods. Get to “stage zero”.

[csevans]

If I were you I would get all of your maintenance squared away before you spend 1 dime on mods. Get to “stage zero”.

Goes without saying.

Things that have been completed so far have been needed fixes - not "nice to haves".
In another thread, someone pointed me to CarFax, and the full service history was there. It made me much happier about about the purchase.
Looks like I am the second owner and they were anal about service intervals.
It is due (overdue actually) for it 95000 service which is fairly major, but I dont anticipate any big issues - we'll see once a service tech gets under the hood I guess.

[csevans]

Sigh. It never stops ...

Drivers side fog light - good.


Passenger side ... Not so good. Is that rust?


The lights work. Well low beam fog lights do. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be hi/low or not.

So, what to do?

I'd like to replace both sides with something with better brightness than stock. If it is a dual light system, in a perfect world one would be a high-intensity driving light, the other a yellow fog light (and I do live in a semi rural area that I drive in in fog and need to watch for deer too).

Seeing lots of talk about fog lights - and reprogramming the ECU for halon vs xenon, and LEDs vs ballasts, and all sorts of other things that confuse the hell out of me. Are there any products people can recommend that will 1. Replace the fog lamp housings, 2. Give me a brighter driving light, 3. Maybe give me a yellow fog light, and (importantly) 4. Do it with an existing wiring harness?

If someone says this is a great time to get the tools to fiddle with my cars ecu, I'm down with that too ... But only as a last resort.

[csevans]

New head unit - Pioneer AVH4200NEX.
Fairly happy, but I don't think it was installed properly (I didn't do it ... I had it professionally installed, so I'll be taking it back in to them to fix).
Issue 1: Next to no AM reception. Might not seen like a big deal, but I drive long distances in the Midwest and listen to NPR. AM has better coverage, but even in town it is non existent. Wouldnt be an issue, I could listen to an FM HD sideband except ...
Issue 2: The digital FM cuts in and out. Analog FM is ok.

Based on 1&2, I suspect there is an antenna hookup issue. I suspect the installer was so focused on the car play setup that they didn't check the other radio bands correctly - esp since regular FM (local rock stations) worked just fine.

Issue 3: No canbus integration. The wiring harness is supposed to sort it. The head unit is supposed to support it.

Guess I need to figure out where in the harness canbus gets hooked in.

Having said that, I finally have Bluetooth integration, no longer need to use my airpods for handsfree calling, my iPhone now acts as a music source, and my phone nav is now on a bigger screen in a safe location to view. And as a bonus I now have a backup camera.

So, pretty happy, but still some things I need to get sorted.

[csevans]

Issues 1 & 2 fixed. They hadn't connected a wire that gave power to the antenna booster.
Guess I can cancel the Amazon order of the antenna booster I bought because I didn't think the antenna was boosted.



Oh look, *some* canbus data support. It's not as detailed as I'd like, but it's a start.
Disappointed I'm not getting the climate controlled though. Thinking I might need to do something with an Arduino, a canbus shield, and some interface work to the climate control harness.

[DoctorWookie]

Did you go through ENFIG for your stereo installation parts or get them through Crutchfield?

[csevans]

Actually - I went local with Best Buy. Prices are high, but they price match down to "reasonable" levels.

[csevans]

Sometimes it's the small things ...
I needed a replacement clip for my side indicator.

And ended up buying a set of smoked LED indicators.

Not seeing any errors, and I'm happy with the look.

Amazon: DEPO Audi 2002-2005 A4 B6, 2006-2008 A4/S4 B7, 2007-2011 TT Roadster, 2006-2013 A3 8P, 2002-2004 A6/S6 C5, 2002-2005 Allroad C5, 2004-2009 A8 D3 Smoke Amber LED Fender Side Marker Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0170WGRAW..._M7m5Ab3MYWM7X

These are not super bright - esp in daylight, but they are not a legal requirement and I wanted something that would blend in a little better. Price was right and the change over only took a couple of minutes. These really are plug and play.

Bigger jobs coming up with my carborg - I need to replace my rear power window regulator (part arrives tomorrow), and the rearview mirror gets an update to a homelink enabled, auto dimming with compass (I need to go pick it up).

[csevans]

Another small change - a convenience feature.

Got a great deal on a new rearview mirror Gentex 85ADFMCHV Frameless Auto Dimming Compass/HomeLink Rearview Mirror (thats not the price I paid) -

So ....

Before:


After:


Yes, it says "C" - I need to take it out to calibrate the compass.

But now I don't need the ugly remote hanging off the sun visor, and my muscle memory to reach for the mirror (its been a long time since I've had a car without the homelink buttons there) to open the garage door is back in play.

(Excuse the dirty windscreen, I'm currently parking outside a lot and getting covered in pollen and dust)

[Theiceman]

Did you get your basic reliability maintenance done ? you mentioned something about it earlier. All this is for nothing if your engine grenades .

Cam follower check
timing belt replaced
Checked coolant flange for leaking
Checked vacuum pump for leaking
no excessive noise from timing cover.
Oil consumption within parameters.


all stuff to make sure is solid before a fancy stereo in my mind. Just my opinion though :)

[csevans]

Did you get your basic reliability maintenance done ? you mentioned something about it earlier. All this is for nothing if your engine grenades .

Cam follower check
timing belt replaced
Checked coolant flange for leaking
Checked vacuum pump for leaking
no excessive noise from timing cover.
Oil consumption within parameters.


all stuff to make sure is solid before a fancy stereo in my mind. Just my opinion though :)

Yes, that was done a couple weeks back.
All good, and we located the maintenance history - and it was kept up to date ... and surprisingly, oil consumption is on the low side.

One thing noticed while up on the hoist was a crack in the exhaust downpipe. While I'd like to get a full cat back or turbo back exhaust replacement, for now I am booked into a local shop who are going to weld a patch in.

[csevans]

Scored a set of '14 rims for $400 - complete with tires with OK tread on 2, one which was obviously off balance, and one with a nail in it that I have had plugged.
Despite some minor curb rash, they are in hella better shape than the ones that came with my car.



I dremeled and sanded the minor defects until everything was satin smooth ... then ...



You can see where I had to do some fixes on this wheel around the nozzle.



Anthracite plastidip (4 coats) plus glossifier (4 coats).



Even did the hubs covers for good measure (masked out the inner silver - there is some glue residue from the tape I'll clean off tomorrow once the dip has cured).

Final version of the plastidipped rims ...

Before:

After:

I like what they've done to the car - and for less than $100 in supplies (including the materials I used for wheel prep to remove a little curb rash from these rims).
My "old" rims need a lot more work. Not just surface scratches, but full on gouges at the edges. I'll need to prep them with the metal bondo type product - or not. I'll keep them as my "winter" rims.

Overall, I'm happy with the results. I wasnt planning on new wheels, but at $400 for the rims plus tires, plus another $100 in materials, I think I've updated things nicely. These will last until I go for more "aggressive" rims later ... much later. I have body work and paint restoration that needs to happen before then.

Since these are plastidipped, if I dont like it - or it doesn't hold up, I'll peel it off, strip the existing clear coat off the wheels, polish them up, and reclear them.

[QQQQuattro]

Issues 1 & 2 fixed. They hadn't connected a wire that gave power to the antenna booster.
Guess I can cancel the Amazon order of the antenna booster I bought because I didn't think the antenna was boosted.



Oh look, *some* canbus data support. It's not as detailed as I'd like, but it's a start.
Disappointed I'm not getting the climate controlled though. Thinking I might need to do something with an Arduino, a canbus shield, and some interface work to the climate control harness.

Do you have low volume in the rear speakers after using the Maestro RR setup? Also, did the module maintain the radio info on the mfd (screen next to speedometer)? I am interested in getting the Maestro RR installed in my Audi, as I currently have the PAC harness, and have the low rear volume issue.

[dyde]

Do you have low volume in the rear speakers after using the Maestro RR setup? Also, did the module maintain the radio info on the mfd (screen next to speedometer)

I would also really like to know the answers to these questions.

They are the two things I need to know before purchasing it.

[QQQQuattro]

Do you have low volume in the rear speakers after using the Maestro RR setup? Also, did the module maintain the radio info on the mfd (screen next to speedometer)? I am interested in getting the Maestro RR installed in my Audi, as I currently have the PAC harness, and have the low rear volume issue.

Just in case anyone was curious the maestro RR will not retain the MFD on our cars, it will only work with the mfd that is black and white contrast at this time. Also the rear low speaker volume would be present unless you install a LOC for the rear outputs.

The difference between maestro rr and Enfig is Enfig has everything you need plug and play, it’s only missing the obd can Info with the data log of info (speed, boost, fuel, tach, etc) along with airbag reset and what not. The Maestro RR needs LOC, but can do everything else. No harness on market as of now can retain mfd at this time for the red screens.

Hope this was informative

-Mike


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[csevans]

It's been awhile since I’ve posted an update.
Last week I finally dealt with the passenger side airbag recall ... and chose to have it done at a dealer who is also an APR dealer.
So, I now have an APR ECU Stage 1 mod. I don’t have dyno numbers, but the grin on my face as I drove through the backcountry roads back from the dealer told me all I needed to know. Wow. What a difference. Also, I no longer need to drop to sports mode at the lights for a decent takeoff. The low end acceleration is crisp and precise. Happy customer.

What about other stuff? Betty got a nose job thanks to a blown headlight.

Before:


After (DRL on):


After (Driving lights):


After (Fog lights):


The list?
SpecD RS8 Style black/chrome headlights
Depo Replacement Foglight housings
Super Bright LEDs dual color driving/fog lamps
Ebay special black/chrome honeycomb grill
Tow hook number plate relocation

Things under the bumper cover were (unknown to me) being held together with jbweld and a prayer. I knew there was a little front end damage when I bought the car, but it looked like it was a minor side scrape - I was wrong. It wasn’t a disaster, but I do have a bunch of replacement brackets and such that were cracked and glued back together on order, and they’ll get replaced when they get here, along with a new skid plate (since the old one was pretty chewed up and not really protecting anything).

I think I’m almost done for the time being. I need some body work done, and I’ll be powdercoating my rims, but all in all the mechanicals are in good shape now. There might be some suspension stuff done - nothing drastic. I like the stance and ride height, but I’d like to deal with the typical under steer (although it’s not too bad) and stiffen things up with some replacement sway bars at some stage.

[csevans]

Minor update - the coin tray in the dash broke. I suspect it is the spring in the back, but either way, between the facia falling off and it not retracting properly, I needed a replacement.

Before - broken card/coin tray


After - the most useless accessory Audi ever invented ... but it filled the space.


Oooooh - video.

[csevans]

Been awhile. Came back to do a little research on a couple of wiggly suspension and control arm issues and realized I should post a couple more minor fixes ...

1. Replace the windshield rain tray ...
As you can see, this one was toast.


So after pulling the wiper arms, I installed a shiny new piece of plastic.


2. AND the ultimate interior upgrade ...


My A4 now brings the funk. I have't actually hooked it up to power, but it's been sitting on my desk waiting for me to do some other interior work and I decided to just put in in. Does nothing, and is unlikely to ever do anything (toggle my fog/driving lights maybe?).

[IbisB7stage2]

Funk button toggles the water-meth injection on my car! Best use for it undoubtedly

Sent from my SM-G950U using Audizine Forum mobile app

[csevans]

Latest upgrade project complete - new suspension and motor mounts.

This started when my mechanic said "Your motor mounts are shot, and you need a new snub nose mount." And that send me down the rabbit hole.

1. Upgraded motor mounts:

• 034Motorsport Density Line Motor Mounts - Street Density.
• 034Motorsport Performance Polyurethane Snub Mount
• 034Motorsport Active Motor Mount Resistor Bypass (needed with the Tiptronic transmission)

No pics, but the engine now feels like it is connected to the car. I am not sure if this make a difference in HP - but the drivetrain now feels like it is working wit the car instead of fighting it.

On to the second part of the rabbit hole ... I started with this.




2. Upgraded suspension

• ECS Audi B6/B7 A4/S4 Front 32mm & Rear 25mm Sway Bar Kit
• 034Motorsport Density Line Complete Front Control Arm Kit
• Bilstein PSS9 Coilover System

During -




Yeah ... drove really well. Except for 2 things ... I slammed into a pothole in Chicago the week before I went in to get the suspension done, and it had cracked the downpipe so I wasn't getting back pressure into the engine. That took a trip to the muffler shop. One refused to look at it - he suspected the crack was at the flange based on the sound and wouldn't even look at it. The next guy said he'd check it out. Crack was at the flex joint. Welded it back up and I was back into stealth mode.

The car drove phenomenally well. Took bends in country roads at a rock solid 80mph (I know these roads and they have visibility in all directions - I was alone). A *lot* of fun to drive, but ...

Issue 2. They ignored my request to have clearance at the back and tucked the rear. It looked good. If Betty was a pavement princess it wouldn't be an issue - but I live outside of town on a dirt road and I dragged my rear each time I entered/exited my driveway. The muffler guy said I was hitting the mufflers and it was going to cause a problem.

So, back I went to get a BBL (Bavarian Butt Lift). Yes, I tried to do this myself using the Bilstein spanners, but there were issues. Don't ask. I'll be able to do it myself now, but the mechanic should have thought "hey, if there are parts left over, what did I forget to install?".




Rear raised an inch. I now have a slight rise in the rear, but more importantly it clears the driveway.

I drove to Chicago and back yesterday, and I'm not sure how but the combination of motor mounts and upgraded suspension seem to have added at least 500HP to Betty. OK, maybe not that much, but handling at (excessive) freeway speeds is noticeably sharper, and acceleration is outstanding. I was happily doing illegal speeds ... purely to test handling at higher speeds of course.