My wife has been using the 3.0 Quattro a lot (she drives 3000 miles every month) but since 2 months she has a brand new Audi A3 8Y Sportback S-tronic TFSI. I used to drive 1500-2000 miles every month myself, but not anymore so both Avants are actually standing still more than they are driving.*Because of that I have more time now to work on the 3.0. Last year I started with modifying an OEM B6 S4 rear bumper for my 3.0. I found it for quite cheap, I think the seller wasn't aware that he was selling an S4 rear bumper. Usually, even here in Europe, they cost hundreds of Euros so I think I was lucky.
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I wanted to make the quite tame looking B6 Avant rear a bit more aggressive. The S4 rear bumper model has this beautiful lower diffuser area, which is ideal for creating a diffuser and that's why I chose it. First I had to draw my design on the computer to visualize the idea in my head. I am not much of a sketch artist. I do have a graphic background, but in a completely different direction. After this, I could start with all the handcrafting. No 3D printer is involved here, everything is done by hand.
First I had to determine the curvature of the bumper, because my diffuser design involved 4 fins that needed do be glued to it. To create the proper shape of the fins I used a piece of cardboard.
After I had determined the curvature of the bumper and decided how the shape of the fins should be, it was time to cut the actual shape. For this I always use a material called "foamed PVC", which is a lightweight material. It is strong, especially when layered, yet very easy to bend, shape, cut, grind and sand. It comes in several thicknesses.
I didn't want to create just simple, flat fins but instead I wanted to make a more 3D shape of it.
Before I could finish the fin, I first had to check if it actually fitted the bumper and how it would look.
I was satisfied with it, so I could now finish all four fins by filling the gaps and holes, grinding and sanding.
I had to determine the exact position of the fins on the diffuser area and also I needed to make sure the fins would be glued on straight, which is not very easy.
Once the positions had been determined, I could glue the fins.
Next was a diffuser trim that would surround the diffuser area. For this I had to bend the material in all directions, following the curvature of the bumper.
I also wanted to add a trim to the exhaust pipes.
It then ended up looking like this.
This bumper hasn't been finished yet, there's still a lot of work to be done. Perhaps it's hard to picture how it would look when it is finished. So here's a rear bumper modification I have done before for my wife's old A3 8P, which started with an OEM S-line rear bumper and ended up as a modified bumper with reflectors and a much nicer looking diffuser. It was made in the same way basically.
I hope you like it. :)
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