The Snotmobile TQS (slow progress)

[Supernaut]

I bought this car back in April, my first Audi! My previous cars have been a '97 Peugeot 306 1.9TD (running 24psi of boost for 2 years before spitting out a conrod), a 2001 Mk2 Mazda MX-5 1.8 (fun, but drove me insane too), and a 2001 Peugeot 306 2.0HDi estate (remapped).

As you can guess from the title, it's an A4 1.8 T Quattro Sport, and it's VW Java Green!

I bought it down in South Lanarkshire and drove it up to Aberdeen. It had 103k on the clocks when I got it, and it's now on 107k... I cycle to work (all of a mile each way!), so the car only gets used to play about in at the weekends.


When I first got it:

Fitted my own radio (correctly wired up to the Bose 10 speaker system)

In May I drove down to Stratford-Upon-Avon to meet some friends to watch some drag racing. The S4 Avant you see belongs to a member of AudiSRS (I'm also registered on there) but I knew him from another forum for years beforehand.

I've since painted the grille black and the 4 rings gunmetal grey...

Been on other adventures...

Put a sticker in the back window...

Then fitted some winter wheels...

That's where the car stands today. It's completely standard under the bonnet, except for me putting a K&N panel filter in there. I'd be interested in some recommendations for remaps.
Also, I know there's a sticker of a plaster on the front wing. It had a nasty scratch there when I bought it, and that's the best way to cover it, IMO. I also just like how it looks.

This will be a slow progress thread as I find my feet and wonder what to do. To be honest, the car feels plenty quick enough for me standard, but a remap & exhaust would be fun at some point.

 

[crazy88]

I'm loving that colour! Think I've only seen one other a4 that colour, an avant.

Thanks for posting pics up, looking forward to seeing what you are going to do to it.

 

[aragorn]

Yeh the color is actually quite cool, and goes really well with the dark wheels.

I was trying to find some steels for mine for a winter look, but i've already got 17" winter tyres and you cant get steels in 17" which is a shame.

 

[spartacus 68]

That's a pretty cool colour. Up there with Kingfisher Blue in my opinion for B5s.

Regards the scratched wing, get that bleed'n plaster off it. Don't attack it with wet and dry 3M paper, as that's the road of no returns once you start body-shop work. Could be tackled with a touch up paint, then machine polish with Mezerna to cut it back.

 

[Supernaut]

Well, I've got more important things to deal with right now.

Just as I pulled into my street, the car developed an interesting problem with the indicators. They just stay on solid instead of flashing. The hazards still work though!
The indicators will flash if I push the stalk veeeery gently, but if I click it into position they just stay on.

My method for dealing with this will be to leave it for a couple of hours and see if it clears up... I hate doing anything electrical on cars!
Otherwise I probably need to replace the relay or stalk.

 

[Supernaut]

DP alert!

Never mind, sorted it after following these instructions.

I love how easy the dashboard is to take apart on the B5. That link is for a TT, on the B5 A4 all you need to do is unclip one piece of dash trim and pull the switch out! Took it apart and gave it a good spray of contact cleaner, and it's sorted.

 

[aragorn]

It'll come back.

Pick up a couple switches from your local scrappy

 

[Supernaut]

I now have an ABS fault, joy.

Since replacing the left rear wheel bearing, VCDS has shown a fault with the left rear wheel speed sensor. I haven't had any time to have another look at it. It's not actually affecting how the car drives, but there's an ABS warning light on the dash, which we all know is an MOT failure. Lucky mine's not due until March.

 

[Broken Byzan]

Did you remove the abs sensor to do wheelbearing?

 

[Supernaut]

I got a friendly local garage to actually do the work on the wheel bearing, actually.

Hmm, what's the worst that it would need anyway? Replacement sensor?

 

[Broken Byzan]

Yeah. Not too dear. If abs ring is intact on the cv then the sensor should fix it. Probably have to be chiselled and drilled out and I'd expect the bolt to snap too sadly. I tend to just undo the wiring and leave the sensor connected and work around it when doing a bearing for ease

 

[Supernaut]

Meh. I've had a busy couple of weekends and today I want to do absolutely nothing. So I'll look at it another time.

I don't use the car to commute anyway because work is all of a mile away, so I walk.

 

[Supernaut]

I've come to the conclusion that I may well need a new snub mount too.

APR ones seem a decent price, except when the only place that will post them out wants £15 for the postage! AwesomeGTI, my ****. That's not very 'awesome' to me.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Oranoco]

Standard RS4 snub, cheap as chips from dealer and beefier than stock.