Made an RS4 Grille for my S Line.

[boffin486]

Spent the last couple of days making an RS4(ish) front grille for my A4 B7 Quattro Avant.

Original unmodded car & mucked about on the PC to create a notion of what it will look like.

After obtaining a 2nd Grille from FleaBay, The Game Is On!

First Remove the chrome surround trim and the Number Plate Holder.

Next I cut out the lower grille Bars.

I got a sheet of suitable plastic mesh (Fleabay again) ready for the transformation.

Cutting out the Grille Bars leaves a lot of V shaped cutouts in the Surround which would weaken the Frame.
Solution – fill them with Hot Melt Glue. 1st, taped over holes with Cloth Tape.

Now fill in the cutouts with Hot Melt Glue from the other side.

Wait for the glue to set solid, remove the tape & with some tidying up/sanding, the frame is much stronger.
Next make a template & cut out a section of mesh to fit.

Now glue the mesh into the Frame. Time consuming but seems to work well.

Now the first Slot is filled – Looks quite good.

Now repeat the process with the upper grille – Cut out the Bars

Create a template, cut out the mesh, glue it into the prepared frame.

Next – need the Badge Mount out of the old grille - you CANNOT get these anywhere unless you buy a new grille, believe me, I have tried!

Easiest tool for this is a Dremel or similar device with a cutting disk.

Now remove the centres so the mesh shows behind badge instead

Now, after some fettling/tidying up, I Glued the Mount onto the Grille & then painted the whole lot with Satin Black Bumper Spray Paint.

View attachment 158787
Grille almost finished, just needs the Badges/Trim replaced. I like the chrome trim so kept it but it could be painted black if required.

Bumper with old grille removed, ready for new grille.

Grille with new badges & trim installed into Bumper.

Now decided to match the Fog Lamp Grilles – Similar procedure, smaller scale.

Cut out Mesh glued into place

Finished Result, Just need to do it twice!

Fit them into the Bumper & it’s ready for fitting.

Bumper re-installed on Car (best done with some help as getting everything lined up to slot in is a bit of a pain).

Final Result – Reasonably good. If I did it again I might use a different procedure to make it easier. Added bonus - leaves and other stuff don't gather behind the fog lights......

I have turned this into a Word Document (has a few more pics) as well so PM me if you want a copy.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Looks very smart chap, not sure on the red badge color to be honest but personal choice , good work all the same.

 

[boffin486]

I forgot to add - changed the rear badge to match - I thought the red logos work on the S Line theme with its red badges.

 

[Evil Derboy]

Some excellent work there...

...ruined by those chavvy red badges.

 

[boffin486]

Not everyones taste but I like them.

 

[DieselJake]

Fantastic work!

I like how you've made it your own with the colour, reminds me of a few things I've done that people haven't agreed with just because it's different to the norm (aka not boring) but haters gonna hate like you say it's your car, keep up the good work.

 

[THQuattro]

I think its really good mate.

 

[KrisKrk]

Great work.
When I had A4, I wanted to do same grille mod. Passed on that to invest time elsewhere but made same mesh on my A6 fog grilles.

Keep it up with excellent labour and write ups


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RichMk3]

Great mod mate, looks really good.

I keep looking at mine thinking I'm gonna do this, I've looked around for plastic mesh that has a slightly bigger honeycombe, but it's hard to find..

 

[boffin486]

Hi Rich, When I chose the mesh, I specifically chose a smaller honeycomb as I prefer the look but there was another one readily available with a larger honeycomb. I'll look it up again after work on fleabay and post the item number so you can have a looksee.

 

[RichMk3]

Cheers mate, that would be great

And I'm still jealous of your ample ramp!!

 

[boffin486]

Hello again Rich - have a look at:
eBay item number: 222650207775 (this is the one I used)
eBay item number: 141794307446 (bigger mesh size)
If you look at the other choices available too, I'm sure you'll find what you want.

 

[White knight 2]

Hey mate excellent work that, well done, I might try that myself as it's the only option I think, I only got the car yesterday (2007 a4 b7 cabriolet s line 2.0tfsi) and I'm already thinking of modernising it, but I'm quickly learning that there is not much plug and play stuff for them and if I'm right here (still learning) the rs4 grille is a fortune and the ebay ones don't fit, might be the only way

 

[boffin486]

Yep, I've been watching genuine RS4 grilles on ebay & have actually seen one advertised for...................................... £1400.00 !!!
YES Fourteen. Hundred. Pounds...... ................

 

[White knight 2]

Totally stupid price for a bit of plastic worth £20.00, that's my opinion anyway mate, I think yours looks just as good, I might just spray my original grille gloss black which will get rid of the chrome and improve the look and be done with it, although I've got bigger fish to fry at the moment as the car in the garage this morning for a gap in the window, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed this is gonna work out OK, thanks for the reply mate, cheers marty.

 

[White knight 2]

If I just spray the original grille I guess it would look something like the pic, if I attempt the mod in the future, how well will the glue hold the mesh in place? Be no good if first downpour we get and it starts coming apart if you know what I mean mate, yours looks made to last my effort might not be lol.

 

[Phil Mallalieu]

Loving your work there matey want to do mine at some stage unless you want to build one for me

 

[Charlie Farley]

There are rs4 grilles around for sensible prices, just not always when one needs them ,they are probably the most sought after grille around so getting more of supply and demand item.

 

[White knight 2]

Hia Rob, nice to meet u mate , yeh I know what you mean I just cudnt justify forking out £500+ for one at the mo that's all, I think boffins DIY looks great and I also think just spraying or powder coating the original s line grille matt black wud look cool too, what do you think mate? Thanks Rob, cheers marty.

 

[Charlie Farley]

If you have an s-line bumper on your cab then choices are very limited, but if you have a non s-line bumper then there are lot more aftermarket options.
Not all cabs with the s-line pack actually have the b7 s-line bumper, what's yours got fitted.

 

[White knight 2]

Hia Rob s line I think mate?

 

[White knight 2]

S line bumper without xeons, is that correct Rob mate ? Cheers marty.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Yep , that's an s-line, welcome to the world of. Very limited choice.....lol

 

[White knight 2]

Lol yeh I started to realise that from day one ha, but it's not all bad I think I've found some aftermarket headlights that will modernise the front end if theres no fault codes of course lol I'll put a pic up in bit, thanks Rob, cheers marty.