I just finished installing LEDs on my B7 Audi S4 and wanted to share some pics and a quick DIY if you want to do it yourself. Above I’ve pictured the before & after, as you’ll see you get rid of that yellow-ish halogen with a super bright & clean cool white color from the LED. It takes about 10-20 minutes to install and luckily you don’t have to remove the bumper or headlights to install, you just have to wiggle your hands a bunch.

Here’s what you’ll need for the conversion:

2 BA15s Bayonet Bulbs (one for each side):

2 10-15 watt, 25 ohm resistors (one for each side):

The install is pretty simple as I said before. I followed this DIY on Tyresmoke.net but took some additional pictures to help out.

First, remove the plastic cap on the side of the housing, then pull out the stock bulb by turning it counter-clockwise. Be careful not to pull the wiring too hard or you’ll pull out the city lights too (the smaller bulb also pictured) which are very hard to remove. It’s a little tricky to get the bulb out but just be patient and if you have to, find a friend with small hands to help out For the passenger side you’ll need to remove the plastic air intake to access the side of the headlight, which is held in just by two phillips head screws. Here’s a pic of the bulbs taken out:

Next take out the stock bulb and plug in the LED bulb to the grey plastic base.

Next you’ll want to install the resistors. You’ll simply bridge the yellow and brown wires with the resistor connecting the two. It helps to strip a section of both wires so the resistor gets good contact (in theory those resistor clamps should strip for you, but I’ve found they often don’t get a good enough connection). Test to make sure the bulb works and resistor is working too (it will get very hot very quickly) before trying to put the bulb back in, as it’s a pain to wiggle it back into place.

Because the resistor gets very hot, I didn’t want it inside the headlight housing where it could melt other wires or even the headlight housing itself. So I kept the resistor outside of the housing and just kind of pinched the wiring in the cap. I then found a way for each side to tape our mount the resistor where it wouldn’t cause much trouble and stay cooler.

Just repeat for the other side and you’re all set!

I’ve owned the car just over two months, and as you might imagine I’ve wasted very little time in putting my personal touches on it and installing both aftermarket and OEM parts to enhance its looks and performance. I was lucky that a few of the aesthetic mods swapped over from my B7 A4, such as the Spoonfed Tuning Cupra R lip and the RS4 grille. I also did the (nearly free) clear corner mod, then I had my favorite body shop, Phoenix Collision and Custom Paint, match the trunk strip and paint the lower valence and filler plate matte black. I took some photos and will share more detail on each coming up…

Up front, I think the most dramatic change was getting rid of all of the chrome and amber. The new look is cleaner and more aggressive. The front lip is the icing on the cake. But what I think came out particularly cool are the custom fog grilles using RS4 mesh:

As you can see, the mesh matches perfectly between the fog grilles and the center grille, and that’s because they’re both using OEM RS4 mesh. For the fog grilles, I ordered RS4 lower grilles then cut the mesh out of the RS4 grille and then cut out the stock S4 grilles and transplanted the mesh over. It’s done much like the RS6 grille mod. I had my body shop do the dirty work on this mod, but I used this DIY as inspiration if you want to try it yourself.

In the rear, I haven’t done much. I removed the Audi rings from the trunk, which some people may not like. I kind of like it, but I have a spare set of rings lying around should I change my mind down the road. I can’t decide if I want to remove the S4 badge too, so for now it’s staying mostly out of laziness & pride. I also added an Audizine license plate frame which matches the black lower valence nicely. However I think the most important mod was paint matching the trunk strip from chrome to brilliant red so it blends in, I think that’s much cleaner.

That’s my quick update on the car two months in. I am absolutely loving the power, the looks, and the manual transmission. The increase in car insurance is no big deal and I shopped around and looked at companies like MoneySupermarket to find good rates. The decrease in miles per gallon has certainly been replaced by smiles per gallon, so no complaints there either. All in all, I’m a very happy owner of a 2006 B7 S4!

I recently did the clear corner mod for my newly acquired S4 and now that I’ve done this mod four different times (twice for myself, twice for friends), I felt it was long overdue to write-up my process and share some tips. It’s not a tricky mod per say, but it does require you to take the bumper off so it does take some time and patience to line up everything back up when you’re done.

The basics are pretty easy – remove headlights, use a hair dryer or heat gun to loosen the glue, pull the headlight lens off, remove the amber reflector, replace with a clear reflector (optional), then put the headlights back on & reset the glue with the heat gun and reinstall everything. The devil is in the details, so we’ll get on to that next…

Also, if you want to change out any bulbs in the headlight housing (DRL, City Light, Turn Signal, or the Xenon bulbs themselves) now is the time to do it as it’s really hard to change the bulbs with the headlights installed, but super easy if they’re already off the car. Likewise since you’ll have the bumper off, it’s a good time to replace the grille or plasti-dip it, or to replace the side reflectors, since all of those items will be easily accessible.

Step 1 – Remove the front bumper

Oh, the B7 and that pesky front bumper. If you’ve had a B7 and modded it all, chances are you have removed the front bumper before. If you haven’t, it’s not that hard, but the first time is always the hardest. This thread on Audizine has a really good write-up on how to remove the front bumper, so check it out. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments below, but I’ll get on to the good stuff for now…

Step 2 – Remove the headlights

It’s only three bolts, and two are really easy to get to. The middle one is the easiest and you’ll remove it completely. The screw closest to the grille only needs to be loosened but does not need to be removed completely. It is easy to get to as well. The bad news is the third one is accessed through a hole in the top of the fender and is super difficult to get to as you can’t see what you’re doing and working in a very tight spot. You’ll need a long extension with a T25 torx bit at the end that is skinny enough to fit down that hole, and then you’ll need to try to line it up so that the bit catches with the screw and you can then ratchet it out. You don’t need to remove it completely, just loosen it enough that the headlight can slide out like the side nearest the grille. The headlight will then pull forward and come out. Remove the wiring harness so you can work on the headlight on a work bench or table.

Step 3 - Separate the Housing

First you’ll remove five metal clips that hold the lens from the rest of the headlight housing. Two are located on top as shown above in blue. There are three on the back as well. These pop out really easily with a flat head screwdriver. Hold on to them as you’ll need to reinstall later.

Next, use a hair dryer or heat gun to heat up the glue. Do not overheat to the point of melting anything, but give it some solid heat all around the seal. Once it seems nice and warm, start to pull apart from one end. You may need to pull for 20-30 seconds before the seal is broken but then they’ll pull apart very easily. The glue will stretch so try to keep the glue out of the housing…Audi provides copious amounts of glue so you won’t need to add any extra to reseal the housing, you’ll just need to reheat the seal and you should be set.

Note: some people bake their headlights in an oven to do this. I don’t recommend that as you may melt the housing and your heating everything, rather than only the glue. Using a hair dryer or heat gun lets you concentrate the heat where you need it without risking overheating or melting other components that do not need heat.

Step 4 – Remove the Amber

There are a few methods to remove the amber reflector, and I call my method the goldi-locks method as it’s not the easiest but not the hardest either, it’s somewhere in-between and a good compromise IMO. The easiest (but most dangerous) method is to remove the amber cap with brute force by hitting it with a screwdriver to pop it out. You have to apply a LOT of force to do this – watch this video to see. I strongly recommend against this as you risk breaking the headlight housing. The other method is Phil’s method (fly300kts) and it’s definitely the most careful route but requires a lot of patience and time.  Instead, what I’ve done is use a dremel to break the amber housing, and then it just falls out – this way you don’t risk hurting the housing, but it’s still a quick & easy method. You’ll want to use compressed air or an air gun to blast out any shavings from the amber reflector out of the headlight housing, but otherwise it’s a very easy & relatively risk-free method.

Step 5 – Install Bulbs & Reflectors (optional but recommended)

You can replace amber reflector with a clear reflector, which I think looks really nice and completes the OEM look. Likewise, I recommend replacing the turn signal bulb with a “chrome” bulb that still lights up orange but looks clear. If you reuse the OEM turn signal bulbs they don’t light up orange and instead look like a normal halogen bulb, which kind of looks off.

You can buy the clear reflectors here: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/447054-EURO-CLEAR-CORNER-LENSES-NOW-AVAILABLE-FOR-PURCHASE!

And you can buy chrome turn signal bulbs here:

Step 6 – Reinstall Everything & Enjoy

First plug the wiring harness back into the headlight and test that everything works right (e.g. you screwed the bulbs in correctly).

Next, install the headlights first and pay close attention to how they line up with the fender. If the headlights aren’t lined up correctly, you won’t get the bumper to line-up either. You may need to loosen the bolts and then re-adjust once you have the bumper back on.

When installing the bumper first put the middle section on and make sure the bumper height adjusters on the crash bar haven’t moved and the bumper sits properly on them. Next press the bumper in and tighten the three screws on the top of the bumper first. Check for fitment and adjust as necessary, then tighten the two 10mm nuts inside of each fender. Lastly, finish up the remaining screws & bolts and you’re done!

That’s it…enjoy!

This is a REALLY cool mod submitted to me by a reader and all-around cool guy Richard Edwards (aka BigRich). He did this on his car and was nice enough to write-up the process and share it with us. This should work on any B7 including the non-s-line version, but is pictured above in the S-line/S4 bumper.

First, you need to buy an RS6 Grille. They’re not cheap, especially here in the US, but if you search on eBay or call your dealership they can be found.

Next you need to cut the RS6 grille away from the surround. I used a small hack saw blade and taped it up with some insulation/electricians tape so I didn’t go cutting myself! Alternatively, a Dremel would work nicely to cut the mesh out quickly & easily, just be sure to make clean, straight cuts.

Once complete, you should have a large sheet of mesh, as pictured above.

Once you’ve removed the grill from the surround, you need to do the exact same with your A4/S4 grill, its recommended you purchase a spare grill to do this to in case you mess up and need to refit you old one.

When you’ve got them seperated, start to marry them together. You might want to take the chrome surround piece out of the grille (but leave the rest of the backing in place) to make sure it doesn’t get scratched. You’ll need to trim the edges of the RS6 grille but this is trial and error so be careful. The RS6 grill is bigger but only by a bit around the edges, so you’ll have to trim quite a bit from the bottom as the RS6 grill as it has a deeper bottom to it than the A4/S4, but again its trial and error so still be careful.

Once you feel it looks good and fits tight………Glue it, yes that right glue it! I used super glue to get most of the edges started and then once it felt good, I went over it with Sikaflex, which is a black silacone-like substance. It takes a while to cure but once it does it sticks for a long time. Here is a close-up of the glued together areas as a reference:

You can use what ever you want to stick it together and I’m sure there are many easier and better substances that would do the job, but this worked for me and looks good.

Once the glue has fully dried, just refit the surround which while it’s off you could paint or you could wrap it like I did with mine in carbon. If the RS6 grill didnt come with the audi rings, your old ones from your A4/S4 should fit on (mine did).

Whilst you have the bumper off you may need to spray the bumper beam/crash bar going across behind the grille, otherwise it will stick out and not look as nice.

And there you have it! Thanks again to Richard for the write-up on this one.

I was going to wait until after I got coilovers installed, but I got the itch to install my 19″ BBS CH Black Editions wheels this weekend and went ahead and gave it a shot. Normally I strongly recommend doing suspension before wheels, as it will make the wheels look 10x better, but at the same time it was killing me to just have a set of 19″ wheels sitting in my house unmounted. I also saw this thread on Audizine and saw a few cars on stock suspension but 19″ aftermarket wheels that didn’t look too bad, so I gave it a shot.

I LOVE how the color combo worked out and I’m so excited to see how the car looks with a proper suspension. Unfortunately I do think the aftermarket wheels accentuate the awkward stance of the stock suspension, particularly that the rear sits lower than the front. Aesthetically speaking, cars usually look better when the front is a tad bit lower than the rear, not the other way around. I am going to try taking the rear spare tire out to see if that maybe evens the ride height out a little bit between front and rear. Right now my front suspension looks high enough to run over a Toyota Prius, haha. Here is the before picture for comparison:

What do you think? Should I put the stock wheels back on until I get an aftermarket suspension installed? Or should I just keep rolling around as-is?

I just finished installing HID/Xenon Fog Lights on my B7 Audi  S4 and it was super easy! The only tool you need is a T25 Torx bit and a pair of hands and you’re ready to go. I was worried I would have to remove the front bumper to do this, but luckily that was not the case. It took about 30 minutes to install the HID kit and is something that even a beginner DIYer should be able to tackle.

The HID kit I chose for my B7 (2005.5-2008) Audi S4 is made by XenTec and uses “slim” ballasts which makes them super easy to mount. The kit is about $40 which is pretty affordable, and you can pick a variety of colors depending on how bright you want them. I went with 6000k which is a nice, crisp white like the OEM bulbs. You can buy the kit from Amazon using the link to the right.

Below you’ll find a step-by-step guide on installing the HID kit on your B7 Audi A4 or S4.

Step 1 – Remove Fog Light Grilles

Locate the two tabs along the upper-inside edge of the grille. You can see one pictured above and the next pictured below. Pull downward on the tabs to release and then gently pull the grille away from the car and it will pop out.

Once the grille has popped off you can see each tab as pictured below. Place the grille aside as you’ll reinstall it later.

Step 2 – Remove the Fog Lights

Next remove the fog lights themselves by removing the three screws pictured above. They are T25 torx bits and simply unscrew like a normal screw would. Once the screws are removed the glass housing will pop out and you can then remove the halogen bulb by pressing in the tab and pulling the wiring off the back of the bulb.

Step 3 – Connect the HID ballast & bulb

Next, you can install the HID kit. The OEM factory wiring plugs into the back of the ballast, then the wiring coming out of the ballast plugs into the bulb, matching the red wires and black wires to each other, as pictured below:

Next insert the bulb into the housing and turn clockwise to lock it in. Once locked in, turn the fogs on real quick to ensure all of the connections are solid before screwing the fog light housing back into place. If the fog light doesn’t light up, check your connections and wiring to make sure nothing is loose or mis-matched.

Step 4 – Mount the HID Ballasts and Reinstall Everything

The HID kit comes with double-sided tape to mount the ballasts with. Stick the tape to the plastic side of the ballast (not the metal side) and then find a place to tape up the ballasts. Make sure the metal side of the ballasts are not touching any plastic as it gets hot enough to melt plastic. I mounted the drivers side as pictured above, and the passengers side as pictured below.

Step 5 – Admire Your HID Fogs

The difference in light output & color is huge! I took a few shots to compare before and after with the drivers side having the HID kit installed, and the passenger side being the OEM halogen bulbs. It’s quite the difference, and these photos don’t even do it justice.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the light output:

Any questions? Let me know in the comments below…

Upon purchasing my 2006 S4, one of the first things I noticed was all of the annoying chimes! I had eliminated them through VAG-COM on my A4, but moving to a new car meant all of my VAG-COM mods were gone. This annoyance didn’t last long, as I plugged my handy VAG-COM cable from Ross-Tech into my car’s OBDII port and started changing codes. If you don’t have a cable, try to find a friend with one, invest in one yourself, or see if your local Audi/VW tuner can change these settings for you. The cable is a little expensive $300 to purchase, but also comes in super handy if you ever retrofit anything (like Recaro seats, navigation, bi-xenons, or any other parts your car didn’t originally come with) or you need to diagnose any check engine lights, reset the service light, or otherwise alter your cars’ settings.

VAG-COM Mod #1 – Disable Seatbelt Chime

Open VAG-COM and go to Components – 17 – Instruments

Change the second to last digit from whatever it currently is to a 0. The 0 will disable all seatbelt chimes. This doesn’t have any impact on the airbag system or effectiveness of your seatbelt, it simply removes the annoying “ding ding ding” noise you hear. I still highly recommend wearing your seatbelt at all times, no matter how short of a distance you’re driving, but this makes it so the chimes don’t occur if you’re just sitting in the car testing out a new mod or just letting the car warm-up first.

VAG-COM Mod #2 – Remote Windows Up/Down

Go to Components – 46 – Central Convenience and select “Coding.” Add 64 to whatever number appears – in my case, it was originally set to “11836” so I added +64 and got to “11900” as the correct number.

After this is complete, you can now roll down your windows by pressing and holding the unlock button on your key fob. Likewise, to roll the windows up, press & hold the “lock” button on your keyfob. You can now remotely control your windows! This mod is excellent as an Arizona resident, so I can let the hot air begin to dissappate before entering the car. To get extra range on the key fob, hold the key fob to your chin as you press the button and your body acts as an antenna, increasing the distance at which it can communicate with the car.

VAG-COM Mod #3 – Lamborghini Navigation Screen

This one is kind of fun – some may love it, some may hate it, but I dig it. You can change the “welcome” screen of the navigation to show the Lamborghini emblem rather than the Audi emblem when you first start-up the car. The RNS-E unit in the B6/B7 Audi S4 is actually the same as the Lamborghini Gallardo, so with a simple change of settings in VAG-COM you can trick the navigation unit to think it’s in a Gallardo!

To change this go to  Components – 37 Navigation – Coding. You then can change the second digit to a “1″ to set the navigation to Lamborghini settings. You can set it to a 3 to change it back to Audi.

Additional VAG-COM Mods

Ross-tech has a few other mods for the B6/B7 platform, which you can check out here: http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/audiB6.html

As you know, I have custom carbon fiber trim by oCarbon installed on my Audi A4, so when I went to trade it in, I put the factory (OEM) trim back in so I could keep my carbon fiber trim for my S4. I took pictures of the whole process so I could create a trim removal guide. This applies to any B6 or B7 Audi in sedan or avant format (cabrio/convertible is different) including the A4, S4 and RS4. I used this guide as a basis (also worth a read) then elaborated on a few areas that needed a little more detail. By the way, if you want a new look for your trim, I highly recommend oCarbon – they are experts at what they do and can let you customize the carbon fiber color, weave & pattern to you’re liking. I went with a custom pattern called 5HS which you’ll see pictured below, and I think it came out awesome, just slightly more aggressive looking than OEM for that OEM+ look I know and love.

Step 1 – Door Trim Removal

Start with the doors because they’re easiest, and I’d recommend starting with the rear doors because if you mess up those will be the least noticeable.  Use a flat headed screwdriver and wrap the tip in tape so it doesn’t scratch anything. Gently pry the piece out starting near the front of the car – there are 6 prongs that hold it in. Once the first one or two pop out you can pretty much remove the rest by just pulling on it with your hands:

Repeat on all four doors. The new trim just pops right in using your hands. Like I said, this is the easiest part…it will probably only take a few minutes per door.

Step 2 – Rear Ashtray Removal

I did the rear ashtray next because it’s also very easy. There are two prongs on either side that hold it in. wedge your screwdriver on the side of it and pry it out. It works best to push it either all the way towards the left side or all the way towards the right side to get one of the prongs out, then once one side is out it will simply fall right out.  

The new unit just pops right in. We’re making good progress!

Step 3 – Front Ashtray & Shifter Plate Removal

Now we’re starting to get a little trickier, although still fairly easy. Remove the ashtray cover first as it makes it easier to access the shifter. There are three prongs on the bottom of the trim that go into the three holes above. Pull the trim towards you (towards the shifter) and it will come unhooked from the plastic part below it. You may have to give it a good tug. Here is a picture of the underside of the trim:

The replacement piece pops in the same way, but don’t put that in quite yet, remove & replace the shifter trim first.

For an automatic, the shifter trim can also be removed using the tape-wrapped screwdriver. Be VERY gentle! If you have aluminum or fishscale trim, you can bend or warp the trim which looks really bad.

For a manual you need to remove the leather shifter boot first, which can be done by squeezing together the clips that hold the boot in place. Now that you have the shifter trim out, replace the shifter trim and ashtray by popping in the shifter trim then aligning the asthtray prongs with the holes and sliding it in place.

Step 4 – Headlight Switch Trim Removal

Okay, now on to the somewhat more difficult stuff. It’s not really that hard, but it requires tools other than a tape-wrapped screwdriver, haha. Start by removing the plastic covers on both sides of the car (the fuse panel on the drivers side and the passengers side cover)

Next, you’ll remove the trim underneath the steering wheel. It’s fairly easy, just three bolts and it comes out. They are pictured below:

Bolt 1 - Fuse Box Area

Bolt 2 - Right Above Hood Release Lever

Bolt 3 - Near Center Counsel

With those three bolts removed, the entire lower dash drops to the floor and out of your way. You can also pull the big fuse labeled “640″ at this time to disable the Servotronic/power steering assist and give your car a much tighter and firmer steering wheel feel.

Next, go ahead and remove the trim. There are two bolts holding it in, one on either side of the trim:

One more minor thing – you need to remove the headlight switch from the trim. Turn the switch between the 0 and Auto positions and push it in. It will go in about an inch and you’ll feel it when it goes in, so if you’re having trouble adjust the position of the knob until it works. Once the switch/knob is pushed in, you need to turn it to the right and it will pull out.

The wiring harness just pops out of the back when you press in the clips on either side of the plug, and then you can remove the switch from the trim completely:

You can then install the new trim in the same way (but reverse order) that you removed the trim. You can go ahead and reinstall the lower dash area and fuse box cover as well – you’re done with those! Only one piece left…

Step 5 – Dash Trim Removal

The last piece! First, pop out the plastic trim above the warning symbol/drink holder/card holder. It just pulls right off. That will expose a few bolts you need to remove. Also pull of the cover on the side of the passengers dashboard (exactly where the fuse box cover was on the drivers side, only there are no fuses on this side). Lastly, open the glove box.

 Now, start removing the bolts holding this piece into place – there are four of them. All four are pictured below, starting from left (drivers side) to right (passengers side):

Bolt 1 - Near Steering Wheel

Bolt 2 & 3 - Above Radio on Either Side

Bolt 4 - Right Side

With the bolts removed, gently pull on the trim to remove it.

To install the new trim, pop it into place then tighten all four bolts. Then replace the two plastic covers and you’re all done!

If you’re anything like me, the last step of any mod install is to admire it by going on a nice, long spirited drive. Enjoy your new trim!

Today was a big day! I’m now the proud owner of a 2006 Audi S4. When I first saw her, I knew I had to buy it…she was everything I was looking for and then some. The vitals:

• 6 speed manual transmission (my first must-have)
• brilliant red (my second must-have)
• platinum silver interior
• RNS-E
• only 24,000 miles!

I knew looking for a red S4 in manual was going to be tough, then when I found one with ridiculously low miles, I acted quick. A big thanks to Brian McCauley at Audi North Scottsdale for an amazingly easy & hassle-free transaction.

To top off the excitement of buying the car, I was lucky to have some of my closest friends (who also happen to be Audi-philes) come with me and turn the car buying process into a full day affair of driving and chatting about cars. Thanks Matt, John, Craig, Fran and of course my girlfriend Moira for tagging along!

Me (Left) getting the keys to the S4!

There will be much, much more posts and pictures of this car, but I wanted to post something ASAP to share my excitement.

Well, the time has come to move on from my beloved Audi A4. She was a great car and I’m really going to miss it – I learned a ton about modding, and really dialed in the car to where I wanted it. I had a ton of fun in the car too, from track days to shows to daily driving to and from work every day. My A4 was my first Audi, and it was such a great car I fell in love with the brand – my next car (and many more after that) are going to be Audis for sure.

As some of you may know, I was in a small accident that destroyed my front bumper and hood. When this happened, I had the car repaired and turned back to factory appearance. I then started to sell off parts, and in less than a month I went from a nicely modded A4 to one that’s virtually indistinguishable from a stock A4. Through a bit of luck, as well as fortune in buying nice parts that people would want, my part-out went very quickly and painlessly, I even managed to sell my air filter. I still have my S4 seats for sale, but otherwise I’m rolling stock!

Here are some fun facts about my car during the three years I owned it:

• It attended 7 track days and three car shows
• I had four sets of wheels on it – OEM S-Line wheels, Sporttechnic Mono 10 Premiums, BBS CH Silver, BBS CH Black Edition
• My first mod was coilovers
• My most complicated mod was S6 LEDs as well as the B7 Pressure Plate Retrofit for my Recaros
• My most regretted mod was a carbon fiber hood – however it only lasted ~3 weeks before my accident
• My favorite mods were always my seats and carbon fiber trim
• My car had its own website, Facebook page, and Twitter profile
• I made a crap-load of friends through Audi gatherings
• I had five sets of door blades – S-Line, S4, Flat, S4, and then Flat again (to trade-in)
• I had the first set of oCarbon carbon fiber trim in the 5HS pattern

Thanks to all those who helped me out along the way, from tuning in to my blog to giving pointers on mods. A big shout-out to Audizine as well for all of the great resources and a continuous stream of ideas.

…and now the big question: what’s next?

I’m not revealing quite yet, but it will have 8 cylinders, a 6 speed manual transmission, and of course – quattro.

Goodbye A4, you’ll be missed!