Hoping to get some feedback from experts. First, I gotta say, I love my car...having a clunkers in the past, it is a joy each and every day.

I have a 2002 silver 4.2 with the factory 17' rims/summer tires. I am hoping to get either 18' or 19' rims (i was thinking the RS6 rims or new RS4 rims)and put all-season tires on them for the winter. Then when my summer tires wear out, i'll just use the new rims full-time. Now my questions:

1) any flaws in my idea?
2) what rims do you recommend and source to purchase from?
3) any modifications needed to get OEM rims (18' or 19') on my car (no spt. package)? Best size?
4) where do i get the black led rear lights?
5) any place to get legit RS6 kits (at first I was just thinking the front grille), i assume anything else is pricey
6) what's the story on dvd based nav systems retrofitted into these, worth the hassle, availability?
7) other suggested upgrades (that are relatively cheap, < 2K )?

Thank you.

 

I have the exact same car, 2002 A6 4.2 silver over black. I have been very busy over the last year or so doing mods and upgrades to the car. I'll list those later. But for now, here are a few answers for your questions from my perspective:
1) No flaws in your idea at all. 17s make great winter wheels, and 18s would be great visually, although the ride will be more harsh and tires are more expensive.
2) Rims, I recommend sticking to OEM, so if you like OEM RS6 wheels, just browse the classifieds here,Audizine, Audiworld, VW VOrtex, etc. etc. etc. Don't buy replicas, they are not as well made as OEM. However, do consdier other brand wheels such as BBS etc. if you are willing to pay the $$$.
3) No modifications necessary for larger wheels, but be aware of the wheel's offset and spoke pattern, which may or may not allow the wheel to clear the brake calipers in front.
4) I have not seen black LED tails. I have Hella "smoked" tails, but they use the standard bulbs.
5) RS6 body kits? Go OEM, and you can buy parts online from worldimpex.com or clairparts.com. Full list of part numbers for the RS6 conversion can be found here: http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/501990.phtml. Keep in mind that the front and rear bumpers require a LOT of other stuff to be changed, and will cost a ton of $$ unless someone hits you and their insurance pays the bill. The sideskirts are plug-n-play. The rear spoiler requires drilling 4 holes in the trunk, but the fit is perfect, and no replica can compare....although the OEM spoiler is pricey.
6) The DVD based navigation is the RNS-E. Go to www.navplus.us for more info. I have that installed, as well as a DVD movie player and intergrated OEM bluetooth kit, so I can watch movies on the go and have handsfree phone calls.
7) One upgrade that I seriously recommend is for you to invest the $250-350 and buy a VAG COM cable from Ross Tech, which is a diagnostic cable which you can use to not only diagnose issues with your car before you go for service, but you can also recode various control modules in the car. For example, the central locking module can be coded so that only one press is required to unlock all 4 doors (the stock setting is two clicks of the button). You can alos code the locks to automoatically lock at 15MPH, and unlock when you remove the key.

The most fun code I've done is the 00032 code on the transmission control module. This enables your tiptronic shift buttons to work even when you are in Drive or Sport mode. You no longer have to shift the lever into the tiptronic shift gate. A press of the button upshifts/downshifts, even when you are in D or S, and reverts back to D or S after 10 seconds of no active shifting.

Of course, if you want, there are many that may have a cable locally and help you as needed, but it is a small amount of $$ for being able to run a diagnostic on your car and have some fun with coding control modules.

So here is the list of stuff I have done to my car so far:

Peformance:
-H-sport sway bars, for much flatter cornering
-18"RS6 wheels
-RS6 sound-enhanced exhaust
-Tiptronic "on-demand" 00032 code
-RS6 vented wheel liners

Exterior:
-RS6 spoiler
-RS6 sideskirts
-RS6 brushed aluminum mirror housings
-S6 grilles
-Clear corners (removed amber reflector in the headlight)
-Hella smoked tails

Interior:
-RS6 seats (same as sport seats but no hump in the middle seat and has silver piping)
-RS6 alcantara headliner
-RS6 carbon fiber trim
-RS6 air leather shift ****
-Retrofitted power rear sunshade and rear door shades

Electrical:
-RNS-E DVD navigation
-Blaupunkt DVD player
-OEM integrated bluetooth
-Remote display for radar detector

etc. etc. etc....

Feel free to drop me a PM ore-mail if you have any questions.

 

Here's on- I checked one of the FAQ sites for more info on the VAG-com, but I'm still unclear as to the extent of work you can do with a 'cheap' cable and the freeware version of the software, versus buying the 'pro' suite?