This may sound a bit Andy Rooney-ish, but what's the point of debadging the B5? Why wouldn't you want people to know what kind of car you drive? I can see not wanting "Toothless Bob's Auto Mart" sticker on the trunk, but the A4 badge, or the 1.8T or 2.8 Badge?

Another thing I don't get, is why "moar low"? The A4 Quattro works best at the stock height, does it not? What's wrong with a little wheel gap when it helps you plow through the snow?

I just don't see a slammed car as sexy. No offense intended, but some of these slammed A4's look ridiculous. But, whatever works for you, works for you.

I'm not trying to start a flame war, I'm just curious. What is the appeal of "moar low"?

 

My take - I'm lowered 2.5" front and 1.5" rear. I like the closed up wheel gap (but not a tuck), both style-wise and for the lower center of gravity. I'll be tossing out my current suspension for a lot of reasons this spring and looking at a milder drop (1-1.5" all around) both for a more balanced look and to diminish my excessive front tire wear.

Debadging - I removed the A4 and 2.8 Quattro badges and left the rings. I just like the cleaner look with less "clutter" on the trunklid. Overall it's all personal preference.

 

I think most people debadged their car simply because they want a cleaner look. Most people I have came across with debadged B5's aren't embarrassed of what they drive, they simply want to keep the rear clean. It sounds crazy but debadging does make a difference when it comes to how the car looks.

Now when it comes to lowering. There are two basic school of thoughts when it comes to modding cars. The form > function or the function > form. No one can say which route is better since everyone is entitled to their own opinion but all the "moar low" people tend to fall under the "form > function" bracket.

Since we don't have snow where I live, from what I understand, the guys who live in the Midwest/East Coast would usually raise their cars in the winter to "plow through snow" as you stated.

As to what appeals these crowds to go "moar low", it's honestly hard to explain. The best explanation I can come up with is the look. You might not agree but some people would say that fender gap would ruin how the car looks (especially when you start getting after market wheels). And with being low also comes the whole 'stance' process of which trying to fit the right offset/wheel sizes/tires to make the car sits in a proper manner. At the end though, it's either you get it, or you don't. I find being low is pretty much a lifestyle.

 

Here's my take on debadged: My car was debadged at the time of purchase. I think it makes the back end look far cleaner, and symmetrical. In my experience most people don't care what model my car is, they just see the Audi rings and are content. Not showing what model/engine your car has adds to the mystery of it too

Are you by any chance adding the "stretch and poke" to the "slammed" category? I'm not a fan of stretch/poke at all, in fact I think it's stupid (we're all entitled to our opinions...) Slamming a car has its time and place, and certainly is not functional, but I think it can look good. I'd never slam my car because as-is with ~1.2inch drop my front bumper scrapes a lot despite going slow over any and all bumps/dips.

 

I may not be the sharpest tool in the audi shed on this forum, but here is my take on it...

Car modding sort of works like the fashion industry in terms of trends and styles, but at a much slower pace. When I tell my girlfriend of years "i'm going to paint my calipers red" her immediate response is "wtf is a caliper, and why do you want it painted red?" but when she spends an hour an a half picking out an outfit asking me "does this shirt match my boots" I roll my eyes and say something completely retarded because i have no ******* idea what matches.

What I am trying to say is, I think there are trends and fads that exist in the car world. Certain unwritten axioms exist per car. IE:you would never put a shamu wing on an s4, but on a honda del sol you do that all day (even though i still think its lame ). The general rule of - NO BOVS on AUDI - is another example.

Who knows? Maybe in 15 years people will look back on this archived forum and think that it was completely retarded that people from 2011 wanted to LOWER their cars, and remove the emblems that pretty much define what the car is. You wouldn't see a chick ripping off the COACH logo on her purse would you?

Trends come and go - no one listens to disco anymore

 

Low cars aren't a trend though. They've been around for decades.

 

The B5 has a sexy *** like Vida Guerrera. It's the kind of *** that would make you go ATM and be damn proud of it. I debadged my trunk cuz I wanted everyone to see my sexy ***. Also, my car was a pile so anything I did only made it look better.

 

Pretty much what Nick said. European styling (stretch & poke + slammed) has been around for a long time. I remember my first inspiration to follow the styling was 10+ so years ago when I saw a picture of a MK1 Scirocco.

The new kids (HellaFlush guys) are just making it mainstream. Most of Euro guys had been doing what they started doing recently, for a long time.

And Pat is right - shaved *** is always better. And Kim K's *** FTW.

 

No one will EVER argue with this statement.

..I know, people having been slamming cars for years! But this is why I added that these trends move slower than any other social trend.

 

I'd tongue punch it.