Hi everyone,

I just got a 2006 A4 3.2 FSI Quattro recently and am very happy with it but I have a few questions that need answering which might make me happier!

1) I want to get 18" alloys for the car (I have 15 spoke 16" on at the mo). What do I need to check to make sure I get the right size? I am new to alloys so not sure what there is to know, is it something to do with the offset?

2) Is it possible to get the suspension to S-line standard easily? And more importantly cheaply? Or at the least get it lowered?

3) I love the 6 gears but I find the ratio between 5th and 6th is very close. Is it possible to get a longer ratio for 6th to make my motorway driving more economic? (I dont care if it affects the top speed, I will never be approaching that anyway!)

4) I have an iTrip for my iPhone and the reception is pretty poor (in fact its not superb for normal radio stations either). Is there a way to get better reception? Or a cheap way to connect an iPod? I dont have the interface for the cable apparently...

I think thats about it for now. I assume 3 and 4 are no gos, and 2 will be costly but I thought it was worth asking

Cheers
Allan

 

as far as wheels go the a4 has a pretty wierd offset, ive gone online at my work to see available wheels, and its slim pickings... it also depends on what style u are looking for, but check on konig i have seen a few 18¨ alloys that would fit and dont looking cheap, though if price is an issue american racing offers the standard blacked out rim style for cheap {120ish} just remember you get what you pay for and balncing these might take more than a few stickies(stick on weights), been there done that, and yes s4 suspension parts are redilly available but dont count on gettting in it cheap, besides that the suspension on the stock a4 is quite impressive, weak shocks but strong in most areas, also i have the 2.0t which gets amazing mpg 34ish! so im not sure whyd u want better, 5 and 6 are also spread in mine but if you were to do a tranny swap ie gear change than u are talkin thousands, ive personally rebuilt transmissions for a few hundred in parts but with no experience or parts discount expect to pay out the a$$

 

1) Get alloys with PCD 5x112, and I have been told any offset from ET30 to ET45 will be fine (basically almost any wheel from another Audi).

If you want bigger alloys, get them with the correct PCD and offset and get lower profile tyres to suite so that it doesn't put your speedo out. Use this calculator to help you get the right tyre size.

If you got for wheels that are 18x7.5j, then tyres like 235/xx/R18 or 225/xx/R18 will do. Where 'xx', is the profile, use the calculator I linked too, to help with that, it won't tell you what width to go for.

Also, a wider rim will require a greater offset to avoid scrubbing.

2) Can't help with the S-Line question, but you can certainly lower it with lowering springs or preferably coilovers if you have the cash.

3) If you have a FAT wallet and don't mind paying for custom gears it can be done, but will be VERY expensive, even if you can get aftermarket gears, it's still gonna cost an arm & a leg to re-build your gearbox, etc.

4) Not sure, can't help you mate.

Basically yes, 3 & 4 are a no go, and 2 might not be overly expensive depending what route you take. Lowering spings would be the cheapest option.

 

also remember that finding some 18s off a salvaged audi s4 would save you money and gauruntee a fit. im not sure why but making a4s into s4 is what everyone does on this forum, just buy an s4 instead!! think about the money your spending compared to the few extra bones for a new used s4... everyone wants a black a4 with black grille and black wheels and black tint and black rings, with enough money everyone wouls have the same car! choose to be different and do something unique not what every other import tuner is doing!
sorry for rant lol

 

remember that the second number ine tire sizes is the percent of thewidth not what h3rmAn says.. its like this p235\45\r18 p is for passenger speed rating its alphabetical the closer to z the faster the tire can handle, there are higherthan z but not sure off top of my head, 235 is width!! and 45 is the percentage of the width that the side wall is high, 45% of 235 will give you your sidewall height! and r18 means rimsize is 18¨ cant remember what the increments are?? but you prob wont find a p tire in that size it was just an example also consider treadlife and tire cost into you wheel budget, mount and balance as well! unless you work in a shop

 

Don't mean to hi-jack this thread, but have a look at the top gear vid below at about 40 seconds, a 4WD car CAN do doughnuts in the dry!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7q...olution-x_auto

 

no **** i do watch top gear and can your a4 do a burnout\donut??? seeing how the power split is ussually 50|50 i find i hard to believe a stock a4 is going to be doing power donuts, u can smoke ur clutch until it happens for a half second then brag to your friends as a poor mechanic like me has replace your dumbass` transmission!! by all means try this and video tape it then send me the vid so me and my pals at work can laugh as we replace another idiots trans

 

What the hell is up with people on this site?! Just a bit of light hearted humor and your having a go FFS!!

Also, FYI, I don't have an A4, only reason I am on this site was to get some info for my mums car which is an A4. If you must know, I've got an Evo V with approx 326 BHP and will be over 350 BHP once I up the boost.

Had I posted the above on ANY other site I would not have gotten a reply like that. Why is it, the first American forum I step foot in, everyone seems to want to bitch at pointless things like the other guy (a mod who is supposed to set an example even) who said "stick with your Evo" after saying how complex the FSI engine was, just because I tried to give some help to a guy, but was incorrect, due to not knowing much about how the FSI engine works and Audi's in general.

A real friendly bunch we have here don't we!! Who cares if you're a car mechanic! I'm a BEng Electronics Engineer, my brother is an MEng Mechanical Engineer and my other brother has a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering, hell even my sister is a PhD in Electrical Engineering, as is my dad! Don't mean we know more than you or you know more than us! I have met mechanics who I wouldn't even trust changing their own underwear, never mind diffs!

Really, was there any need for that kind of response?! Answer - NO, there wasn't! So get off your high horse!

Also, as for the Audi having a 50/50 torque split, so do the older Evo's (Evo I - VI, pre ACD), but they can still do it without killing their transmission parts. The only part that will defo fail is the OEM clutch, get an uprated one and then it'll do it no probs. Yes if you KEEP doing it, eventually the transfer box or rear diff will give way, but not instantly like your making out.

Even the new Evo's have a 50/50 torque split when the ACD is set for tarmac.

 

look didnt mean to sset you off but my car is mostly stock and yes i know an evo runs circles around it, the signature is from my personal experience with a cop who saw a kid driving an audi and had to make up a story to stick it to me...!

 

Ok, getting back on topic guys!

1) Thanks for the info on the wheels. I think I know what to look for now :-)

2) The suspsension is currently quite high, how much (approximately) would it cost to get it lowered. And I assume it would need new springs/coilovers?

3) If the cost of getting a taller 6th gear will cost so much then there is no point. The main reason to want this was to have better fuel economy on motorway driving. Currently it does about 32mpg (UK). No point in spending big bucks to save a few!

4) I think I was expecting too much from FM. The iTrip sounds find for slow going tracks, but put on some Slayer or Slipknot and it starts losing the quality fast - a friends official iTrip does the same on both his car and mine so I dont think it is poor FM reception on my cars part.