Ronnie's S6 Avant - V8 Family car

[rc]

I had to get something sorted with the stone chip protectors. just driving to show and back I'd already picked up loads of stone chips on the skirts



I managed to find out you can still get the ones for the doglegs from audi for £18+vat each side, but nothing for the skirts. I got talking to a few people about PPF (paint protection film) a lot of people I know with super cars are getting their whole cars done! it looks fantastic, you can't even tell it's there when they do whole panels like a bonnet so there's no joins.

it's pricey, a whole front for a car will set you back £4-5k but when your car is £200k its a small price to pay to keep your original factory paint perfect.

a bit out of my league but very impressive all the same

I got talking to Joe at the Window Film Centre and they had just done the whole front of the Miami Blue Porsche GT3 seen in pics earlier on. He has done the whole front of his RS3 too.

I just wanted the rear dog legs done on mine (here's a before pic, check out the chips!) Audi only fit film to the top half, not on the skirts, but I wanted the skirt done too



turned up at 9am the next day and Joe cracked straight on





and the results..... it looks fantastic! it's only half as thick as the Audi stuff and only half as thick so you can't hardly see a join. the finish is just as flat and glossy as the paintwork next to it. he took it a lot higher than audi too to nearly the top of the arch.











I was so impressed at how near invisible it was I got him to do the centre of the rear bumper into the boot lip so it doesn't get all scraped up chucking stuff in the back.



the join, going straight up from the exhausts



I've still got some mechanical bits to do on it but I'm happy the bodywork is now complete..... all ready for winter LMAO

 

[Todd100]

Looks mint mate! Thing ill look into that for the Gsi on the bumper and bonnet where is the company located that did it for you?

 

[TMODAlpha]

Christ, you can hardly see that.

 

[rc]

i am really impressed. the panels they do complete you can't even tell it's not painted the finish is so good and where there are joins you have to be looking to notice them.

The company is about 5 miles from me in Ipswich they use LLUMAR PPF. they said they used premium or platinum I think it was on mine.

 

[Todd100]

Nice ill definately be looking into it when I get the gsi back on the road, not far from me either now as I'm only just outside of Claxton now

 

[Jordan_turbo]

Looks great. And good idea getting the rear bumper done too.

One thing that occurred to me, as I know we talked about it previously. Either when you bought the car from me or shortly after.

Were you not tempted to get the RS bumper and skirts, seeing as it was in for paint anyway?

 

[rc]

yea RS6 bumpers were high up the list when I bought it. but since having it and hanging around and going to more enthusiasts meet where there are loads of actual rs6's (c5, c6 and c7s) along with b5, b7 rs4's etc, the idea of building a replica has become a bit naff. The S6 seems to have become rarer than the Rs's now, so it's kind of become cool in its own right. Especially if I'd put RS6 kit on it and a real one park's next to me and starts talking rs's it just leads to a full embarrassing admission conversation

 

[rc]

had a few mechanical jobs to do.so opened up my unit again



got the lower arms from Euro Car Parts, TRW the same as the originals



after a lot of ******* about I eventually got the arms off...... to find they're the wrong ones!!!!!!!!!





they've got these wierd discs on too that I've never seen on any audi wishbone



phoned up euros and they said no they're not for your car, we don't do ones for your car! So basically they've just sent these anyway. Wankers!

I got onto TPS with the part numbers but they didn't have them on their system???





but we went through my reg and chassis number and they're just shy of £200 EACH!!

phoned up ALL GERMAN PARTS who I've had success with before and he was going to ring me back, but hasn't so far.

I can see this being a huge ball ache like the inner CV joints were

while the wheels were off I gave them a clean



and bling



gave them a coat of platinum wheels



and did the rears too



so an uncucessfull day.

 

[TMODAlpha]

Bugger
Wheels look good though.

 

[Jordan_turbo]

yea RS6 bumpers were high up the list when I bought it. but since having it and hanging around and going to more enthusiasts meet where there are loads of actual rs6's (c5, c6 and c7s) along with b5, b7 rs4's etc, the idea of building a replica has become a bit naff. The S6 seems to have become rarer than the Rs's now, so it's kind of become cool in its own right. Especially if I'd put RS6 kit on it and a real one park's next to me and starts talking rs's it just leads to a full embarrassing admission conversation

That is very true.

And is the exact reason why I removed the Staggered M3 wheels from my 328i and fitted the correct period BBS splits.

I always thought they made it look like a poverty spec 4 pot, tarted up to look like an M3. When the straight 6 328i is a good car in it's own right.

And as you say, there was always going to come a time when it would parked next to a real M3, followed by that awkward conversation.

 

[rc]

so I've been shopping



finally managed to source some proper V8 lower arms for the aluminium subframe with the correct discs



also been having a problem with an abs light coming on now and again and fault reads to front left



and some new rear bump stops (for the final pic)



and the big box!





Eibach pro-street S coilovers.

avid readers of the thread will have spotted that is what is already on the car........... they were already on there when I got it, and Jordan who I bought it of had bought them second hand before him. so I've no idea how old they really are. I have always had a bit of trouble with the rear end sagging. with the gas tank right out the back, 70 litres of lpg does drop it over an inch. and if you load up the boot it slams it down further. the last year I have been winding the springs up every time I'm under there to keep evening it out.

out of curiosity one day I started googling the part numbers and found these coilovers are for an A6 QUATTRO and PASSAT 4motion, up to a V6. their load axles are up to 1080kg (I think it was) and the set actually listed for the S6 V8 were load rated for 1300kgs. that would explain why I've always had trouble with the rear end sagging after putting all the lpg tank a bits right out the back. I got in touch with Eibach and found what springs I needed and they came in at £150plus vat PER CORNER! and the dampers were around the same! coming in at about £1400..... or you could buy a new set complete for about a grand (the mind boggles).
I'm really impressed with the build quality of the Eibach coilovers, they're at the very least 5 years old and used in all weather's all through the year. salt, snow, mud, dirt, and not a spec of rust on the bodies, when ever I've gone to adjust them none of the grub screws have been sieezed and they just wind up or down as new.

so started looking around and found the proper 1300kg axle load Audi S6 V8 Avant ones for £791 over in Germany through Eibach Shop. it's taken 3 weeks for them to get here but at that price it's worth the wait.





so once they're on its not going to look and different, but hopefully for me it will drive a lot better and handle the balance a lot better

and I'll be able to sell the set that's on there now as well

 

[Kev_mk3]

Nice work do like there stuff. German eBay you find them?

 

[Andy_Mk3]

Damn that suspension is nice! Good to find stuff like that knowing you can improve it with the right kit

 

[rc]

yea they do make really high quality stuff, like i say theres not a spot of corrosion on the old ones. looking forward to seeing what difference they make just need to find time to get them on (although they are very pretty ornaments )

 

[rc]

had some time while the kids were at school, planned to do the garden but it was chucking it down so I whipped the car in



got out all the presents



up in the air



pinch bolts came out with ease, no corrosion at all as I'd greased them right up last time




and everything else off





old vs new, hmmmmmmm the part numbers are still the same!




bit dissapointed until I took the spring off and saw how big the new shafts are!!







quite an upgrade

all assembled with the topmounts



set all the bushes at ride height



and done


other side off


fitted the new abs sensor



had to swap the arm over for the auto levelling headlights, there are some dimples to show where it goes



and all on



I still had the drawing on the wall from when I originally set up the coilovers lol



back on the ground



then to the rears



I hadn't had anything on the rears off before so everything was tight and rusty, they're a year to get out too, but got them off




again the part numbers were the same



but the new ones were so much bigger!


I have the original S6 suspension that came in the boot when I bought it, and wanted to put the alloy top mounts from them on instead of the Passat steel ones (trying to save every gram back there lol)




when I took the top mounts off the coilovers it turns out it's never had any bump stops on the rear! they were missing (left)



my new bump stops match the ones out of the alloy mounts (S6's are different to normal ones apparently)



all reassembled



and manuvered into place



did all the bushes back up at ride height



both the top mounts snapped off in the captive nuts on the other side, bollocks! so had to grind them off and nut and bolt it



let the rear back down, is set the platform heights the same as the old ones, but with the correct rated springs it sat about an inch higher!





so roughly leveled it all out. I'll drive it round for a few days letting everything settle then I'll set all the heights and get it 4 wheel aligned

 

[Vauxestate1]

Looking fantastic mate

 

[Andy_Mk3]

Bloody hell they are so much thicker! Great work as ever Ron

 

[rc]

A few months cracking on as a family car living in the countryside it does get filthy though!





So returned it back to black again



The real reason it's back to the unit is I've been having a voltage problem. Occasionally it acts like it's got a flat battery. You go to start it and all the dash lights dim, and sometimes the starter just clicks for a rotation then stops, this stems back from when i replaced the starter motor thinking that' the problem, which solved it for a while but then it started doing it again. I also changed the ignition switch thinking it was that, fixed it for a while but then came back. Lately it' been getting worse and worse and happening every time you start it. The battery is good and holds its charge and the alternator pumps out 13.8v even with everything switch on.
When you plug vagcom in and read the voltage it only shows 11ish volts and drops down to 9ish when you start it. Even though a volt meter directly on the battery shows a constant 12v.

So after replacing all those bits, it could only be the wiring or a contact.

First of all I started at the battery and worked back. The S6 has 2 huge fuses by the battery, a 120a and 200a monster, so cleaned those up and all the terminals on the fuses and battery itself.



Next along the line the power wires go into the ecu box



The main ecu relay was looking a bit grubby



and the other one I think is the SAI motor relay, I had spares for both so replaced them anyway



Under the ecu is a load of connector plugs so checked all those for corrosion but all were fine



Next stop down the power line was under the dash at the fuses and relays



Anand...............



Ahh that will be it then



That's the main 30 terminal from the battery. The non factory ring on the top is for the tracker. But the inline fuse for the tracker is still in tact so it's not the tracker that's shorted out causing this problem. The terminals are all burnt on the 3 factory wires to that terminal. But it doesn't track too far up the wires. When I went to undo the bolt it snapped straight off and you can see it's been arcing through the threads and had welded the nut to the thread



All the heat is concentrated around that terminal so I think what's happened is where that tracker feed has been added, over time that nut has started to come loose due to the cheap ring connector shrinking or the nut never being super tight, either way it's
Been getting progressively worse, then once it arcs one and gets a bad contact it just gets a poorer and poorer contact in till it's barely passable.

I dropped the fuse box out but that stud is actually part of it and you can't replace it



And that stud is permenant live from the fuse box and links the second stud by a copper buzz bar. So I managed to clean everything up and get a nut on what's left of the stud.



All is good. I didn't realise how dim the dash lights had been for So long. Even the headlights are brighter. Now when yoy start it up the clocks don't even flicker.

And now vagcom reads the same as the battery.





And the volt meter on the dash has even risen to the correct battery voltage. It's never been above 12v before.



So success! I'm glad I've actually found something definitive

 

[Andy_Mk3]

Good job well done

 

[rc]

All has been going really well, just been enjoyng it as a family car, clocked over the 112k miles mark now.

Will be a few updates in the next week as it's MOT and yearly service time.

One thing I had noticed in the really cold mornings is I would get a little whif of lpg on changeover. It' a very distinctive smell. I had a sniff around the engine bay and it was coming from around the evaporator/ filters area. I gave it all a good wiggle and there was a bit of a hiss coming from the joints of the hose, so found a load of old jubilee clips and wound it all down tight.



It looks like the constant heat from the exhaust manifold has broken down the hoses rigidity a bit



It was due its service so i got a reel of 16mm lpg hose too.



And made up the new lines with new clips



And all on.



It wasn't leaking anywhere else but replaced the whole loop as I had it



And all covered back up



The other thing I wanted to do was add a phone charger because it's always awkward to have the ashtray out for the cigaette socket so I bought a usb socket



Decided to tuck it under the arm rest



And ran the wires back to the rear cigaette socket





All done