Ti Kan: Audi - My S4 2.7 biturbo quattro

Gallery 2

The following are some pictures of the car. Some of these were taken before all the modifications listed below were done. Click on any image to enlarge.

dsc00731.jpg
dsc00731.jpg
1280x960, 134KB
dsc00732.jpg
dsc00732.jpg
1280x960, 148KB
dsc00733.jpg
dsc00733.jpg
1280x960, 155KB
dsc00734.jpg
dsc00734.jpg
1280x960, 114KB
dsc00735.jpg
dsc00735.jpg
1280x960, 126KB
dsc00736.jpg
dsc00736.jpg
960x1280, 139KB
dsc00737.jpg
dsc00737.jpg
960x1280, 116KB
dsc00738.jpg
dsc00738.jpg
960x1280, 127KB
dsc00739.jpg
dsc00739.jpg
960x1280, 143KB
dsc00740.jpg
dsc00740.jpg
1280x960, 130KB
dsc00741.jpg
dsc00741.jpg
1280x960, 156KB
dsc00742.jpg
dsc00742.jpg
1280x960, 128KB
dsc00743.jpg
dsc00743.jpg
1280x960, 138KB
dsc00744.jpg
dsc00744.jpg
1280x960, 151KB
dsc00745.jpg
dsc00745.jpg
1280x960, 119KB
dsc00746.jpg
dsc00746.jpg
960x1280, 146KB
dsc00747.jpg
dsc00747.jpg
1280x960, 145KB
dsc00748.jpg
dsc00748.jpg
960x1280, 150KB
dsc00749.jpg
dsc00749.jpg
1280x960, 139KB
dsc00750.jpg
dsc00750.jpg
1280x960, 124KB
dsc00751.jpg
dsc00751.jpg
1280x960, 113KB
dsc00752.jpg
dsc00752.jpg
960x1280, 150KB
dsc00753.jpg
dsc00753.jpg
1280x960, 160KB
dsc01240.jpg
dsc01240.jpg
768x1024, 65KB
dsc01241.jpg
dsc01241.jpg
1280x960, 169KB
dsc01242.jpg
dsc01242.jpg
1280x960, 163KB
dsc01243.jpg
dsc01243.jpg
1280x960, 143KB
dsc01652.jpg
dsc01652.jpg
640x480, 22KB
dsc01654.jpg
dsc01654.jpg
640x480, 22KB
dsc01658.jpg
dsc01658.jpg
480x640, 31KB
dsc02566.jpg
dsc02566.jpg
1024x768, 106KB
dsc02569.jpg
dsc02569.jpg
1024x768, 94KB
dsc02570.jpg
dsc02570.jpg
1024x768, 127KB
dsc02578.jpg
dsc02578.jpg
1024x768, 132KB
dsc02583.jpg
dsc02583.jpg
1024x768, 108KB
dsc02937a.jpg
dsc02937a.jpg
1024x768, 73KB
dsc02941a.jpg
dsc02941a.jpg
1024x768, 80KB
dsc02954a.jpg
dsc02954a.jpg
1024x768, 81KB
dsc02957a.jpg
dsc02957a.jpg
1024x768, 123KB
dsc02958a.jpg
dsc02958a.jpg
1024x768, 51KB


Modification/Upgrade History

February 2003: I upgraded the stock Xenon HID headlight housings to OEM European specification units (made by Valeo). This resulted in significantly better beam pattern, due to a different shutter design. The Euro housings also have city lights and clear corner lenses (no orange filter).

February 2004: The car now rides on B6 Audi S4-V8 18x8J ET45 Avus-design wheels, shod with Continental SportContact2 235/40ZR18 91Y tires. To fit these, I had to add 5mm thick H&R hubcentric aluminum spacers to both front and rear with matching longer wheel bolts. Also new are a set of "Eurolocks" anti-theft wheel locks.

November 2005: I Installed a new Audi/PhatNoise digital audio system in place of the factory CD changer in the trunk. See pictures below. I was able to rip over 400 CDs worth of music onto a single 20GB DMS cartridge. Instead of using the supplied PhatNoise Media Manager software for ripping, I used my own software xmcd on Linux (In Ogg Vorbis format which is supported by PhatNoise and sounds superior to MP3 at the similar bitrates). I also used the PhatVoice software to generate the voice prompts, which allows me to tailor the voice announcements for better pronunciation.

January 2006: The PhatNoise DMM catridge was upgraded to a 80GB unit.

July 2006: I upgraded the tail lights to use LED bulbs. These bulbs are slightly brighter than stock, will never burn out (rated over 100000 hours of operation), and have super-fast turn-on and turn-off times for instant attention. The following table shows the application:

 Stock bulbLED replacement bulbVendor
Turn signal/hazard light 1156 (21W) Luxeon 1156-RLX3 (red) Super Bright LEDs
Tail light/brake light 1157 (5W/21W) Luxeon 1157-RLX3 (red) Super Bright LEDs
Reverse light 1156 (21W) Luxeon TerraLUX V-Star1 TLE-12W (white) LuxeonStar

Each of these LED bulbs utilize a single LED rather than an array, and plug into the stock tail light sockets, with no cutting or housing modifications needed. The wide light angle of 130° means that the reflectors and lenses in the tail light housing are still utilized for the total light emission.

Additional load resistors must be installed to maintain the turn signal blink rate and keep the car's auto-check system from displaying a bulb-malfunction condition. I used 15Ω 15W resistors for the turn signal/hazard lights, and 25Ω 10W resistors for the other bulbs. These are the Arcol aluminum power resistors, HS15 and HS10 series from Mouser.com. The resistors are mounted on a heatsink for proper dissipation. With these resistors, everything functions perfectly and yet the total power consumption is still less than the stock bulbs.

April 2007: I upgraded the interior rear view mirror to one from an 2004 Audi S4. The original mirror was an electronic mirror with auto-dimming, but the new mirror also has a digital compass display in the upper right hand corner. There is a pushbutton switch that enables the auto-dimming and compass features to be (independently) turned on and off. The Audi part number of the new mirror is 8E0 857 511 A 01C. It required minor trimming of the mirror's plastic wiring cover to fit, but is otherwise plug-and-play.

August 2007: I replaced the front brake pads with EBC Redstuff pads, and installed new OEM front brake discs.

November 2007: I replaced the engine turbo diverter valves to the updated version, Audi part number 06A 145 710N (Bosch 0 280 142 114). See mike01s4's articles (part 1, part 2) about testing results of various diverter valves.

I also replaced the after-run coolant pump thermoswitch with one that is rated at a lower temperature (original was Audi part number 357 919 369F, rated at 112°C, the replacement is 021 919 369, rated at 93°C/88°C). This turns on the reverse coolant pump and auxiliary fan after engine shutoff for up to 10 minutes to reduce heat-soak, and should help extend the turbos' longevity. This AudiWorld tech article provides the full details.

June 2009: Another lighting upgrade: This time it's a lot. I changed the tail light housings to the "Crystal Red/White" units made by FK of Germany. These housings have a larger band of clear lens extending across the entire width of the light. Unlike the stock tail lights, the FK has both the turn signal/hazard and the reverse light bulbs behind the clear lens area. It allows me to change to amber colored LEDs for the turn signal rather than the previous red. The FK housing's lens design also looks more distinctive than the stock unit, but remains understated and elegant. I re-wired the load resistors that I added in 2006 to the new tail lights (needed to prevent the car's auto check system from reporting bulb malfunctions). The gallery photos above, starting from dsc02566.jpg through dsc02570.jpg show the FK tail lights.



I updated the tail light bulbs to 5W multi-LED high power bulbs. These 1156/1157 bulbs are brighter than the 3W single-LED versions I installed previously, and have a much wider lighting angle (220° vs. 130°). I also replaced the four center high-mount brake light bulbs to high power red LEDs. I had to add a 30Ω 25W load resistor to the center brake light circuit to prevent the auto-check system from sporadically reporting a bulb malfunction.



The license plate lights are also updated to cool-white LEDs with heatsink. These are made by Ziza, will not melt the lamp housing, and does not require load resistors.



The interior front and rear overhead dome light/map light bulbs, and the two luggage compartment bulbs were changed to cool-white LEDs. The fade-in, fade-out effect of the interior lights still works after the change to LEDs.



Lastly, the "city lights" in the front European Xenon HID lamp housings were changed to BAx9s blue LEDs.



 StockModVendor
Tail light housings (pair) Audi 8D0 945 095 H and 8D0 945 096 H FK Crystal Red/White FKRL553 ECS Tuning (part number 9474)
Turn signal/hazard light (2 pcs.) 1156 (21W) Luxeon 1156-ALX5 (amber) Super Bright LEDs
Tail light/brake light (2 pcs.) 1157 (5W/21W) Luxeon 1157-RLX5 (red) Super Bright LEDs
Reverse light (2 pcs.) 1156 (21W) Luxeon 1156-WLX5 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs
License plate light (2 pcs.) 37mm festoon style (5W) Ziza T10W37KT-14 (cool white) ECS Tuning (part number 259644)
Center-mount brake lights W5W (194) wedge style (5W) Luxeon WLED-RHP (red) Super Bright LEDs
City lights (for Euro Xenon headlight housings, 2 pcs.) H6W (BAx9s) (6W) BAx9s high power LED (blue) 42 Draft Designs
Interior dome lights (front, 2 pcs.) 42mm festoon style (10W) Luxeon 4210-CWHP6 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs
Interior map lights (front and rear, 4 pcs.) BA9s (5W) Luxeon BA9s-CWHP6 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs
Luggage compartment lighting (2 pcs.) 37mm festoon style (5W) Luxeon 3710-CWHP6 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs

February 2010: The rear brake pads are replaced with EBC Redstuff.

March 2010: All four tires were replaced with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 in 235/40R18 91Y.

September 2010: Yet another tail light upgrade. I swapped out the FK housings for a pair of Audi B5 A4/S4 red/clear LED tail lights from EPP. When lit, the LED array formation, along with the fast on/off time of the LEDs, make more of a visual impact. The tail lights are otherwise stock-looking and does not look gawdy or "aftermarket".



There are two versions of this tail light -- with and without load resistors. I had previously wired my own load resistors, so I got the version without them. The tail lights came wired for the pre-facelift Audi tail light connector pin-out so I had to make a wiring modification. I also changed the assignment of the lights as follows:



These tail lights have built-in red LED arrays for the brake/tail and fog (reassigned to turn signal) light sections. The back up light and turn signal (reassigned to fog light) sections have 1156 sockets, and come with standard incandescent bulbs. Instead of these bulbs, I reused the 5W Luxeon 1156-WLX5 cool white LED bulbs that I used previously in the FK housings for the back up lights, and the 3W Luxeon 1156-RLX3 red LED bulbs for the fog lights. The "white"portion of the new tail light lens is completely clear so you can see these bulbs in there prominently. The gallery photos above, starting from dsc02937a.jpg through dsc02958a.jpg show the updated tail lights.

Here is an updated list of my lighting mods:

 StockModVendor
Tail light housings (pair) Audi 8D0 945 095 H and 8D0 945 096 H Red/clear LED tail lights for Audi A4/S4 B5 sedan EPP AZAL02
Turn signal/hazard light (2 pcs.) 1156 (21W) LED array built-in to tail light -
Tail light/brake light (2 pcs.) 1157 (5W/21W) LED array built-in to tail light -
Reverse light (2 pcs.) 1156 (21W) Luxeon 1156-WLX5 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs
License plate light (2 pcs.) 37mm festoon style (5W) Ziza T10W37KT-14 (cool white) ECS Tuning (part number 259644)
Center-mount brake lights W5W (194) wedge style (5W) Luxeon WLED-RHP (red) Super Bright LEDs
City lights (for Euro Xenon headlight housings, 2 pcs.) H6W (BAx9s) (6W) BAx9s high power LED (blue) 42 Draft Designs
Interior dome lights (front, 2 pcs.) 42mm festoon style (10W) Luxeon 4210-CWHP6 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs
Interior map lights (front and rear, 4 pcs.) BA9s (5W) Luxeon BA9s-CWHP6 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs
Luggage compartment lighting (2 pcs.) 37mm festoon style (5W) Luxeon 3710-CWHP6 (cool white) Super Bright LEDs

September 2010: All four tires were damaged by a lateral road construction ditch. Goodyear no longer makes the Eagle F1 GS-D3 in 235/40-18, so I replaced them with a new set of Continental ExtremeContact DW (rated 95Y) in the same size. The Avus "S" wheels were also repaired to restore roundness.

March 2012: My stock right side Xenon HID headlight bulb went out and the left side is showing a bit of pink hue, so it was a good time to upgrade them to a newer generation product. The original bulbs (factory fitted from Audi) were Osram Xenarc 66040 D2S, I replaced them with the newer Osram Xenarc 66240CBI D2S. The CBI suffix stands for "Cool Blue Intense" and is different from the regular Osram Xenarc 66240. The 66240CBI is rated at 3400 lumens and 5000K color temperature, compared to the stock bulb's 3200 lumens and 4300K. This is currently the only available bulb above 4300K that does not trade lumens for color temperature (i.e., despite the slightly bluer tint, they are not dimmer than the original bulbs).

Installation is easy. The 66240CBIs are direct drop-in replacements. On the driver side, the power steering fluid reservoir decorative cover needs to be pulled off to get enough wiggle room at the back of the headlight assembly. Similarly on the passenger side, a section of the air-intake plastic pipe needs to be removed for access.

The new bulbs are still breaking in, but my impression so far is that they are definitely bright (especially compared to my old, worn-out ones), and the light is simply a cooler white compared to the originals. It's not a big change looking at the headlights directly, but cast the light on a white wall at night and the difference is unmistakable. With the Valeo European headlight housings installed previously (see February 2003 above), the real eye-opening change happens on the road, where the new bulbs light up the road and surroundings with more contrast and detail.

The original, blown Osram 66040 The new Osram 66240CBI


Main Page Personal Audio Software Art Audi Links Contact

Last update: 12/03/02 02:23:05