c0ntract_thrillas- Introduction and B6 S4 project

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

Hi everyone, I have been lurking here and on AZ for a while. I decided I should finally make an account and introduce myself and my project.

First I want to say this site has been a great resource and I have learned a lot already, and found many answers just by reading through a lot of other users posts. There are many impressive builds on here and following their progress is very inspiring and useful.

I have been into VW’s my entire life, I had a few other VW project cars, but my last B5 A4 1.8t was my favourite as I live in rural Nova Scotia where an AWD sedan can be a lot of fun and practical. I always wanted a B6 S4 with the 4.2, it is one of my all time favourite vehicles. My buddy had a B6S4 a few years back and ended up running a PES supercharger kit on the car, he took me for a ride and I was hooked, the car sounded unreal and seriously hauled ass. Then it blew up. :’( (don’t worry I know JHM is the business)

So last September, I had the chance to grab a nice looking stock-ish S4 a few provinces over for cheap, I read up on the issues with these cars (the catastrophic failure thread on AZ is pretty sobering) but after reading and knowing this was going to be a project car I decided to go take a look. So I got a drive from my buddy (600kms road trip) to check out the car, I fell in love and drove it back.

Deets:
05 B6S4, manual with 97,000 kms on it. Only mod the previous owner had done was a magna flow 2.5" catback, other than that it is bone stock. Car isn’t perfect, it has some peeling clear coat and some paint chips and a few rusted components from our winters and etc, but it runs smooth, no rattles on startup or etc, decent shape overall. I loved the car the second I squeezed into the suede Recaros.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_0797_zpscfdf5dd7.jpg

I really like the look of the engines in these.
[insta]s-jQCSF-Jr[/insta]

First thing I did upon getting home was an oil change with some Liqui Moli, a Wix filter, popped in 8 new Bosche plugs, a K&N air filter, an OEM fuel filter and checked all the other fluids.

Then I beat the piss out of it for a few weeks and decided I needed a bit more umph, so I sold a few toys and spent some $$$$$$$$$$.

JHM and 034 have been amazing people to deal with, they have given me a lot of advice and support. I have also been really pleased with every product I have picked up from them. ECS tuning has also been great for a lot of the maintenance items and odds and ends. ( I have been the biggest ECS shill for the last 10 years as their Canadaese program is great!)

The current goal is to have the car ready for this spring: I intend to track the car and do a few auto X and drag events in 2015. Then next winter I will be strapping on a JHM blower :smiley:

As of now, the car has been stored in my garage for our long harsh east coast winters (road salt), while I work away at installing all my loot for spring.

Parts are listed in the order of when they were purchased.

Current parts horde:

  • Rottform NUE 18x9.5 with 235/40/18 Nitto Neo Gen (dailys)
  • JHM ECU remap 91 oct
  • JHM Intake heater bypass
  • Trexturk 2.5" catless downpipes
  • Magnaflow catback (thank you previous owner)
  • 034 density control arms kit (get rid of the squeeks)
  • 034 zero gap snub mount w/ bushing
  • 034 Density Transmission mount
  • 034 Motorsport engine mounts
  • 034 88mm throttle hose
  • 034 strut mounts
  • H&R Coilovers
  • Cupra R lip
  • 034 Solid rear sway bar w/Adjustable sway bar end links
  • 034 All metal Tie rod ends
  • Apikol Diff mount (race)
  • 034 wheel stud conversion kit
  • 034 adjustable rear control arms
  • Front ECS Lightweight two piece rotors - Cross drilled, slotted and larger vents %25 lighter than stock.
  • EBC Red stuff *(kevlar ceramic) for front and back
  • Raxles (RR Axle) (previous owner had bent one rear axle somehow, the car would shake above 100 km/hr)
  • ECS Stainless Steel brake lines kit
  • Motul RBF 600 fluid
  • ECS Rear diff service Kit with Motul 300 - 75w90 and magnetic plugs
  • Bentley (handy to have)
  • ECS trans Service kit
  • JHM Light Weight Crank Pulley
  • JHM Shifter trio Package
  • JHM auto tensioning pulley
  • 034 Adjustable front control arms
  • Enkei RPF01’s 18X8 with NT05 235/40/19 (track)

I have started installing the gear already and hit a few snags mostly Seized bolts, and heavy corrosion. I have had quite a few delays as I strip things down and realize I need a few more odds and ends before I can wrap up what I am working on (like my brakes).

Anyway I don’t often post, my progress is slow because of work and kids, but I will have the car done for May when the snow is gone :smiley:

Thanks for looking

cheers

#2

A few photos of my progress to date:

Lots of space for activities

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/7AEFBDAF-D9CE-4129-A9E3-C5A674E98E24_zpsdco4wjgi.jpg

New wheels - pardon the 4x4 status :smiley: - coilover install is underway

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_0802_zpsb6d9a0c7.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/5C2A5229-D174-43B7-8C13-4F58DDB72536_zps7uyvwnz3.jpg

Replacing the rear axle with raxles

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/968D5747-20D0-4FDB-9730-276AA8506A36_zpsjllcrmkn.jpg

Installed

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/E8AEDAF8-A793-42C9-BB1D-BD461AD6D54B_zpsxov45hrd.jpg

Putting rear suspension back together

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/976E559E-5369-4C1F-A2E3-B9A63961E2B1_zpsvz2phepr.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/4F0BB2BD-898E-4298-B2DC-806C6F5088F4_zps8zarokbg.jpg

This is why you shouldn’t smoke … errr use road salt

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/27B82F81-8E8A-4C27-9F28-549986BF1F56_zps1f4rxsqn.jpg

I am a little bit further along at this point but I don’t take a lot of photos.

#3

Nice post. I love dealing with both 034 and JHM. 90% of my car is from both of those companies really. ECS is good to deal with as well but i will never buy ECS branded products again. I bought their stage 4 BBK (cayenne kit) and the lines fit like shit. They sent me replacment ones asap but they werent that great either.

Keep us posted. I keep seeing build threads. I guess i should i make one as well soon.

#4

Thank you sir!

I have had good luck with ECS branded products so far, I bought the brake kit when they had it on sale in November it came with the stainless exact fit lines, power bleeder, fluid wrench and etc. Mine was a purchase out of necessity, that last photo in my previous post is my brake line connection from the ABS unit line and it is rotten, so is the braket.

The ECS LW brake rotors I picked up appear nice and are %25 lighter than OEM, but they are not as light as JHM’s units, hard to argue with the price of the ECS unit though. A lot of M3 run the two piece ECS rotor kit at the track and many have posted good reviews. I will give it a shot and write a review of their performance when I hit AMP in the spring, if they don’t pan out ill jump to JHM. :smiley:

#5

I love Brilliant Red B6 S4s. They look great.

91GL had a great one.

#6

I am a big fan of the colour as well. I also have learned a lot from your posts, thanks for sharing!

#7

Welcome! Great B6 S4 you picked up there! Looks like you’re on the right track modwise. 034MS and JHM have the best products for our platform so you’re in good hands there, but I’m sure you already know that. In for more updates.

#8

There’s lot more fun go fast parts left. The cool thing is your doing it right and the car looks great. I’m not going to lie not a big fan of the wheels but I think when you fix the ride hight they might look different
I started the catastrophic thread a while ago and just had to stop updating it. I think everyone gets the general idea. The key really is just maintain the car and don’t skimp on the quality of the parts. Lots of excitement ahead

#9

Welcome to AR, you have definitely found the right place. If you need anything or have question please ask, you’ll be amazed at the knowledge of some of the individuals here.

Also…great color…

#10

Welcome and great intro. Always good to see more B6 S4 guys join. Getting the suspension/control arm bolts out can be miserable at times. I’m not positive, but it looks like you installed the rear height adjuster perches on top of the springs rather than underneath. If you did, great call. I installed my H&R kit with the perches on the bottom and it was impossible to adjust without pulling them back out. JHM and 034 are both great to deal with. Definitely interested to see where you take this car. Feel free to ask for help whenever you need it.

#11

Your build thread with the JHM stage 2 car is part of the reason I joined! I have been following along and when I had contacted JHM about more information for the built engine program, they told me to check online.

I absolutely love what you have done with your car, it certainly gives me an idea of where I can eventually take mine!

Right now I only have lowly aspirations of tracking the car this summer hence why the majority of my parts purchases are related to replacing the suspension completely with parts that will allow me to corner balance and dial in my camber… That being said, I plan to install a blower and go full retard in the following years :smiley:

I have a work vehicle (VW tiguan) and a Q7 daily/family hauler, so I can park my S4 for the 4 months of winter and work away at it without rushing and that really makes a difference.

I appreciate all the kind words, as I said I have read a lot of the threads in order to get an idea of what works (flipping the rear height perch :slight_smile: ) and what is a waste of money (PES). Speaking of which, the only boosted B6S4 I have been in was a PES car and that hauled ass pretty good on the road course, and going through the highlands in CB, but the engine blew shortly after and this was back when the kits were first released. After reading about JHM and talking to them, I knew that was the only route for me, especially after seeing the amazing results on here.

As for the wheels, they are not everyones cup of tea, but they are incredibly durable… and if you saw the roads in my rural NS, you would understand lol The horrible roads are also the reason I went with Neogens, as a daily tire on a lowered car they are built to withstand less than ideal roads while still giving me enough grip. I do have some RPF1’s for the track this year, and I have the OEM’s, a set of 19" peelers kicking around and some junkers I pulled off my old dubs. I might put the peelers on after the roads are repaved in spring, I think they look decent on the B6 platform.

#12

Happy to hear I’m helping recruit. This site is an unbelievable resource for us as DIYers and it sounds like you’re going to be a good fit for the community. Definitely keep us up to date with your car. Love the B6 in red by the way.

#13

Couldn’t agree more. I have gotten more help in my short time here than I have anywhere else

#14

It really helps when people document with photos, I am a visual learner for the most part so when some of the build threads on here got photo by photo and explain what they are doing and where components are, it is a big help!

Also watching people rebuild cars that have suffered failures gives hope for people who might otherwise cut their losses and run.

#15

I had to rebuild a lot of my front end after having an accident back in Oct 2013 and I wish I would have taken more pictures during my process. When I suffer a “failure”, I usually opt to upgrade to a part that I already wanted. Makes me think of it as upgrading than rebuilding

#16

I’m a visual learner also. When I started out I found pictures really helped me build my confidence to work on my car. Take the pictures away from the best tutorial and you’re left with a bunch of words that may or may not mean something and butterfly’s in your stomach.

#17

When I did my rear axle removal, there were no specific DIY’s that I could find, there is a great suspension install for A4’s on AZ that helped me immensely. The rear axle replacement wasn’t a hard job, but I eventually figured out that you need to unhook your exhaust, remove your rear spring and drop the subframe a bit in order to get enough clearance to remove the axle.

I probably should have documented it better, but I have some photos if anyone ever runs into the issue.

on another note, today is a good day, I received my last order from JHM (Trio shifter package, LW Crank Pulley, Auto tensioner w/belt and the 034 adjustable control arms). I will probably try and get over to my garage tonight and do some work on it now that I have some more loot. I am still waiting for Halifax Audi to get me my brake line brackets, and fasteners to replace my rotten ones before I bother putting my wheels back on the rear passenger side.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/DE22FFC3-779D-40BD-98C5-A3B3C43DA284_zps4z4niq0u.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/648DFF53-6A61-4F69-BA47-FEC0370B00AB_zpsgcbiimsx.jpg

Some glam shots of the care package from ECS tuning that came a few weeks ago, I am going to do the rear diff service this weekend since the ass end of the car is up in the air.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/sewermonsterBW/ED9F1225-67EA-418E-A51E-D27F4EB77F1D_zpsi4xzxby3.jpg

#18

Good stuff. You’re going to love that short shifter. When somebody drives my car, usually the first thing they compliment is how solid the shifter is.

#19

If you are going to do the tranny or rear diff fluid the car should be level.

#20

I think more and more people are telling real enthusiasts to come here for help. People who have issues really get great support here and it’s no nonsense. All of us here really care about our cars and most of us have already taken our cars apart 10 times. I always try to suggest to guys that they take pictures. There is a real good DIY section here JimmyBones is cleaning up on getting some DIY up.

Also with how great the guys are here I would be happy to go snap pictures if people needed them to help

Great job on the auto tensioner is that the 6 rib