Yes exactly. You would have to use a different air bag then stock as yours will work but it would not fit on the wheel. The other issue is when you use a different airbag from the next generation cars how is that airbag technology different from your technology. Lots of people swap them but you have multiple stage airbags and there is only one way to test your air bag system to know for sure. If it’s the same technology you should be ok but I don’t know if that documents are available
When I was researching wheel swaps previously, I came across a story where a guy installed a different airbag, and got it “working” without it throwing any codes. He then got in an accident where it should have deployed, and it didnt. I dont think he was injured.
From what I remember, he was running an airbag that was from a multistage system in a single stage car, or vice versa.
Just adding more to what Justin said, you airbags are not something you want to screw around with. If you do swap to a different setup, make sure the airbag technology is the same generation. And I still would never use a wheel that has been modified with carbon fiber from an aftermarket vendor, but that is just me being extra cautious. As soon as you wrap something in epoxy and carbon fiber, it definitely changes the structural properties of the wheel.
I had an argument with an AZ mod about this exact issue. He was saying how it was ok and just a couple wires. That conversation really rustled my jimmies lol.
So go with a B7 RS4 flat bottom steering wheel if I’m gonna swap. Noted.
Yeah, that must have been a frustrating conversation. It is bad enough when people give incorrect technical advice, but when it comes to safety features, then it is inexcusable.
I did a quick search of the web and couldnt find the original report, but I found another one. The thread is about adding a two-stage airbag and matching wheel to a single stage car, the B6.
http://audiforum.us/threads/has-anyone-successfully-transplated-a-b7-wheel-into-a-b6.1515/
On the second page a user reports the following…
[b][i]My friend just borrowed my car today and tested for you (by mistake or something).
35mph + a golf III in front, B7 wheel in B6 didnt work well.
I recommend, dont do it. My fancy looking wheel could have cost him his life.
…I will have to admit, that if I had read PetrolDave’s posts before doing this, or even done some more researching, I would never do this.
I regret it now, even though my friend is doing quite ok - and will not be damaged forever.
Biggest issue now will be the insurance company. I do not know if they will cover everything, as the airbag didnt work and was been tampered with… =/[/i][/b]
Don’t you have a B6 S4? As far as I know that car is single stage airbag and the B7 is two stage. That is pretty much the exact combination that you want to avoid, according to the thread I just shared.
Yeah that’s my mistake. For some reason I was thinking the B7 is a single stage. So if I wanted a flat bottom It’d need to be a modified b6 wheel. That kinda sucks.
Just read through the whole article and found this part to be pretty crazy too.
[quote]Biggest issue now will be the insurance company. I do not know if they will cover everything, as the airbag didnt work and was been tampered with… =/
[/quote]
[/quote]
Sorry, just noticed you quoted this part already. Tapatalk cut it off for some reason.
I found the thread, I actually started it haha.
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/403786-Steering-wheel-modifications
Good info Meistah
I don’t know why the guy Avanttix is arguing so much. No one said that an single to dual airbag conversion won’t ever deploy. What everyone is pointing out is that it is impossible to know if it will work or not, even when you don’t have a check engine light after the conversion. For him on his car that is an acceptable risk. For me, on my car it is not.
On top of that, there were numerous accidents where it seemed the airbag should have deployed, and didnt.
That is enough to say it is a gamble at best. And when the stakes are the life of the driver, and potentially the passengers of the vehicle, it makes no sense IMHO to risk it.
Kind of funny though, when I was a teenager I would drive my 1980s Camaros all winter long with well-worn 285 width summer tires on the rear in Toronto Canada. Now, I need multiple airbags, abs, awd, and winter tires on my Audis. Things have come along way in terms of safety, that is for sure. And I guess as a more mature adult I have become more aware of how important it is to drive a safe car.
simple…if you want a fancy steering wheel in a B6, just be prepared to not have a steering wheel airbag.
- shudder -
I got my first real summer tires on a '96 Jetta GLX that I purchased new in Chicago. 205/50R15 all the way around (at the time, a very low aspect ratio). That winter, the car was barely driveable, and seriously unsafe. At a dead stop at a traffic light, the car would literally slid sideways down the crown of the road. Imagine how little friction that is.
When the temp dropped below freezing, the rubber compound lost all compliance, and the treads packed with ice. Your “well-worn” summer tires must have had better tread compliance than my tires. After a few near misses in my Jetta, I invested in winter tires/rims and never looked back.
actually that’s not really true at all
they make newer, flat-bottom steering wheels that still use a single stage airbag. Right now everyone seems to be buying A/S/RS3 wheels I believe it is. They look the same as the other euro FBSW but don’t have the 2-stage bags like all the other new models.
All the talk about these airbags not working had to do with running a multi-stage airbag in a car not made for it. The swaps many people are doing now is basically a straight plug-in-play with just a new adapter ring and recoding iirc.
^^^has anyone crashed one and tested it? If not, let’s assume you won’t have an airbag. Until it is tested and proven multiple times, my advice would be to assume it won’t work.
what you just said is similar to what Avanttix and the other guys said when they put 2stage bags on their B6…and they crashed into trees and cars and found that they were wrong.
Agree with Sakimano on this one
This is kind of interesting… I was doing some more research on airbags, as I wanted to find out if the 8J TTS airbag is the same as the 4F RS6, as they look exactly the same and the TTS airbag is much more readily available and cheaper. Since the 4F RS6 was a UK/Euro only car, the only place to find good info is often on the German forums like motor-talk.de.
I don’t speak German, so I resort to Google Translate when searching threads in that language. The translations are rough, but when you just need the technical data it is often sufficient.
So, I came across this thread…
http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/audi-tt-8j-lenkrad-mit-airbag-vom-rs6-t4388955.html
There are a couple of posts before the “Godfather” of the forum steps in and posts this
Inquiries airbags are not allowed in motor Talk!
Work on it must be performed only by authorized persons!
derSentinel
Forums Godfather
Kind of funny. You have the guys in Germany who are probably some of the most technical with these cars, disallowing ANY talk at all of airbag swaps or work, due to safety and legal reasons.
Then, on Audizine, you have the f*cking Site Moderator arguing with people who suggest that it is unsafe to do a different model airbag swap. HAAHAHHAHA so funny
To top it off, Avanttix actually got into an accident and his airbag didn’t deploy, and that still wasnt enough to wake him up.
Next time someone gets injured after an airbag swap and lack of deployment, they should get a good lawyer and point to the thread on Audizine.
There is a guy in Poland(?) That will modify your existing B6 wheel into flat bottom for like $350. Idk if that’s somthing I would do, but if you had to have it at least you’d know that your air bag works
Avanttix is probably the most hated, most abrasive moderator on the entire site, and has been for 10 years.
That is funny. I have never even heard of the guy before. I guess he doesnt wander into the C5 and C6 sections often.
I’ve seen his work, looks really good.