Faisal's RS4

[marc1]

Awesome! Enjoy the trip.

[harding]

Oddly satisfying!! Actually looks really cool!

[daytonamart]

Looks great Faisal, real stealthy.

How bright are those rear number plate LED's?

[FaisalJ]

Those leds are quite bright aren't they! Never taken note before...

The car can absorb so much of our kiddy crap now, it's awesome for these trips. This is with just the big stuff, there were a load of smaller bits and pieces.



What other car can fit 2 adults and 2 kids (including a 6 month old), all the luggage for a week, also be a pleasure to drive on road or track, with a manual box, a sweet V8, and look cool doing it!? Love this car

Some more pics, as I'm never one to turn down a photo opportunity and the car was looking good in the forest:

[birdiemachine]

Looks great buddy!

[D8vil]

I like the wheels are they ADV1's ?

[daytonamart]

Great stance, I actually think the roof box adds something, can't put my finger on it, just something.

[Pistolpete2543]

Awesome looking Avant. I agree, the roofbox looks good, its probably something to do with the fact that you know the car is a complete weapon on the road, yet its being used as a proper family vehicle. That's why I love the fast Audi Avants, super cool cars in general.

[FaisalJ]

Thanks gents! I'm thinking that I might actually have to look into a proper box now! One that can be easily removed and attached too. Main issue with this box is that it's a bit beaten up...was the best I could find available nearby at short notice. Very very handy having that extra space though, and I have no qualms chucking a muddy pram in there rather than in the boot.

D8vil - No they're a brand called Zito, I forget the model name. Same style as the 3SDM 0.01s but slightly less concave, so a better fit (tiny bit more caliper clearance).

[FaisalJ]

So I picked up a US style number plate plinth from the classifieds. No recess, with parking sensor holes.

Part no. is 8EO 807 287 E if anyone is interested. There are a few alternative variations and part numbers on this link.



I decided to wrap it in gloss black, got hold of some 3M 1080 vinyl off ebay, which was quite good to work with. Needs a bit of heat to stretch over awkward bits. Air bubbles come out really easily, you can just squash them down with a finger and they dissappear; I think the film may have some tiny holes in it to let the air out.



Quite pleased with the results. Maybe wrapping presents for millions of kiddy birthday parties came in useful for something!





For the number plate itself, I got 3x 3/4 sized vinyl number sticker number plates made up, again from ebay. I made 3 as I wanted to try tinting one to see how it looked. I sprayed one with some lens tint spray - that one came out <beep>. Pictured are the plain white, and one I covered in a layer of lamin-x lens film I had already at home:



I decided to go with the white plate and see how I go (i.e. if I get grief from the plod).

Swapped the plinth last night, and grabbed a couple of pics this morning before work:





I also thought I'd see how the tinted one would look, so just stuck it on loosely with blu-tac over the white plate. I think i'll swap over to this soon!




A couple of unrelated updates:

- Hadn't driven the car for a couple of weeks, got in last night to go to basketball training and it wouldn't start. Would turnover but just not fire up. Came back after basketball and it started fine. Will give it a VCDS scan once I get my cable back from my nephew, but any ideas what that would be?

- The cheapo roofbox is dead. The winds the other day managed to get it open and put a massive crack in it. My fault for forgetting to lock it (although empty). Oh well; probably a good excuse to buy a nice new one!

- Collected together 4x OEM wheels from the classifieds and ebay, and sent off to get refurbed in "light anthracite". Intending to tear up the tyres on there on track, and will then probably put some proper winter tyres on for use next year.

[daytonamart]

Good DIY skills Faisal although not my cup of tea. I predict plod will be all over this as it's clearly the incorrect sizing and is asking for trouble imo.

Time will tell.

[Covkiller]

Let's all live in fear

[Lukes3]

Like the blank an the small plate, looks really good

[FaisalJ]

Gave the car a wash yesterday. The G-Techniq crystal serum + EXO coating that the previous owner had applied last summer at KDS still does the job!

I've owned several black cars, and this is by far the easiest paintwork to maintain. G-techniq say you don't need to bother with a sealant on top of the coating, just to keep it clean. The crystal serum (under the EXO) should last about 7 years. The coating on the windscreen also still beads up water nicely.

The finish could be better still; there are some water marks and tree sap (hard to see in the pics), but I didn't get time to clay the paint. They're really bothering me now though! I'll clear up the contamination, and then I'm looking to get a water softener for the home, which will give dual benefits of brownie points from the Mrs and less water marks for the car.

Anyway, reflection pics!





The only downside is, I actually enjoy applying a sealant to the car and the satisfaction of buffing it off - that's gone now!

[TechNick]

Gotta love KDS's work