Been an Audi driver since 1998 and had a workhorse A4 1.8 from new until last September when at 140,000 miles with lots of outstanding repairs it had to go.
After much debating I bought a 2008 S5 Coupe in Meteor Grey with Magma Red interior. I'd had her a while, not that many factory options, and a few simple mods, but the real work started as the warranty had gone.
Was a big step up from a 1.8 to a 4.2. By March/April time last year I was getting fed up with the stock stereo setup so decided to do something about it...
3 Sinfoni amps...
To drive Morel Elate Limited Edition speakers in the doors...
And some added bass
Sound was great, but it got me hooked on modding...
1) "How can I make it go faster!"
I did some research on the V8 engine and saw mapping did diddly squat, so thought supercharger. Did my research on various kits and went to spend some time at TTS to see their Rotrex kit and be driven round in their car. I was sold. They pointed me towards MRC Tuning for the fit.
Dyno'd at 328ps, down on stock. Carbon cleaned due to
Supercharger fitted...
Before and after figures on the same graph. A healthy increase to just over 600ps
The install came with Milltek downpipes and Milltek catback exhaust. Sound was loud on the outside and turned heads a plenty, but the drone inside the car was unbearable for me. The exhaust eventually had to go. More on that later.
The Supercharger itself is glorious. It has transformed the car - initially it was scary (remember 6 months before I was pottering around in a 1.8 ). I also had a JHM Short throw shifter fitted which I really like. So much so my next thoughts were...
2) "I need better brakes!"
So. Wanted a stock OEM look to it. I was offered some RS6 C6 brakes and the RS5 BBK, but I managed to source some of these from overseas at a great price...
Brake kit came with calipers, pads, discs, guard, etc., but once fitted it was obvious it needed the RS5 brake servo also to work properly.
Whilst I was at it I had the rims and tyres changed for 20" and had a H&R sway bar kit fitted
And had the exhaust swapped back to stock downpipes and the Capristo Valved Exhaust
The sound now is PERFECT. Sounds great from outside and nearly silent inside (which is just what I want as I love my music). The valves open due to backpressure (which can be customised) so this works perfectly with my charger.
3) Handling and a drop
I'd been advised to sort out handling a while ago but wanted everything else sorted out first. Initially didn't want to drop the car either, but thought a slight drop would look good. I had a dilemma. How could I have a comfortable car which is my daily driver and I do about 300 miles a week, plus have it setup for the track, which is something I had been considering getting into. Could I have both? I'd been reading about these KW DDC 'iPhone' coilovers which KW had recently released. A button in the car to switch between comfort, sport and sport+. You could also control the damping from an iPhone app in 1% increments for each axle. I noticed on their website they had them for the S5. Jabbasport in Crowland sourced them and fitted them for me.
These are great. Based on the KW V3 coilovers, but with an immediate change to suspension through a button.
And now the aesthetics. These have happened along the way and perhaps too many to mention, I'll let the photos do the talking...
Got this off ebay.de
So this is how it looked at Audi Driver International.
A few pics of the completed spoiler install...
Next came the Rieger bumper.
Then the Rieger Luftseiden side skirts...
Next came the S7 Rear ceramics...
and the SPC adjustable upper control arms...
Most recent shot...
Here's some videos of the Capristo. I was testing out the manual spoiler button to check it worked (was when I retrofitted the RS bootlid), but it's the best sound clips I have of the exhaust too. One is of the cold startup and one is from slowish to 60mph and then lifting the spoiler a couple of times. Will get some better clips when the weather gets better - need to get a better windshield on the mic though.
Sound is a little quiet so you may need to turn the sound up.
And that's all for now. More to come so will make sure to post an update to the thread as the build continues...
