JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

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Mav8
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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by Mav8 » Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:26 pm

Looks very nice mate,some nice mods/ upgrades as well.
I too sold my B7 and got a F80 M3,ran it for almost a year,but I’m back now in a RS3😂
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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:46 pm

You had that Nogaro Blue one didn't you? Aaaah poor timing else I might have had it :)

The Rs3 is a lovely machine. I had a pre-facelift fully modified to MRC Stage2+ inc Gearbox map. I went to look at one near me that looked in my budget but it was a dog. So I went to see some RS4's and I kid you not, this sucker I have looks almost new. Feels good to be back in a manual too.

I have wheel spacers, KW HAS lowering & audio system to do next. :)

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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by Mav8 » Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:00 pm

I did have a Noggy B7- just found it was getting a bit dated,
The Rs3 is a great all rounder,sound is awesome from the 5 pots
Not sure it’s a keeper but you never know

Looking forward to the updates keep em coming bud
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B7-RS4
B5-RS4

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JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Fri Feb 04, 2022 12:00 am

So I changed all my front bulbs as well, and had the fog lights/coming home lights to replace too.

Bought the Osram Nightbreaker H11 bulbs. To change them you just gently pop off the front lower grills that surround the lights. Then unscrew the fitting and manoeuvre out.
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I also cleaned the inside of the lens with some spray solvent cleaner. I used a small skewer stick abs wrapped the end in kitchen roll with some tape. Then rubbed the inside clean. Also polished the reflecter with my little finger wrapped in kitchen roll.

Came out brighter and fresher looking.

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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Fri Feb 04, 2022 12:10 am

I also installed a new head unit. A Pioneer double DIN 7 inch screen with Car Play.

For our cars with Bose you need a special harness. It includes a hi-lo converter for the speaker signal. It also needs a Canbus module to provide the various power supply and on/off control.

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I bought my harness and surround kit from Enfig in the USA. They supply a surround as shown that doesn’t require two bulky trims. Much smoother appearance and the surround is matched to the car too.

Enfig have great tutorials on You Tube for the B7 car. Highly recommend them.

The sound is simply unreal. You wouldn’t believe it could make such a difference.

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You have to use the correct DAB aerial which is a window mount stick on. It has to be installed by scraping the paint off where it earths behind the pillar trim. Then you get great signal.


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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Sun Mar 13, 2022 6:51 pm

Some updates. I had the Maxton Design splitter and skirts installed.

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Really happy with how it looks.

Next up I bought the KW HAS Springs and CM Tuning in Morley installed them and recharged the DRC at the new height.

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Rides really nice. I have driven a car on top end Bilstein coil overs and I didn’t think it was as good as DRC. Though I understand due to cost why people opt for coil overs.

Also gave the seats a good clean.

Image


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aky_b7
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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by aky_b7 » Tue Mar 29, 2022 7:57 pm

Hi James,

Not often I read a full thread but I did! It's good to see the process you've gone throght.

I'm looking at the Maxton sides and front as well, may bite the bullet once I've got the wheels on!

Aky
----------------------
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My Sprint Blue B7 RS4 Avant viewtopic.php?t=142551
C7 RS6 Wheels 9.5" x 20 et21
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B14 Bilstein's
Headlights by EM Tuning

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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Tue Mar 29, 2022 9:41 pm

Thank you.

Im jealous of your C7 wheels lol. Wish I could afford some. I look forward to seeing them on.


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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by Mav8 » Wed Mar 30, 2022 6:03 pm

Looking good mate,keep the updates coming👍
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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Sun Apr 03, 2022 12:46 am

So as before with the Daytona Avant I had, I set about machine polishing this phantom black.

I’m only a beginner in using a Dual Action polisher but my confidence has grown the more I’ve done it.

The Menzerna polishes are so easy to use too.

The 400 Heavy Cut is not really heavy cut. The words imply it’s going to rip the lacquer off at first sight but far from it. It’s good for light scratches that are barely worse than wash marks.

The 2200 is also light touch and great for wash swirls.

Finally the 3800 which is really for that last jewelling polishing of the clear coat. It won’t even get bird dropping marks out but great for that pop and gloss.

This first picture is the rear bumper and the skirts are similar state. So the car needed this TLC.

Image

Here is a short clip of a before and after of the doors with just the first pass of the Menzerna 400.

https://youtu.be/K3eGrZRSWnk

I’ve managed to do the front end, and all of one side. I’ll tackle the rest next week and post more pics, but here’s some quick pics:

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Image


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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by jnrdavo » Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:02 am

Looks great. Black cars are the best to see results from a decent polish

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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by aky_b7 » Thu Apr 07, 2022 8:55 pm

Looking good James!

I use some of the Menzerna range as well, they're excellent polishes and like you said the 400 isn't as aggressive as you might think. I use the 300 (super-heavy) as my go to for cars with severe swirls or to polish out P1500/2000 wet/dry sanding. Again, not crazy aggressive but great for cars you need to prep quickly in the motor-trade. I also tried the 3-in-1 from Menzerna on my E30 M3 which really was very good, car came out amazing (some pics below). The 3-in-1 is good if the car is reasonably good to start off with or as a once-in-a-while top up cleanse and polish.

Owain had a ceramic coating put on the RS4 before I bought it so I don't think I'm going to mess with that just yet!

Aky
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Aky

My Sprint Blue B7 RS4 Avant viewtopic.php?t=142551
C7 RS6 Wheels 9.5" x 20 et21
Mk2 LED Media RNS-E + AMI + Digital TV
B14 Bilstein's
Headlights by EM Tuning

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JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Wed Apr 27, 2022 1:40 pm

RS4 B7 Caliper Refurbishment.

I set about a colour change and refurb of the front Brembo 8 Pot calipers and the rear calipers.

Before I started I checked all the bleed screws were free and found one on the front caliper, and one on the rear were seized. I figured I'd be able to get them off once the calipers were off the car but they were so badly seized that I rounded the head on them. In the end I needed the help of a professional to get them off. Jonny at www.brakecaliperrefurbs.co.uk in Rochdale was very helpful and got the bleeders out. Jonny did my previous caliper refurb on my Daytona Avant earlier in this thread. On this occasion I decided to have a go myself.

To prevent brake fluid escape from the system I pressed the brake pedal down and wedged it with a long bar against the seat. This meant that just a small amount of fluid from the line was lost and the rest can't get past the master cylinder.

Here you can see how they looked at the start, and a picture of the rounded bleeder on one of the Brembo's.
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I tested various Red colours on an old toaster and found a colour called Brembo Red High Temperature from a company on eBay called 'xtremeautos' to be the right one. £23 delieverd. The etch primer also came with it. There is a Pillar Box red from Hycote available from shops but I found it too orange looking in certain light. On this picture there is a matt and gloss version on the long edge, and the Hycote Pillar box on the short edge.
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I started with the fronts and rubbed them down properly with Red grade Scotch pad. You have to get all the dirt and grime off and remove any shine from the original coating. Also rub he RS decal area so there is no raised lettering to spoil the finish. Here is the caliper with the pistons masked up using proper paint masking tape. I left the old bleeders in loose so as to not bung the threads with paint during painting. I will later replace them with Titanium bleed screws as they will not corrode like steel against Aluminium does. I also bunged all the screw holes with tissue paper.
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I cleaned and then soaked all the metal pins and parts in Bilt Hamber Deox-C rust remover. They came out nice as you can see. It's a great product I used earlier in this thread.
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I created a paint booth in my garden shed by stapling plastic sheet to the ceiling and walls. I hung a pole across the width and used coat hanger wire to hang the calipers. With the calipers clean and rubbed down started painting the etch primer.
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The spray painting process.

The first coat of paint or primer is not the coat that covers everything. It is merely a dusting of paint to form the base on which the full coat will sit.

Use the light coat of paint or primer to get into the nooks and crannies of the caliper first, and then continue to a light dusting all round.
Leave it to dry for 10-20 minutes depending on ambient temperature. You are simply wanting the solvent to 'flash off', and you can tell when it goes from wet to matt looking.
Then apply a fuller coat following the spray can instructions. Approx 25 cm away in cross strokes, paint or primer the caliper lightly, ensuring the nooks and crannies are covered.
Finally after that coat has flashed off, paint your final full layer. It is tempting at this stage to keep adding paint to cover everything. Don't. Just wait and apply another coat if needed otherwise you will get runs.

After your light and main primer coat, you may need 2-3 coats of colour including the first light dusting coat.

I added new decals from brakecaliperdecals.co.uk. If you are adding new decals you have a choice of sticking them on top and be done, or like me paint over them with a clear lacquer.
I carefully stuck my decals on whilst the paint was touch dry but not yet dried fully or baked. This I understand allows the vinyl adhesive to dry out with the paint.

With the caliper touch dry I sprayed it with a light coat of clear lacquer. By that I mean what feels like an insignificant dusting of lacquer. Leave to dry for stated time (15-20 mins), and then paint a slightly fuller coat. Then finally and full wet coat after that. Then leave to dry for several hours.

Here it is drying in the sun.
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I wanted the paint to have immediate resilience so I heat baked the caliper slightly. I prepped the oven to 60 degrees Celsius and baked the caliper for around 20-30 mins. Then I turned the oven up to 90 degrees and as soon as it hit 90 and turned the oven off and just let the fan spin on until cool. Here it is in the oven :)
IMG_3758.jpg
The reassembly.

I bought new Titanium bleed screws for the Brembos. The rears are steel so new steel ones are fine. You will notice the PTFE on the bleed screws. Some say this is not needed as it's the seat of the screw that's creating the fluid seal. However, it is also said that using a pressure bleeder can force some fluid up past the threads and thus risk bubbling the fresh paint off. I used the tape and figured it should be fine and well away from the seat.
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I also painted the centre pad holder nut silver, just to brake up the red colour on the Brembo's. Here is the finished article.
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And on the car :)
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To say I'm happy with how they came out is an understatement. Though the process was not without it's issues.

The thread where the brake line enters the caliper was cross threaded. The second time it's happened to me. I found a place in Rochdale called Lockstitch http://www.lockstitchuk.co.uk/
They expertly hellicoiled the banjo thread on the caliper and I strongly suggest that you get this done to your Brembos. It is stronger as well.

Whilst the rear calipers were off I unscrewed the pistons and inserted new seals and lubricated them. They work great now too.

My pedal feel now is incredible too as a good clean up and regrease helps the brake system. :)

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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by daytonamart » Wed Apr 27, 2022 2:52 pm

Looks great, great thread too.
Gone B8.5 A5 Sportback Black Edition Plus Floret Silver
Current C6 A6 Avant Silver TDi S line snotter
Gone B7 RS4 Sprint Blue Avant
Gone 8P A3 Sportback Reflex Silver
Gone 8V A3 Saloon Daytona Grey
Gone B7 A4 Reflex Silver
Gone B7 RS4 Daytona Grey Avant

JamesBaby
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Re: JamesBaby’s B7 RS4 Avant Daytona & Phantom

Post by JamesBaby » Tue May 03, 2022 9:46 am

Thank you.

After having done quite a few miles in the car I again changed the brake fluid. The pedal feel is lovely now, nice and sharp bite from a light touch.

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