Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

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jimclarkrs4
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by jimclarkrs4 » Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:34 pm

I’ll look into the 22mm one. Always a dream car, an eco article from 2006 sold it for me. I’ll add a pick if I can. My brother in law had an evo in bright red, can’t remember if 1, 2 or 3? It took him about 8 months to sell it for 10k! some 15 odd years ago.
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Evo 2006

coffey555
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:19 pm

I remember that issue! Went up against the AMG and the E46 M3.

It narrowly lost to the BMW but put up a very good fight. It was Barker's long term reviews that sold it for me, never thought I would be in the position to own one and certainly not for 8 years.

Even now it never fails to put a smile on my face.

Any Evo Integrale is worth serious cash now but good ones are silly money now. He will be gutted to have only got £10k for it!

Another car I could have bought was the E46 M3 CSL when I went looking at RS4's. A good one was £25k back then......

Having said that, you would be scared to drive it for fear of putting mileage on the car and effecting its resale value.

That is one thing I don't have to worry about because even if B7 RS4 prices climb, nobody will want to buy one with nearly 200,000 miles on the clock.

Which suites me just fine as the plan is to have a sound car which I can actually drive without having to worry about future values.

If it runs to 250,000 I will be delighted. And looking for a new engine....
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Covkiller
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by Covkiller » Fri Jun 28, 2019 5:39 pm

I had a red RS4 too, but it kept on going wrong so I had to sell it. I have a Mugello Blue one now, that's very reliable.
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RS4 B7, Mugello Blue, K&W V3 & HR ARBs, set up by Centre Gravity, Milltek Valved Non Res & cat bypass pipes, BMC air filter, braided hoses, DOT 5.1, Terraclean, MRC Full Carbon Clean, MRC remap 448PS 477NM, 20" S7 alloys with 4mm spacers & Hawke spigots 66.6 > 57.1, AP Racing front discs. Sold Sept 2019. Now rocking an F80 M3

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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 4:57 pm

Nightmare, at least the replacement appears not to have been built on a Friday afternoon....

I think I remember seeing a picture of your red one at the Nurburgring ages ago.
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:46 pm

Apart from the KW V3 coilovers and the H&R arb's the car is mostly stock.

034 Motorsport adjustable upper control arms were fitted as the inside edges of the front tyres were wearing out too quickly. Once fitted, there was a noticeable improvement to the steering feel as well as more even tyre wear at the front.

At a service, it was noticed that the oil cooler pipes were badly corroded, so the unit was replaced with the Forge Motorsport item. Hopefully this should last a bit longer.

Unfortunately at some point the original oil cooler had worked itself loose and damaged the main radiator. Not enough for it to leak but it was a potential weak point in the future, so this was replaced at the same time whilst the bumper was off. The aux radiators had been changed the year before so that was one less thing to worry about.

All the clutch/fly wheel, slave and master cylinders were replaced at around 100,000 miles just after I bought the car, so hopefully I will get another year or two out of them before they need doing again.

The cause of the biggest running issues in the past had been passing injectors. The weeping causes the sparkplugs to become wet so they produce a weak spark which then results in engine misfires. By monitoring the misfire counter per cylinder, I was able to work out which injectors were faulty. This was confirmed by checking the condition of the plugs. Going by the service receipts from the previous owner, I suspect this is why the car was sold. It had been in and out of the local Audi dealership a few times over the space of a month just before I bought it. Considering it was still doing it when I bought it, it was never fixed.

The car has run well enough since, though. However, it only passes the MOT emissions test on the right exhaust so suspect the unburnt fuel has damaged one of the left side cats!

The only other mod has been removing the centre resonators from the standard exhaust, which is without doubt the best modification of all. Two straight pipes were welded in and now it sound glorious with the valves constantly open. Not too loud to use as a daily though and no drone. However, it is a bit loud on a cold start.....

Apart from that finishing off the paintwork, either retaining the KW V3 setup or reverting back to DRC is next on the list.

The next time the front brakes need replacing I might consider swapping to the OEM ceramic setup. I do have a complete set of spare calipers that I really should get refurbished but I really like the idea of the less unsprung mass and longer disc replacement intervals of the ceramic setup. If anybody has made the switch can they comment on pedal feel? Are they difficult to modulate when cold etc?

The bucket seats I installed 6 years ago to replace the original comfort seats are holding up well. Much better than I expected to be honest given the colour. So glad I did though as the car would not feel as special without them.
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Last edited by coffey555 on Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Misano Red RS4 B7 Avant

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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:53 pm

The bonnet, bumper and side skirts all have fresh paint on them now.

If these are anything to go by, the car is going to look great when finished.
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by Covkiller » Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:59 pm

5 star treatment, well on the way to immaculate condition
RS4 B7, Mugello Blue, K&W V3 & HR ARBs, set up by Centre Gravity, Milltek Valved Non Res & cat bypass pipes, BMC air filter, braided hoses, DOT 5.1, Terraclean, MRC Full Carbon Clean, MRC remap 448PS 477NM, 20" S7 alloys with 4mm spacers & Hawke spigots 66.6 > 57.1, AP Racing front discs. Sold Sept 2019. Now rocking an F80 M3

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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by MikeFish » Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:49 pm

jimclarkrs4 wrote:
Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:39 am
coffey555 wrote:
Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:30 pm
jimclarkrs4 wrote:
Tue Jun 25, 2019 10:00 pm
Good to see all the work going into the car, will look as good as new when finished. I’m running DRC at the moment, interested to read you might revert back to it.
Cheers, knew it needed painting for a while now but finally pulled the trigger on it. It is a keeper so don't mind spending money on it.

I ran standard SS suspension for a couple of years and remember the ride quality being excellent. However, I did notice that my previous Mk5 R32 handled better in the corners. Switching to KW V3 for a year improved the handling slightly, ride quality pretty much identical but high speed body roll was much more noticable.

Sourced a set of H&R arb's from a forum member and once fitted, the handling was much sharper and direct. The low speed ride quality really suffered though and I would say the car understeered sooner, particularly in the wet but there was no high speed body roll anymore.

So I suspect the front arb is set too stiff and possibly the rear as well. I could also adjust the low speed compression damping but will start with the arb's.

If I can't find a setting I like, the stock RS4 front bar will be going back on with either a SS+ (22mm) or 034 Motorsport item on the back.

Interestingly, the front ARB's for all B7 A4's are 30mm but the internal diameter of the RS4 item is smaller, making it stiffer and heavier. I almost bought a used item from a Seat by mistake!

Front RS4 ARB is: 8E0411309N
Rear RS4 ARB are: 8E0511409AJ (20mm SS)
8E0511409AJ (22mm SS+)

And if that does not work either then I will be swapping back to DRC, possibly SS+ setup.
I have been impressed with the DRC to date and like the lack of body roll, ideally want to keep everything standard, but I’m already being drawn into looking at subtle mods. Very impressed with the work and effort going into your RS, cracking result finding parts in France.
DRC combined with KW adjustable springs to level out the front and provide further drop (to taste) is the perfect set up for me. I added the SS+ ARB but didn't notice a massive difference.

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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 8:28 pm

MikeFish wrote:
Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:49 pm
jimclarkrs4 wrote:
Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:39 am
coffey555 wrote:
Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:30 pm


Cheers, knew it needed painting for a while now but finally pulled the trigger on it. It is a keeper so don't mind spending money on it.

I ran standard SS suspension for a couple of years and remember the ride quality being excellent. However, I did notice that my previous Mk5 R32 handled better in the corners. Switching to KW V3 for a year improved the handling slightly, ride quality pretty much identical but high speed body roll was much more noticable.

Sourced a set of H&R arb's from a forum member and once fitted, the handling was much sharper and direct. The low speed ride quality really suffered though and I would say the car understeered sooner, particularly in the wet but there was no high speed body roll anymore.

So I suspect the front arb is set too stiff and possibly the rear as well. I could also adjust the low speed compression damping but will start with the arb's.

If I can't find a setting I like, the stock RS4 front bar will be going back on with either a SS+ (22mm) or 034 Motorsport item on the back.

Interestingly, the front ARB's for all B7 A4's are 30mm but the internal diameter of the RS4 item is smaller, making it stiffer and heavier. I almost bought a used item from a Seat by mistake!

Front RS4 ARB is: 8E0411309N
Rear RS4 ARB are: 8E0511409AJ (20mm SS)
8E0511409AJ (22mm SS+)

And if that does not work either then I will be swapping back to DRC, possibly SS+ setup.
I have been impressed with the DRC to date and like the lack of body roll, ideally want to keep everything standard, but I’m already being drawn into looking at subtle mods. Very impressed with the work and effort going into your RS, cracking result finding parts in France.
DRC combined with KW adjustable springs to level out the front and provide further drop (to taste) is the perfect set up for me. I added the SS+ ARB but didn't notice a massive difference.
That is another option worth considering. The price for a set of standard springs is pretty close to the adjustable KW spring setup.

Did you notice much of a difference in the ride quality when you swapped to adjustable springs from the SS setup?

Given that there are two specifications of DRC damper, one for SS and another for SS+, I wonder if SS+ dampers would be the way to go given the front has to come down to lower than standard SS+ height to get rid of the reverse rake.

Also, I wonder if the SS+ rear arb has a more noticeable effect on the Avant as most of the extra weight high up over the rear axle?
Misano Red RS4 B7 Avant

coffey555
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Wed Jul 03, 2019 5:21 pm

Have done some research regarding switching back to either the SS or SS+ DRC suspension setups. Some of the information was already on the forum and the rest on various websites.

Listing it as it might be helpful to others:



DRC Dampers (Common to Avant, Saloon and Cab)

2MC (SS)

8E0412019B Front Left
8E0412020B Front Right
8E0512019E Left Rear (Orange Paint Mark)
8E0512020E Right Rear (Pink Paint Mark)

2ME (SS+)

8E0412019C Front Left
8E0412020C Front Right
8E0512019F Left Rear (Green Paint Mark)
8E0512020F Right Rear (Blue Paint Mark)

Front Springs

Avant, 0JK Front Axle Weight Range 10, 2MC (SS)
8E0411105EJ coil spring
1 paint mark (Green)
3 paint marks (White)

Avant 0JK, Front Axle Weight Range 10, 2ME (SS+)
8E0411105EP coil spring
1 paint mark (orange)

Rear Springs

Avant, 0YM Rear Axle Weight Range 11, 2MC (SS)
8E0511115FN coil spring
1 paint mark (Grey)
3 paint marks (Brown)

Avant, 0YM Rear Axle Weight Range 11, 2ME (SS+)
8E0511115GB coil spring
1 paint mark (Pink)
3 paint marks (Grey)

Anti-Roll Bars

Front
8E0411309N (Common to SS & SS+)

Rear
8E0511409AJ 20mm 2MC (SS)
8E0511327A Rubber Bush 2MC (SS)
8A0511439 Clamp 2MC (SS)

8E0511409AL 22mm 2ME (SS+)
8E0511327D Rubber Bush 2ME (SS+)
8E0511439 Clamp 2ME (SS+)


DRC System Parts


8E0616887 (Central Valve)

8E0616711F (Flexi-Hose Front Left)
8E0616712E (Flexi-Hose Front Right)
8E0616715 (Flexi-Hose Left Rear)
8E0616716 (Flexi-Hose Right Rear)

8E0616861B (Hard Pipe Front Left)
8E0616862 (Hard Pipe Front Right)
8E0616861A (Hard Pipe Left Rear)
8E0616862B (Hard Pipe Right Rear)
Last edited by coffey555 on Sat Sep 05, 2020 10:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Misano Red RS4 B7 Avant

coffey555
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Mon Jul 08, 2019 2:19 pm

Update from the paintshop, the car is almost fully back together, just some bits of trim, bonnet and badges to go back on.

All going to plan, I will be picking it up next week!

Been planning this for a long while now and having not seen the car since the beginning of April, I am really looking forward to picking her up :D

Booked in for a full geometry alignment the following day so I will get them to set the front arb to soft and adjust the rear ride height to SS+.

And then finally get around to changing that coolant expansion tank.....
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Front end cleaned up with corrosion removed.
IMG-20190607-WA0002.jpg
Misano Red RS4 B7 Avant

jimclarkrs4
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by jimclarkrs4 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 9:50 pm

Looking really nice, bet you can’t wait to get the car back.

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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by HYFR » Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:25 pm

Not considering full body ppf to lock in the investment ?


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coffey555
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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Wed Jul 10, 2019 11:16 pm

HYFR wrote:
Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:25 pm
Not considering full body ppf to lock in the investment ?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Yes, it was planned to get done before I picked the car up but I ran out of time and money! :cry: It will get done in a couple of months though.

Your latest B7 looks lovely, how many is that now?

How do you find the ceramic brakes?
Misano Red RS4 B7 Avant

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Re: Martin's RS4 B7 Avant Build

Post by coffey555 » Sat Jul 20, 2019 11:02 pm

Picked the RS4 up from the bodyshop on Monday, I can't fault the quality of the finish, it has turned out much better than I could have hoped for.

Panel gaps and shut lines are spot on. The new front and rear screens make a huge difference, it feels like a new car now.

Full geometry check carried out on Thursday and it turns out the anti roll bars were already on the softer settings. Rear ride height raised up as it was sitting a bit too low vs the front. Might have went a touch too far but will see how it settles.

The front can't go any lower as the downpipe flexi-hoses already catch on a speed bump near my house.

Nice to have the car back again and another step closer to getting it how I want it.
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Last edited by coffey555 on Wed Aug 28, 2019 11:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Misano Red RS4 B7 Avant

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