The storageforum Audi S4 Thread

ddrueding

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My power washer has a specific compartment for detergent and a special nozzle for foaming. Haven't tried it with the car, I used it for the house before painting and it worked pretty well.
 

Stereodude

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That's a bummer. I haven't looked into a foam gun. I don't have a power washer either, so I was just planning a basic two-bucket approach with grit guards.
Don't feel too bad for me. I ordered a better setup already (this + this + this). :bomb: This is a perfect example of what happens when you don't research enough before buying though. :rofl:

My power washer has a specific compartment for detergent and a special nozzle for foaming.
Mine also has a detergent tank, and it will spray it out when you dial back the adjustable wand all the way down to the minimum setting. I've never used it. It's not going to work like this though.

[video=youtube_share;tcCR7US3NQE]http://youtu.be/tcCR7US3NQE[/video]
 

Handruin

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Nice, but you won't be surrounded by chicas in bikinis. ;-). So, how is it? Worth the wait? Should I still get mine on Sunday or tell them to screw off because the car sucks?
 

Stereodude

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So, how is it? Worth the wait? Should I still get mine on Sunday or tell them to screw off because the car sucks?
It's great! It was definitely worth the wait. You should get it if you think you can handle it.

Here are two bad pictures of it in my garage after I strip washed it with Dawn Then I covered it with Wolf's Decon Gel, let it sit, and then washed that off with more Dawn. The Decon Gel didn't seem to wash off very well with just water from the pressure washer.


The paint needs to be clay'd (w/ NanoSkin AutoScrub or real clay where I can't get the AutoScrub) and then polished with a very fine polish. Then the Opti-coat goes on the parts the clear bra won't go on.

Also, FWIW, if you want to put AAC encoded files on a SD card make sure they have a .M4A extension. I had AAC encoded files with a .MP4 extension and the car apparently thought they were video files and refused to play them intermittently reporting they were bad files. I renamed them to *.m4a after getting home and they play fine.
 

ddrueding

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Awesome. Why did you need Decon Gel? How radioactive was it? ;)

I know nothing of properly washing or detailing a car, but soon mine will live in the garage, and I will care more. Any additional notes on tools/products/techniques are appreciated.
 

Stereodude

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Awesome. Why did you need Decon Gel? How radioactive was it? ;)
No, this Decon Gel. It gets rid of iron particles. I'm not sure it did much (meaning the car probably didn't need it much). It turns purple, but the car is pretty dark color, and it was getting dark so I couldn't really see what was going on.

I know nothing of properly washing or detailing a car, but soon mine will live in the garage, and I will care more. Any additional notes on tools/products/techniques are appreciated.
Get a pressure washer and a foam cannon / lance. Get 2 buckets + 2 grit guards. A random orbital + foam pads + NanoSkin AutoScrub + traditional clay bar. A variety of polishes and cleaner (soaps / chemicals). A variety of microfiber towels, sponges, wash mitt, detailing brushes, etc.
 

Stereodude

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Handruin

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A few pictures in the twilight after washing it.


Looks good. I'd hit it. :bravo:

I'm picking mine up tomorrow afternoon. I'm wondering if they left mine in the showroom for the past week. :-/ I hope they weren't let people test drive it. How many miles were on yours when you picked it up?
 

Handruin

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How are you doing with the break-in process? Are you doing the motorman approach? How often are you pushing it to the limiter and then engine-braking?
 

Stereodude

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Looks good. I'd hit it. :bravo:
Thanks. One thing that stood out to me is that IMHO the 18" wheels look much better in person than I was expecting from the pictures.

I'm picking mine up tomorrow afternoon. I'm wondering if they left mine in the showroom for the past week. :-/ I hope they weren't let people test drive it. How many miles were on yours when you picked it up?
If they were halfway responsible they did not let people drive it while you were out of town. Mine had ~30 miles when it came off the truck according to the dealer and 31.2 when I picked it up.

How are you doing with the break-in process? Are you doing the motorman approach? How often are you pushing it to the limiter and then engine-braking?
I am doing the aggressive break-in process. It's similar to the motoman approach. I'm using the version Dr. GP espouses. 1 WOT to redline followed by engine breaking after the car is warmed up per trip. Not more than 3 times a day.

Also, what did you use to take off the V6T badges?
I used my wife's hair dryer to warm them up and my finger nails to gently pry them back. With heat I used my finger to roll off the small pieces of adhesive left behind and I used some naptha (Ronsonol lighter fluid) to remove the sticky residue. I'll put the Supercharged badges on after I get the clear bra on.
 

ddrueding

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I used my wife's hair dryer to warm them up and my finger nails to gently pry them back. With heat I used my finger to roll off the small pieces of adhesive left behind and I used some naptha (Ronsonol lighter fluid) to remove the sticky residue. I'll put the Supercharged badges on after I get the clear bra on.

How confident were you that there was no rivet or indentation on the sheetmetal before you removed the badge? I'm interested in removing a number of the badges on my car but have been concerned that the metal underneath is something other than perfect.
 

Stereodude

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How confident were you that there was no rivet or indentation on the sheetmetal before you removed the badge? I'm interested in removing a number of the badges on my car but have been concerned that the metal underneath is something other than perfect.
I'm not sure why the paint underneath wouldn't be perfect. Lots of people have removed the V6T badges from the cars without any issues. It's not like they paint around the badging or stick on extra badges to hide defects.
 

Handruin

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Well??? Did you get it?

No I couldn't get it yesterday. Complications occurred. The problem was that I did not trade in my TL-S to the dealer because they offered me a really really low number. I left the dealership and went to sell my car separately. I sold my car to an Acura dealership yesterday afternoon for an acceptable amount and when I brought my plates back to the Audi dealership, they informed me that since it wasn't a trade, I couldn't legally transfer the plates yet because the RMV was closed on Sunday. Had I just put the plates on and drove off, the car wouldn't have been registered or insured. I'm heading out to get my car in about 15 minutes.
 

ddrueding

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I'm not sure why the paint underneath wouldn't be perfect. Lots of people have removed the V6T badges from the cars without any issues. It's not like they paint around the badging or stick on extra badges to hide defects.

I just remember that the badge on my VW tailgate was in an indentation. I'm thinking of pulling the "A3" and "TFSI" badges from the tailgate (just makes it harder to clean).
 

ddrueding

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A5 is to Toyota as iPad is to every other tablet with rounded corners. There is in fact a level of ignorance on the topic that renders them indistinguishable. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are. ;)
 

Handruin

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Whatever. It doesn't look much different from the Toyota she parked next to.

I'm marginally impressed you know what a Toyota looks like, but based on your statement you obviously don't know how to identify cars when you couldn't even identify a specific Toyota to compare the A5 against. For all we know you might have been seeing two A5s next to each other. Subtlies and niceties in cars are clearly not your thing. I think we all get that by now. Feel free to keep passively telling us. Eventually we may care.
 

Handruin

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A5 is to Toyota as iPad is to every other tablet with rounded corners. There is in fact a level of ignorance on the topic that renders them indistinguishable. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are. ;)

I imagine if we switched the conversation to strippers or breasts or vaginal hair style patterns we could get every explicit details out of mercutio. He could likely spot a fake set of boobs from 300 yards and know the specific names of strippers based on their perfume scent and glitter content with his eyes closed while using his tongue.
 

Handruin

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Ps I love the S4. I've been driving around all night and went out to visit some friends. It's a hell of a car.
 

Stereodude

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Ps I love the S4. I've been driving around all night and went out to visit some friends. It's a hell of a car.
Heh... I bet you've driven further than I have. Mine is sitting at the clear bra installer's shop. He called me yesterday to let me know there was some problem with the Xpel Ultimate he uses on full hoods. It didn't have a good gloss and there were some defects in the film. Supposedly Xpel is supposed to overnight him a new roll for this morning, but he's not sure if the car will be done today, or if he'll need to keep it through Wed. :frusty:

How many miles were on yours when you picked it up?
 

Handruin

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Heh... I bet you've driven further than I have. Mine is sitting at the clear bra installer's shop. He called me yesterday to let me know there was some problem with the Xpel Ultimate he uses on full hoods. It didn't have a good gloss and there were some defects in the film. Supposedly Xpel is supposed to overnight him a new roll for this morning, but he's not sure if the car will be done today, or if he'll need to keep it through Wed. :frusty:

How many miles were on yours when you picked it up?

The odometer statement said 19 and it had 21 on it when I got it. That sounds about right. They probably took it to get gas or a quick joy ride. I have a little over 100 miles on it now. lol For the life of me I cannot find where the setting is to display the digital speedometer or the miles per gallon average. There are so many options in the menus it's crazy. I can easily tell the difference with the adaptive suspension in different modes. I was curious to see if I could tell a difference and I can easily tell. So far the comfort mode is a little too cushy for me, but the auto mode is nice when for cruising around and taking it easy. Dynamic is clearly tighter and more responsive in all regards. The Soundaktor is much more noticeable in dynamic and I really don't mind it. You were right about the 18" wheels. I do like them a lot more in person than in photos.

Good luck with getting the Xpel situation figured out. Given the miles I've already put on mine, it's likely I've decided to skip a clear bra install. The dealership offered the 3M product for $1299 for a full hood. I told the guy I wasn't interested in that product and if I did go with one, it would be the Expel. He was rather surprised because he said he's only seen it put on a few of the porches they've sold and they way he talked about it made it sound like the S4 was too simple of a car for such a clear bra product and no one he knows of has done it. :roll: They were charging $1999 for the full-hood Expel install. That's probably why.

Otherwise I've done the break-in of running to the redline with engine braking a few times after it has been warmed up for a while. How many miles is recommended to keep doing this process?
 

Handruin

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My post wasn't intended to be offensive in any way, just pointing out that you can be a geek about all kinds of things. ;)

I didn't think your post was offensive. Mine probably was more offensive than I originally meant it to be. I have no problem with people being a geek about all kinds of things.
 

Stereodude

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For the life of me I cannot find where the setting is to display the digital speedometer or the miles per gallon average.
I had to ask on AZ to find out where that was. It's the Reset button on the bottom of the wiper stalk (right hand side).

There are so many options in the menus it's crazy.
Yeah, it's a little wild. Even the HomeLink garage door opener is set up through the MMI with interactive instructions on the LCD screen. Have you set the B&O's sound focus to driver yet?

I can easily tell the difference with the adaptive suspension in different modes. I was curious to see if I could tell a difference and I can easily tell. So far the comfort mode is a little too cushy for me, but the auto mode is nice when for cruising around and taking it easy. Dynamic is clearly tighter and more responsive in all regards. The Soundaktor is much more noticeable in dynamic and I really don't mind it.
I've pretty much only left the car in Auto so far.

Good luck with getting the Xpel situation figured out. Given the miles I've already put on mine, it's likely I've decided to skip a clear bra install. The dealership offered the 3M product for $1299 for a full hood. I told the guy I wasn't interested in that product and if I did go with one, it would be the Expel. He was rather surprised because he said he's only seen it put on a few of the porches they've sold and they way he talked about it made it sound like the S4 was too simple of a car for such a clear bra product and no one he knows of has done it. :roll: They were charging $1999 for the full-hood Expel install. That's probably why.
It ended up being $1800 for the full front (bumper, fenders, hood) + headlight & foglights for Avery Dennison Nano Fusion + Xpel Ultimate (only the hood is Xpel) at the guy I went to. He seems like a nice guy and I didn't feel like trying to beat him up over the price since I didn't find anyone else using that film or wrapping edges (where possible). Your guy at the dealership sounds like a tool. They're probably marking up the price of the install some. The 3M film has noticeable orange peel and it yellows. I bought some raw 3M film on ebay a few years back and I wrapped my iPod classic with it. It has never sat in direct sunlight, but it has baked in the car and I can tell it's yellowed. Now, maybe the slip agent (very weak soap / water dilution) I used to install it caused it to yellow. I'm not sure, but that wouldn't give me any warm fuzzy feeling about putting it on a car.

Otherwise I've done the break-in of running to the redline with engine braking a few times after it has been warmed up for a while. How many miles is recommended to keep doing this process?
The first 1000 miles.
 

mubs

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Congrats, you guys! Enjoy your cars!

SD, thanks for the info on the Llumar film. Sorry for the delay in my thanks; I was away for about a month.
 
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