2006 B7 RS4 ~ AVUS Silver ~ Ownership diary

Started by Poonmobile, March 28, 2016, 08:30:54 PM

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Poonmobile

Thought i'd just join in, and hopefully get a few more B7 Owners posting...

I had been waiting a long time to enter RS ownership, Obviously a RS2 or B5 RS4 would have also been a great start, but a vehicle in the spec and colour i wanted never really came up, and if it did it was out of my price range and budget. With the addition to the family it gave me a reason to just 'bite the bullet' and get a more modern family wagon. After getting close to R36 ownership (to complete my .:R collection), i realised that a B7 RS4 was not that much more and offered a big jump in terms of refinement and power. Not to mention fulfil my dream of owning an RS, and the last true RS in manual.

In all honesty I would have like a Sprint blue or the elusive White wagon, but again, timing and funds never worked out for me. Enter a well priced Avus Silver Avant on TM (my second choices on colour were Daytona grey and Avus Silver). It all happened pretty quick, but the car ticked a lot of boxes. FSH, Recaros, 2 owners before me, Brakes recently done, fresh service from Brodies and generally well maintained.

The not so good: Broken arm rest latch, chipped paint on the front grill, stone chips on front of the car, new set of tyres needed, curbed rims and paint needed a good cut and polish. But these were all things i knew about and knew i would enjoy getting the car back up to a great standard.

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

A few days after i picked it up next to the outgoing B5 S4.

First step was to get some tyres sorted, and after a few recommendations and some hunting around I picked up a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2. Great value for money as i paid just on 2k fitted- and i love them.

Next I paid a visit to the guys at OCD to do a full stage 4 Full restoration package. (http://www.ocdetailing.co.nz/our-packages.html) and topped it off with a C Quartz coating as being our family work horse it would be spending most of it's time in the elements despite being almost twice the value of my golfs... lol. The finish and results were better than i could have imagined and the only downside was it would really show the imperfections of stone chips etc in the front quarter. (i later opted for a pencil touch up, but feel that Final touch's paint chip repair system was much better-as I used them on my previous Mk5 R32)

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Added some audi decals- it's my thing...
Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr





Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

le mans

I like that decal on the wheel  8)

I'm sure a lot of people think 'meh silver', but avus is a really special colour. The depth and different nuances you get in changing light are something to behold! Your car looks awesome, and a true Q car in that trim.

Poonmobile

Next up was to Vinyl wrap the front grill, as i really wasn't feeling the silver- but I may go back to it so i wanted it to be easy to return it back, hence why i didn't paint or plastic-dip.

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

I also replaced the standard issue plate with a Euro plate i had taken from my old S8. And again, i think it really cleans up the rear and makes it look much tidier. I toyed with the idea of doing the badge at the front, but glad i didn't now.

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

DSC_4902.1 by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Photo from a meet last year:

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

Poonmobile

I added the obligatory LED interior light replacement kit- i'll take some pics later replaced the latch on the arm rest ($30 replacement on EBay compared to the $200+ replacement of the whole lid from the dealers :o) thought it was worth a crack before i spent that kind of money, it works reasonably well, but was a bitch to put in. Plus i was worried the 'newer' leather would look out of place and wouldn't fit the patina of the interior.

And we basically used it since our son came along...

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

We did our first north island trip down to wellington, back through napier and then home. Around 2000kms covered and all so effortless and just sublime to drive on the tight and twisties of the rimutakas and SH2 up to napier.

Borrowed a mates Thule Roof box, and was sold. A lot of people comment saying that the B7 is deceptively small, and i would have to agree, despite it looking so pumped the cabin wasn't much bigger than my B5 and Nik reckons there is more room in the back seats of his RS2! I also feel that the R36 and subsequent B8 were much bigger. Anyway, i digress. The roof box gave us the extra room needed so we didn't need to put anything in the back seats as Zoe would need the space to breastfeed on our many stops around the country.

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

The roof box shown was a Thule Motion 600, and fitted the RS perfectly and had ample room for bags, Porta-cot, box of nappies and other baby related stuff.
http://www.thule.co.nz/roof-boxes

After that trip (which i had just failed to take photos despite the brilliant weather and beautiful back drops) i decided to invest in a box of my own and opted for the thule Black wing bars (for looks) and the Motion 200 box as it was a little shorter which would allow me to use it on my golfs too.

We then did a road trip to Oakura and again, had a run on some great roads and managed to head onto the beach (as it is the only way to access houses on the stretch we visited)

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Driving on sand is ridiculously fun, and found i made any excuse to head to the shop soften and as fast as i could... >:D

Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

Poonmobile

Went through it's annual big service and no issues bar an intermittent manifold flap issue and bank 2 running a little bit rich- possibly a leaking injector. Cameron at Brodies reckoned a carbon clean may remedy the issue as at 128,000kms it had not had it done as of yet, and while they did that they would check the injectors to be sure. So thats the next thing to do.

Fitted a set of Audi puddle lights (Ebay find- some dude sells them on TM for $80- cost me @30 for all 4)

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Road trip time to Tauranga, the roof box paying for itself each day... 8)

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

heading out at 7am to catch a sunrise before heading home

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr

Untitled by Ash Visvanathan, on Flickr


Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

HaNs


Poonmobile

Quote from: HaNs on March 29, 2016, 08:19:58 AM
You going to colour code the roof box?

Prob not, as I'll use it on the other carsand the black is more neutral. But I have a few ideas on how to make it stand out ;)
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

le mans

What effect does the box have on fuel consumption?

Poonmobile

Quote from: le mans on March 29, 2016, 10:41:06 AM
What effect does the box have on fuel consumption?

It has gone up, however I noted less consumption with the smaller box. Adds about 1l/100 or so.
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

Poonmobile

small update- completed the Carbon clean, and it has made a little bit of difference to throttle response and fuel efficiency. But, for best results i'm gonna have to take the head off and get rid of the oil sludge build up that occurs on these FSi engines. Matt and Clint Barber were great to deal with and car enthusiasts (also having owned a couple of B7 RS4's they know their stuff)
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

coltspeed

How.much did the detailing cost? The car looks great!

Period_Correct_

1971 Porsche 911T | 1990 Audi Quattro Turbo | 2003 Audi RS6 Avant | 2009 Renault Megane R26

Poonmobile

Quote from: coltspeed on November 17, 2016, 09:44:53 PM
How.much did the detailing cost? The car looks great!

It was a little over a grand from memory with the coating and stage 4 clean.  But has stood the test of time and would recommend it to anyone looking to do some preventative paint maintenance.

Quote from: NasTnaS on November 17, 2016, 09:57:21 PM
holy moly... thats not a small task....

Nope, it isn't...
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

coltspeed

Quote from: Poonmobile on November 18, 2016, 12:07:34 AM
It was a little over a grand from memory with the coating and stage 4 clean.  But has stood the test of time and would recommend it to anyone looking to do some preventative paint maintenance.

I will have to look into it.  Mine is currently in at Torque Performance getting a CC, deflap and remap.  I did have shopping list of things I wanted done but the more I look into them the less likely I think I will follow through. 

Poonmobile

small update, i'll try for some pics later this month IF the weather ever clears up...

Fitted H&R springs, lowered @30-40mm. Only installed these as i had to replace a steering rack bushes and whilst suspension was out it made sense to put in. However, i did have top regal all the DRC units (not cheap) but good preventative maintenance. I was worried it would affect the handling, as straight out of the box the suspension is phenomenal. And i'm pleased to report, it has not changed the handling or composure of the car and plus side is it looks just a little bit tougher a few mm's lower.

I also bit the bullet and did the full month Carbon clean, head off and everything scrubbed out. Car is like brand new, so much more responsive and has deepened the exhaust note and performance is back where it should be! So so stoked, again not a cheap exercise with it costing close to 2.5k. I'll describe the breakdown. Clint and Matt Barber did the work for me and am very please with their service and work. Went the extra mile and held the car for me whilst I was away and picked me up to go get it back. Fully recommend them.
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

RS ZWEI

Quote from: Poonmobile on April 12, 2017, 09:03:13 PM
small update, i'll try for some pics later this month IF the weather ever clears up...

Fitted H&R springs, lowered @30-40mm. Only installed these as i had to replace a steering rack bushes and whilst suspension was out it made sense to put in. However, i did have top regal all the DRC units (not cheap) but good preventative maintenance. I was worried it would affect the handling, as straight out of the box the suspension is phenomenal. And i'm pleased to report, it has not changed the handling or composure of the car and plus side is it looks just a little bit tougher a few mm's lower.

I also bit the bullet and did the full month Carbon clean, head off and everything scrubbed out. Car is like brand new, so much more responsive and has deepened the exhaust note and performance is back where it should be! So so stoked, again not a cheap exercise with it costing close to 2.5k. I'll describe the breakdown. Clint and Matt Barber did the work for me and am very please with their service and work. Went the extra mile and held the car for me whilst I was away and picked me up to go get it back. Fully recommend them.

How bad was the carbon buildup Ash?
1980 VW Golf GTI Track Car
1995 Audi RS2
2003 Mini Cooper S (Written off - rear ended)
2005 Mini Cooper S
2006 Skoda Octavia vRS Combi
2009 Renault Megane 230 R26 (Written off - rear ended)
2013 Renault Megane RS265 Redbull RB8

Poonmobile

It was pretty caked up, as it hadn't been done by any of the previous owners.
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

coltspeed

Can't wait to see the pics.  What part number are the H&Rs? I found out a little while ago there are H&R race springs and Normal H&R which only gives a slight drop.  At 30-40mm drop I suspect these are race springs


ianorman

How much did the servicing of the DRC and H&R Springs cost you? I have a lower control arm bushing that needs replacing (creaking noise) and a bit worried it may've something else down their while their fixing it?
B7 RS4 Avant

Poonmobile

Quote from: ianorman on June 04, 2019, 10:05:34 AM
How much did the servicing of the DRC and H&R Springs cost you? I have a lower control arm bushing that needs replacing (creaking noise) and a bit worried it may've something else down their while their fixing it?

I picked up the springs reasonably cheap, servicing and install of springs was @$1600, but I did replace replace a couple of steering column bushed (from memory) I will be looking to replace my control arm bushes shortly as I have some creaking appear recently.
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello