Mesh Grill fitted

[beavim]

Hi all,

Following a heated discussion between my car and Bambi, things got a bit messy for Bambi, but the grill and bumper of my A4 also took a bit of damage. Anyway, as it was such a nice day yesterday, I finally got around to fitting the new bumper and grill. I went for the standard S-Line bumper to replace what was there, but I decided to go for an mesh grill a bit more like the RS4. Not a standard Audi part, but designed to be a straight replacement for the standard grill. - I had it sprayed at the same time as the bumper to match the body colour.

22891

Fitting was pretty straightforward although the wiring loom behind it needs to be attached in a non standard way as the plastic securing points are not on the back of the grill. Only other tricky bit was the quattro badge - that isn't designed for mesh, so needed a bit of hacksaw treatment ;)

Also took the time to stick the winter wheels on too with some new Dunlop Wintersport 4D's

Matt

[Avidfanofstuff]

Looks great mate.

[hsmithboy30]

Really like the look of your car. I am thinking of getting the same grill but with the chrome trim for my s line. How is the quality of the grill? did you get it off ebay?

[beavim]

Yes Mate, ebay.. This is the one I bought - came in from the US:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-2010-2011-SUPER-RARE-AUDi-A4-B8-MESH-SPORT-Grill-Grille-RS4-Look-BLK-BADGE-/181246351479?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AA4&hash=item2a331fd877

Delivery was spot on and everything was very well packed. It does come with a set of black rings, but I prefer the chrome ones so used the ones off my old grill.

Quality of the grill itself is good - came in matt black, which you could just fit, but it looks better sprayed IMO
Just be careful fitting the mount for the rings on it (if you decide to fit it) the screw fittings are a bit fragile!
Parking sensors are set back into the grill a bit - I've not had time to test how well they still work.

fitment wise it was mm perfect and slotted straight in where the old grill came out of, although the impact absorber (grey foam stuff behind the OEM grill) doesn't fit back in place now so I left it out.

[hsmithboy30]

thanks for the info. I will defo order this grill

[Boy]

I like your new grill too. Am I right to assume that it could only be fitted by removing the bumper? Di you consider one without the number plate mount, and put the plate elsewhere?

[beavim]

Yep, you'll need to take the bumper off to swap the grill over I'm afraid - not a hugely complicated job though and no specialist tools needed - a couple of hours would see it done. I'm far from being a mechanic and don't really meddle that much, but still did it in less than 2 hours.

The grills without a number plate mount, IMO, only really work when you don't need a number plate at all, there is not really anywhere else to put the plate that looks good. The other thing the number plate does do is to hide the crash bar that is lurking behind it. having a full mesh panel would mean you'd see that and the wiring, etc.

[Guest 2]

That actually look pretty good and surprised by the eBay special!

Any more mods planned?

[beavim]

Lol, it did turn out a bit better than expected, I think getting it sprayed made the difference between nice and Halfords!
Not really anything else planned, I generally go for the standard car, but as I needed a new grill anyway, why not. The remap is the only other thing I've done to it.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[b8sline]

Very nice, does look good.

[TamboB8]

Looks brilliant. Did it take long to arrive from the US?

Been considering a mesh/honeycomb replacement for a while but wanted to find a UK seller who wasnt charging an arm and a leg due to custom tax etc.

Would prefer the aluminium/chrome surround though. maybe get this one from the same seller.
22902

[andylef]

Matt, Really like what you've done here. A couple of quick questions, I note that you've go the front parking sensor pack and wondered (as I can't seem to see them) you either binned or remounted the two that I have sitting in my front grill? Also do you have any hints and tips for the bumper removal and fitting of the new mesh? Andy

[hsmithboy30]

Just one more question mate, did you have to pay any customs fees or taxes?

[beavim]

Not been online much so sorry for the delay answering some of these...

"Did it take long to arrive from the US?"
To be honest I can't remember exactly - I do remember thinking that the estimates given on ebay were pretty accurate

"but wanted to find a UK seller who wasnt charging an arm and a leg due to custom tax etc."
Yeah, I know what you mean - I actually bought this back in August and looked for a UK seller too, but didn't really see any back then that had a reasonable cost. I worked out that buying this one from the US and allowing for exchange rate, customs charges, etc it was still cheaper than a UK one - I had seen a numbe rof good reports from people about the seller too before hand so felt pretty confident in them.

"I note that you've go the front parking sensor (http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_nkw=parking+sensor) pack and wondered (as I can't seem to see them) you either binned or remounted the two that I have sitting in my front grill?"
There are sensors in there - the grill came with mounts that screw to the back of the mesh that allow the standard sensors to simple slot in - it does mean that the sensors are set back in the mesh and so won't have quite the same arch of coverage, but so far they seem to work in an acceptable manner to me - the odd false signal, but nothing bad.

"any hints and tips for the bumper removal and fitting of the new mesh?"
- allow 2 hours or so
- get the front up on axle stands (some screws are underneath the bumper)
- take the front wheels off (you need a bit of space in the wheel arch and you don't want keys in the ignition to turn the wheels when the fogs are disconnected, otherwise you'll have a need for VCDS to clear the errors)
- have an old blanket on the floor so the bumper doesn't get damaged when you're working on it
- Have a look on youtube as there are a number of videos on there
other than that, it's pretty straight forward.

"did you have to pay any customs fees or taxes?"
- Yes. but was only about £12 I think, so not much - overall still cheaper than a UK seller.

Think that covers it! let me know if not...

Cheers,
Matt

[Michealewk]

Was thinking of doing this myself is it hard without taking bumper off

[Boy]

I did this a week ago. Look first at the Utube videos and instructions on line for removing the bumper (which is essential).
Beware of some online instructions which fail to mention some of the fixings. I found it essential to remove the headlights
as well, to access some bolts fixing the wing to the bumper.
Otherwise, just a matter of time so long as you have the tools and patience.

[Michealewk]

is there much difference between s4 and modded s5 one

[beavim]

Hi boy, not sure why you need to remove the headlights, mine came off really easy without that, just 1 bolt each side under the wheel arch and a number of torq screw's around the trim and grill.
Bumper off though is essential to get at the grill retaining screws.

Not sure about the s5 grill differences, I've not looked at those

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Boy]

I think that one at least of the captive nuts had been replaced with a bolt!
Having said that, even accessing the bolt head with the headlight in place
would have been awkward, and removing the headlights is easy.