I just finished upgrading the intake on my 96 2.8QM and I felt that I should share the knowledge with the rest of the Audi community.

Parts list for short intake

RF1047 from ajusa.com for $38.50 (K&N cone)
3" inside diameter rubber hose. roadraceengineering.com
4 .25" bolts from Home depot and 4 nuts to match.
Air filter flange/adapter Vibrant Performance Part # 1998 for "subaru"
Small cell foam tape/ 3M double sided body tape/ any air tight seal tape

For cool air intake add:
3" i.d. pipe for Honda civic 
3" i.d. rubber coupling 
1 70-90mm clamp
Silicone sealant


Tools:
Socket set
Drill/bits
Hands
Xacto knife
Scissors
Hack saw 
Screwdrivers

1. Remove the air filter box by taking off the big bolt that holds it in place on the left side of the engine bay. You will also have to disconnect 3 cables from the sensors. You will also want to take the space ship tubing off too. For it will be of no use once this is done.

2. Remove the sensor from the air filter box.

3. Detach the silver Mass Air Flow sensor tube from the intake hose. Unscrew the clasp.

4. Detach the intake hose from the engine. Unscrew the clasp.

5. Cut an 8" long section of Rubber hose and put it on to the engine intake. Then tighten down the clasp that was used for the old hose. The hose should be very secure.

6. Take the MAF off of the top section of the old air filter box.

7. Cover all mating surfaces of the air filter flange/adapter with adhesive tape of choice, objective here is to make sure there is as air tight seal as possible with the resources available.

8. Attach the Air filter flange/adapter to the inlet side of the MAF (where filter box once was) using 4 bolts & nuts to secure the two together. Tighten them evenly and then re-check them to make sure that they are all secure, as tightening one side may necessitate tightening of another fastener.

9. Attach the air filter to the Air filter flange using a 70-90mm clamp.

10. Attach the MAF to the end of your 3" inlet hose using another 70-90mm clamp.

11. Re-Attach the sensor connections. You will have an extra sensor or module in your parts pile. I zip tied mine up to the secondary firewall so that it is out of harms way. PLEASE take note of who goes to what before you get involved with the procedure.

17. Check it over, if everything looks good, if so then start the engine.

To transform this into a cool air intake you need to add another off the shelf ricer part... An inlet pipe with a 90* angle at one end (or as close to 90* as possible) a 4" long section of silicone or nitrile rubber hose with a 3" internal diameter.

This cheapo kit right here will do you nicely

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55945/ra_civic96-00cx_dx_lx_intake.jpg

and costs all of $12 on ebay. Just search for 96-00 Honda Civic DX LX Intake is the closest thing I found to what WYSIWYG donated to my cause. He wasn't really sure what the one he gave me was from... but he said it was from a Honda civic of some sort.

1. Rather than having the filter connecting to the flange you will have the curved end of the intake pipe. Use the provided rubber cuff/junction to attach the pipe to the flange/adapter. Use 70-90mm clamps to secure the pipe and flange.

2. The tube will need to be trimmed for length... a hacksaw does this in a matter of a few moments.

3. Any auxiliary vacuum hose or sensor holes will need plugging, I find that some silicone sealant and a piece of paper do nicely... insert paper over inner hole and procede to fill any bungs with silicone. 

4. Once the tube is trimmed to your desired length attach the filter to it with a 70-90mm clamp.

5. There are a couple of other filters that you may use in place of the K&N cone; akemoto makes an aluminum/cotton one with an internal velocity stack. HKS makes a very nice mushroom velocity stack with replaceable foam filter element. While the latter two are more expensive they also claim higher CFM ratings... More CFM is desirable.

6. The cool air intake may require the relocating of horn/s to make room for the pipe.

Warning: I of course have performed this modification to my A4, but that doesn't make me responsible for you doing it to yours. Remember if your car blows up, you made it blow up, by reading these words you exempt me of any and all implied or assumed responsibility in making sure your car doesn't blow up, that the sun shines tomorrow or that you remember righty is tighty and lefty is loosey in most cases where reverse threading is not used.