2nd round of Mods
 

Well finally got around to finalizing her with the last round of mods for a while. Got in a productive afternoon at one of the shops today. Not a mod but replaced the fuel filter today, pretty painless.

Installed a rear lip spoiler. I've been on the fence for a while with my 05 about one but never got pulled the trigger. I found one that I like because it was very tapered at the ends and I think matches the body lines. It was so cheap and came pre-painted so I had to try it. I could always remove it without a much of a loss. Will see how I like it but I think it looks good.

Converted the fog lights to HID. Very simple to do. The 09 uses a H11 bulb and the HID kit used the same plug so I did not have to slice any wires. I did have to push the wires out and cross them for the correct connection but other than that, plug and play. Also no error lights.

Got the sub installed. purchased a new JL Audi thin 12" TW3 sub and box. The box is only a little over 5 inches thick. Mounted it in the trunk with the woofer firing out of the ski sack hole. Mounted the LC2 line level adapter and Alpine amp under the deck lid. Had a facia built to cover it up and I think it came out well. Sounds almost as nice as the W3V3 but it's not fair to compare it without the new one being broken in. I really have not pushed it. I can just tell it will sound as good.

Let me tell you with the sub, the B&O is just plain amazing. I'm not going to win any SPL contest but it really is a great sounding system. I can tell a huge difference in detail in a lot of the songs vs the Bose. There is just more highs that you never noticed with the Bose but its there with the B&O. Also the lows have better sound quality. It just produced frequencies real low that I think the Bose does not.

Here are some pics.

For the rear seat passengers, a new back massager!

PS, diggin' the spoiler- eBay? Amazon?

ebay:http://www.ebay.com/itm/271519737011?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=570353179083&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the paint.

That's a deal at that $$

I know, it just doesn't seem right. We will see how it handles the real world.

Good stuff, could you not get the sub to fit in the factory sub location? How big of an amp are you running with it? Additionally do your fogs come on with you unlock/lock the doors? that was my apprehension with my HID fogs...and hence why I removed them.

Nice work thus far and all very tasteful!

I had HID fog lights on my old A4 and they would come on just fine when I hit unlock. I never tested to see if they were any dimmer then when the engine was running but they never seemed dimmer.

The factory sub is an infinite baffle so I went the rout that I took. I am running an Alpine mono amp rated at 500 watts RMS at 2 ohms. Plenty enough power but acoustic suspension boxes need good power.

No I am no running the convenience light feature of the fogs. Tried to like it on my 05 but turned it off and don't use it on my 09. It would take a few seconds to get full brightness like a CFL so depends on how long you need them on.

Thanks, I've done mods that only aficionados would appreciate but not the casual observer.

Its not so much that they get dim, but with the car not running the current draw on the battery could negatively impact the life of the battery.

Ah...makes sense regarding the sub. Funny I like the convenience light feature and so does the wife...LOL

I'm sure it does, but HID's only need a lot of power at start up, i believe they draw less then a halogen bulb once warmed up. I had my A4 for 11 years, HID fog lights for at least 9 of those all on the same battery never a long start or any other hiccup. D3 are much more sensitive to battery fluctuations though.

+1 on the current draw. Most HID kits uses a 35 watts and a regular halogen bulb uses that may wattss so there would be no adverse battery effects. You could decrease your HID bulb life by a slight amount with a lot of on/off cycles. Since the bulbs are so cheap, I would not sweat it.

Yes TSHong! That spoiler looks really good.....

Thomas: Do you have the Bose system or B&O in the new car? I have to say that my B&O system in the S8 needs more bass. When I did a similar mod to my D2 S8 with the Bose system, that system rocked!

Bass is funny stuff. Distortion at low frequencies is usually perceived as more bass, not distortion. When McIntosh Labs came out with their low-distortion bass driver, some people complained that it was lacking bass. Spectrum analysis showed a flat response. On recordings that had distorted bass like most rock recordings, the bass was fine. It was when program material did not include an amplified bass guitar for example, was when when the bass was perceived as less than ideal.

I can tell you that the perceived sound and bass from my wife's 2010 Q5 B&O stereo is so much better than the "bright" sound in my S8.

Just ordered my trunk spoiler today, great price. We will see if they can match metallic. Thanks for the link.

Good insight Paul...its worthwhile considering the sub upgrade that Thomas has, although I'd want to replace the OEM sub and have it look as seamless.

Agreed. You actually do get something for your money with B&O.

The Bose system is OK but there is nothing there to brag about. The B&O is another thing altogether.

My next car must have two things. Adaptive cruise and B&O.

Yep, same here. Also ordered a set of trunk rings (emblem). The PO of my sled removed all emblems off of the trunk.

Paul, I have the B&O with my new to me D3. Let me tell you, when you add a good sub, you will be amazed by the whole B&O system. The B&O does have some clean mid bass but nothing with impact. I just can't explain it unless you hear the difference. If someone is happy with the B&O sub, there is no reason to change it. For me, I've had a sub for so long so my ears cannot handle the lack of low end with any factory system. An infinite baffle sub just cannot produce high volume of deep , rich, impact-full bass.

Also take a look at the JL Audio Power Wedge sealed box. It is only a little more than 5 inches thick. Takes very little trunk space for a sub.

It is crazy but the paint match was very good for any price. Paint was smooth and factory like. You will be pleasantly surprise.