Single Frame grill conversion...will this work?
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 97
Likes: 35
poor mans conversion
I did the poor man's conversion. I blacked out the lower part of the upper grille and the upper part of the lower grille, got some chrome molding and connected the upper and lower grille, then I painted between the new chrome "connectors" with matte black paint. The car is black. I think it looks pretty darn good for a total cost of about 30 dollars and a few hours of time. The front bumper already had stone chips so I didn't mind painting the matte black on it. Some people have used black vinyl which can be removed. It looks just like the white car pictured in the first post. 99% of the people who see it equate it with the newer model cars and really don't give it a second look.
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: VABeach/Falls Church VA
this thread got jacked..lol
but got any pics of your bumper mods?
I thought of doing something similar I bought some 20 in LED strips off ebay and I am going to tuck them under the headlights so they are hidden but you can see then when theyre on. I also considered buying a strip of matte black viynl to give the impression of a grill insert and then maybe the chrome edges to give it that single frame look. i just held off cause I didnt think it would look that good.
but, do you have any pics of what you did to yours?
I did the poor man's conversion. I blacked out the lower part of the upper grille and the upper part of the lower grille, got some chrome molding and connected the upper and lower grille, then I painted between the new chrome "connectors" with matte black paint. The car is black. I think it looks pretty darn good for a total cost of about 30 dollars and a few hours of time. The front bumper already had stone chips so I didn't mind painting the matte black on it. Some people have used black vinyl which can be removed. It looks just like the white car pictured in the first post. 99% of the people who see it equate it with the newer model cars and really don't give it a second look.
I thought of doing something similar I bought some 20 in LED strips off ebay and I am going to tuck them under the headlights so they are hidden but you can see then when theyre on. I also considered buying a strip of matte black viynl to give the impression of a grill insert and then maybe the chrome edges to give it that single frame look. i just held off cause I didnt think it would look that good.
but, do you have any pics of what you did to yours?
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 97
Likes: 35
pic
Here is a quick cell phone pic.
IMHO the original grill looks better but the mod looks newer. As I said, don't expect the world for 30 bucks, but when it's driving down the road or in someone's rear view mirror, it looks like a newer Audi
IMHO the original grill looks better but the mod looks newer. As I said, don't expect the world for 30 bucks, but when it's driving down the road or in someone's rear view mirror, it looks like a newer Audi
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 379
Likes: 8
I don't know how to say this without sounding rude but do you drive your car for your own enjoyment or are you trying to impress people with how new your car is? I'd never willingly make my car look worse just so that random strangers on the road would think it was newer.
Not saying, just saying...
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,831
Likes: 27
From: Vancouver, Canada
When I was considering A8 I was planing to paint that middle part in car color to get more of classic bumper look. Than I got 2005. Problem solved. 
I like that white one may be better than face lift.
I like that white one may be better than face lift.
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 138
Likes: 1
From: Southeastern Wisconsin
Tim1 with those plain wheels and that hack job on the chrome... it just looks bad. If you own an A8 attention to detail is a must. At least you should have made sure the chrome line looked seamless!! You should put it back it looks like a half*** hack job sorry
You can still save you A8!!
You can still save you A8!!
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
IMO, the 04-05 grill look way better than the single grill on the D3 A8 (same goes for the A6). This is because the single grill look was an major after-thought...the car was never designed to have the, now, signature Audi grill. So, it looks awkward. It isn't until Audi did full redesigns on their models that the single grill started looking good.
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Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2011
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Either way, not worth it and now you can't go back without spending about $1k.
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Estonia
Ive been looking everywhere and I haven't seen this covered anywhere on the internet so I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone had an idea if this would work.
I have a 2004 A8L and Id like to try to update the grill to the newer single frame.
first off, I am aware that 2006 and up conversions will require new headlights, hood, grill and lower grill fogs and inserts, and some wiring and will cost upwards of $5k. I am also aware that Hofele and Iltek offer 2 types of single frame bumpers, the Premier and the RS8 w/LEDs which are fiberglass bumpers that use the OEM single frame Grills and will cost about $4K installed.
I dont want to spend that much to do a single frame conversion and the hofele kits look a bit cheap but I had an idea that might work and I was wondering if anyone knows if this might work.
I have been looking at pictures online of the 2004 A8 W12 and comparing the Hood and Headlights with that of the 2004 Audi A8 4.2L.
it seems that the w12 hood looks very similar to that of the 4.2. The cut out for the headlights and the grill look very similar. I contacted my local Audi dealership and asked them about pricing and about the hood differences between an 04 w12 and a 04 4.2. The bumper alone would cost me about $900 unpainted and the Audi parts department is telling me that the hoods that are used in both the w12 and 4.2s are the same. this means the headlights and the bumpers should be interchangeable.
So....I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is a possibility that the 2004 w12 front bumper would fit on a 2004 audi A8 4.2L to Convert the grill to a single frame for a newer look?
anyone have any knowledge of fitment or heard of this working?
thank you for any info.
I have a 2004 A8L and Id like to try to update the grill to the newer single frame.
first off, I am aware that 2006 and up conversions will require new headlights, hood, grill and lower grill fogs and inserts, and some wiring and will cost upwards of $5k. I am also aware that Hofele and Iltek offer 2 types of single frame bumpers, the Premier and the RS8 w/LEDs which are fiberglass bumpers that use the OEM single frame Grills and will cost about $4K installed.
I dont want to spend that much to do a single frame conversion and the hofele kits look a bit cheap but I had an idea that might work and I was wondering if anyone knows if this might work.
I have been looking at pictures online of the 2004 A8 W12 and comparing the Hood and Headlights with that of the 2004 Audi A8 4.2L.
it seems that the w12 hood looks very similar to that of the 4.2. The cut out for the headlights and the grill look very similar. I contacted my local Audi dealership and asked them about pricing and about the hood differences between an 04 w12 and a 04 4.2. The bumper alone would cost me about $900 unpainted and the Audi parts department is telling me that the hoods that are used in both the w12 and 4.2s are the same. this means the headlights and the bumpers should be interchangeable.
So....I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is a possibility that the 2004 w12 front bumper would fit on a 2004 audi A8 4.2L to Convert the grill to a single frame for a newer look?
anyone have any knowledge of fitment or heard of this working?
thank you for any info.