yogs

Awesome! Looking forward to the final installation.

s5ecific

Today I went ahead and installed the grille. Was not too difficult with the right tools. It would have taken me 2-3 hours if I had not chosen to retrofit the RS5 OE crash bar cover and just painted the crash bar. Doing this added another 2 hrs to the job, more on that below.
For the most past I followed the instructions in this thread LINK.

I also watched this video and kept referencing back to it throughout the process


Side note: I ordered the below linked trim removal kit. It was a huge help with bumper removal as well as the grille removal from bumper.


Additional notes re installation:
- Bumper is very easy to remove. Make sure you have padding on the ground ready for it to drop
- There are many screws, below is how I kept track and made sure I did not forget / lose any



- Most difficult part of the process was the removal of the lower grille. I managed to get one of the side anchor tabs out and then without any tool if you just pull away from the grille at an angle the rest of them pop out just like in the video



- Audi rings from your OE grille will fit this grille. The rings that come with the grille are a bit bulky so I was happy to use my existing rings. Side note: removing the rings from the OE grille was tricky and I snapped several clips. Take your time with this.



- Another interesting tidbit, the screw holes on the OE camera bracket behind the grille seem to be compatible with the ones on the aftermarket RS grille. I was not able to test as I had already glued on the 3D printed grille so I cannot confirm if it will actually fit in place.



- I decided to retrofit the OE RS5 crash bar cover instead of painting the crash bar. This turned out to be a tedious task as it required precise cuts. I really like the end result as the matte black of the cover contrasts the gloss black grille very nicely. I was super excited when I had realized that the pattern on the crash bar cover matched up nicely with the grille. Below are some pics of the cuts I had to make should you decide to go this way. Audi Part number for the cover is 8W6-807-217-A-9B9 and it cost me $50 USD from Audi USA Parts.













- I did have to cut a notch in the crash bar itself as the proximity sensors were pushing up against it. Could have possibly done without this but the notch was super small and the sensors fit much better.





- If you have the DAP package with the radars, you will need to have the radars re-calibrated by the dealer. I am taking my car in next Tuesday for a regular service check and will ask them to do this.









Background re Grille:
I wanted a grille that looked most like the OEM RS5 grille. There were a few out there but none had the front camera mount. I finally stumbled across one on AliExpress that had a camera mount and pulled the trigger. When it arrived I was disappointed to see that the mount looked horrendous. It stuck out the front of the grille a good 1.5 inches - a definite no go. I then set out on a mission to have someone design and 3D print a mount. I took the camera out from the grille, measured the angles to the best of my ability and created a vector sketch of what it should look like. I found a local designer who finished the design. The rest of the details, along with the 3D file can be found in the first post up above.

I purchased my grille from a store called Golfliath on AliExpress (LINK). it was $280 US shipped EMS (FedEx was more than the grille). It took about 4 weeks to arrive.

They do not seem to have the grille listed any more but if you message them I am sure they can get one for you. I dealt with a salesperson called Amy Lu. Important to note that there seem to be two versions of this single mesh grille. See earlier post re what you should look for so that it is compatible with the camera mount. I have also seen a few on eBay that are the same grille and should be compatible with the camera mount as long as the pattern below the Audi rings is the same as in my post earlier. To be safe, ask them to send you a close up photo of the logo area and so that you can see if it looks like below (needs to have a rectangle right below the middle of the logo).



Will get out one of these days for some better pics and post.

Nikon1

I installed the EMD version about 7 months ago and i’ve never had any issues with the sensors or camera — and I did not have to get anything realigned by my dealer. I don’t know if this is a difference between the EMD and the other grilles or not. My S5 is equipped with DAP.

Great write-up and beautiful pictures of your build — Congratulations and Happy Motoring!

— John

yogs

Thank you s5ecific! How are the parking sensors behaving, any false alerts? Also, any comments on camera, is it functioning as intended?

s5ecific

Just took it for a spin. Camera angle unfortunately is not 100% the same but imperfection is only noticeable in birdseye view. I suppose I can fiddle with it some more, will leave that for another day. Parking sensors are working perfectly fine so far.

Thanks for that info John, good to know. When I was in for the wheel swap last week I told the audi tech (who is also a good friend) that I would be installing the grille. He mentioned that the radars need to be calibrated every time they are moved. It is a quick check for the tech and is all done via laptop from what he said. I have had no faults come up nor have I tried DAP on the road since I installed the grille. It could very well be just fine. Will have him check it as the car will be in the shop for the 30KM service.

dafantom

Outstanding write-up! Thanks so much!

My installation, on a 'simple' 2018 A5 SB Premium Plus, with no DAP package or cameras, should be a piece of cake.

Don't know if I'll do the retrofit of the OE RS5 crash bar cover, but your instructions and tips are most encouraging!

JLoft

Thanks s5ecific! Your camera work prompted me to get my grill on order. So while I'm waiting......

Who has mounted a license plate? What did you do? (Yes, I want to spend more time driving than sitting at the courthouse explaining why I don't have a front plate).

I've got some fastening ideas, but without a grill in hand I don't have a way verify what might work. I want my plate to sit flush up against the grill. No thick mounting bracket or frame to stick out. I'll most likely have to attach the nuts that hold the plate directly to the grill.

Can someone make some measurements? What are the inner dimensions (the open part) of the two holes (small rectangular and larger hex)? What is the vertical and horizontal repeat? And how much space is behind the grill to the metal crash bar?

Thanks all.

s5ecific

Great to hear you have the grille on order - you will love it! I too have to run a front plate here in Ontario. I used RobO (@blinkerfluid) solve with three magnetic phone mounts. Initially I only had 2 but due to the crash bar cover I had to grip the plate fairly low and it was not as stable as I would like. I added the third recently (had to clip the grippers so they fit) and it has worked like a charm. I also run a wire keychain for added security. pic below:




Re space behind grille to crash bar, it is approximately 8-10mm. If you paint the crash bar you can use three regular magnetic mounts. Good luck!

JLoft

Thanks. I found the video. Nice. I really think I’d like a more permanent attachment. Taking a plate off here anytime is just asking to be stopped. As strong as those magnets are I wonder about massive ice and snow effects.

So to ask a favor..... can you measure the inside dimensions of the holes? And the dimensions of the repeat? I’m trying to see where the grill holes match up with the plate holes and what size fasteners I can use.

s5ecific

I see - I would still highly recommend the magnet option that I linked. It is low profile, easy to install and pretty sturdy. I have driven the car to 150kmh (94Mph) and through a touchless high-pressure car wash (few times) with no issues.

Re measurements, I just looked at my camera mount file. The inside dimensions of the honeycomb shape are 58mm wide x 19mm tall, and for the rectangle 35mm wide and 5.5mm tall. You can add another 2-3mm for the actual plastic frame all around. They repeat in a pretty consistent pattern around the plate mount area. Hope this helps.