S4Per

This one was about 6 months in the making…

After having closed the deal on our lightly used 2018 I started looking around for mods. One thing I didn't love about the one we found is that it had the walnut trim, not the dark oak. I'm not a huge fan of the walnut finish (though will admit it's a lot better in person as it's darker than what I thought it'd be), so I hunted for a carbon fiber alternative. Didn't take long to learn that the SQ7 comes with it, but there didn't seem to be many affordable options to get some stateside.

Though I didn't see an option for the Q7 on their website, I reached out to Ocarbon (oCarbon - carbon fiber products) and started a dialog with Matt (owner, great guy). After a few emails back and forth, we agreed that while they hadn't done trim for the 7 before, he'd go ahead and source some stock trim and make up a set for me. It took a while to source the right stuff from Germany, and then just a bit more to complete his work. After having the box sitting in my garage for the last month or so, it was finally time for me to unbox and install this past week.

Net/net: love it! Awesome craftsmanship, easy install, and a much better fit for our Glacier white metallic with black optics IMO. Reach out to Matt via email (info@ocarbon.com) if you're interested in pursuing a set for yourself. I highly recommend the product and it was great working with Matt as he's super good with communicating and always kept me up to date re progress and sent in-progress pics, too.

Here some pics after they finished and prior to sending out:









Time for me to do my part…

(Tangent: yes, the S6 is sitting on MDF boards fresh from getting her winter wheels on (need those as the jack doesn't clear otherwise since it's lowered with links and Vagcom)).

Parts looking awesome on my end, too…










For context, the old trim:



Easiest ones: the door trim. Just pry out starting at the skinny end and slowly work yourself to the thicker end. The far end has a hook on the back side so just keep on lifting from the skinny side.





Next, the light switch surround. For this, you have to take off the fuse panel cover (just pry it out with trim removal tool) and then remove the knee bolster (3 bolts). I'm happy to report that the knee bolster is WAY easier to remove than on my S6 where even the manual states something to the effect of "use considerable force when pulling down". You have to give it a bit of muscle, but not bad at all. Note, be careful as the connector for the small speaker that's in the bolster is not very long and you may damage it if you pull too hard. For me - I pulled too hard and it thankfully just popped out without damage

First, remove this little cover. I just pulled and wriggled it free:


Then the aforementioned knee bolster removal. These, and all other bolts in this install, are all 8mm.



There's one bolt that keeps the assembly / trim in place:




Once free, you have to remove the light switch assembly. Just gently pull up on the 3 tabs across the top and push the switch back.



Snap the new trim in and reassemble. LEAVE THE KNEE BOLSTER OFF for now as you need to access a bolt that it hides in order to remove the long piece.

Speaking of which: the long piece. Remove one bolt on the left end, and two that you can easily get to after opening the glove box.



Again, snap out the climate control unit in the same way you did the light switch (tabs up top). Snap in new trim and reassemble. You can now put the knee bolster back on.

The hardest part (and it's still very easy) is replacing the trim on the center console.

First, remove the one bolt that holds it in:


Next, remove the shift lever. Just pull up on the lever cover…it'll come out. Then remove the one bolt, and I started gently pulling it up which helped expose the right spot to put in a thinner trim removal tool and pry out the shift boot.



I then used the original trim removal tool and gently started prying up. I first got it to move by prying in the back right (back = back of car). As it lifted, it became obvious that the various wiring connectors were going to be in the way so I had to remove those. There are a couple of clips that guide the wiring: a small screwdriver to pry those off did the trick.

I didn't have to remove them all (could leave the lighter and on other before it was accessible enough to remove the ~10 small silver torx screws that hold on the trim. I made sure to protect everything against scratches with a large microfiber towel.

Wiring guides underneath center console:


Center console propped on its side, silver screws are what you need to remove (I think it's T10 or 15). I think I circled 'em all..



Once removed, the piece will easily come loose. Screw in the new piece, and reassemble.

The finished product…
















That's it, that's all! I love the change, and again great craftsmanship from Matt @ Ocarbon. I can definitely recommend Matt and his company!

Corgiman

Audirings4

Allroading17

This should become a sticky. EXCELLENT write up and kudos to you for doing it!

Corgiman

S4Per

Thanks! ..and I agree it'd be a nice add.

I like carbon fiber That said - not sure I'd want to pay the OEM premium I'd guess it to be either.

Cheers!

Agree that if this one would've come with the oak (again - we bought it used), I would've just kept that.