Hey folks. It's been a loooong time since I've owned an Audi. I'm a solid Mercedes owner. I have 3 Mercedes, but decided these twin turbo V8s are kicking my assssssss at the pump might as well add an EV to my fleet. I figured I'd get rid of my 2015 Mercedes GL 550 for something electric. I was looking for something rather low cost and decent looking. I would have preferred the e-tron GT, but the interior was so disappointing in comparison to my Mercedes. I hate the look of most electric cars, and all Mercedes electrics look fugly! The Lucid was looking attractive until I read about all the issues, the last thing I want is an EV from an untested, could go out of business company. So, Audi was the next option.

I'm picking up a '24 Q8 e-tron premium plus and was hoping you all could answer a few questions for me.

1. Will the SQS wheels fit without issue? The wheels I want are in the photo below.
2. Can someone point me to the black grille where I can purchase it, preferably after market. And is it plug and play, no bumper removal required? I really hate this gradient colored silver grille.
3. How do I know if I have the headlights that can do the fancy high-beam trick where it blacks out cars when the high beam is on. I know I don't have laser lights, as I never saw that option. But I have no idea if I have the matrix lights which I assume are the ones I need. I know if I have the right lights I can have them programmed. My Mercedes have this feature activated and it's amazing. But being I haven't had an Audi in many many years I'm not sure how to identify if I have the correct lights to make this happen.

Thanks in advance!

Current Look:



Preferred Look

 

Try inputting the VIN at europrice.us to see if it is eligible for adaptive headlight activation.

 

1. This would depend on the year SQ5 and which specific wheels. Your Q8 e-tron is going to have wider wheels and also rated for a heavier battery laden vehicle.

2. Grilles, you have two options from Audi and no matter which grille you chose the bumper has to come off to replace it. Very doubtful there is anything aftermarket for a Q8 e-tron:

Website Link: Q8 e-tron Black Optic Grille <-Click Link for More Information

Website Link: Q8 S-Line, SQ8 e-tron Black Optic Grille <-Click Link for More Information

3. Your car will have the matrix headlights that are capable of being activated fully. All these e-tron models come with matrix headlights. Some come with standard matrix and some come with digital matrix which has additional features. Both can be activated:

Website Link: e-tron, Q8 e-tron, SQ8 e-tron 4K Matrix LED Activation <-Click Link for More Information

If you aren't sure which headlights your car has now you can email over a VIN to check: contact@europrice.us

Cheers,

 

To get the headlight programming you need your car to have the "Matrix Design LED Headlights". "Design" is the key word.

 

Here is what my original order guide says for a 2-24 Q8:PREMIUMPLUS

INCLUDES PREMIUM FEATURES IN ADDITION TO:

Aluminum door sills inlays, illuminated front & rear

Animation for headlights and taillights

Bang & Olufsen® sound system with 3D sound

Dual pane acoustic glass for side door windows

Glass-optic controls in black with additional Alu-optic interior elements

Heated rear seats

LED interior lighting package

Matrix-design LED headlights

Power lumbar for front passenger seat

Top view camera system with Virtual 360° view

Traffic sign recognition

Ventilated front seats

Wireless phone charging pad


PRESTIGE

INCLUDES PREMIUM PLUS FEATURES IN ADDITION TO:

Digital Matrix-design LED headlights

Front passenger seat memory

Head-up display

Individual contour massaging front seats

Intersection assist

Leather trimmed dash, armrests, and center console

LED interior lighting plus package

Manual sunshades for rear doors

Park assist plus

Power soft-closing doors

Singleframe projector lighting

Valcona/Milano leather seats
Hope that helps!

 

All e-tron, Q8 e-tron and SQ8 e-tron in North America have matrix capable headlights.

Audi never made anything but matrix headlights for these models. So every e-tron, Q8 e-tron and SQ8 e-tron in the US or Canada can have the full matrix functionality activated!

The only nuance is that some of these models have standard matrix and some have digital matrix. Both types can be fully activated. If you aren't sure what your e-tron, Q8 e-tron or SQ8 e-tron has for matrix headlights just shoot over an email with your VIN to: contact@europrice.us

Cheers,

 

Wow, I must have set my Audi World to send me weekly digests instead of immediate emails on replys.

Super helpful folks thank you.

So, I do have the matrix-design headlights. I've scheduled a coding session to activate them.

Im also swapping the wheels to s23-inch SQ8 replica wheels. Specifically 23x10 with 295/35/23 tires. Because as of now, my E-Tron looks like a rental car.

Here's an AI adapted photo of the wheels and look. I was going to black out the grille but I realized the black trim around the grille isn't black it's a very dark gray and I'm unwilling to risk scuffing and paining all of that.

 

I have a 2019 Prestige with the 21" wheels (the bigger ones, I think they are 21's). We got a second 2021 Premium with the smaller wheels (20's? 19's? I can't remember).

I was surprised that the 2021 feels noticeably quicker and seems to handle better. Maybe there were other changes, but I attributed it to the smaller wheels. I think it gets slightly better range as well, but that's hard to say for sure, as it has a different driver and way different route profile.

The big wheel version I drive still feels plenty quick and handles nicely, so not saying don't do it. Just know there may be a bit of a trade off. Though maybe your aftermarket wheels will be lighter than the Audi ones...

Just FWIW.

 

big fat tires on EV will kill the range, so not optimal combo if you are going to be road tripping this car

 

I figure there may be a trade off. But I put wheels on all my cars. Road trips are infrequent.