When you buy a car, you certainly don’t get it from a dealership looking like this. (Not most anyways). To create a look like this, it takes passion, experience, expertise and enthusiasm to make a vision like this a reality. It took quite a bit of work to transform the Audi A5 you see here into the car it is today, and is a testament to what you can do with the help of our Mod Experts like Mod Expert Blake.
This B8 Audi A5 has really made quite the transformation over the past few visits to ModAuto, yesterday being the last to really finish off the look of the car. In order to better appreciate all the changes, we’re going to walk through the install from start to finish – Mod Expert Blake has really gone out of his way to help the owner of this A5 turn his vision into reality.
As we said in our best mods for B8 / B8.5 Audi A5/S5 guide, wheels are the single most impactful mod you can make to the car visually as well as altering its performance.
The OEM wheels weren’t terrible by any means, but they don’t really have a ton of style. So those were the first to go. Mod Expert Blake recommended a set of HRE FF01 Wheels for Audi.
So yes, we had a new set of wheels ready to install… but we weren’t stopping there. Ohhhh no.
And of course, with another set of wheels, you’re likely to see the brakes a lot more, so why not take the opportunity to improve your stopping power as well?
To give the A5 stopping power and great looks to match, we fitted this A5 with an AP Racing Big Brake Kit for the Audi B8/B8.5 platform.
Boasting six piston calipers, a two piece disc, ultra high performance street brake pads and two piece front discs, these things will stop a friggin house.
As with any AP Racing product, especially at this pricepoint, the fit and finish is perfect, and this is some braking hardware you can be proud to show off and enjoy stopping the car with the kind of authority you never thought possible.
Let’s take a closer look at this beautiful kit.
With a 2-piece caliper design for maximum ridigity and a fixed radial mount for reduced pedal resistance, these AP Racing Big Brake Calipers are racetrack ready hardware you can use on the street every day.
The Cross-Drilled rotors and included Goodridge Braided Stainless Steel brake lines also contribute to maximum performance.
AP Racing’s calipers use a virtually fade-free Mintex Xtreme Motorsport pad compound, which offers linear response and quick release, LOW NOISE and they’re easier on discs than most current compounds on the market and have consistent coefficients of friction to well over 1300*F.
When you’re serious about your stopping power, look no further than AP Racing.
Here’s a look at the stock front discs.
Since we’re giving this car a whole new look, a RS Style Grille for B8 Audi A5 really makes a huge improvement.
Here’s a little preview of how the grille looks on the car.
Check out this side-by-side comparison of the stock front rotors versus the AP Racing Big Brake Kit.
From this angle, you can also see how much fatter the new AP Racing 2-Piece rotor is – all those vanes and wider exhaust vents mean that these discs cool much more quickly.
As Master Tech Dave installed these rotors, they looked every bit the engineering artwork they’re designed to be.
Here’s our first look at the whole assembly put together.
To match the front brakes, we upgraded the rear with performance brake pads, matching drilled and slotted performance rotors and painted the rear calipers a matching bright red.
Here’s how the rear brakes look sitting behind the new HRE FF01 Wheels for Audi in liquid silver finish.
To let this A5 breathe like it should, we fitted it with an AWE Tuning Touring Cat Back Exhaust for Audi A5 with dual polished tips.
AWE Tuning puts tons of hours into developing the exhaust systems of their cars and their time and effort has really paid off, as this system sounds great when you get on it yet is still refined enough that you can still enjoy your daily driver. The polished tips look fantastic and the etched AWE Tuning Logo is a nice touch.
Here’s how the AP Racing Calipers look set behind the new HRE Flow Form wheels.
Here’s how that new RS Grille for Audi A5 looks out in the open.
With the HRE FF01 Wheels mounted and the big brake kit installed along with the RS Grille, the car was off to a good start, but as you can see in these photos, one thing was sorely lacking.
A drop. All that wheelgap really soured what would be an otherwise awesome look.
Take a closer look so you can get a better idea of what we mean.
http://www.modbargains.com/awe-tuning-cat-back-exhaust-system-b8.5-a5-coupe-cabrio.htm
http://www.modbargains.com/awe-tuning-cat-back-exhaust-system-b8.5-a5-coupe-cabrio.htm
The H&R Springs for Audi give the car a drop of 1.0in up front and 1.0in at the rear, eliminating the wheelgap but not lowering the car enough that it’d be a problem.
Here’s how the rear springs look installed, and even after a few weeks of use, the bright painted calipers and drilled and slotted rear rotors still look great.
With the springs installed, the look of this A5 was finally complete.
With the car finished, all we had to do was re-install the wheels and take in the car’s finished look, at long last.
And man, what a sight for sore eyes. The car has really come together to create an A5 that stands apart from every other Audi you see cruising around LA/OC.
The 1.0in drop front and rear that the H&R Springs give the car has left it with the perfect stance, no excess wheelgap yet enough clearance that the car’s not “tucking”.
From the rear profile, the AWE Tuning Exhaust’s bright polished tips pair beautifully with the liquid silver finish of the HRE Flow Form FF01 Wheels.
Here’s a closeup of the HRE FF01s, wrapped in Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 tires.
The car’s profile is especially epic.
Want to know more about modding your B8 Audi A5 or S5? Need something installed? Talk to the Mod Experts likeBlake (x8011 for Blake), give us a call at 714-582-3330 to chat with our team of experts or stop by the ModAuto showroom in La Habra CA during business hours (8-5 M-Sat) and talk to our experts in person.
Story & Select Photos Nick Gregson
All Other Photos by Brett Swan