RBeam6

Thought I'd post this for anyone that might be contemplating something similar.

Main thing on my to do list after getting the car (came with the 18" sport package that's no longer offered) was getting some wheels that were a little bigger and had a more aggressive look. I liked the 5 dual spoke design Audi had on some of the S5s but unfortunately they won't fit on our cars so went with a Hartmann set based on the same design.

Loved the wheels but hadn't taken into consideration how much more revealing of the underlying brake pieces they would be with their more open design. Since most of the Audi OEM wheels hide that junk they obviously put zero effort into making it look nice.

Work got busy and car projects put on hold until I got the ecu flash a month or so ago and since then I've been on a bit of a tear trying to 'finish' the car. Final pieces of the puzzle (for now at least) were getting the calipers and rotors more presentable looking and black exhaust tips. Thought about getting one of the BBKs but I'd already dropped more cash than I'd planned on upgrades when I decided to go with the challenge suspension and the only real performance benefits of those kits are on the track (where my car will never be) where fade is an issue I just couldn't rationalize (and I'm pretty good at rationalizing) the expense just for cosmetics and improved pedal feel.

I had a bunch of vinyl wrap left over from what I ordered to black out the chrome trim on the car. That stuff is great for trying things out since it doesn't use any actual adhesive and just peals right off when you're done. It's also surprisingly heat resistant. I tested it out by wrapping an old passenger peg from one of my motorcycles and baking it in an oven at 550. It doesn't melt or bubble off like you might think .... just shrinks and becomes brittle.

So I played around with it for a while and found a look I liked. Black gloss on the exhaust tips and a two tone on the calipers with the main body in matte black and the little plate in the middle gloss. Also knew I wanted to have the the non-contact areas of the rotors done in a matte black so they'd more or less disappear and not show the inevitable brake grunge so much.

Then came the hard part .... finding someone to do it for me! I have a short and very steep driveway with no garage so no good place to do anything fancy. I was more than willing to throw a little money at getting it done right but none of the shops I called had any interest in doing the work. Until .... Anthony and his guys at Premo Auto Body came to the rescue. They all seem to be real car guys and, not only did it not require any arm bending to get them to do it, really seem to like doing these little custom jobs.

And I think they flat out rocked it. If you're still with me after the lengthy prologue .... some pictures. Couple of 'befores' and 'afters'. Exhaust up next.

RBeam6

(best read from first, chronological, post to last)

So it does pretty much exactly what I want. The brakes and rotors don't draw attention to themselves but if you do look at them have a nice understated look.

For some reason it seems (to my eyes at least) to make the car look a little longer. Maybe the with less going on in the wheels it reduces the visual 'weight' of them and that has something to do with it .. who knows. It's more noticeable with bigger versions of these pictures but these are at the limit for what the forums allow in posts.

RBeam6

(best read from first, chronological, post to last)

I don't actually hate the chrome exhaust but mine were already starting to pit a little and didn't like the fact that the bottoms would start getting black so soon after a wash. Plus, I think the rear of the car is the least interesting angle and the a$$ looks a little dumpy. With my dark paint and the lower black valance I had a feeling that taking the shiny bits away from the bottom would visually help to minimize the height of the rear and, to me at least, seems to have done the trick.

I would have just bought the tips from Audi (or anyone else) but I couldn't find any listed for the 3.0T exhaust ... just the 2.0. So I had the guys at Premo do them in a gloss black ceramic and think it turned out great.

keithl

Me likey!! Especially since I am looking at same wheels. Did you paint the brakes or they did all the painting for you?

fEArmE

Looking very good!! What vinyl wrap you used to black out the chrome trim? did you do the front grille as well?

RBeam6

Hey, so have you decided to definitely go with the Hartmanns?

I had them do the whole thing for me. It was just going to be a HUGE pain trying to find somewhere I could put the car up on stands to pull the brakes and rotors off and I really can't overstate how awesome Anthony and his guys were to work with. Dropped it off on Friday morning and they had it ready for me that evening.

Those sized for the forums pictures really don't do justice to how much it improves the look of the car. The matte black on the edges and hubs of the rotors makes it look like the the silver contact surface just kind of floats behind the wheels.

RBeam6

I bought two rolls (one gloss one matte) of this stuff .. the 3" wide rolls.
http://shadowlinetrim.com/

Was almost sure I'd be going matte but it was cheap and didn't want to have to wait for a second order if I changed my mind. Think he just gets the big rolls of the high quality stuff they use for full body wraps cut down to the smaller sizes.

Did the window trim and grill with the matte. It's kind of a pain in the *** but couldn't get anyone local to do it for me and since it's not an adhesive you can keep fiddling with it til it looks right. Doing the grill was a nightmare. The vinyl is pretty flexible but stretching it around the corners and working it to get all the wrinkles and bubbles out probably took a couple of years off my life. On close inspection it has some issues (no one notices it until I actually point them out) and I'll probably redo at some point. If I do I'll find somewhere I can get a piece big enough to cover the whole grill then cut out the middle and work from there.

I actually wasn't sure I wanted to do the grill frame. I knew I hated the chrome trim around the windows against my dark paint but never disliked the chrome around the grill. But I ended up really liking the change. I think when you don't have the chrome drawing your eyes to it the other features of the front fascia stand out more and make it look a lot more aggressive.

keithl

I am 95% sure. The only other real contender right now are the Lexani Lust, but on an Ice Silver A6 I am afraid they will make the car look a tad ghetto.
I am also considering swapping out the OEM brake pads and going either with Akebono Euro Ceramics or maybe EBC Redstuff. Not a huge fan of a lot of brake dust, been there, done that and hated it, that is a plus for the Lexani Lust wheels as they would probably hide all the dust.

Seems my car missed the boat and now is due end of August. Let's hopes it gets on next boat ;-) since I am itching badly, I am not good at this waiting.

RBeam6

Ugh, that sux on the delay. Don't know how you guys that special order do it. There are a couple of small things I'd have different on mine if I could (I lust for the dark headliner) but my head would explode waiting for this cool a toy for more than a few days. I hadn't even planned to buy a new car when I got this one. Went by the dealership just to say hey to a buddy on a Friday. He let me take it home that night and I bought it the next day making it my biggest impulse buy in a life full of pretty big impulse buys.

I have the regular pads in my brakes but the dust isn't as big a deal with these wheels in that a) the anthracite doesn't show it nearly as bad as the all hyper silver Audi wheels did and b) the 'openness' of the design that makes the (previously, on mine) ugly brake parts more visible also makes them easy to clean. I picked up one of those mitts that looks like a shaggy green muppet hand at Autozone and it takes less than a minute per wheel to get them pretty much spotless when I'm washing the rest of the car.

joseaudi

I liked the 5 dual spoke design Audi had on some of the S5s but unfortunately they won't fit on our cars so went with a Hartmann set based on the same design.

To OP,
Not true i have stock s5 rims on my car. See my profile pics and album. Just needed a 3 mm spacer to clear the large front brakes. Then after some wear of the front brake my dealer removed the spacers. Like the Hartmann possibly the offset is more aggressive than stock a6 wheels so it goes right to the edge of the car.