It's no secret that the Audi A4 has been the big Euro crossover car for many of our ex-import comrades. It seems to have the style and presence to tempt them out of their Hondas and into something more grown-up. Twenty-three year-old Peter Chaney is one such convert, who'd been building a Honda before his old babysitter reversed into it and undid all his work. He was building a European-spec Type R replica but was unable to replace all the parts so ended up selling the Honda and buying this '04 A4 1.8T - a huge step in the right direction.
With his previous history, Peter was obviously going to modify the Audi. "I planned on a chip and lowering," he laughed, "but 20 grand later I think I'm finished. I wanted to create a BAMF, and now I'm done," he said proudly. "The only thing left is to go widebody or a color change, but I won't do that because it's a lease!"
The first mod was a Neuspeed chip. This lasted until the car got a K04 big turbo upgrade from Supreme Power Parts. The same company also provided the FMIC, bigger injectors, ported manifold and all the parts necessary to get the car running right, including a GIAC chip. The parts were fitted at SPP where Peter helped out. "I actually got to wrench on my own car. I fitted the intercooler myself, and later my roommate Brandon Mallough and I installed the exhaust, brakes and suspension in the street outside our house."
The Bilstein shocks and Neuspeed springs were the second mod on this car and remain in place. They originally accompanied a set of DPE wheels, but these were sold and replaced with iForged rims. More recently, Peter spotted an Audi Avant with a set of 19x9" SSR Professor wheels. "I always loved those wheels coming from a Honda background," he told us. "So I told the Audi owner I wanted a set like them and it turns out he was selling his. So I bought them. Thankfully they fit over the brakes, which was the only issue."
The front brakes are a conversion from ECS Tuning. They use the company's own 14.1" drilled rotors with six-piston calipers from a Porsche Cayenne. The kit is further supplied with front brake lines and OEM Porsche pads as well.
In between wheel swaps the bodywork got some attention from Mr Chaney. He started with a Kerscher front bumper and carbon splitter. "The splitter protrudes and makes the car a pain in the ass to drive sometimes," he told us. "It's my daily driver so I have to take it easy, and I don't park into concrete blocks any more."
When Peter bought the car it already had the S4 trunk spoiler, so he matched it with the S4's lower door blades as well. These were left black, but the lower plastic trim around the car was color-matched to make it look lower and sleeker. Mob Works in Orange, CA did the work.
A little while later Peter bought an Oettinger rear bumper and side skirts. "I was too lazy to get the bumper painted, and eventually sold it, but I liked the skirts and had them fitted," he told us. The result makes the rear of the car look slightly unfinished, or does it make the sides rather too fussy? We can't really decide but it's perhaps the only flaw we could find with the car.
Around this time, a carbon hood was added. He bought it from a friend in Europrojektz - his car team. However, he was later approached by DTM Karbon and offered a new boser-style carbon hood "that sets the car off nicely," commented Peter.
Below the new hood is a set of E-code headlamps. They don't have the orange indicators or reflector units like US lamps and add city lights so they're a popular mod. At the rear Peter installed LED tail lights. "I got them from a friend and don't know who makes them. They're simply plug 'n play but have thrown a code, so I need to get a resistor to put out the light out on the dash," he told us.
Talking of codes, the Recaro SRD seats also upset the sensors and disabled the airbag system, but Peter was able to get a resistor from his local Audi dealer that connects into the wiring and has extinguished the light.
A Pioneer nav head unit was installed at the same time as the seats. The trunk install came later and as one big purchase. He knew what he wanted, how much it would cost, and had sponsorship from Lightning Audio to soften the blow. So he took the car to friends at J&G Customs in Fountain Valley, CA. They completed the work in just four days in time for the New Dimensions show last year.
The idea was to incorporate Pete's love for skateboarding into the system. Originally just a board rack was on the drawing board, but this morphed into the current solution - a single board that's motorized. It lowers down at the touch of a button and has two screens in it, as well as 3.5" Lightning Audio component speakers. Along with the head unit, these screens display signals from the PS2 mounted in the trunk and players use the wireless controllers so they can play from any position they choose.
Inside the Audi you'll find 6.5" Lightning components in all four doors, while the company's subs provide the back drop in the trunk. In front of them is a pair of Lightning amps - a four-channel powers the components while a mono amp drives the two subs. The sponsor also provided cabling and a capacitor to ensure the system works to full effect.
Having rushed to finish the system in time for the ND show, Peter hurried to get up there but got a puncture en route. The motor also dropped into limp mode and he lost all boost. Pulling over, the car restarted and was fine for the rest of the journey but a straw bale he'd hit in the road earlier had dislodged the front bumper. Despite all these setbacks, the car took second place in its class but later overheated on the journey home. All part of the adventure of owning and showing a modified car!
Future plans? A pair of Schroth harnesses was on order for our photo shoot but arrived a week late. Otherwise, he intends to add a carbon steering wheel, shifter and dash trim. "I might fit a bigger turbo as well but other than that I'm done with this project.It's time to move on to the next," he told us. So will he sell it? There's a possibility he'll let go of it, or maybe he'll keep it and get another Honda. "I'd love to do a Mk3 or Mk4 GTI but Hondas are so much cheaper to do," he said, by way of explanation. Obviously we're not buying into this theory and chastised him for disloyalty but then again we're really not sure he's done with the Audi yet. Only time will tell
Tech SpecPeter ChaneyLocation: Irvine, CA
Occupation: Administrator, photographer
2004 Audi A4 1.8TEngine: 1.8 liter four cylinder 20v turbo with K04 turbo upgrade, Racetec front-mount intercooler, ported manifold, GIAC 1.5bar chip, 360cc injectors, billet bypass valve, Neuspeed exhaust, Rogue Engineering pulley, carbon fiber valve cover
Drivetrain: five-speed manual gearbox
Suspension: Bilstein dampers with adjustable perch, Neuspeed Sport springs
Brakes: 14.1" ECS cross-drilled/slotted rotors, six-piston Porsche Cayenne calipers, steel braided lines
Wheels & Tires: 19x9" SSR Professor SP1 wheels, 245/35-19 Falken GR FK-451 tires
Exterior: Kerscher front valance and carbon splitter, Rieger roof spoiler, Kamei grille, DTM Karbon carbon boser hood, S4 door blades and trunk spoiler, Oettinger skirts, Halogen E-code headlights, LED tail lights
Interior: Recaro SRD seats, Sportec pedals, Defi HUD
Audio/Visual: Pioneer AVIC-N1 head unit, Lightning Audio 6.5" components front and rear, 3.5" coaxial speakers in trunk, two 12" subs, 1farad capacitor, S2.500.4 amp, S2.1000.1D amp, power inverter and two 5.6" LCD screens in trunk, PlayStation 2 with wireless controllers in trunk, Nintendo NES in glovebox, color camera in front bumper, 1/0 gauge power and ground wires, custom trunk with motorized skateboard housing, 3.5" speakers and two screens
Thanks: My family, Kim & Duan Dao, John A4rce1, Peter Icon, Brandon M, Rawgie, Lance, Josh Skeetin, audizine.com, vip-culture.com, europrojektz.com, Eric at SPP, Ezekiel Clothing, DTM Karbon