2010 Audi S4 - LI Dual and 9500ix

[monkeyf15]

Finally finished - for now. The 9500ix has been installed for a while but I just swapped out the Escort DirectWire kit for a lower-profile one from Safe-n-Sound.com. I bought the LI a couple of months back and had been running it via a homemade switchbox and with the head wires running through the door jamb.

Last week I had to take the S in for its 5k service and paid the tech a few extra bucks to run the wires through the ECM box on the firewall. It's the best way to access the interior without any threat of water intrusion, and no cutting is required. However it's a bit tricky so figured I'd better get the expert to do so. This and some advice from the forum is the only outside help I needed.

My overriding factor in installation is I didn't want to have to drill anything. A call to my parts department taught me there aren't any good panels I can easily replace without spending big bucks. Therefore, my setup works like this - the 9500ix is hardwired to the fusebox with a separate alert LED, power LED, and mute switch. I kept the power LED hidden since I don't want a full time blue light. The alert LED is clipped behind a piece of trim above the steering column (left side). The mute switch is stuck to the left side of the column, out of view.







In the above picture the left LED (under tach) is the 9500 alert, the right LED (under speedo) is the LI alert lamp. The LI control box is 3M taped under the dash. The two front heads (rear to come soon) run behind the dash, out the ECM box, along the edge of the engine compartment and to the front grill.















Gotta love not needing a front plate. Gotta hate NC speeding laws. The power switch is connected to the headlight washer fuse via a remote switchbox. The remote fob is velcro'd under my armrest for quick access to turn on and off. The power switch stays on at all times but can be viewed by looking under the dash. I can enable/kill the LI simply by curling my finger under the armrest - no need to raise it and it stays completely out of view.



Finally, my piece de resistance is my custom wired alert lamp. Thanks to the forum members, I took a standard 3v green LED and wired it to a 270 ohm resistor. This was connected to the 12v power lead (downstream of the remote switch), and the negative end was connected to the radio mute lead of the LI. When an alert sounds the radio lead is grounded inside the LI control box. This in turn completes the green LED circuit and illuminates the lamp. No alert=no light=no annoying green light in the cockpit. Pretty slick, thanks for the advice. This LED is clipped to the right side of the trim above the steering column (see pic above), as a mirror image of the 9500 alert lamp.



I'm pretty happy with it now. Add-ons to come include LI read sensors, a custom made housing for the PA/JAM switch in the center console, and if I can verify the light switch is separate from the surrounding trim, dash mounted alert lamps and power switch. I hope you like it. Here are some gratuitous shots of my car from last fall.







My wife's car is the next project - although she doesn't know it yet...



Now - most important - I need to get it tested! Raleigh/Durham area anyone??

[jmccam]

Nice install!

[SoulSeeker]

Nice ride, whenever you get tired of your audi, send me a pm so I can pick it up, make sure all the payments have been made, I like your ix placement, perfect place to install.

[Stealth Stalker]

Ooops! I didn't look closely enough at those photos. In the frontal pics, it looked like the heads were behind one of the grille slats, which would be a MAJOR fail. Darn black heads on a black background. Now that I have my glasses on, I can see that it is clearly within the slats, and not obstructed by the grille. It looks great! Personally, I think I'd stick them out another half inch to an inch for good measure on off-axis shots, but they certainly look good where they are. I think you'll see excellent results with that! Very nice work!

[KOMO]

Awesome install, I'm hoping to get an RS6 when I move over seas. You gave me some great ideas for my current install though!

[chris98891]

beautiful install,l love how OEM everything looks, really impressed with your work!

[monkeyf15]

Personally, I think I'd stick them out another half inch to an inch for good measure on off-axis shots, but they certainly look good where they are. I think you'll see excellent results with that! Very nice work!

You're right, I'd like to do that. That was as far as they'd go out with the stock brackets and heads (old style heads, not the new slim ones even). Any suggestions on how to do that easily? Right now the back of the grill slats prevent them from coming any further forward.

Otherwise, glad everyone likes the install and the car - thanks for the compliments. I feel even better knowing I did 90% of the work myself. Like I said, the only professional help I needed was pulling through the firewall - mainly due to all the posts and info on this forum. Thanks to kpatz and charles charlie charles for advice on wiring the alert LED (in the LI subforum) - great advice and a really slick result I think. Also thanks to Stealth Stalker and the other 'pros' for their patient advice and responses.

[monkeyf15]

Nice ride, whenever you get tired of your audi, send me a pm so I can pick it up, make sure all the payments have been made, I like your ix placement, perfect place to install.

You got it bro! Once that guy with the 911 Turbo brings his by for me I'll give you ring... Thanks a lot

[Stealth Stalker]

I always kind of overlooked Audi's in the past, not knowing or thinking much about them. Heck, I'm not even a car guy, but I do love this car!

That's awesome how the heads fit so perfectly between those vertical grille slats! Almost makes you wonder if some auto designer at Audi might own an LI! It's especially perfect that it is wide enough for the heads, but narrow enough to catch the mounting tabs behind the grille for security. It's just unfortunate that it leaves the head back like that. Unless you move the tabs out in front of the grille with the rest of the head, I think you're pretty limited with your options. However, one option would be to move the heads up two rows, to the row above the S4 emblem. I think that would be better placement overall. Better coverage of your side mirrors (which are obviously quite reflective) and roofline, as well as clearing the line of sight for your heads from hilltop shots. Right now, if a cop shoots you as you crest a hilltop (one of their favourite tricks), the bumper is going to have your heads obscured. They would also be even better hidden when not silhouetted against that grey trim. That's what I'd try. The performance would be just as good as the current location, but with the added benefits of a better field of view.

[monkeyf15]

I'm a big fan of Audis myself (as well as a big car guy) and recommend them to everyone. They had a bad rep for reliability about 5-10 years ago but have made a huge turnaround. One of my favorite aspects of them is that they are a little more obscure and less common. As I think you may know, BMW's are extremely popular with military personnel. My last car was a 330i and one of the primary reasons I moved back to Audi was that every other car I saw at work was a 3 series. I just like to have something a little different. And, of course, the performance of the S cars is incredible. The only downside is because of their obscurity they don't really hold value well when it comes time to sell but it's a price to pay I suppose.

That sounds like a good plan to move the heads. Since I have them screwed in to a piece of trim behind the grill, I'll find some sheet metal extenders to bring them up a little higher and hopefully improve the coverage like you recommend. I just wish I could test them - checking the regional forums shows there's no one around my area (Raleigh/Durham is the biggest metro - I'm about 1 hour east). Until then I'll hope for the best. I've at least ops checked using the TV remote and digital camera trick.