Audi A1 by mgpdoc ••

[mgpdoc]

So another update to show you, is about the mirrors on the A1. I have been running CF ones for some years now. The work done by that guy was not the best as it seems, since through time, the fabric lifted, and got some white marks, even though the car is kept in parking at all time when not driven. However I thought i'd do something different.

So here goes.

Gave it a quick wash to work on a clean car

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This new set came in handy for the job ahead

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Old setup

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Took everything apart

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Then it was cleaning time, as always

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Scrubbing with a toothpaste, wipe over and then compressed air. Then dress everything up with something to keep the plastics hydrated.

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Time to install these

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Real carbon kevlar in gloss finish

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Installed

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They change colours from yellow, to almost green, I am in love. Cheers guys

Mike

[mgpdoc]

Hello there, some more updates and rather major ones, to report on the daily car. It's been 7,5 years now of ownership and with gas prices going to where they are now, I am very glad I opted for a TDi back in the day.
That said, i wanted to, let's say treat the car a bit more than I usually do. So let's see how it went down.

Car was hiding from me, but I found it

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The plan was to clean areas that are hidden from regular everyday wash, which let's face it, the car gets more often than not. These areas are potential spots for rust to begin in the years to come, and also, it feels great, knowing the car is clean wherever it can be. If you can improve something, why not. That is my point of view.

So, the first plan was to remove the rear bumper and clean what's underneath it. Hadnt done this in a while, and I knew it would involve a lot of work, although some part of it had been washed when I cleaned the underbody. But that too, happened almost a year ago, so there would be dirt under there. Say no more, onto the pics.


Bumper removed and cleaned inside and out

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Here is the general overview

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Some close-ups from the dirt

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Various cleaning agents, snow foam, repeatedly and brushes of many kinds to agitate and get everywhere possible

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After cleaning what was there, I also removed the rear crash bar, for deeper cleaning, and also give the bar a lick of paint to prevent some surface rust

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While I was there, I noticed one of the snow foam cannons had some issues in the spray pattern. And cant blame it why.

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The other one was better

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However game them both some good baths in the US cleaner

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They came out great, and then gave them some lubrication like i always do to what i clean, most of the times.

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Some photos of the finished work

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I also applied some wax for protection after the cleaning.

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Really pleased with how it came out

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Installed the bumper back on, knowing it is clean on the underneath - priceless

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Weighed the car, not bad not bad.

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[mgpdoc]

Bought some detailing supplies, for a new project i had in hands, which I also buffed and polished.

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Check my other threads, for the Peugeot, or my instagram page, @mgpgarage for faster updates on those.

Now onto the A1, next on the list, was to do to it, what was in the rear bumper. So moving to the front end. And it was time to remove not only the front bumper, but also the front fenders (or wings). And it wasnt without good reason. But we will get to that later on.

So let's see the process of how it went.

First, remove the bumper

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Rear side of the bumper, never gets washed

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Not anymore

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Up in the air for better cleaning

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Some close ups of the dirt we were up against

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Snow Foaming and Apc with brushes to the rescue

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Some metal polish on the IC

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Here's how that came out

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Iintercooler looked fresh after the metal polish by hand, and the bar after a lick of paint

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Please with how that came out from this

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To this

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And then I made a template.

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For both fenders.

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We'll see why in the next post.

[mgpdoc]

Then, it was time to clean the arch liners.
Then remove them arch liners and clean under them.
Then remove the fenders, and clean under them.
And then, even more importantly, install fenders back on. But more on that later.

Onto the pics

State of them before

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Let's attack them

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Not entirely perfect but that is ok for now, you ll see why later.

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Let's remove some fenders then

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No how to here, not online, and dont have the workshop manual for this, so I figured it out as I went. Pretty straightforward, and I have already done that on my A4 to install RS4 fenders in the past.

Out it went

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These fell off

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Time for more cleaning then.

Crusty

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No going back now

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Clean everything although not visible

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From this

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To this

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The other side was no different, if anything it was worse

Behind this cover there is a surprise

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Surprise joined the chat

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After some amount of time, bolts were visible below the dirt

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And fender was removed

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Ok somewhat better now.

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[mgpdoc]

And here is another reason, we removed the front fenders, other than cleaning beneath them.

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Yeap, new front fenders / wings.

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Not only are they completely carbon fiber, so very light and gorgeous, at least imho, but also, +20mm wide and fit on the oem mounting points. More on that later.

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They are exceptional quality, couldnt be happier.

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Sure

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The molding was so good, even the little audi logo passed from one to another. Good job

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As for the weight, one fender was 0,371kg, and the other one 0,389

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In comparison, the oem ones are 1,4 to 1,5kg each. The amount of weight saved is not much as an absolute number due to the fenders being so small in this car. However, percentage-wise, it is quite impressive. Which is something to be expected with cf, and i have seen it in my A4s with the hood and trunk installed, in the past.

So onto installing these over the clean arches.

[mgpdoc]

Starting this I was a bit nervous given that every bolt on part is mostly a not bolt on part, and requires much work from the buyer. Especially on carbon fiber parts, it is kind of normal to be honest, that u need to put in some extra work for thos fine touches, like locks, pin holes, etc. But no, not in this case. They were 90-95ish % perfect. One pin hole for the bumper guide was smaller, and then some work was required for the bumper to fender gap. More on that later.

First of all , these were cleaned thoroughly and then waxed and sealed for storage, they are in perfect condition, and rolled with my fender roller. These are a keeper.

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Let's begin with the reassembly.

Despite having applier a lot of masking tape for protection here and there, i was still nervous about scratching something. I didnt though

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First time I saw it on, and i was stoked on how it looked

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I was excited to say the least

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Adjusted the gaps checked the door opened like it should and all

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Reinstalled the arches and threw on new mounting hardware to keep things fresh and neat

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Now, these fenders, are +20mm like i said. The arches, arent. There is no model in the A1 lineup that has this big arches, so no oem replacement for that, like i installed Rs4 ones in my blue A4 Audis. So, there is a small gap in the up top 12' o clock position, which doesnt in any way let the arch move or be loose it is just that some dirt might get from the road, up top. I will see how that goes, and if needed I might do something about it. Dont think it will be an issue, as I could even run the car with no plastic arches at all. But I'd like to keep them for now.

Onto the fender to bumper gap now, which needed some attention, again due to the fenders being wider.

If I install the parts in the existing holes, the fitment will be like this.

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Which could be an option, but it looks more like an overfender at that point, and not like a car that has flow. And it is a shame to look like that when the fenders are so much of a good work, honestly. So, to keep things clean, I drille some different holes, and installed new pins, and this is the end result i came up with.

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Yes, that is acceptable, I am happy with that

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This is how it looked with the bumper installed back on the car

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Remember the template we made a while back ?

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Time to use them

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Add some new badges

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And boom

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Then it was time to use some of this, for protection

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Very please with that

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Hope you guys like that as well.

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Cheers to all

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[Nuts]

Wow, that looks clean and neat!! Love It!!

[mgpdoc]

Wow, that looks clean and neat!! Love It!!

Thank you sir, appreciate it.

Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

So then I installed my group B style wheels to see how they fit the theme.

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Needless to say i loved them

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Installed some red custom caps this time

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[mgpdoc]

Another thing I had been wanting, a small one, but very special to me, is a colour matching carbon fiber part for my car keys so as to easily tell them apart from one another.

Sourced these

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Fitment is perfect, and bought two in red and two in carbon fiber, to have a set with my other 2 carbon kevlar ones (dont mind me, i just want one extra spare from everything lmao)

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Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

Another thing on the list, was the rear seat delete kit, I had in order for some time. I opted for carbon fiber bar, and black net, with red stitching.
It finally arrived, and it was looking quality.

Here are some pics, prior to installing.

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This car air freshener brought max power mag vibes

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Installation hardware

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[mgpdoc]

Started with this

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Removed the cargo net - an actual Vw golf mkv factory option

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Didnt like the way this was standing out, nor how easy it is for it to damage something (either things in the area, or even fingers)

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Covered with Tesa fabric tape

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Did some modifications to the installation hardware so as not to scratch it on installation

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Installed the net completely

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This hole is left like that, unacceptable for me. Had to do something about it

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So i used some new OEM floormat trim clips that fit perfectly and came out like this

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And then there were these holes

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Look closer

Yes these unacceptable ones.

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If you ask me, the kit should come with those for everything to look factory. I asked some friends with a 3d printer if we could make something work.

Some drawings

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[mgpdoc]

First mock up

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Two of them were made

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Test fitted

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And then I trimmed them myself with some alcantara. I am no trimmer by any means, but these came out nice at least in my eyes.

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Onto the car

View from up top

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very happy with it

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Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

Managed to find this product for which i was looking for quite some time to find locally, since this is a US product and noone imports it. The price is 3 times its original price in USA, which is a bummer

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I will try to do my exhaust with it from the underside to make it new again.

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Poor man's dry ice I guess.

Gave the car a proper wash

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And took some templates for trunk badge placement. They will come in handy in the future i hope.

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Bought all the needed stuff for a new trunk setup. Like a gloss black audi ring emblem, gloss black A1 logo, gloss black 40TDI badge, the license plate leds, and also the rear wiper delete blank plug, and a new plate holder. I know. Dont ask.

Some spare canbus and non LEDs for the A4

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Some more stock

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Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

For the A4 and the Golf, I have sourced some Haynes Manuals.

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However for the A1 8X, there is only the e-form of that. Which i dont like.

So I thought I could print all the ELSA myself. Like it is being sold on ebay from some serious stores in Germany.

I then spent a respectable amount of time and patience, printing all the ELSA manual for the A1 8X platfmorm, every single system, in separate books, label them, make custom covers, in Audi original font, and then turn them into books. Something less than 10k pages.

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But i am very happy I now have everything in hand to take it to the garage, rather than my laptop. I guess i am an old school guy (ok boomer).