[BiturboS4] StonGard?

[jy]

Rich,

If you are going to replace the factory bumper you should look into the RS4
front bumper. LLTEK has pretty cool aftermkt RS4 bumper. The cost would
probably be the same as a used S4 OE (orig. equipment) bumper. I think the
RS4 bumpers have a more aggressive look (compared to the OE S4 bumper) like
the M3 and M5 bumpers.

Also, u might want to an Audi dealer to get your bumper repainted. I hate to
suggest this - but you that they will probably use factory paint or sub it
to a shop that uses factory paint. They only problem is that dealers are
RIP-OFFS and we all know this.

I am on the East Coast (split time between Philly and Tampa FL) and have not
had a problem with local body shops matching Audi paint. I have an Imola
Yellow Y2K S4. In fact, one of the shops told me that the Imola Yellow is
one of the hardest colors to blend when doing spot work. But, they did it.
This shop is a sub contractor to a major BMW,Audi, Porsche dealer in the
Philly Pa area. I went to the dealership and asked the service mgr who do
they sub out their body work to. He gave me the name of this shop. I have no
complaints overall. There is no perfect body shop or mechanic.

First thing I would do (if I were u), would be to find a body shop that
deals MAINLY with Porsche, Audi, or BMWs. I think that u will find that they
will do the best paint job on your car. I STAY AWAY from body shops (and
mechanics) who mostly work on domestic or low end Japanese cars.

I also have a 1986 Porsche 951 (aka 944 Turbo) and I have used this approach
with that car too. I usually let (non-dealer) shops that specialize in
performance (racing) cars work on my 951. That includes my body shop (the
owner races and u should see his car - 950 HP). I will takes this approach
with my S4 when the warranty expires (I plan on chipping the car then like I
did with my Porsche - MAN - what a difference).

Sorry 2 B so long winded - hope this helps.

Jim

Y2K Imola Yellow S4 (32k mi and no major problems)
86 951 (125k mi - chipped, and updated)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rich Shiba" <rich at pdi.com>
To: "S4 Biturbo list" <biturbos4 at audifans.com>
Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 1:46 PM
Subject: Re: [BiturboS4] StonGard?


> On Sat, 1 Jun 2002, Kjos' wrote:
>
> > Same thoughts here. I just repainted the front end of my S4 (trips in
the
> > winter over the mountains here in Oregon resulted in 50-100 chips) and
> > looked at both clear Bra and StonGard installations on a variety of
cars.
> > You see holes in the material which looks as bad as a rock chip and the
> > edges look horrible. You can replace the damaged parts but it is
expensive.
> > Dirt accumulates along the edges and looks especially bad on lighter
colors.
> > Even on a black car the edges were very noticeable. I'm going to get a
> > Colgan or similar bra too to put on when necessary.
> >
>
>
> Hmmm, sounds like those clear nose guards have their own problems - that's
> kinds what i was afraid of.
>
> I had my bumper replaced after some highway damage (hit a block of cement,
> smaller than a 4x4 ;), but i've found that the non-factory paint is _much_
> less durable.  I have more rock chips after a few months than i had in the
> prior 1.5 yrs w/factory bumper/paint.  I've talked to a couple body shops
> around here and they all say that nothing they can lay down will be as
> durable as Audi paint.
>
> I'm not a big fan of any nose coverings, but if all aftermarket paint is
> so chip prone, i'm stuck.  I run an Audi brand bra now, but it's a pain
> cause the car needs to be *clean* before you put it on, you have to take
> it off right after rain storms and can't put it back on again until it's
> washed, etc.  Was hoping for a better solution short of looking for
another
> used bumper with factory paint.
>
>      -rich
>
>
>
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