RS5 Transformation - "The Movie"

Join us for a fun project. Right now, we're adding a long list of Audi Performance upgrades and styling accessories to an Audi RS5. (The hard part is making it look like work :-)

A stock RS5 is a force of nature, with German DNA coursing through every vein and muscle of its chassis and drivetrain. However--with all due respect to the folks in Ingolstadt--we have a few ideas of our own.


That's why we've embarked on a major upgrade project so big it will have to be done in stages. Along the way, we'll include both cosmetic and performance mods and upgrades, testing as we go. From dyno to street; from R&D to photo shoot, the RS5 will undergo rigorous testing and evaluation to be sure its natural assets blend seamlessly with our upgrades of choice.

Daunting? You bet. But we're determined to make “change” a good thing, creating a car that screams Mach I standing still, and runs and corners like a cheetah out on the highway.

Stage I of our project includes common bolt-on suspension changes and low-tech tweaks to brakes and steering that can be performed with common hand tools. These include: H&R coilovers for a lowered look, open-faced Avant Garde wheels on ECS spacers for a wider stance, and H&R sway bars for improved handling. We'll add our own Exact Fit Brake lines to tighten pedal feel and add a styling note to brake assemblies at all four corners. Finally, we'll install a complete Ziza LED Interior lighting kit for a bright white illumination that can't be had with stock filament bulbs.

Cast of Characters:



The Drop
H&R Coilovers
There are many fine suspension companies to choose from, and thousands of upgrade options.

Why H&R coilovers? Lots of reasons. Start with H&R-quality springs, coated bright red for appearance, corrosion protection, and durability. Add premium, corrosion-resistant cad plated steel strut dampers with factory-engineered, preset damping; individual height adjustment collars; predictably superior performance that doesn't trash ride quality, and a no nonsense lifetime warranty against initial defects, and you have one sweet coilover package.



The Stability
H&R Sway Bars
Front and rear, the 30 and 24mm H&R sway bars on our RS5 are made from special spring steel, then shot peened for hardness. A lot of what you get in an H&R product is already baked in and cannot be detected by looks alone.

Made from high tensile strength 50CrV4 steel alloy, cold formed and heat treated with seamless bar ends, H&R adds value to an already excellent product by shot peening bars for added strength, then fitting them in special squeak-free Teflon/urethane bushings that need no lubrication.



The Roll
Avant Garde M510's
We're building a performance car, so nothing less than performance wheels will do. Our Avant Garde M510 Wheels have a pristine straight-spoke design with boxed windows to display our massive brakes and special running gear.

Every tire deserves a silver lining, but we needed RS5-worthy wheels. Looks alone made Avant Garde a tempting choice, and their use of Finite Element Analysis, x-ray stress testing, and conformity to the JWL standard made them tough enough for the task at hand. We'll test our car with enthusiasm and confidence, knowing our RS5 will rock...and roll.



The Stance
ECS Tuning Wheel Spacers
Coilovers. Sway bars. Massive 21 inch wheels. All we need now is a set of premium spacers to finish the job and give our RS5 a mean, muscular look. A combination of 12.5mm front and 7mm rear spacers gives give us a streetable offset that looks great, but won't chew paint.

ECS Tuning hubcentric spacers keep wheel and hub centers aligned for a vibration-free mount. CNC-machined from quality aluminum, then black anodized for added hardness and corrosion resistance, ECS Tuning spacers are as stylish as they are durable.



The Stop
ECS Exact-Fit SS Brake Lines
A world first, and a product available only from ECS Tuning, Exact-Fit brake lines for the RS5 are made from a seamless inner Teflon core, wrapped in tough stainless steel reinforcement, then coated with a bright red polymer for added strength and protection.

The Exact-Fit Stainless Steel brake line kits aren't an outsourced accessory from a no-name company. These lines were designed by our own Research and Development team after an exhaustive design and testing process, and continue to be made right here at ECS Tuning where we put them through a stringent quality control process. By Exact-Fit, we mean just that; lines are custom tailored for each vehicle application, and shipped with seals and hardware, ready to bolt in place with no further modifications. Carefully designed; meticulously manufactured; track tested to ensure your satisfaction, ECS Tuning Exact-Fit brake lines have no equal in the aftermarket.



The Light
Ziza Interior Lights
Another exclusive. Only ECS Tuning offers a complete interior LED lighting kit for the RS5. That's complete, as in all interior lights. Easy on the eyes, easy to install. Why spend hours sourcing individual bulbs when ECS has done the grunt work for you, including a free online photo tutorial so you can do the job yourself.

LEDs are not just LEDs. Sure, you can buy them all over the place from a thousand cut rate sources. But ECS Tuning thinks its customers deserve a custom-fitted lighting kit, optimized for your car. That's why we test fit entire LED lighting kits in real cars, and then document to process in free PDF photo tutorials so you can install them yourself. Going that extra mile makes each kit the right kit, with fit and performance sure to please.

This completes phase one of our RS5 transformation, stay tuned for future updates.

To be continued...