Bagged D3 Audi A8 on OZ Futura Wheels

This month’s’ featured ride is a super clean 2007 D3 A8 short wheel base that is rocking an OEM-plus style build coupled with air ride and an amazing set of OZ Futura wheels to bring it all together. The owner, Mike Kelley (@nolackofswag on IG and MrNiceGuy on Audizine) has done nearly all of the work himself minus the body work, and you can see and appreciate the passion that goes into a car like this. Mike is also an avid member of the FTWLTBDWICTW thread on Audizine, and has built several VW & Audi cars in the past, including a super clean B6 S4 you might have seen before.

Mike has been an Audi/VW fanatic ever since he purchased an MKIV a little over 10 years ago, when he first got bit by the mod bug. That car went through several totally different themes including 4 suspension setups and countless wheels before he got an offer too good to refuse and sold the car to pickup his first Audi, which was a B6 S4.

I purchased my B6 S4 somewhere around 2009, fell in love with the brand, and I haven’t looked back since. Having learned so much (mostly the hard way) from my VW days I didn’t mess around with cheap parts or fake wheels. After about five years (with the S4), I had built a pretty solid car but was also building a family at the same time. The fact that I’m 6’4″ and suddenly had two car seats in the back seat meant the S4 spent most of its time sitting in the garage while I drove my family around in a A8L that I owned at the time.

Naturally, Mike decided to upgrade from the S4 to build the ultimate A8 he had been dreaming of, starting with his favorite mod, the air ride. The Bilsteins paired with the e-level makes a great setup for daily driving/family use, and the e-level takes almost all the hassle out of air. But what both Mike and his family probably enjoy most is the uber-luxurious interior of the D3 A4 with a huge cabin, comfy seats, all of the gadgets you can imagine, and the baseball glove seats look great with the black car. What’s next? Maybe a DSG swap if anything ever happens to this trans, some adjustable control arms, and sourcing some Euro OEM+ bits here and there.

OEM+ Modifications:

• S8 bumpers front and rear
• S8 mirrors
• S8 exhaust
• 3 spoke S8 steering wheel swap with paddles
• S8 led tails
• W12 front grill

Air Suspension:

• Accuair e-level air management
• I-level
• Dual Viair 480 compressors
• Seamless 5 gallon tank
• Custom built UAS bag/Bilstein air struts

 

Wheels:

Every car fanatic knows, wheels make or break the car – and these wheels absolutely MAKE this car. They’re original 20 inch OZ Futuras sourced out of Italy by Mike. It took him a total of nine months to get the wheels ready for the car between waiting on the wheels to arrive from over seas to having them completely rebuilt to his specs. The rebuild included a redrill to 5×112, relipped, and fully polished, resulting in the final specs of 20×10 +13 235/35 front and 20×10 +8 255/30 rear.

Special Thanks:

Mark Perrault for doing such an amazing job on my wheels, Lance McClellan for spending many late nights spinning wrenches with me, and all the guys from my FTWLDBDWICTW clan for keeping me on track and letting me bounce so many ideas off of them. Most of all, the Audi community in general, always tons of people willing to take time out of their day to help total strangers strictly because of the mutual love for Audis.

Photo Credit: Mike Kelley, @killallfenders, @thee_deported