A popular question I get asked is about front bumper “body kits” for the B7 Audi A4 (2005.5-2008). Unlike the Honda Civic, your options are a bit more limited in this arena, and generally more expensive too. Luckily for everyone, the front bumpers that do exist are all very nice looking and great options if you’re tired of the look of your car – pictured above is the Deval RS4 kit (more on this below), for instance. The most common swap is for people with the standard A4 without the S-line package, as that bumper is probably the least desirable. In this post we’ll review the various options out there and give an idea of cost & effort involved.
S-line/S4 Bumper
Converting a non-sline front bumper to an S-line or S4 front bumper is one of the most common options. This method uses all OEM parts and is pretty “plug and play” in terms of a front bumper swap. You need more than just the front bumper cover however – the bumper uses a different grille and sidemarkers, as well as some accessory pieces. You can view more pics of an S4 front bumper by checking out my car here. Here is the full list of parts you’ll need for the bumper cover without washer covers (if your car is equipped with headlight washers, you’ll need a different part number for the bumper cover, 8E0-807-105-J-GRU, which has holes cut out for the washers, as well as the washer covers, 8E0-955-101-E left and 8E0-955-102-F right). Part list:
- 8E0807105MGRU – front bumper cover (S-line/S4)
- 8E0807681F01C – Cooling air grill left
- 8E0807682F01C – Cooling air grill right
- 8E0945071B – Reflector left
- 8E0945072B – Reflector right
- 8E0853651M1QP – Radiator grille
- 8E0807287C1QP – Plate filler
DTM S4 Bumper
This is another popular upgrade from either the non S-line or S-line bumper. Much like the S4 bumper conversion, this utilizes all OEM parts, so the fitment will be top notch and the parts widely available. It uses the same grille as a non-sline A4, so if you are coming from this platform you may need fewer parts as well. The downside is that this bumper doesn’t have foglights, if those are important to you. You can see more pics of the DTM package by checking out this featured ride pictured above. Here are the parts you’ll need for this:
- 8E0-807-105-AA-GRU – front bumper cover
- 8E0-807-110-E Carbon Fiber Spoiler
- 8E0-807-681-J-Z9Y Grille
- 8E0-807-682-J-Z9Y Grille
- 8E0-807-077-B Trim
- 8E0-807-078-B Trim
- N-104-337-01 Speed Nut (19)
- N-907-750-01 Bolt (19)
Deval RS4 Bumper
The Deval bumper features an RS4-look. I have heard mixed things about the fitment, with most owners saying that their body shop spent a lot of time to get it look good. The bumper is fiberglass so it can be adjusted to fit well, but nearly every owner I’ve talked to said they wouldn’t do it over again if they had the choice. If you’re okay with spending extra money to get it to fit right, or okay if it doesn’t fit 100% correctly, this may be a good choice for you. You can check out more pictures of the Deval RS4 Front Bumper here. You may also get lucky and have a bumper that fits better than average. You can buy the Deval bumper from Eurogear.
Oettinger Bumper
The Oettinger bumper is rare – I think I’ve only seen two or three Audis with it on the internet, and none in person. Oettinger is a great brand and the fitment is supposed to be quality as well. The downside is that it’s expensive and hard to find. It also has a very aggressive look, so I wouldn’t recommend this unless the rest of your car is pretty modified too. Here is another pic of the Oettinger front bumper on a show car that was at SEMA last year.
Hofele RS4 Front Bumper
Hofele’s RS4 front bumper is supposed to fit a lot better than the Deval one, and they look nearly identical. The only downside is that the Hofele bumper is also much more expensive. Damir’s A4 has this bumper, and you can check out his feature for more pics of it. The only vendor I’ve seen selling this bumper is LLTek or you can contact Hofele directly if interested. I’ve seen a few of these in person and they fit great. You can buy this kit from LLtek.
Hofele B8 Front Bumper
Like the Hofele RS4 Bumper, the B8 bumper looks very nice but is also fairly pricey. I don’t think I’ve seen any pictures of this installed on a car in real life, except for those published by LLTek. I’d love to see more pictures of this, and if you see this, email me a pic so I can share it here.You can find more information on this kit on the Hofele website.
Alternative Enhancements/Options
If you don’t want to do an entire bumper swap, there are still plenty of options. Most common are going with an alternative grille, such as an RS4 grille, or adding a front lip, such as the Cupra R lip. These changes are pretty affordable and can make your existing bumper look a lot more sleek. You may want to do this as a temporary fix or a permanent one. Remember with the grilles that the Non S-line and DTM bumpers share the same grille, and the S4/RS4 share a grille – so don’t expect an RS4 grille to fit on a non-sline bumper or vice versa. Here’s more pictures of the A4 above with a Cupra R lip and a blacked out grille, which definitely adds some nice touches, all for about $100.
Where to Buy…
You can source the OEM components above from your local Audi dealer, a junk yard, or various other vendors. The aftermarket options depend, so shop around. You should also check eBay, as you can often find used parts from dismantlers or off of wrecked cars for cheap. Some aftermarket options also appear on eBay, but be cautious of low quality bumpers from China and be sure to stick to the “real deal” bumpers made by quality manufacturers such as those above…
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Similar Posts:
- Damir’s Audi A4 – May’s Featured Ride
- Audi RS4 Grille Installed – Pics & Info
- B7 Audi A4 Exterior Modifications & Body Kits
- B7 Audi A4 S-Line/S4 LED Retrofit – S6 LEDs on a B7 Front Bumper
- Shift Knob Options for Audi A4/S4 B6/B7 with Automatic Transmissions
at 10:35 AM
Nick, just got myself a B6 A4 and I’m looking for tips on a few mods I’d like to do initially. I know you focus mostly on B7s so first off, do you know of any B6 focused blogs like yours? Second, is your method for blacking out the chrome on the grille going to be fairly similar on a B6 to a B7? and lastly, I’d love to drop it just a little bit to set the look, and make it a little more aggressive on the road, what is a good amount to drop without looking comical, but getting the desired effect? and what is the process/ price of having that done professionally? thanks so much, love your blog!
at 10:58 AM
@Pete – great questions. I don’t know of a similar blog, but for the B6 here are a few popular options:
– B6 USP (Ultra Sport Package) front bumper
– B6 S4 Front Bumper
– B6 Oettinger front bumper (my personal favorite, but hard to find)
– Deval B6 body kit
Blacking out the grille is the exact same process, only your grille is much easier to remove from the car. Plasti dip or black spray paint will both do the trick
And lastly – the suspension is the same from B6 to B7, so everything I posted here is applicable. I’d go for about a 1.5″ drop from stock. You can pick up a set of springs for about $200 and probably spend another $400 or so on the install to accomplish this.
Hope that helps!
at 12:43 PM
Hey Nick,
That Oettinger bumper is SIICK! Thank’s for putting up the pic I sent you. Much appreciated. Just an FYI the bumper is PURIM polyurethane, TUV approved and all that good stuff (not fiberglass). It is aggressive and definitely expensive. Thanks again man. Once I get time i’ll send you some more pics.
at 12:49 PM
Rob,
Thanks for sharing the pic! I updated the post to remove that it was fiberglass – good to know!
at 7:11 PM
Can you happen to tell me the headlight washer info for an 2005.5 S4 (B7)? I am having no luck and am getting conflicting info all over. Thanks!
at 10:41 PM
Jon – what do you mean by that exactly? The part numbers? For which bumper?
at 8:41 AM
I have a 2005.5 S4 w/ a stock bumper. I took my bumper off to swap out my HIDs and do the LED DRL conversion…I put it all back together & found washer fluid was leaking all over. I discovered that my headlight washer on the passenger side was cracked. Question is: Do you know (definitively), what part I need to replace the driver side headlight washer on a B7 S4 w/ the stock bumper?
Since last night this is what I have come up w/ – it actually matches the PN’s u mention on this post…
Right side- 8E0-955-102-F
Left Side- 8E0-955-101-E
The bright side is that I’m going to swap the grill when I fix the headlight washer cylinder.
I just bought the car…and am new to Audi’s…
BTW- You website is awesome and a huge help! Give yourself a nice pat on the back and take yourself out for a nice dinner!
at 10:08 AM
@Jon – I believe those are the part numbers for the plastics covers (part of the bumper), not the washer units themselves. Here is a pic of that part from ECS: http://c1552172.r72.cf0.rackcdn.com/62175_x800.jpg – it goes in to the bumper. Is that what you want?
I’d recommend calling an Audi dealer and asking for the parts dept. They’re really good about helping you figure out what part you need, and will give you the part number. You don’t have to buy it from them. If you ask them for a price quote, I often say “I found it online for XX dollars, can you do any better” and they can usually get pretty close in price. The nice part about ordering it through Audi is that they’ll return it for you free-of-charge if its the wrong part and you don’t have to pay any shipping either.
at 10:08 AM
@Jon oh and thanks about the website! It’s a hobby of mine but I’m always happy to hear that people like it. It’s been fun to document the modding process as well
at 1:16 PM
How easy is it to mod the S4 bumper w/ the black mesh grill inserts from the RS4 (Center & Fog Grills)? Similar to your ride…but you have a different fog grill?
at 1:23 PM
@Jon – here is a post on how I did the lower grilles: http://nickscarblog.com/cars/rs4-grille-lower-grilles-installed-plus-other-goodies/. My body shop can make you some if you’re interested – check out http://www.phoenixccp.com and tell them I sent you.