Ed’s Phantom Black 2007 Audi RS4

I recently met Ed (aka @myRS4 on IG) while he was in San Diego for the day and got the chance to take some pictures of his car and learn a little more about his story, only later realizing we had exchanged emails almost 4 years ago over a radar detector hardwire DIY on my blog – small world. At the time, Ed owned an A3, but about two years ago, he upgraded to a 2007 Audi RS4 in Phantom Black that you see above and never looked back.

Since then, Ed has become a true Audi enthusiast, and shares stories and pictures every day on his super popular Instagram page. It’s a great way for Audi owners to connect, and Ed has become a staple of the Southern California Audi scene, even starting his own car club known as the Panda Gang.

Ed’s car is nicely sorted with Rotiform SPF wheels in 19×10 ET25 in DDT finish and wrapped in 275/30/19 Michelin Super Sports. The wheels work super well with the B7 RS4 body lines and widened fenders, filling out the extra width perfectly.

Ed has installed KW H.A.S. Spring kit to lower the car and make the wheels pop even better, not to mention improve the handling. It gives the car a perfect stance without going too low or slammed, and maintaining a good ride quality as this is his daily driver, after all.

He’s then done a number of subtle yet noticeable modifications inside and out to make the car really look and sound its best while keeping the look OEM plus. Some other highlights include clear corners, LED tail lights, LED DRLs, LED City Lights, 034 Motorsport upper control arms, Hotchkis sway bars, Apikol rear diff mount, StopTech brake pads, and a K&N air filter. He then completed the look with a DIY titanium package that included vinyl wrapping the window trim, grille, side mirrors, pillars and trunk trim.

I asked Ed what made him upgrade to the RS4 from an A3, and he shared a little background which I think a lot of Audi enthusiasts who read this blog will identify with:

Ever since I laid eyes on my first RS4 back in 2008, while on a trip to San Francisco, the love affair began. Fast forward to 2013 and prices were steadily coming down. I started casually looking when I had my 2.0T A3 (APR Stage2+ which was a fun ride for sure!). One day I called Pacific Audi to see if they had any RS4s in stock and lo and behold, Ryan Shipton told me they just got one in. Figured I’d see what they were all about and went down and test drove it. Well, I immediately had to have it and ended up buying it that day!  Manual, AWD, supercar performance, that can be driven daily – what’s not to love? The rest is history…

Personally I’ve been avoiding taking any RS4s out for a test drive as I’m pretty sure if I do, I’m afraid I will do the same thing Ed did and buy one on the spot and need to start all over with the modding, lol. What’s also neat is that while cleaning up his RS4 and getting it exactly how he wanted it, he had some high-grade, high-temp RS decals produced for his brake calipers which he now sells on eBay and you can pickup here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audi-RS-Brake-Caliper-Decals-Stickers-Pair-High-Grade-High-Temp-/252145291131?hash=item3ab507cf7b:g:HcEAAOSwiwVWSNpN

Black cars can be hard to photograph, but Ed makes it easy by keeping his so clean. It became like a mirror in the middle of the day, picking up all sorts of cool reflections and making the body lines really shine. Ed loves Adams Polishes and is very religious on his detailing regiment, but it all seems worth it for a 11 year old car that still looks as good as anything out on the market today. They just don’t make ’em like they used to!

Good meeting you Ed, and thanks for letting me take pics of your RS4!

With the B7 RS4 being a very limited run car, and the RS4 still not coming back since the last production run in 2007-2008, it’s becoming a bit of a collector car for the real Audi enthusiasts. It was only available as a manual transmission, and the 4.2L V8 puts out 420 horsepower and revs high, creating an awesome sound, smooth powerband, and awesome handling to boot.

Despite these awesome features and rarity, the prices for these cars continue to decrease. I’ve seen high mileage examples sell between 13-18K, and low mileage examples in the mid to high 30K range. I’ve also known a few B7 RS4 owners that have driven these to well over 200K miles without major issues, other than an occasional carbon cleaning and the magnetic ride suspension being prone to failure.

With great looks, a big V8, and a manual transmission, this car may be the ultimate daily driver. Since I originally published this in 2015, Ed is still enjoying his car three years later and hasn’t experienced any major issues or problems.

Truth in engineering!