You already have a euro S4; no rear bumperettes and US corner marker lights. Lucky from the start. Just removing the rub strips is pretty good.

 

Tru dat!

Like I said, I'm not really unhappy with it, but it needs a repaint anyway...

 

If it's going to be a garage queen, no side moulding is by far the better looker....however, if you ever park your car near cars/trucks/SUVs/Hummers etc, the side moulding can make it look nicer, longer. On my new daily driver Audi TT, I had it only two weeks when I got my first door ding. Have numerous now. At least I don't worry about its looks anymore. Needs new paint and body work already.

Harvey

 

That's another concern, and a very valid one, but I'm prepared to risk it.

Besides, at home I park in my garage and at work I park on the side of the road (I.e. no cars on either side). So it's the odd day out that I end up in a parking lot.

 

To me the top line of the rocker cover is a continuation of the line started at the front bumper cover and tieing to the rear cover. Taking out the middle section looks makes it look a little choppy. The earlier cars don't have the lower-side portions on the bumper covers..That said, I do like the cleaner look of the early moldingless cars.

 

Actually I thought so when I first saw your picture.
(since colour on front and rear brakes are different and front disc looked like mine)
No problem Niels, as long as it stays with photoshop and not real life .

Cheers/Peter

 

Dave: I used to agree, but looking at the photos, I don't think it takes anything away from the car. Actually, IMO the original looks way too busy once you've gotten used to the photochopped version.

Peter: Better keep your car locked away then... I assume they're 996 wheels? 18 or 19? Do they fit without modification? If you don't mind me asking, how much did you have to pay for a set? They look great on a 928.

 

Hi Niels,

they are the Carrera 18" leight weight used on the 996.
They fit with a 7mm spacer on the rears to clear the inside.
I bought them second hand from a Porsche dealer with brand new Bridgestone SO2n on all 4.(and it was a bargain at 12000 SEK or 1750USD)
I like them a lot even though the front ET is not ideal at 50mm compared to original at 65mm.
No issues with the car wandering though, it feels great.

Cheers/Peter

 

Peter: Thanks for the info - good price too. Not far from the cost of the tires alone.

In my search for LED turn signals, I came upon this: http://www.xtralights.com/index.asp?...OD&ProdID=1233, which gave me an idea (below). Don't know if this is feasible, but it sure looks nice

(I've also added the lower panels again, minus the one on the door which I don't like at all).

 

You are right about the door. I should be more specific. I filled in the unmoving fenders, but actually bought doors from a strip-less car.

 

It's best described and seen in the video. The marker lights and the mouldings required having holes filled in, however, the lower rocker panel is plastic and required adding and moulding sheet metal... I got rid of some of the rain gutter and shaved the doors also, as well as reshapped the rear wheel to more match the front and fit 19" wheels.

Rick H

Click:

http://www.rhsdplanning.com/porschemovie.htm

 

I was going to suggest the signal on the mirror, but that's going to require a lot of work if you have to integrate it yourself.

Taking the panels off just the doors definitely does not look good. And if you actually remove them, there will be a gap, it won't look like what you have there which is just the seam blended out.

After looking back at the comments on this thread, there's a good change that removing the lower panels is not going to turn out well on the S4, as what you've done in the pictures isn't to remove them, but to blend them into the body, retaing the shaping they provide, while eliminating the line. I'd give this some hard throught, perhaps take a look at the car while the panel is off before they repaint it to see what the car actually looks like without them.

If you could keep the shape of the mouldings while cleaning up all the gaps, it would indeed look very sharp, but I'm worried that's not what it will actually turn out like.

 

The lower rocker panels are plastic - it would be very difficult to blend them successfully into plastic. If you pull them off the lower area is indented - the 928 and 928S era does not have this problem!

Rick H

 

very nice and i agree to lose the marker light

 

I think it looks much better without the side molding and light. Someday when I re-paint I plan to do the same.