Custom Aluminium D2 Rocker Panels / Skirts

[Nollywood]

Hello guys!

I'm looking to get my lowers painted. I never understood how the S8, unlike the rest of the S models has never looked any different to the A8, bar the mirrors, grille and wheels.

Painting the lower bumpers is one thing, with the appropriate plastic treatment and priming. The rocker panels however are something else. It's got one heck of a rough finish - why didn't Audi make plastic covers for them?

I'm looking to get aluminium rocker panel covers made. I also don't like the way the stock panels slope towards the underside. They'll be slightly deeper than the stockers, have a different profile, and lastly, they'll be smooth, so getting them painted should make the car look more up-to-date. Might have a couple of sets made.

What do you guys think?

[Dezzy]

Ooow body kit.

I think mine has been painted with stone chip or something very think anyway, with gouges around the jacking points to prove the stock jacks are rubbish.

I reckon you'll have to be carefull about changing the shape too much as the bumpers folow the radius, if you change it too much it might stick out like a dogs ****.

Very interested to see the results of this one mate

[Nollywood]

I reckon you'll have to be carefull about changing the shape too much as the bumpers folow the radius, if you change it too much it might stick out like a dogs ****.


I wouldn't worry too much about matching the bumper profile to the rocker panels. Bumpers seldom have the same profile, examples are:

Audi S4 B5 (skirts have less slope than bumpers).
Audi RS2 B4.
Audi S2 Avant.
Other models, I can't recall

I don't propose to make the rockers stick out, just have less of a slope than the stockers, and be a bit deeper at the same time.

[71camaro]

I'll be watching this for sure

[adjuster]

Aluminum is pretty hard to brake into sharp angles that you are talking about without cracking the folds.

But thin stainless steel sheets are easy to brake/fold into the shape you are talking about, and if polished, or left matte, would be a nice effect depending on your S8/A8 color.

To give the thinner material some "body" you could fill the boxed area with two part structural foam. That would keep it from holding water and dirt, or making noise when struck by road gravel/sand and debris kicked up by the tires.

Additionally, you could have them mounted by a flat panel that attaches to the underside of he car, so no external screws/bolts are needed. (I'd use double sided 3M tape along the upper edge, and then just self tapping stainless screws on the underside, making sure not to hit any wires or places where you don't want screws sticking up.)

There is quite a bit of sound deadening material on the S8/A8 in the floor, so short screws into that would not hurt anything. If you used pan head type, they would not catch on anything either if the vehicle ever high centered on the ground/roadway. Or in snow.

The stainless would hold paint fine too if you wanted to go that route.

I used to fabricate Limo's many years ago, and of all the materials we used, the sheets of stainless steel were by far the most forgiving to work with, and the aluminum alloy sheets were by far the most demanding.