[tanayast]

Well, I think it's a well known fact by now Norev really goofed the 1:18 Audi S5 release by installing the V6 engine and V8 badge, plus the dreaded 'off-road' ride height of the car. Nonetheless I bought one. It's actually a nice model. Proportion and pait job are excellent.

I ended up taking it apart and lowering it using some washers / small metric nuts as spacers. It's not really 'slammed' but this is as much as I can do without hacking anything up (i.e. no major modification). I think correcting the ride height really improve the look of this Norev S5.

Here are some pics I took earlier:

(I'm a little to annoyed to open the hood as it has the wrong engine.... or is it the wrong badge?)

 

[Guest]

Better, but needs MOAR lowering!

 

[tanayast]

I know what you mean....
but for now I'll settle for this since I'm a little occupied with a 1:1 project

 

[Spyderman]

looks way better than the regular model! lowering the rear a bit more would help the look even better.

 

[S40]

Wrong engine. V6 only available on the facelifted S5.

 

[mairandeddy]

That's more like it...but i agree with [KRAFTIG] that you could go even further!

BTW I love your garage diorama - what did you use for your corrugated doors? They are just the business!!

I've been looking for something to do the same......

 

[tanayast]

That's more like it...but i agree with [KRAFTIG] that you could go even further!

BTW I love your garage diorama - what did you use for your corrugated doors? They are just the business!!

I've been looking for something to do the same......

Yup, I want to go lower too....
The corrugated doors are from styrene sheet you found on train models

 

[J-B]

I'm still on the fence about this... the 3.0 TFSI in the car bothers me. However, the lowering has made it a bit easier to look at (going lower - as mentioned - would be even better).

Did you also paint the brake calipers red? If so, how easy were the wheels to take off?

 

[carbonsigma]

So much better lower! Chrome headlights are a real pet peeve though

they should be darker. Bring on the RS 5!

 

[Gavin]

Looks great...a HUGE improvement.

I do agree, it could go a bit lower, but this looks much better. I want this one, but am also tempted by the bright red.

 

[tanayast]

Did you also paint the brake calipers red? If so, how easy were the wheels to take off?

Wheels can be removed by pulling them outward gently. They just pressed in and very easy to remove.

 

[Spyderman]

if i may ask how did u go by lowering this norev model?

 

[Gavin]

a guy on another forum mentioned removing 2 screws in the chassis & 1 each in the wheel wells....then completely removed the springs.

 

[Autobahn]

This looks MUCH better lowered. Nice work. Like others here, I am really disappointed about the incorrect engine. However, I rarely display my models with the hood/bonnet up, so I don't think this will keep me from buying this car since the S5 is one of my favorite modern cars on the market.

Did your copy come with German plates originally? I've seen some pictures of Norev S5s that have them and other pictures in which the model just has generic Audi S5 plates. I noticed you added custom plates with "Audi Zentrum Ingolstadt" frames as well. Nice job!

 

[tanayast]

if i may ask how did u go by lowering this norev model?

I removed 6 screws (2 under the doors, the other 4 in the wheel well). For the front, I removed the spring and used small nut as a spacer between the steering knuckle and the lower control arm. I have to shave the LCA a little bit since it's rubbing the inner-bottom part of the wheel. For the rear, I just glued a washer between the control arm and the spindle. I hope that make sense.... I think it can be lowered even more but may require more modifications.

Did your copy come with German plates originally? I've seen some pictures of Norev S5s that have them and other pictures in which the model just has generic Audi S5 plates. I noticed you added custom plates with "Audi Zentrum Ingolstadt" frames as well. Nice job!

It had the IN-AF245 plate. I remade the plate and yes, I added the "Audi Zentrum Ingolstadt" I didn't think anyone caught that

 

[Autobahn]

Thanks for the information, because I know I am going to have to lower this car once I get one in my hands. It looks so nice, and I can overlook the engine flaw if I never open the hood, but the ride height distracts from what is otherwise a pretty nice diecast overall.

I noticed the number plates because I saw different pictures of the car on Ebay retailers. It looks like most if not all black Norev S5s have a correct Ingolstadt plate, so I will probably keep that in place because I need to make some German plates for other cars and I have a few Minichamps codes to use for that purpose. You did a great job with the custom plates though!

 

[BattMan]

Looks great!

Nice job on the lowering. Thanks for the instructions, too. I'm picking up one soon and that will be the first thing I do (re: lowering). Here's a pic of my 1:1 S5 from a couple weeks ago. I had the toys out for their [potentially] final "sun tan" before being stored for the winter.