For anyone who used to own an old style s3 and who owns a new style one now..
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I don't think it needs bigger tyres. Most imprezzas have 225 and even the 320bhp evo's only have 235.
After a point doesn't it make it harder to turn / less nimble as tyres get bigger? More powerful sports cars have bigger rear tyres ( rwd ) but the fronts are rarely bigger than 225.
The only time you have grip problems with Quattro are from standing start while turning and most of the problem is the traction control being over-cautious. If you switch it off you can floor it from standstill in the wet and the most you get is a little four wheel drift.
I was quite suprised when I had an A4 TDI loaner, it wheelspun everywhere in the low gears ( in the wet ), after picking up my car I nailed it through a couple of puddles and it just gripped and went.
After a point doesn't it make it harder to turn / less nimble as tyres get bigger? More powerful sports cars have bigger rear tyres ( rwd ) but the fronts are rarely bigger than 225.
The only time you have grip problems with Quattro are from standing start while turning and most of the problem is the traction control being over-cautious. If you switch it off you can floor it from standstill in the wet and the most you get is a little four wheel drift.
I was quite suprised when I had an A4 TDI loaner, it wheelspun everywhere in the low gears ( in the wet ), after picking up my car I nailed it through a couple of puddles and it just gripped and went.
JamS3
Registered User
Iv'e done nearly 9k in mine now and had some fun but not caned it and the tyres are starting to get down on the inner sides more and probs will need some new ones around 12k.
I seem to remember someone saying the Conti sport 2's were pretty soft. I had a look when new and they only seemed to have 5-6mm of tread whereas my old car's Goodyear F1s had around 8mm new.
Mind you one of the salesman could have done a 30 mile burnout before I got the car!
I'm gonna swap mine front to back when the fronts get a bit low then go for 4 new when they all wear down. Having less tread on the rear is always entertaining
Mind you one of the salesman could have done a 30 mile burnout before I got the car!
I'm gonna swap mine front to back when the fronts get a bit low then go for 4 new when they all wear down. Having less tread on the rear is always entertaining
bowfer said:
I had mine on track at Mallory Park and it coped pretty well, keeping an old style RS4 honest, though admittedly that looked pretty horrid in the corners, but was blistering on the straights and kept a new RS4 in sight losing fractions each lap. Tyres really started to suffer after about 10 laps of sustained abuse, the brakes however coped well, the mallory isn't to heavy on brakes another circuit may have told a different story!
Anyone tried out the good year assymetric tyres that won the evo tyre test on an S3 yet????
It's got more to do with the way you drive than anything else.
I've got 250bhp and 385 lbft going through my back wheels and the tyres (255/35/18) are not even half worn yet after 20k miles. The fronts are about halfway down (225/40/18) and that's on a car that is regarded as a tyre hungry beast (Remapped 330cd).
My 260bhp S3 used one set of tyres in 2 years and 20k miles and I didn't hang about in that, plus the wheels and tyres were second hand when I bought them!
Third set of tyres at 33,500 miles is silly bowfer, are you spinning your wheels at every junction???
I've got 250bhp and 385 lbft going through my back wheels and the tyres (255/35/18) are not even half worn yet after 20k miles. The fronts are about halfway down (225/40/18) and that's on a car that is regarded as a tyre hungry beast (Remapped 330cd).
My 260bhp S3 used one set of tyres in 2 years and 20k miles and I didn't hang about in that, plus the wheels and tyres were second hand when I bought them!
Third set of tyres at 33,500 miles is silly bowfer, are you spinning your wheels at every junction???
Garth_S3 said:
Pretty unavoidable with DSG.
Gap in traffic....foot down...delay.....more delay... WHEEEEEEELSPIN!
Par for the course.
It's not all that though.
Most of my driving is twisty Scottish A+B roads, as fast as the car will let me.
My tyres spent 90% of their time slipping.
Not full blown slides, just 'slippage' all the time.
That's known for being hell on tyres.
But what the hell, I don't pay for 'em!
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I'm on target to get 12,000 from my first set of fronts, and that includes a short stint on the track at Combe. I only got 8,000 from my Leon Cupra R so I feel I am doing well on this car. Will be getting shot of the Conti's and going for the new Goodyears or the Michelin Pilot Sports.
Both good tyres, but I would recommend the Pilot Sports over the goodyears for mileage. I put goodyear eagle F1s on my S3 before I sold it and noticed they were wearing much faster than the Pilot Sports I had on before. Plus the Michellin's seemed to grip morewarrencox said:
Well I like the 8P more and its fine with me that it is a bit discreet compared to Scooby and Evo...
you guys compare 8L S3 vs 8P S3. This is the specs from Evo magazine:
0-60mph, 6,6(8L).....5,6(8P)
0-100mph, 17,5(8L).....13,6(8P)
Weight, 1375 kg(8L).....1455 kg(8P)
Bhp, 225hp(8L)....261hp(8P)
Lbs, 206(8L).....258(8P)
Look at the 0-100mph time...the new S3 is almost 4 sec. quicker and I dont think that a modified 8L is as quick as a stock 8P.
Mine is modified by the German tuner Heron and the tuner claims 0-60mph time in 4,7 sec. I think it´s about 5 - 5,3 sec. but 0-120mph is about 5 sec. quicker then the stock 8P S3:icon_thumright: .
you guys compare 8L S3 vs 8P S3. This is the specs from Evo magazine:
0-60mph, 6,6(8L).....5,6(8P)
0-100mph, 17,5(8L).....13,6(8P)
Weight, 1375 kg(8L).....1455 kg(8P)
Bhp, 225hp(8L)....261hp(8P)
Lbs, 206(8L).....258(8P)
Look at the 0-100mph time...the new S3 is almost 4 sec. quicker and I dont think that a modified 8L is as quick as a stock 8P.
Mine is modified by the German tuner Heron and the tuner claims 0-60mph time in 4,7 sec. I think it´s about 5 - 5,3 sec. but 0-120mph is about 5 sec. quicker then the stock 8P S3:icon_thumright: .
wolfevo
Registered User
Does anyone know how a 8P S3 accelertes against Evo or Sti? I found in a German magazine - Auto Bild: Sport und Tuning lap times, S3 was just 0.1 sec slower than 280HP EVO IX, they were both slower than 2,5L STI but faster than 2L STI. Also all those cars were faster than E46 M3. Those were lap times from Hokenhein, but I'm not sure.
Those were lap times from Hokenhein, but I'm not sure.I don't have any real world evidence but the power-to-weight must be fairly similar to an Imprezza STi ( aren't they around 270 bhp or so? ). I think I found the Evo VIII 300 did 0-100 in around 12.5 seconds so there wouldn't be much in it.
My brother used to have an FQ300 Evo and it felt very fast but also had huge lag at low revs. I find the S3 doesn't feel very quick as it is very smooth but the speedo tells a different story.
I'm guessing a chipped S3 would be up with Evo 320's for performance.
My brother used to have an FQ300 Evo and it felt very fast but also had huge lag at low revs. I find the S3 doesn't feel very quick as it is very smooth but the speedo tells a different story.
I'm guessing a chipped S3 would be up with Evo 320's for performance.
Well actually the S3´s time on hockenheim is 1.17,5 min.
:icon_thumright:
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX´s time was 1.17,6 min.
Subaru Impreza STI´s time was 1.17,8 s min.
Evo and Sti both have 280 hp
But I think that the Evo and STI a bit faster on some other tracks, so it´s all about the tracks..
:icon_thumright:
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX´s time was 1.17,6 min.
Subaru Impreza STI´s time was 1.17,8 s min.
Evo and Sti both have 280 hp
But I think that the Evo and STI a bit faster on some other tracks, so it´s all about the tracks..
JamS3
Registered User
Know it also beat a Evo IX 260 around the Evo track, times are in the magazine but dont have a copy to hand!
I've had both. The old S3 was one of my favourite cars for all the positive reasons stated so far. Mine was one of the first - before they raised the ride height - and it handled beautifully, albeit a bit softly, with a little understeer on fast, tight corners until the Haldex cut in. The only problem was that it bottomed when pressing on, on bumpy roads.
The new S3 has a delicious engine, slick gearbox and good handling on smooth roads - more neutral, and the Haldex appears to cut in earlier. However, move it onto a bumpy windy road at speed and the body control falls to pieces, and the anti-lock braking light flashes away. Interestingly, I think it goes beyond this. I have driven three S3s on the same 2 hour/road drive on different occasions in the same weather conditions. The first one was superb and I placed an order. My own handles as I have already described and so I complained to Audi. They gave me a third one, a demonstrator, to drive and it was terrible! It bounced all over the same stretch of road. It made me appreciate my own car better (for a short while!). So, my advice would be try the car you want to buy on a bit of typical B road that you know well. It it shapes up, buy it. If not, try another....
Incidently all is not lost, after feeling increasingly frustrated about spending all that money and just using the new S3 to go to Tesco or on the motorway, I have just had Bilstein adjustable dampers and coils fitted, and I now have a car that handles like the one I first roadtested, albeit with a bit of a firmer ride.
The new S3 has a delicious engine, slick gearbox and good handling on smooth roads - more neutral, and the Haldex appears to cut in earlier. However, move it onto a bumpy windy road at speed and the body control falls to pieces, and the anti-lock braking light flashes away. Interestingly, I think it goes beyond this. I have driven three S3s on the same 2 hour/road drive on different occasions in the same weather conditions. The first one was superb and I placed an order. My own handles as I have already described and so I complained to Audi. They gave me a third one, a demonstrator, to drive and it was terrible! It bounced all over the same stretch of road. It made me appreciate my own car better (for a short while!). So, my advice would be try the car you want to buy on a bit of typical B road that you know well. It it shapes up, buy it. If not, try another....
Incidently all is not lost, after feeling increasingly frustrated about spending all that money and just using the new S3 to go to Tesco or on the motorway, I have just had Bilstein adjustable dampers and coils fitted, and I now have a car that handles like the one I first roadtested, albeit with a bit of a firmer ride.
Interesting comments about ride quality. It does seem that this varies from one car to another; quality issues with the OEM dampers perhaps? Even in Autocar's road test of the new S3, different testers said different things about the ride.stuartcalder said:
I find my car's ride quality to be (as Autocar put it) "fidgety" on the motorway. Does anyone else find this? A case for Magnetic Ride dampers in a future facelift, perhaps?
Could this be anything to do with tyre pressures?
I found mine quite 'bouncy' when I got it but the pressures were on the M+S setting which was something like 40/42. When I changed them to the normal 39/30 setting it seemed much better.
I found mine quite 'bouncy' when I got it but the pressures were on the M+S setting which was something like 40/42. When I changed them to the normal 39/30 setting it seemed much better.
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Spook said:
Fidgety? No I don't think so and I run the high M+S tyre pressures (with conti sport 2 tyres) too. Magnetic ride, nice idea. What are the chances of the TT dampers being a direct swop? Slim to none I reckon.....
JamS3
Registered User
I felt mine was a bit bumpy and even the mrs commented a few times on long trips she felt car sick on uneven motorways, as if the suspension was a bit too soft.
I have since put H + R lowering springs on and this has transformed the quality of ride and firmed things up a bit.
I have since put H + R lowering springs on and this has transformed the quality of ride and firmed things up a bit.
