Goodbye Vauxhall (sort of), well hello Audi S3

[Harvey]

I’ve been deliberating with myself for some time & me being who I am completed lots of research before finally reaching a decision…yes to a Stage 1 remap. There are lots of what I call flash tuners out there which is not something I was interested in so I opted for a custom live map on a rolling road with proved pre/post figures & graphs to backup any claimed figures.

My reasonings for a custom remap are that I wanted to optimise the full potential of the engine as all engines are different & it wasn’t all about the absolute power for me, more like the total package. The OEM map on the S3 does limit the capabilities of an otherwise stunning engine in the EA888 Gen3 guise. The wife & I won’t be driving the car any differently & mpg could potentially go up (hmm) but we now have the option to use ballistic more should we ever feel the necessity to safely overtake.

Earlier this week I left our beloved S3 at DynoTech who are based in Ripley Derbyshire. They are a small family run business, been going for years & I’ve used previously for individual & group power runs. I last took the S3 there back in October 2019 when it was just over 11,000 miles for a power run to obtain base figures, results of that click me.

As a myth buster before any remap work was started, I requested a direct comparison of a Ramair performance panel filter vs standard Audi (Mann branded) filter. The only tweaks on the car are extra holes in the air duct guide & the snow gate is removed see here.

The results are rather interesting & speak for themselves:

Ramair panel filter- 310.4bhp(314.7PS/231.4KW) / 316.5FtLb(429.1Nm)

Standard panel filter - 309.8bhp(314.1PS/231.0KW) / 324.4FtLb(439.9Nm)

To summarise the comparison the Ramair gained 0.6bhp & lost 10.8ftlb. As a driver you basically wouldn’t feel any difference between them & this is why I wanted the comparison simply to prove a point.

When I popped back to collect the S3 it was waiting patiently for me, I was feeling optimistic but not expecting the results that I received.

If you have lasted this long well done & now onto the fun part, remap time & bear in mind the car is completely standard with no bolt on performance parts or accessories & now at 17,000 miles being 4 years 6 months old.

The scores on the doors using the standard air filter as I wasn’t going to waste my time comparing with the Ramair having already decided to keep the original filter in place for the mapping and going forward.

Brochure quoted - 306bhp(310PS/228KW) / 295FtLb(400Nm)

Pre map - 309.8bhp(314.1PS/231KW) / 324.4FtLb(439.9Nm)

Post map - 362.3bhp(367.3PS/270KW) / 376.5FtLb(510.4Nm)

As you can guess I’m over the moon with the results & it just goes to show what these engines can produce when mapped on a rolling road & not simply plug & play flash mapped. I can confirm the SPM (Smiles Per Mile) have increased & under normal driving the car feels exactly the same but awaken the beast with your right foot& it sure does feel different. I can’t thank Kevin at DynoTech enough & as you can guess they come highly recommended

Before anyone mentions it a TCU tune isn’t something I feel necessary at this point but could potentially be something considered at a later date, possibly from the likes of TVS Engineering using the Stage 2+ option. Again, I would be wanting to use a TVS dealer with a rolling road so results can be verified.

 

[AlS3BE]

That’s a good result. It’s the extra torque that makes will make the biggest difference.

 

[Jcbmally]

I’ve been deliberating with myself for some time & me being who I am completed lots of research before finally reaching a decision…yes to a Stage 1 remap. There are lots of what I call flash tuners out there which is not something I was interested in so I opted for a custom live map on a rolling road with proved pre/post figures & graphs to backup any claimed figures.

My reasonings for a custom remap are that I wanted to optimise the full potential of the engine as all engines are different & it wasn’t all about the absolute power for me, more like the total package. The OEM map on the S3 does limit the capabilities of an otherwise stunning engine in the EA888 Gen3 guise. The wife & I won’t be driving the car any differently & mpg could potentially go up (hmm) but we now have the option to use ballistic more should we ever feel the necessity to safely overtake.

Earlier this week I left our beloved S3 at DynoTech who are based in Ripley Derbyshire. They are a small family run business, been going for years & I’ve used previously for individual & group power runs. I last took the S3 there back in October 2019 when it was just over 11,000 miles for a power run to obtain base figures, results of that click me.

As a myth buster before any remap work was started, I requested a direct comparison of a Ramair performance panel filter vs standard Audi (Mann branded) filter. The only tweaks on the car are extra holes in the air duct guide & the snow gate is removed see here.

The results are rather interesting & speak for themselves:

Ramair panel filter- 310.4bhp(314.7PS/231.4KW) / 316.5FtLb(429.1Nm)

Standard panel filter - 309.8bhp(314.1PS/231.0KW) / 324.4FtLb(439.9Nm)

To summarise the comparison the Ramair gained 0.6bhp & lost 10.8ftlb. As a driver you basically wouldn’t feel any difference between them & this is why I wanted the comparison simply to prove a point.

When I popped back to collect the S3 it was waiting patiently for me, I was feeling optimistic but not expecting the results that I received.

If you have lasted this long well done & now onto the fun part, remap time & bear in mind the car is completely standard with no bolt on performance parts or accessories & now at 17,000 miles being 4 years 6 months old.

The scores on the doors using the standard air filter as I wasn’t going to waste my time comparing with the Ramair having already decided to keep the original filter in place for the mapping and going forward.

Brochure quoted - 306bhp(310PS/228KW) / 295FtLb(400Nm)

Pre map - 309.8bhp(314.1PS/231KW) / 324.4FtLb(439.9Nm)

Post map - 362.3bhp(367.3PS/270KW) / 376.5FtLb(510.4Nm)

As you can guess I’m over the moon with the results & it just goes to show what these engines can produce when mapped on a rolling road & not simply plug & play flash mapped. I can confirm the SPM (Smiles Per Mile) have increased & under normal driving the car feels exactly the same but awaken the beast with your right foot& it sure does feel different. I can’t thank Kevin at DynoTech enough & as you can guess they come highly recommended

Before anyone mentions it a TCU tune isn’t something I feel necessary at this point but could potentially be something considered at a later date, possibly from the likes of TVS Engineering using the Stage 2+ option. Again, I would be wanting to use a TVS dealer with a rolling road so results can be verified.

Fantastic results, just goes to show if you use the right map & guys, the results are excellent.

 

[Harvey]

Finally, the Astra mk3 V6 is taxed and on the road now the weather has turned for the better, that was until it wasn’t last Sunday. Decided to pop into Derbyshire and the heavens opened but fear not it’s a car to use, until it isn’t and I found the front o/s brake caliper was sticking

You see it does get used in the rain. This wet stuff is from the sky and not a hosepipe!

Lovely beading on the roof.

On Monday evening the car resumed default position, on axle stands.

I removed and stripped both front calipers as there’s simply no point servicing just one for such a safety critical component. I had to use a punch through the brake line hole to get the piston out of the o/s caliper, it was tight. The n/s wasn’t so bad but was close to sticking.

Non-patented anti-drip braided brake line tool installed, old silicone sealer kept knowing it would come in handy one day for something.

Piston cleaned up well with no pitting.

Issue was the section between the inner and out seals had corroded even though the outer seal wasn’t damaged. I blame this on me assembling them last time using just brake fluid possibly causing it to dry out with moisture trapped, lesson learnt silicone grease assembly method only from here on.

Cleaned up the corrosion with my trusty Dremel and without seals in place the piston dropped in/out smoothly as it should.

Seal kit ordered along with new banjo crush washers. Seal kit was from Brake Stop Lid and is excellent quality and comes with silicone piston seal assembly grease and red rubber grease for the caliper body sliders.

After work yesterday it was assembly time using only the silicone grease for the seals and a good smearing around the now not rusty section. Inner wiper seal in place.

Weather seal located in the groove and gently but firmly the piston can be pushed into place passed the inner seal before finally making sure the outer weather seal locates in the outer piston groove.

Calipers refitted, brakes bled and a successful test drive prior to a car washed.

Then back to bed until next use.

 

[Sandra]

Looking good @Harvey

 

[Jcbmally]

I really enjoy this thread, happen to learn a little too, keep up the good work @Harvey

 

[JohnM100]

I’ve been deliberating with myself for some time & me being who I am completed lots of research before finally reaching a decision…yes to a Stage 1 remap. There are lots of what I call flash tuners out there which is not something I was interested in so I opted for a custom live map on a rolling road with proved pre/post figures & graphs to backup any claimed figures.

My reasonings for a custom remap are that I wanted to optimise the full potential of the engine as all engines are different & it wasn’t all about the absolute power for me, more like the total package. The OEM map on the S3 does limit the capabilities of an otherwise stunning engine in the EA888 Gen3 guise. The wife & I won’t be driving the car any differently & mpg could potentially go up (hmm) but we now have the option to use ballistic more should we ever feel the necessity to safely overtake.

Earlier this week I left our beloved S3 at DynoTech who are based in Ripley Derbyshire. They are a small family run business, been going for years & I’ve used previously for individual & group power runs. I last took the S3 there back in October 2019 when it was just over 11,000 miles for a power run to obtain base figures, results of that click me.

As a myth buster before any remap work was started, I requested a direct comparison of a Ramair performance panel filter vs standard Audi (Mann branded) filter. The only tweaks on the car are extra holes in the air duct guide & the snow gate is removed see here.

The results are rather interesting & speak for themselves:

Ramair panel filter- 310.4bhp(314.7PS/231.4KW) / 316.5FtLb(429.1Nm)

Standard panel filter - 309.8bhp(314.1PS/231.0KW) / 324.4FtLb(439.9Nm)

To summarise the comparison the Ramair gained 0.6bhp & lost 10.8ftlb. As a driver you basically wouldn’t feel any difference between them & this is why I wanted the comparison simply to prove a point.

When I popped back to collect the S3 it was waiting patiently for me, I was feeling optimistic but not expecting the results that I received.

If you have lasted this long well done & now onto the fun part, remap time & bear in mind the car is completely standard with no bolt on performance parts or accessories & now at 17,000 miles being 4 years 6 months old.

The scores on the doors using the standard air filter as I wasn’t going to waste my time comparing with the Ramair having already decided to keep the original filter in place for the mapping and going forward.

Brochure quoted - 306bhp(310PS/228KW) / 295FtLb(400Nm)

Pre map - 309.8bhp(314.1PS/231KW) / 324.4FtLb(439.9Nm)

Post map - 362.3bhp(367.3PS/270KW) / 376.5FtLb(510.4Nm)

As you can guess I’m over the moon with the results & it just goes to show what these engines can produce when mapped on a rolling road & not simply plug & play flash mapped. I can confirm the SPM (Smiles Per Mile) have increased & under normal driving the car feels exactly the same but awaken the beast with your right foot& it sure does feel different. I can’t thank Kevin at DynoTech enough & as you can guess they come highly recommended

Before anyone mentions it a TCU tune isn’t something I feel necessary at this point but could potentially be something considered at a later date, possibly from the likes of TVS Engineering using the Stage 2+ option. Again, I would be wanting to use a TVS dealer with a rolling road so results can be verified.

Sweet. Looks as though they focussed the map on the cam shift >3000 rpm. OEM when pootling along but more punch at higher rpm.

 

[AlS3BE]

Finally, the Astra mk3 V6 is taxed and on the road now the weather has turned for the better, that was until it wasn’t last Sunday. Decided to pop into Derbyshire and the heavens opened but fear not it’s a car to use, until it isn’t and I found the front o/s brake caliper was sticking

You see it does get used in the rain. This wet stuff is from the sky and not a hosepipe!

Lovely beading on the roof.

On Monday evening the car resumed default position, on axle stands.

I removed and stripped both front calipers as there’s simply no point servicing just one for such a safety critical component. I had to use a punch through the brake line hole to get the piston out of the o/s caliper, it was tight. The n/s wasn’t so bad but was close to sticking.

Non-patented anti-drip braided brake line tool installed, old silicone sealer kept knowing it would come in handy one day for something.

Piston cleaned up well with no pitting.

Issue was the section between the inner and out seals had corroded even though the outer seal wasn’t damaged. I blame this on me assembling them last time using just brake fluid possibly causing it to dry out with moisture trapped, lesson learnt silicone grease assembly method only from here on.

Cleaned up the corrosion with my trusty Dremel and without seals in place the piston dropped in/out smoothly as it should.

Seal kit ordered along with new banjo crush washers. Seal kit was from Brake Stop Lid and is excellent quality and comes with silicone piston seal assembly grease and red rubber grease for the caliper body sliders.

After work yesterday it was assembly time using only the silicone grease for the seals and a good smearing around the now not rusty section. Inner wiper seal in place.

Weather seal located in the groove and gently but firmly the piston can be pushed into place passed the inner seal before finally making sure the outer weather seal locates in the outer piston groove.

Calipers refitted, brakes bled and a successful test drive prior to a car washed.

Then back to bed until next use.

One of the first cars I driven after I passed my test. Well that was till I somehow broke one of the timing belt pulleys and the engine went kaput. Never got another Vauxhall after that.

 

[Harvey]

Busy week so far for me but it's finally loaded and ready for action tomorrow, more updates next week

 

[Jcbmally]

Busy week so far for me but it's finally loaded and ready for action tomorrow, more updates next week

Selling one of your babies.

 

[Harvey]

Selling one of your babies.

Not just yet, read on and enjoy

 

[Harvey]

Saturday I was up bright and early as it was Blyton Park track day, hurrah. Having loaded up Friday evening I jumped in the truck and scooted the 60 miles with the wife. It was a Javelin arranged event who I find very good. The circuit is well looked after and proper tarmac not just flaky old airfield concrete. We were using the Outer Circuit.

The motley crew of 4x shonky Vauxhall’s and a random MX5 mk3.5, someone has to be different don’t they.

3…2…1 go go go.

Cruising around Port Froid, seen a few spin out on this fast swooping left.

Letting the redtops take a breather.

These are a few of the free pro pics you get with Javelin. If you’re keen some 1357 pics from the day here.

Testing my limits at The Wiggler, I had to deploy cadence braking to make the corner as I carried way too much speed in. No ABS or servo on this crusty vehicle!

For those wondering what is stuck on the reverse of my number plates. Everyone shout, “Go Team Shonky Vauxhall Go”. Just a random thing a mate came up with years back and has stuck.

Awesome day, awesome mates, awesome weather, awesome wife (can’t forget her can I) and best of all no breakages for anyone. I won’t mention my plonker mate who topped up his oil and forgot to secure his oil cap, managed two laps before getting black flagged, lost 1L of oil and his pride…it was the Nova, typical Chav hooligan!

 

[Harvey]

Sunday it was rally service crew duties so another early start to head down to the Flying Fortress stages near Kettering just outside a village named Grafton Underwood.

As per usual passenger wing mirror removed on a bale.

It was return a short time later by a kind marshal and reattached having a feeling it might go missing again.

On it from the get-go so the brakes were left to cool before the second bleed of the day.

Then the inevitable happened, yet more bale kissing removing both wing mirrors for a more streamlined look.

I had to lever the front wing so the drivers door could open after, you guessed it, more bale touching!

These were brand new at the begging of the day and covered 20 hard hot stage miles.

Not a grate day as they went a smidge too hard/wide and got beaches on a mound, got recovered with no damage to car just driver pride. This resulted in a stage maximum but was able to re-join and finish the event.

 

[Harvey]

My mates in car footage from Special Stage 2 at last Sundays Flying Fortress rally, he was on it as you can see!!!

Car is a Vauxhall Astra mk2 with 2.0L 230bhp redtop with Quaife 5 speed dog box + other trick yummy goodies attached.

 

[Harvey]

Rally car spanner checking post rally.

Only to find the timing cover was loose to be greeted by this sight!

Added lightness one might say worn vs new belt. Darn lucky that didn’t snap on even at 8K rpm.

I stripped the timing to find the tensioner backplate pivot had come off and the tensioner rear metal plate was moving about and caused the belt to be pushed off and thus wearing away.

Got it all sorted with replacement backplate, new timing kit and fired it up only to find the next issue with the cooling system fully pressurising after only a few mins of running. I suspected HG so we called the engine builder and he said the same so we popped the head off for a visual check.

HG is a Cometic so hadn’t popped but both head casting and piston tops showed signs of detonation on no3 & 4 and over-heating which might or might not be related to lean mixture.

Whatever the root cause it was time for a full engine refresh so out it all came to go to the engine builder for an overhaul.

 

[Harvey]

As I love getting down & dirty I helped a mate with his Ovlov (read Volvo) engine build the other month as it’s easier with two when the rods ‘n’ pistons are going in. It’s a B230FK engine being the 2.3 Turbo derivative with 8 valve head and huge potential if you want to go crazy like the Sweeds do with these.

Fast forward to last weekend and it was engine fit day. In typical YouTube/TV style the front end stripped with fluids & various other attachments removed.

Engine crane honking it out.

As if by magic out it fell….after a long wrestle as the transmission didn’t want to let go.

Old right meets fully refreshed replacement left.

Organised chaos with the Ovlov 940 barge made to live on for another 30 years unless petrol gets outlawed & the decision is made to convert it into an EV, you never know!

With the lump out the way I simply couldn’t leave the dirty tranny bell housing like that now could I.

So I cleaned it & replaced the clutch release bearing while matey swapped over the ancillaries.

Then it was time to plonk the new lump in so the engine crane got cranked on high.

It simply slipped right in just like all the programs lead you to believe, not, proper wiggle/push/swear/lever/expletives/blood/sweat then just before the tears it finally aligned so we hastily got all the bolts in and had a brew.

Left my mate to pop the rad pack and front end on with the only thing remaining being the inlet as he planned on replacing it with a cleaned up earlier version.

Original left with messy EGR blank. Everything to be swapped over to the right with EGR casting uncut being an early intake manifold.

Then mid-week I get sent a pic of the inlet done.

 

[Harvey]

I'll get back to the S3 at some point, honest. But in the mean time more car tinkering with my Astra GTE

During my recent Blyton Park track day I heard a slight grumble from the front left wheel bearing so decided to change both. First things first remove the funky GAZ Gold front struts as the Astra mk2 are an all-in-one unit with the hubs, what a pain.

Then the fun begins with a non HSE approved improvised centre hub removal fandangle device thing using an axle stand and old rear exhaust box. A couple of swift blows with a hammer and socket had them removed in no time.

A chisel was used to remove the half inner case from the centre hubs in prep for refitting.

The bearing outer case was removed from the hub using an old outer slit with a 1mm cutting disc to allow for compression then a few taps, ok hits, with a lump hammer. The bearing install kit consisted of an old outer bearing case and half inner case.

The new bearing was pressed in using my trusty Record vice as far as I could then seated fully using the old outer case.

The centre hub was fun as it’s got press fitted studs and only just went in my vice. It was pressed in supporting the rear of the bearing with a half inner case and a socket on the hub to space it out due to the studs. All worked lovely once I’d got it setup and balance in the vice, that took some juggling I’ll have you know.

Job done, bearings changed and refitting to the car.

 

[Harvey]

Popped to Tittesworth Reservoir near Leek in Staffordshire today for a picnic and walk with the wife which turned into a Midlands S3 meet as @Potterswheel popped over. We’ve been chatting for months at virtual acquaintances but never met in person, so it was great to finally meet you with the pair of MY17 Audi S3 looking very at home together

 

[Harvey]

On the wife’s Astra mk3 V6 I found a crack in the intermediate drive shaft bearing support bracket last year and applied a temporary fix until I could source a replacement, more on that later. After a visit to a Vauxhall show the other week I obtained a bargain replacement within the depths of the trade stands for a whole £10, winning! Here it is with the support bracket removed.

I only required the alloy bracket but the drive shaft was decent & noted the bearings sounded dry. I thought to myself “I wonder?” then began pulling it apart to investigate.

Outer orange and inner black muck/dust seals removed.

Bearings found to be a perfect but dry condition.

Repacked with LM2 grease prior to reassembly.

The temporary fix on the left as the bolt wouldn’t tighten fully in the bracket thread and just span. You can see the crack in the bracket which was caused by the starter motor hitting as it attempted to make a break for freedom due to its fixings working loose, that issue now sorted. Replacement on the right tested and full torque of 18Nm was achieved with good threads on both bracket bearing support fittings.

Replacement ready for fitting. The spacers aren’t OE as you have to move things over 23mm with the V6 being a shorter length block than a 4-pot to use the Cavalier/Calibra F28 6-speed Getrag transmission.

Jacked the Astra up from the driver’s side and lost no gearbox fluid during the swap over. Pictured from underside looking up with rag on left to catch any drips but nothing came out, just the big drip underside doing the work.

While I was poking around, I fixed the rear end clunk that was occasionally heard on very bumper roads. Turned out to be the exhaust kissing the beam so a permanent fix was applied using a length of thick wall fuel hose slit down its length.

 

[Harvey]

After the epic Ovlov engine swap a few weekends ago my mate quickly realised the as new used clutch wasn’t up to the job as it was slipping under boost. Due to this slight misjudgement which I wholly blame on him being a tight wad and not wanting to fit a new clutch, I attended yet another Ovlov fix it day last Sat…to install a brand-new clutch!

Wasn’t a massive job so we cracked on removing gearstick and bell housing bolts.

In record time the box was out, it's like we know what we're doing, looking terribly dirty though.

Offending slippery Sach sucker, defo not designed for a turboed Ovlov.

Spanking new LUK.

The box had a well-deserved wash but alas, no polish.

It was then popped back on again in record time and simply aligned and slipped into place.

As it was so hot on Sat we had a makeshift shade covering using an Ovlov, rotary clothesline and purpose made shade covering. All done and tested on the stands to make sure the gears could be selected…then I quickly ran away. Mate reported later that evening it works and no slipping, I’ll consider that a full success!

 

[Harvey]

Happy days, my Audi In the Park tickets arrived today. See you there folks for those of you who are planning on attending . Further info on the event here.

 

[Harvey]

My Sister said her AC wasn’t very cold so I popped it over to StayKool for a leak test which was traced to a tiny hole in the condenser, probably caused by a stone flicking up grrr. This meant her Astra mk6 came over to Hospital Harvey with the first job being front bumper removal.

This revealed the offender in all its glory.

The nice clean new condenser delivered without a scratch, dent or blemish…a pure miracle and testament to the courier for their gentle parcel handling technique.

It was straightforward removing the old one, just a couple of nuts and plastic clips then drawing it downwards.

Quick comparison before the pressure switch was swapped over with all the seals getting a spray of rubber friendly silicon grease.

All done with the airbox ducting left to install.

Nice easy swap which took about an hour

I popped back to StayKool for the AC re-gas who are home based and comes highly recommend. Being based in South Derby they are easily accessible from A38/A50/M1 and comes with my stamp of approval. The system was pressure tested, vacced out, UV dye added in case future leaks occur, PAG oil added for the compressor and seals before 600g of the good stuff went it being R134a in this case. Let’s just say the drive home was much more pleasurable than the sweaty drive there

 

[Harvey]

I purchased an original Audi rear bumper scuff protection kit the other month which is listed not to fit the S3 but being less than a tenner I thought it was worth a try. The kit for the Sportback (5-door hatch) is part no.8V4061197.

The parts within the box look like this.

After reviewing the instruction pictures, I figured the sticker goes up to this edge as marked with the arrow. It has a very subtle centre mark on the clear vinyl which you aligned to the lower boot catch or trunk for the US readers.

The fitting was fiddly to get it spot on for such an easy thing due to the flat, convex & concave bumper surfaces. My wonderful assistant, the wife, was as picky as I & we ended up peeling each side off 3x to get it right. You require lots & lots of lube, more than supplied in the tiny bottle plus lots of patience. The lube being a very weak soapy water mix. Prep the bumper surface which I did by polishing it as I didn’t bother using the included alcohol wipe. Next drench it with lube, lube the sticky side of the vinyl plus the top surface & it’ll be plain sailing once you have the knack with the squeegee. After the final fit it looked like this & I can confirm that it does fit the S3.

I’m not 100% I like the vinyl finish as it seems to look textured even though it’s not but I’m comparing it to the mirror gloss finish of the bumper paint. It is obvious as I know it’s there plus the carport canopy was causing reflections on the bumper top.

Out in the open air & with different angles you can’t see it at all. I’m going to let it settle & give it a good polish over the top of the vinyl then see what it’s like & if I’m going to keep it.

 

[Potterswheel]

Does anyone know if this is available for the FL 8V saloon?? and part N°??

 

[Harvey]

Does anyone know if this is available for the FL 8V saloon?? and part N°??

Saloon/Cabrolet 8V PFL & FL part no.8V5061197

Hatch (3 door) 8V PFL & FL part no.8V3061197

 

[Harvey]

My Brother-in-Law popped round with his A6 Allroad 3.0 BiTDI so I could sort his MMI service settings as he had inadvertently reset via the car and switched it to fixed service from flex service. Using my VCDS HEX-V2 it was an easy resolve via Module 17 and flipping the oil quality back to “good oil quality”.

Now for the real reason why he had popped round, to slam the air suspension to the weeds. Well, that would have looked cool but we opted for the safer setting of only dropped it 15mm. I used the guide here on Audizine and it all went swimmingly well.

Wheel gap in Sports now looks lovely, with this being the front…

…and this the rear.

A job done well is a job well done as I do like a good fiddle every now and then. Yes I took a full back of the adaption map for module 34 before and after the tweaking just in case it all went horribly wrong, which thankfully it didn’t.

 

[zaka7]

Great read, really enjoyed this thread. Keep up the good work

Looking at getting some of the retrofits done myself now! HHA and Folding Mirrors @DJAlix

 

[Harvey]

I was having my usual poke under the S3 bonnet the other week and noted the front strut tops under the scuttle panel was looking a bit drab and messy.

That’ll never do so without removing the scuttle panel I carefully popped the rubber weather seal off and lifted each side. It’s amazing what can be achieved with a damp rag, ta-dah.

The wife also got stuck in with the cleaning using an old toothbrush and sorted the side window lower rubbers. They had gone a bit green where the water puddles due to the daft design but look much better now.

The S3 has covered roughly 2,000 miles since fitting the AliExpress uprated oil cap seals which are detailed in my previous post here. I can happily report there is no oil vapour escaping with it remaining bone dry. I have no idea why VAG didn’t do a similar seal redesign in the first place, their loss my gain.

 

[Harvey]

The S3 had a wash, polish and seal on Saturday so was looking spick ‘n’ span under the carport. All prepped and ready for Audi In The Park. Yes, the tailpipes also got yet another buffing with Autosol

As the smelly was no longer smelling a fresh new stinky was installed.

The rest of the rather colourful non-perfumery Gecko have somehow made it into the kitchen to brighten up a rather grey looking corner.

Sunday was show day for AITP and at exactly 06:45 when I was moving the S3 from under the carport the rain came. It didn’t last long but darn annoying after the effort spent cleaning it the day prior. The rest of the trip down was dry from the sky but some damp roads on route. Arrived at 8am, parked on the ASN stand and had a wonder round. Great mix of stock/modded/old/new and everything in between on show. Unfortunately rain stopped play for us and we decided to head home late morning and catch-up on some motorsport we had waiting to view.

Huge thanks for ASN for letting the Bro-in-Law and myself+wifey display on the stand. Rest assured we’ll be back next year and fingers crossed the weather is better, much better. Before anyone asks they aren't for sale signs in the back window it's the S3 power graphs.

 

[Harvey]

After 19 months in the planning due to covid, lockdown, furlough, supplier issues, waiting lists, more lockdown etc I finally took delivery of a custom designed necklace in rose gold with amethyst gem mounted in the start/finish of Donington Park circuit. It’s for my wifes special birthday which was during the initial 2020 UK lockdown last year and better late than never I say. It was handmade by renowned Motorsport themed jeweller Alyssa Smith, see the Motorsport & Sports themed selections here for retail items. Me being me I wanted something that bit more special so opted for a custom option and with Donington having a close meaning for both of use it was the obvious choice for my petrol head wife

 

[Harvey]

The cruise control has always been hit and miss on the wife’s Astra mk3 V6 but being an easy 8-wire system, prior to CAN bus, after double checking all my wiring the culprit was found. The cc is from a Vectra B as the Astra mk3 never came fitted with it as an option here in the UK. Dash righthand side stripped so I could get to the top of the fuse box and wire routing with the air vent assembly removed. The issue being the main ignition 12v feed from fuse 6 in the fuse box. The loom plug I installed had an intermittent contact, re-crimped it and all sorted.

Cleaning up the slam panel I caught one of the bolts where I cut it to make it removable and the paint flaked off, most annoying.

Bolt removed and keyed with sandpaper then etch primed.

Painted and lacquered.

Refitted after the lacquer had hardened, back to as it should look.

To say we were only going to keep the car a couple of years after I converted it to a V6 we’re now 6 years on from that and wife and I enjoy it way too much to let it go anytime soon. Took it for a blast into Derbyshire and both came back with a smile on our faces, need I say more and yes, the cruise control is working perfectly.

Last week I popped round to assisted my mate with his mk4 Astra SRi Turbo we changed the head on a few months back, see here. The exhaust was blowing due to a suspected dodgy v-band clamp so a replacement was purchased and after a fight we got it aligned and installed.

The OE offender which had a mashed torx head coupled with requiring two people to align the turbo and exhaust flanges, fit the v-band and tighten it up to the specified 8Nm all meant it wasn’t a one-person job.

 

[Harvey]

More stock items for future S3 servicing requirements with a couple of Febi 32590 tubs of 1L gear oil 75W-90 (GL5) fully synthetic equivalent to Audi G052145S2. These are for the (sealed for life!) front and rear diffs or final drives as Audi wants to call them. I’ll be refreshing diff oil later this year when I service the DSG.

Talking of diff and DSG servicing I’ve got the remaining hardware for the DQ381 servicing which I’ve had for a while but not previously mentioned. For anyone interested and future part number reference these are what’s required for diff and DSG (S-Tronic being posh) servicing.

N90281802 – 4x diff front and rear fill/drain plugs with washers M10x1x10, shown below.

N90965401 – 1x DSG mechatronic drain plug M12x1.5x12 with washer, shown below.

N0438092 – 1x DSG drain seal washer 24x29, shown below.

0BT321363 – 1x DSG oil pipe fill level, shown below. These are prone to being damaged when removing to drain the DSG oil so worth having a spare otherwise you won’t get the fill level correct.

0GC325183 – 1x DSG filter element. Audi say fitted for life but why not change it I say.

N91084501 – 1x DSG filter housing o-ring seal 63,09X3,53 should come with the filter above as a kit.

N90215404 – 1x DSG drain plug M24x1.5. Listed for completeness but I didn’t bother buying a replacement as there is no reason why my existing won’t be perfectly usable. FYI it’s a 14mm allen key required for removal/fitting just in case you don’t know so not the usual size that comes in kits.

 

[Harvey]

More Ovlov fettling recently as my mate decided he wanted to replace his amazing side exist scaffold pole creation that’s so anti-social it’s unreal. Having served its temporary purpose for 2 years he felt it was about time it was replaced by something a little bit more grown up.

After a poke around the usual sites a generic 2.5 inch bore system was purchased made by Hornet Exhausts UK. This kit consisted of all the parts shown plus a 100 cell sports cat that I kindly donated & a 2.5 inch flexi.

First job was to prep the down pipe & fit an additional lambda boss for a future wideband install.

We then cracked the welder out & setup outside.

The front section was tacked with flexi & cat then we worked back to front & required a small step using a 45 degree cut in half & tacked. We did the same with a 90 degree to give a deeper step.

The system was temporary hung using my favourite motorsport fixings, zip ties/tie wraps or whatever you wish to call them.

Final test fit & the welder had a workout buzzing it all together. My welding is poop so I just held stuff & topped up my tan.

The final system looked rather impressive & so much more aesthetically pleasing with all welded joins having a lick of VHT exhaust paint to help them last longer.

Fits snugly underside & once we had sorted out a few blowing sleeve joins it sounded nice & deep & most importantly poked out the correct part of the car with a far less ASBO loudness.

 

[Harvey]

A few weeks back we scooted to Donington Park to watch the truck racing and what an entertaining day it was. Arrived at 08:30 and didn’t leave until 19:15 as it over ran due to incidents and rain delays. Luckily, we chose to pay an extra fiver and park on the banking at Starkeys so had access to our vehicle all day which was mega handy for dry spectating.

Took the Astra mk3 V6 for a Sunday drive up to Blyton Park as a few mates were up there who I’ve not seen for a while so more a social thing. Had I not done a track day there a few months ago I would have joined them in my Astra mk2 but no way is the Astra mk3 V6 going on circuit, way too nice for that plus a heavy front end would be a mare on the corners even with the Quaife ATB installed.

Friends Astra mk2

Even saw my first Phaeton 6L W12, a beastie engine, amazing what you see randomly at track days. No, it wasn’t on circuit.

Lovely V8 grumble from what I believed to be a DAX.

Nice tidy Evo 6.

On the vehicle tinkering front I helped a friend who has bought a newer model Ford Ranger Wildtrak so we removed the rear canopy from his old truck. It was then stripped as far as we could go and is now ready for painting in Moondust Silver. I’ll have the job of sorting the wiring when it gets fitted next month.

My Amarok rear canopy brake light was very dim so I removed it after hatching a plan.

I had a spare aftermarket LED brake light and took it apart for the LED strip.

I managed to cut the glue and separate the casing of the canopy brake light.

Top strip from canopy and bottom from aftermarket. Not much difference but the aftermarket was brighter to the naked eye.

I used a palm sander to remove a couple of mm to make the aftermarket LED board thinner and fit inside the canopy brake light casing. It was then hot glued back together.

Installed on the truck it was better but still not bright which I then traced to a wiring fault in the canopy brake light loom. Replaced the wiring and all sorted back to full LED brightness. I believe the issue all along was the loom but I now have a spare LED strip should it fail, plus I love a good tinkering session to learn new stuff. This pic was in full sun so doesn’t look great.

My Astra mk2 GTE track toy is running an old MBE967 engine management system which has serial port mapping. A friend bought a spare ECU which came with a funky Oddified box of tricks that plugs into the serial port used to give real time info to aid fault finding and can help unlock the ECU if it has a pin code set by the mapper by displaying the pin. More details on the Oddified website here.

Used on my ECU you get a 2 second screen showing s/w version and pin code.

Then it moves to the info screen which shows rpm, Ignition timing, Injector ms, actual map ignition timing, actual map Injector ms, coolant temp, TPS voltage, TPS site, air temp plus battery volt. This screen refreshes every 2 seconds.

 

[Jcbmally]

After 19 months in the planning due to covid, lockdown, furlough, supplier issues, waiting lists, more lockdown etc I finally took delivery of a custom designed necklace in rose gold with amethyst gem mounted in the start/finish of Donington Park circuit. It’s for my wifes special birthday which was during the initial 2020 UK lockdown last year and better late than never I say. It was handmade by renowned Motorsport themed jeweller Alyssa Smith, see the Motorsport & Sports themed selections here for retail items. Me being me I wanted something that bit more special so opted for a custom option and with Donington having a close meaning for both of use it was the obvious choice for my petrol head wife

Very nice indeed.

 

[Harvey]

Around 10 years ago I was in the depths of building my wife’s Astra mk3 V6 and installed an uber rare original full leather interior. This meant the seats became spare so I cracked the welder out and voila, office chairs. Over the last year with WFH they have been used a lot more and are fully DSE approved with 5 leg support, tilt and height adjustment and the added bonus of headrests for thinking time.

I do get away with a lot as the wife is a like minded petrol head just like me meaning I managed to have a wheel on display in the lounge. for the last 12 years. It’s from my Vectra ST200 but the rim got damaged so the father-in-law built me a table using teak to my design and it now lives here.

It also has added lightness for evening viewing

 

[Jcbmally]

Around 10 years ago I was in the depths of building my wife’s Astra mk3 V6 and installed an uber rare original full leather interior. This meant the seats became spare so I cracked the welder out and voila, office chairs. Over the last year with WFH they have been used a lot more and are fully DSE approved with 5 leg support, tilt and height adjustment and the added bonus of headrests for thinking time.

I do get away with a lot as the wife is a like minded petrol head just like me meaning I managed to have a wheel on display in the lounge. for the last 12 years. It’s from my Vectra ST200 but the rim got damaged so the father-in-law built me a table using teak to my design and it now lives here.

It also has added lightness for evening viewing

It would look well if it was refurbed, contemporary art.

 

[Harvey]

Thought I’d give the track car one last outing for this year so popped over to Snetterton Circuit (300 layout) but being a 3 hour drive the wife and I decided to make it a mini holiday so dug out the camping gear and pitched at The Dower House Touring Park for a few nights. Lovely site but a horrible track off the main road into it, very very bumpy.

On a side note I’ve now uprated my trailer vehicle strapping technique from the old fashioned looped around the wheel.

To super funky and super secure over wheel.

All I required to convert my existing straps where 8x 5 ton rated hooks as £11.90 delivered.

Back to Snetterton and a few mates had also booked so our pit garage was full of rusty Vauxhalls 3x Novas and my Astra!

The day started damp and got progressively wetter into torrential down pour then dried out in the afternoon. I use RainSport 3 for my wets and they were simply amazing in the wet/very wet conditions and I was loving it but my brain just wasn’t on it in the afternoon dry so I went from a huge high to a low. All in all a fantastic circuit and an enjoyable holibobs.

When I got home my neighbours must have thought I was mad as I set about washing my trailer as the track to the campsite wasn’t at all nice when wet and was muddy and sandy.

 

[Harvey]

A few weeks ago my Father-in-Law was reversing out the garage and the vice decided to jump out and attack the passenger side wing, this was his side of the story but I think differently. It obviously made a mess of things but luckily only damaged the wing and fortunately completely missed the bumper and door.

I took it on myself to sort the issue so removed the wibbly wobbly wing.

After considering various options I decided to buy a genuine wing as I got staff rates at my local Vauxhall dealers thanks to a friend who works there.

Performed a test fit with the new wing and all was fine so dropped it with my paint man at Fleets Ahead including the damaged wing for an exact paint match. Popped over to collect it and it was neatly wrapped for protection.

I then started with this before cracking on with the fitting.

A short time later after copious nuts/bolt/screws/plastic rivets were fitted and all panel gaps set I was a happy bunny with nothing to see here apart from a perfectly fitted wing.

Along with panel gaps you have to consider outer panel alignments and it’s actually better fitted than the driver’s side with the paint finish and colour simply lovely.

All in all a relatively easy job and something different to my normal mechanical tinkering I so enjoy.

 

[Jcbmally]

A few weeks ago my Father-in-Law was reversing out the garage and the vice decided to jump out and attack the passenger side wing, this was his side of the story but I think differently. It obviously made a mess of things but luckily only damaged the wing and fortunately completely missed the bumper and door.

I took it on myself to sort the issue so removed the wibbly wobbly wing.

After considering various options I decided to buy a genuine wing as I got staff rates at my local Vauxhall dealers thanks to a friend who works there.

Performed a test fit with the new wing and all was fine so dropped it with my paint man at Fleets Ahead including the damaged wing for an exact paint match. Popped over to collect it and it was neatly wrapped for protection.

I then started with this before cracking on with the fitting.

A short time later after copious nuts/bolt/screws/plastic rivets were fitted and all panel gaps set I was a happy bunny with nothing to see here apart from a perfectly fitted wing.

Along with panel gaps you have to consider outer panel alignments and it’s actually better fitted than the driver’s side with the paint finish and colour simply lovely.

All in all a relatively easy job and something different to my normal mechanical tinkering I so enjoy.

Great job mate. I think you need to paint the vice luminous yellow though