New S3 owner - couple of questions

[Matt2010]

Hi all

I've had in the last year a c63 amg and am now trading in my GT-R for an year 10 S3 as i need something a little more sensible and practical for a daily drive with kids.

I found the perfect car and was pretty impressed with the handling/speed (although slow compared with my stage 2 tuned GT-R)

One thing i overlooked was front/rear park which the car i'm getting doesn't have. Can this be added by my local Audi dealer and if so, what sort of price?

Second question... can these S3's be remapped easily and if so what are the increases in bhp/torque/drivability? I had a BMW 335d last year and bought a 'remap switch' that i did myself via laptop/ODB port and the supplier emailed the new map which resulted in a big performance gain whilst keeping mpg pretty much the same - if not not slighty lower. I could then revert back to the original map when it went back to dealer so my new new map wouldn't be overwritten if the dealer upgraded anything.
Are these type of things available on the S3?

 

[Brett Butler]

Dont think Audi dealers will add anything after market, but others do front and rear parking not overly expensive.
Yes an S3 is easily re-mapped Revo takes a stock 261 to about 300 stage 1, (a switch can also be bought in revo) quite an improvement as well including a slight MPG gain, and then it goes on to stage 2+, though no experience sure some will tell you how fast it really becomes. there are loads of different Companies out there offering remaps.

 

[famandy]

The Audi dealer I bought my used 2008 facelift A3 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Tronic from fitted rear park sensors as part of the deal using genuine Audi parts that came pre-painted in misano read - whilst not totally flush like the factory fitted sensors, they still look the part - let me know if you want to see some photos? Not sure if font sensors can be fitted, but if they could I would like them - any ideas anyone?

 

[Harrelson]

cant help you but all i can say is, you're mad for getting rid of the C63

 

[beanoir]

Welcome! Look forward to pics!

I wouldn't bother with parking sensors in a small hatchback it ruins the look of the bumpers and is only required on a car of this size for those that can't drive!

 

[VAG_Club001]

I beg to differ benoir. Factory park sensors are discreet.

Welcome to ASN, would love to hear more about the GT-R

 

[beanoir]

I beg to differ benoir. Factory park sensors are discreet.

Welcome to ASN, would love to hear more about the GT-R

About as discreet as a few visible bungs in your rear bumper can be I guess.

I never quite understand how people often strive to ensure their bodywork remains unblemished, yet are happy to have some plugs that look like they are covering up some ugly holes drilled in the bumper, just so they don't bump into something and mark their bumper...seems like a bit of a paradox to me.

Still each to their own.

In any event, to try and assist. The Audi dealer may do it for you but are likely to charge a large sum of your hard earned in return for the pleasure.

You can do it yourself, some people have. You are likely to need, a new bumper that has the correct holes for the PDC sensors, 4 PDC sensors (you need to ensure that the PDCs are the correct ones for the bumper as different age cars had different size sensors and mounting positions on the bumper), wiring harness to connect the sensors to the PDC module, buzzer/speaker, and some other additional wiring I think. This doesn't include the front by the way.

I've not done the mod (as you can probably tell from my comments above) but I think it is reasonably do-able for somebody with a bit of common sense and patience. You are also likely to need to program the lot in via VCDS, so you'll need to find somebody that can do that for you, or alternatively buy the software, which is another few hundred quid but can come in handy for tweaking other bits and bobs in the cars array of trickery and diagnosing problems with the car in the future.

If you are serious about pressing ahead with it then Nige (forum name is NHN) is a very very helpful person to speak to and will lend his far superior knowledge.

I don't think it's a cheap job to be honest if you factor in the cost of new bumpers etc. But good luck with it sir, and lets see some pics of the job if you end up doing it!

Nick

 

[Matt2010]

Thanks all and now been quoted £500 for front and rear which doesn't sound to bad.

 

[NHN]

Matt send me a pm mate & your landline number & I can maybe help with your discussions on sensor fitments as oem's can be fitted to cars with non oem pdc.

The £500 for me sounds a tad low for the oem front/rear kit so it sounds like this is an aftermarket kit which isnt all that.

 

[Matt2010]

Thanks for the offer but already gave Audi the go-ahead.

 

[NHN]

Problem is there aftermarket kits are £200 & are the same you can buy from ebay for £20, but if it works for you then fair play.

 

[Matt2010]

A polite bump for remap answers

 

[Matt2010]

cant help you but all i can say is, you're mad for getting rid of the C63

Yes it was an excellent car and i actually thought of getting another. I test drove an c63 estate just before the S3 and it felt slow - at least compared to my GT-R
The sound on start up on a cold day from the c63 is truely spine tingling tho... as good as the noise from most 'supercars'. Really does explode into life before settling down.

I just need a change from big engine/low mpg/high running costs for a daily drive as i've found its hard to exploit all the power in daily traffic. Was really impressed with the S3 and its 'nippyness' and its smaller size was so much better with todays clogged roads. I swear the GT-R is as big as my missus's LR discovery.

Roll on next week when the S3 should be delivered