New to owning an S3

TimJK

TimJK

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Right, So recently purchased an S3 8P after owning a very quick Leon Cupra R Mk1

Probably going to get shot down and told to search, how ever, not really seen too many modified ones.

What is the norm for an S3, in terms of bang for buck modifications and suttle styling?

Mine is a Solar Orange pre-facelift, Will create a project thread and add pictures at some point soon.
 
not many mod the S3's bodywork as they look awesome as standard new wheels lowering it , facelift rear lights and thats about it exterior wise , might hurt the resale value if you start adding stupid mods to the bodywork powerwise go for it jungleman is running a nice amount of bhp at the mo
 
As is said above, you don't see any exterior mods to S3s other than the subtlest ones - lowering, wheels etc. In terms of bang per buck, then clearly an ECU re-flash / map will get you to over 300bhp / 290lb/ft for under £500 and has to be the best value mod.

S3 buyers tend to be conservative, so expect to take things back off come re-sale time!
 
Yeah I'm not wanting to change anything for non oem really. Would consider black optics grille perhaps, and new rear lights. Led side lights etc. Not even sure I'm going to lower this car... And like the wheels standard, may fit my spacers I had on the Leon. What mm do people do? These are 15mm.

Remap will deffinately be done but what is worth doing before map to get the best?
 
And.. had my Leon mapped by Jabbasport and it was awesome, alot better than revo was on my friends.

What do you recommend for the s3 though, obv needs somewhere that can run a quattro on their rolling road.
 
As said, the S3 does not need cosmetic upgrades really but there are a few sublte OEM mods you can pull off:

2009 Rear lights
2009+ Gloss black B pillars
PIAA DRL bulbs in ice white
White lisence plate bulbs
Optics pack - black grill at the front instead of chrome
Change wheels to something OEMish like BBS or other Audi eg A6 Splits! :)

Performance wise, where to start lol

I have Revo and love it - a remap is a must. Completely transforms the car and it will be at the power it should have left the factory! However, clutches are soft so maybe look into replacing the clutch to a Sachs Organic!

Suspension - I have H&R springs and ARB's - fantastic IMO but a lot have coilovers to pull off more lowness!

Intake - ITG all the way

Exhaust - I have a Milltek TBE resonated - sounds awesome and I love it but there are other options out there eg MV Sport, Blueflame etc...

Fuel pump - if you want to go stage 2+ (360bhp), Autotech seem to be the most popular. You will however require more mapping for stage 2 and stage 2+

Interior mods can include:

Flatbottom steering wheel if you haven't got it
RNSE
TT airvents
2009 switches for the lights
2009 dash inlay with chrome strip
ipod integration
arm rest
audi torch

Off the top of my head I think that is it
 
15mm spacers will be fine, thats quite a lot though, most people run 10f&12r
If you want a strong map then I personally would recommend evolve, that's what I'm running and it's a fantastic map, just with the map I was running 319 for both bhp and torque, then I added a cai & cat back milltek and that went up to 345&338, thats both on stage 1 mapping, now I'm on stage 2 with a full tbe and it's now producing 360 and 385 so a phenomenal amount of power and torque.
Where about are you based?
Paolo
 
there is plenty of modded S3's here...

basically cutting it short, if you want a very fast car like your Leon, then go for stage 2+

Its Immense! but you will need to allow for a new clutch and realistically new brakes... im running stage 2+ with oem brakes and they arent realllly up to the job. Revo is what most of us go for but i also hear fantastic things about Evolve as Paolo (jungleman) mentioned. As they say horses for courses.. im sure if i had an Evolve map id be happy and would also be reccomending it out!!

where abouts are you based mate??
 
Never heard of evolve, in the seat world it was Jabba, amd, revo, custom code mainly.

Have already got rnse but want the newer one for ami. And also flat bottom wheel.

May look into pillars and rear lights then. Is there a part no for black grille?

Shame about the clutch, don't like taking these boxes out!

I'm from Norwich.
 
Evolve have been about a while, they are massive in the BMW and porsche mapping world, one of their supercharged M3s cracked 195mph at the VMax event last month, so they know what they are doing, they have been doing audis for years as well, but never really made inroads as they are a very small company and are kept busy with lots of development projects but they are a great group of guys.

The pillars look good, but personally think you need the rear privacy glass to make it look it's best.

Yea the clutch in the S3 is pathetic, seriously under specced from new, so there is no way round it as it will bed replacing.
 
S3RYE said:
....and realistically new brakes...
Click to expand...

Why are new brakes a necessity? If you are not taking it on the track I wouldn't anticipate the brakes getting much more of a hard time. Would the front and rear brakes normally be changed for a stage 2+?
 
depends how you drive it, but when your packing a lot of power its good to have some serious stopping power, after the map, my brakes are the single best change ive made, on a country road blast i could have my stock brakes fading pretty quickly, now with my new set up they just keep going and going, no hint of fade. the front are all you need really, they do most of the stopping anyway so you should be fine with just them, ive got the VW Racing kit on mine, its a forged 4 pot set up, which has now been replaced with a 6 pot set up which is also fantastic (also saves about 25kg of unsprung weight so you get a much sharper turn-in!), but realistically to do the brakes properly your looking at a minimum of 2k and only go with VWR, AP or Alcon, the TTRS set up that some people use are weak due to certain design flaws and vale engineering and cost about the same as the VWR or AP set ups.

they are in Luton, so a bit of a drive from you, but not too bad, worth giving them a call and having a chat

yea the sachs organic and an oem DMF and youll be good up to 420lbft of torque, works out to about 7-800 in parts and about 300 to fit unless you have a mate that can do it for you
 
Yes big shame about the brakes, My leon was something that had the 4 pots to begin with, so was no need to look elsewhere, just up the power!

Ok, I will bare in mind the clutch then, and I will fit it myself.
 
TimJK said:
Yes big shame about the brakes, My leon was something that had the 4 pots to begin with, so was no need to look elsewhere, just up the power!

Ok, I will bare in mind the clutch then, and I will fit it myself.
Click to expand...

You must be pretty handy with a spanner then,or good luck to ya!
 
It's a good skill to have, I've prob spent almost as much on labour as I have on parts lol
 
Lol wouldn't trust audi to do performance work on my car, I go to specialists for that.
 
ah are you an audi tech?
my bad, the last batch i delt with put my misfire down to my cai, amazingly when i changed my sparks and coils misfire went... amazing that i with 0 technical knowledge knew that and they didnt hence my reservations
 
Well that's just obvious.... Start with swapping coils as they are common, then check plugs, and check compression next then fueling... School boy stuff ;)

Yup I work for Norwich audi.
 
audi upgrades
Haha you want to tell the techs that at 2 different audi dealers then lol
It's all sorted anyway, more annoyed at having to pay for something when it's covered under warranty, but nevermind.
Ah cool, we know who to come to for parts then haha ;)
 
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