Soundaktor gone and cheeky little intake mod that seems to work!

[Tom_86]

Hi all, this is my first post and i'm looking forward to getting to know everyone...

So, after owning my S3 for a year now, i've noticed a buzzing noise coming from the dashboard at around 3800-4000rpm. Only does it in dynamic mode but is very noticeable especially once i'd tuned into it. Every spirited drive without fail i'd hear it... very annoying! After a visit to my local Audi stealership they replaced the B&O dash speaker and supposably lubricated some areas around there which to be honest at the time I thought was bull. None the less the buzz seemed to disappear only to reappear a month or so later. So I found myself just not using Dynamic mode which I kind of got used to until I heard through the grapevine about the dreaded Soundaktor. After some research and a visit to a friend's garage who knows his stuff on VAG cars, the Soundaktor was removed. Oh my gosh what a difference it's made to the sound, all of a sudden the real noises of the car come alive, especially turbo spool up. By no means louder in the cabin, if anything its quieter but as I said the real noises are now very much present. More importantly that horrible buzz has disappeared too, happy days. After driving home tonight (about 10 miles) no CEL either (touching wood).... So tomorrow i'll be sealing up the plug from water ingress and bidding farewell to the Soundaktor.
On a different subject, whilst in the garage my friend informed me that when he was servicing another 8V recently he was astounded to see how restrictive the factory airbox was. Hindered by what we think is some sort of extreme weather guard that sits under the factory air filter. When he showed me I couldn't believe this thing, literally a grill that has to be so so restrictive and completely unnecessary in the UK. Seconds later, the grill was popped out, along with the backing to the upper part of the front grill just above the Audi emblem. Hoping this will improve air flow to the stock intake.
On the drive home, throttle response seems better and spool up too. Now this could be all in my head but what we've done definitely can't hurt. None the less as i'm pretty impressed with the difference i'll be ordering a VW racing panel replacement in the very near future!

 

[JunkStory]

It is cool to hear that removing the soundaktor removed the buzzing sound. My 2017 S3 also suffers from a buzzing sound coming from the left of the steering wheel (North Amercain Left hand drive) when driving in Dynamic, even in D and not S mode. Hopefully once I get a VCDS tool I can disable it.

I think the soundaktor is totally dumb and Audi should just get rid of this stupid thing altogether. Nobody likes it.

 

[Gugne]

In my Golf R I had my soundaktor switched off by the dealership before delivery.
I contacted the Audi dealer to do the same on my S3 and they said there wasn't one fitted.

So are they fitted or not and is it an easy thing to switch off?- you could unplug a plug under the bonnet on the Golf.

 

[simonali]

Easier to just set the volume to zero...

 

[Tom_86]

Hi again,
I agree that setting the volume to zero is a good option, but unfortunately I didn't have the VCDS tool to hand so unplugging it worked for me and I've been very pleased with the outcome. Plus removing it is weight saving.... ;-)

 

[Tom_86]

In my Golf R I had my soundaktor switched off by the dealership before delivery.
I contacted the Audi dealer to do the same on my S3 and they said there wasn't one fitted.

So are they fitted or not and is it an easy thing to switch off?- you could unplug a plug under the bonnet on the Golf.

Hi mate,
Mine had the soundaktor and it was located in a slightly different place to the Golf on the passenger side (UK) just underneath the scuttle panel.

 

[Gugne]

Hi mate,
Mine had the soundaktor and it was located in a slightly different place to the Golf on the passenger side (UK) just underneath the scuttle panel.

Thanks. So it's definitely fitted to the FL models? I can't seem to hear anything but that said on the Golf I never heard it because it was switched off from day 1.
Can anyone confirm this please?

 

[GSB]

.
On a different subject, whilst in the garage my friend informed me that when he was servicing another 8V recently he was astounded to see how restrictive the factory airbox was. Hindered by what we think is some sort of extreme weather guard that sits under the factory air filter. When he showed me I couldn't believe this thing, literally a grill that has to be so so restrictive and completely unnecessary in the UK.

That panel is a coalescer. It uses direct impact and a variety of aerodynamic tricks to remove water from your intake air, and drain it by gravity out of the filter box. So in the UK, where it rains 106 days out of the year, you probably need it. Removal of this water is critical for a couple of reasons, both of which might make you reconsider the removal;

1/ By not removing the water the engine must instead ingest it. This is fine up to a point, and some water will always get through but without a coalescer larger water droplets get through, and far more of them. Airborne water will soak the filter, increasing ΔP and increasing pumping losses. This reduces the power output of the engine, and increases the potential for rupturing the filter itself.

2/ Then you have the problem of where the water is now coalescing once you've removed the part designed to do it for you. The next stage is in the filter itself, where water will coalesce and be drawn downstream as large droplets. These droplets can be very destructive, especially when they come into contact with fast moving mechanical parts like a compressor turbine doing 200,000 rpm.

As for the soundaktor, mine buzzes like a ******* in dynamic mode, always between 3700 and 4200 rpm. Very annoying.

 

[Tom_86]

That panel is a coalescer. It uses direct impact and a variety of aerodynamic tricks to remove water from your intake air, and drain it by gravity out of the filter box. So in the UK, where it rains 106 days out of the year, you probably need it. Removal of this water is critical for a couple of reasons, both of which might make you reconsider the removal;

1/ By not removing the water the engine must instead ingest it. This is fine up to a point, and some water will always get through but without a coalescer larger water droplets get through, and far more of them. Airborne water will soak the filter, increasing ΔP and increasing pumping losses. This reduces the power output of the engine, and increases the potential for rupturing the filter itself.

2/ Then you have the problem of where the water is now coalescing once you've removed the part designed to do it for you. The next stage is in the filter itself, where water will coalesce and be drawn downstream as large droplets. These droplets can be very destructive, especially when they come into contact with fast moving mechanical parts like a compressor turbine doing 200,000 rpm.
View attachment 116255

As for the soundaktor, mine buzzes like a ******* in dynamic mode, always between 3700 and 4200 rpm. Very annoying.

Thanks for this information mate I may well pop it back in then...