My S3 Thread

I love your car Sam! One of the nicest S3's I've seen. The wheels and coilovers are on by the way :) And the coilovers have seemed to have settled as well (They've been on for about 2 weeks now). I'm hoping to have some pictures up this weekend.
 
D3N1S said:
I love your car Sam! One of the nicest S3's I've seen. The wheels and coilovers are on by the way :) And the coilovers have seemed to have settled as well (They've been on for about 2 weeks now). I'm hoping to have some pictures up this weekend.
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Thanks dude. It feels way quicker than when I took you out in it the other day with the new N75, the old one must have been shafted.

Yeah definitely get some photos up. I bet it looks awesome! The coilovers improve ride don't you think? New top mounts help too.

W3STY said:
I think my inlet mani might freeze this year with the big FMIC on!

Sam are you still running standard SMICs?
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Yeah standard SMICs (probably with half a litre of oil in them!). A guy here in Sydney ran them on a GT2871R setup for 40-50k and seemed to think they worked OK (he ran a 12.6 too). I am tempted to get that AH Fabs V2 one (and paint it black) though.
 
No need to paint it black its so wide you can't tell its not a radiator ;)
 
Haha but again, from what I've been told FMIC's are illegal unless fitted from factory :(
 
Sam_ said:
Haha but again, from what I've been told FMIC's are illegal unless fitted from factory :(
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Mate when I went to OZ there were kids running around with massi FMIC's! dog it on I say
 
Yeah I'm not sure everyone abides by the law but the filth here are particularly petty, more so to the jap cars though. A friend had 6 "defects" raised to his car and basically has to get it through an SVA like test where they even take pics of the engine bay and check it against stock! So they can be quite anal...
 
Sam_ said:
Yeah I'm not sure everyone abides by the law but the filth here are particularly petty, more so to the jap cars though. A friend had 6 "defects" raised to his car and basically has to get it through an SVA like test where they even take pics of the engine bay and check it against stock! So they can be quite anal...
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Looking good Sam, I will have to come by and check yours out!

The laws in NSW are pretty strict with car mods, most of what we want to do or have already done to our cars is illegal and defectable. FMICs as well as any changes to brakes that are non OEM need to be 'engineered'. So that means you need to book it in with an engineer and have it inspected and certified (around $500) to be allowed the run the mods. Pod filters need to be boxed or they are defectable too, wheel spacers and PCD adapters are also illegal.

Definitely puts a damper on modding things here.
 
audi upgrades
I've been reading up on PCD adapters and it seems to be a grey area but I may look into getting some bits "engineered" in the future. It's very overkill. Not even Germany is this strict.
 
Sam_ said:
I've been reading up on PCD adapters and it seems to be a grey area but I may look into getting some bits "engineered" in the future. It's very overkill. Not even Germany is this strict.
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I bought some ECS spacers for mine, they arrived and I was good to put them on until someone pointed this out.

RTA said:
The fitment of wheel spacers (or adaptors for dual wheel conversions) between the wheel mounting face
and the road wheel is not permitted unless fitted as original equipment by the vehicle manufacturer.
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Sam_ said:


Thanks dude. It feels way quicker than when I took you out in it the other day with the new N75, the old one must have been shafted.

Yeah definitely get some photos up. I bet it looks awesome! The coilovers improve ride don't you think? New top mounts help too.
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Yeah man, I had N75 issues before as well. A new N75 always puts a smile on your face haha.

The coilovers made a massive difference in terms of handling. The car corners so much better now. Looks so much better :p I managed to grab a pair of top mounts from Seb as well.

Hopefully there is a meet or cruise soon. S3 Represent :rock:
 
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So I took the car into Audi again today for the local Audi Warranty rep to check the roof rails over. The guy was originally telling me they'd not fix the roof rails because the lower part of the rear 1/4 panel has had paint, which I think it has too, but how does that mean the roof rails have had paint! Surprise surprise, 140 microns both sides where the rails are.

They've agreed to repair both sides under warranty but the work to correct the bad paint job will cost me around ~$1k. Not bad really. Happy with that, essentially both rear quarters painted. Should look awesome.

D3N1S said:
Yeah man, I had N75 issues before as well. A new N75 always puts a smile on your face haha.

The coilovers made a massive difference in terms of handling. The car corners so much better now. Looks so much better :p I managed to grab a pair of top mounts from Seb as well.
Hopefully there is a meet or cruise soon. S3 Represent :rock:
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Ah excellent. Did you have a good chat with Seb? He has some mad cars there.

Yeah, hopefully there's a meet soon!
 
The rest of the paintwork on mine is pretty good, it's just that rear quarter that's had some paint in the past. It's not a bad job really.

They wouldn't touch mine at first but I rang Audi Customer Service and had a whinge and they they sent out a rep to assess it properly. He was actually really cool about it all.

$1000 is about £650 at the current rate. It was about £400 when I first moved here four years back!

They're gonna repair and repaint the roof rails, paint both rear quarters, blend the passenger door and fit a new moulding, and a few other bits. Then it'll be mint bar the odd stone chip.
 
So the car is currently 1 week into the 2 weeks they've quoted to do the above work so all going well I'll get to pick it up this time next week. I hope it's mint!

Before it went in I fitted the aero front and rear wipers. Got them from the German eBay. They've all genuine parts.

aero_wipers.jpg


aero_wipers_2.jpg


They do look a lot cleaner but most people won't notice!
 
Got the car back from Audi yesterday and they've done a really nice job of the roof rails and rear quarters. The "private" work I also had done to re-prepare and paint the dodgy work that had been done before has also meant the door now matches the rear quarter. They even gave it a good clean in and out which is awesome. The paint shop manager said "You don't see many in that nick these days" so that's good to hear.

I'll get some pictures tomorrow if the weather is nice. It's been a bit on and off.

Now to enjoy it...
 
Hey Sam got a few good dealers around for Audi, and for parts roughly 20-40 some times even 200$ cheaper then Audi in Australia. they come from Audi in Germany. my supplier is BWA AUTOS in Seven Hills NSW BWA Automotive for Porsche BMW Mercedes VW Audi

i also use awesome-gti.co.uk which i just bought brand new B12 with portliness eibach combo and ARB's with bushes upper struts and many more items shipping is a ***** if its heavy been quoted 280 pounds.

i would also try alto parts in North Ryde, ASV euro car parts in villawood NSW

Good mechanic i take my a3 at in Artarmon NSW is scuderia servizio European Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo | Scuderia Servizio European
they charge me usually 120$ /hr a pain but cheaper then Audi atleast in Sydney it is.

i hope this my aide you now or in the future mate but after my fair share of ****ty mechanics they haven't messed up yet with me.
 
Tomorrow, provided the weather holds out I'll take it for a spin and get some updated shots. It wasn't really noticeable in the other photos though as I favoured the driver side heh.
 
Sevv said:
Hey Sam got a few good dealers around for Audi, and for parts roughly 20-40 some times even 200$ cheaper then Audi in Australia. they come from Audi in Germany. my supplier is BWA AUTOS in Seven Hills NSW BWA Automotive for Porsche BMW Mercedes VW Audi

i also use awesome-gti.co.uk which i just bought brand new B12 with portliness eibach combo and ARB's with bushes upper struts and many more items shipping is a ***** if its heavy been quoted 280 pounds.

i would also try alto parts in North Ryde, ASV euro car parts in villawood NSW

Good mechanic i take my a3 at in Artarmon NSW is scuderia servizio European Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo | Scuderia Servizio European
they charge me usually 120$ /hr a pain but cheaper then Audi atleast in Sydney it is.

i hope this my aide you now or in the future mate but after my fair share of ****ty mechanics they haven't messed up yet with me.
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Thanks for that dude. Sorry I missed it earlier. I haven't had to take it to a garage yet but I'll probably take it out to Seb @ Euro Automotive for big jobs. I'm keen to fit my diff asap so might try and do it this weekend seen as it's a long weekend!

Cheers for the parts suppliers though. Handy!
 
no worries i myself need to go to seb got a big engine change coming soon cant wait 850 bhp but sea freight is not forgiving time wise unfortunately...
 
Sam_ said:
So the car is currently 1 week into the 2 weeks they've quoted to do the above work so all going well I'll get to pick it up this time next week. I hope it's mint!

Before it went in I fitted the aero front and rear wipers. Got them from the German eBay. They've all genuine parts.

aero_wipers.jpg


aero_wipers_2.jpg


They do look a lot cleaner but most people won't notice!
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How do people get the wipers to sit like this? I have to have my passenger side blade sat much higher otherwise it hits the plastic at the bottom...
 
I'm not sure I can answer this. All I did was put some tape on the screen to mark the position of the old blades and then fitted these making sure the blades were in the same spot. I got new arms so there were no splines in the arm and I was starting fresh as it were. If your arms came from another car then that may explain it?
 
A bit of a blast from the past but basically I've been enjoying the car rather than tinkering. I've been driving it daily to work (new job) and am considering a few bits currently:

Porsche 6 pots (the 18z with less pedal travel than the 17z's)
FMIC (probably the Wagner one)

But also the GT2871R will probably get fitted soon. Just need to work out getting rods in there somehow.

Since the last update I've fitted a shark fin aireal which required some soldering annoyingly, the aireal had the same fitting as the car loom so had to chop the plug off the OEM one. It's cleaned up the car nicely. I've also done the headlight refurb. I ended up using 1200 grit and some plastic polish and about 2 hours but the results are good:

headlights.jpg


I gave it an oil and filter change at the weekend too which I was a little worried about. I went to remove the sump plug and it was a little tough for some reason. I thought nothing of it until I went to fit the sump plug back in and the threads were hanging out of the sump :/ It looks like, for some reason, it'd been helicoiled in the past (monkey mechanics I guess?). Anyhow I gave it a good clean up and removed what was left of the threads and luckily an OEM one still threaded in fine (it had a ECS sump plug before) so it should be ok. There were no extra bits of swarf hanging around. I made damn sure of that!

On the subject of oil changes, do most people do 6 months/10,000km? I'd left it a little longer than 9 months I think but it'd not even done 10,000km.

Coming back to the UK on Thursday. Hmmm what can I buy :)
 
hey SAM , i usually change my oil every 4-5,000KM keep the engine happy, but im pedantic when it comes to the S3
 
I went with the AH Fabs V2. Being made up now and should be here soon! Cathay have said I can take it included in my checked baggage allowance! Handy!
 
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lol nice nice i have to order that too but busy with my big brake kit and some new OZ wheels along with some new suspension... btw concerning the meet i think we should organize one for sydney a3/s3 owners especially during Easter time most have couple days off :p
 
I would come along but I'll be in the UK for about the next two weeks. Maybe in about a months time? Most people might be busy with family over easter anyhow I'd imagine?
 
yeah why not , a month sounds good im busy with some university work so.... not bad :p how many AU members we got in sydney if you know by any chance ?
 
I know of 3, maybe 4 other S3's in the area. A couple have posted above :) We'll have to do it after I've got my FMIC on of course!
 
Sam_ said:
I know of 3, maybe 4 other S3's in the area. A couple have posted above :) We'll have to do it after I've got my FMIC on of course!
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lol sure no worries i need to fit my tarox big brake kit my OZ racing ultra... B5 tip N75 , and my suspension :p car is going to audi for check up next tuesday 8am so i am hopping they'll do the job and the car will be ready for our meet :p
 
The AH Fabs V2 FMIC arrived but I am still working out if the mounts are the correct way around (another thread up about it). Here's a pic of the cooler with an ayrton to show the size. Pretty hefty. Now to get it the 9,000 miles home. The JCS stainless hi grip clamps and 63mm 90 degree alloy and silicon bends are on their way.

ahfabsv2.jpg
 
s3_cooler.jpg


The AH Fabs intercooler is now all sorted after the issues with the mounts being the wrong way. They (Lars) were really helpful at getting it sorted. I've also got all the bits to fit the cooler and even bought new upper boost hoses from eBay:
Leon Cupra R Sfs Upper Boost Hoses S3/tt Bam Amk | eBay

And then the parts to do the cold side relocation:
Alloy Hose Blanking Plug Bung - BOV Dump Valve CNC Aluminium Billet Pipe Silicon | eBay
Silicone Flexible Flexi Wire Hose - Silicon Rubber Coolant Radiator Water Bend | eBay

Not expecting much to change with the cold side relocation but figured as the hoses have the extra T to do it, I may as well...

Really keen to get this little lot fitted when I get back. Just hope the mrs will let me have some time to do it haha :)
 
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its called work at night thats what i do otherwise its hopeless.... congrats on the cooler mate however on the 90 degree pipes what length did you go as im looking to get one
 
Ah she'll be OK really. Just that I've been away. I went with 130mm but they sent 150mm so I'll see how I go. They should be ok.

Annoyingly the guy with the SFS hoses can't ship them until Saturday so they'll arrive after I've left the UK :/
 
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