My S3 8L Progress Thread

Adam P

Adam P

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I have owned my A3 S3 8L for a few months now and decided to start a project thread as I love it so much! I bought the car standard with 80k on the clock this year in June. The only modification the car had was some rs4 alloys. I have just finished getting the front end of the car how i want it so here is a picture. I have sprayed the front badge and surround black, fitted a cupra r front splitter and installed some pressed plates complete with ABT tuning number plate surrounds. A smaller aerial and some aero wiper blades are also additions. Any way heres how it looks now. :)

IMG_1553.png


My aim is to upload pictures as i go. Next things on the list which are currently underway are : lowering suspension, a forge 007p valve and vent boost gauge.

Hope you guys like :)

Cheers
Adam
 
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Very nice mate, is the grill and rings matt or gloss black? Also have you done the rear rings?
 
Cheers mate. I sprayed them in gloss black then lacquered them. I removed the rear audi rings as there was damage to one of them so it currently just has the s3 badge at the moment. :)
 
Managed to fit my vent boost gauge today :) Pretty pleased with the fitement.

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The best colour, :) Nice little jobs done.

If you like nice inexpensive mods, replace all bulbs to LEDs and the effect on her at night is great.
 
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Looking good!

Where did you get the aero wipers from?
 
Jimgrim77 said:
The best colour, :) Nice little jobs done.

If you like nice inexpensive mods, replace all bulbs to LEDs and the effect on her at night is great.
Click to expand...

Cheers mate, i will admit when she is clean and polished the paintwork does come up well
cool.gif
i will have a look into the LEDs :thumbsup:
 
Just a quick update. Got myself a Samco sport TIP and a set of Apex lowering springs. Just waiting for some decent weather to fit them :banghead: Next on the list is the exhaust. Most probably going to head up to MIJ in birmingham for this. Have many people used MIJ before? They seem pretty helpful on the phone and a cat back exhaust with a choice of tail pipes for £280 I'm thinking i can't go wrong really.....

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Found a link for the MIJ system i would go for:
Audi S3 Stainless steel exhaust system - YouTube
 
That exhaust sounds great. Do they make them to order or build them on the car?
 
yeah i didn't really want to come across as a cruel kill joy but i thought he might want to know that he has overlooked something that he may wish he hadn't
 
Mi7rennie said:
That exhaust sounds great. Do they make them to order or build them on the car?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately they don't make them to order as i asked previously and if they could arrange a courier. In my opinion its worth the trip for me. :cool:
 
Alex C said:
yeah i didn't really want to come across as a cruel kill joy but i thought he might want to know that he has overlooked something that he may wish he hadn't
Click to expand...

Alex this is all new to me, il have a look at your links. I assume the badger 5 is highly recommended?
I went for the Samco one purely because I got a good price second hand off eBay and was advised to upgrade before remapping as the standard ones are prone to collapsing.
 
yes it is highly recommended. It maintains the ~3" diameter of the MAF tube all the way through to the turbo inlet which minimizes frictional losses and lets the turbo breath more freely. I think i have seen gains anywhere up to 20bhp quoted with the Badger 5 3" TIP and a jetex cone alone (with dynos pre and post install to prove the claims)

If you look at the Samco TIP you can see the large gauge hose at the MAF end but it tapers towards the turbo inlet end meaning the turbo has to do more work to pull the air through it when compared to a full 3" version

Sorry i didn't mean to make light of the Samco hose but thought you would like to know what else is available
 
Just a quick update on the s3 as it has been a couple of months. I managed to get round to fitting the lowering springs pictured above. The car sits a lot better now and the horrible arch gaps have gone :icon_thumright: the ride is a bit firmer but not to harsh which is what i wanted as it is my daily drive. The car is filthy at the moment so will get some pictures up of ride height and stance at the weekend. My favourite mod which was done over christmas was my long-life custom cat back exhaust (shown below) next few mods coming up are, bailey Motorsport dv30, decat and jetex filter.

IMG_1914_zps1e18c100.jpg


:racer:
 
Did you got with a single baffle or twin baffle, and most importantly was it expensive, sub £437, cheaper than Milltex?

You went longlife compared to the MIJ system, just wondering why? cheaper I hope lol.
 
Im chuffed with it, i think it sounds awesome especially on boost! The only video of a powerflow exhaust on an s3 i can find is the one below however the s3 in the video has an uprated down pipe and decat. Mine is just the cat back. Sound wise it is similar i just dont get the pops and bangs on let off :sob:

Audi S3 3" Downpipe, Decat and Powerflow Exhaust - YouTube

Anyhow, this evening i removed the standard bosch recirc valve and replaced it with a baileys DV30. Was straight forward to fit and seems to hold boost well.

baileysdv30_zps95691945.jpg


With regards to the price i paid for the exhaust it was substantially cheaper than the miltek system. A friend of a friend is in the motorsport industry and managed to sort me out a very good price and when i was looking at £280 plus fuel to drive to birmingham this was a much better option for me as it was local. :shutup2:
 
Just a quick picture of the s3 after a wash this weekend. The paintwork seemed to come up well especially after the winter weather and muck on the roads. :icon_thumright:

image_zpsee3fb8ee.jpg


Thinking the next item on the list is a change of wheels. I like the rstt wheels but something a bit more aggressive would be nice.
 
Noticed that the springs have seemed to have settled quite nicely now and given the car a nice stance :cool:

image-1_zpsb5ae6ca5.jpeg


Still unsure what to do about the wheels tho, spacers? refurb them black? go for some 17"avus? or pro race 1.2 / bbs ch reps?

I do like this look a lot!!

image_zps4fec25ec.png
 
Car looks good fella. I prefer the wheels that are on it now. What are the next plans for it?
 
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Cheers mate, the next thing i need to sort is replacing the window clips on the passenger side as they are broken, got the replacement clips just waiting for a dry weekend! :think:

Mod wise i would like to uprate the down pipe and decat at some point. I think the brakes need some attention next and then i want to get her on the rollers at JKM and see what she's putting out.
 
Adam P said:
Cheers mate, the next thing i need to sort is replacing the window clips on the passenger side as they are broken, got the replacement clips just waiting for a dry weekend! :think:

Mod wise i would like to uprate the down pipe and decat at some point. I think the brakes need some attention next and then i want to get her on the rollers at JKM and see what she's putting out.
Click to expand...

A non-snowy day would be awesome at the moment for me too. I've got a downpipe waiting to go on after the MOT as I have a decat too. But I want to get it mapped after the DP is on although I have a few niggles to get rid of first.

I love the look of S3s but can't justify the price over what I paid for mine (£1k). R32 brakes are next aren't they for S3s?

Power run :rockwoot:
 
Hi Adam,
Is there no problem fitting lowering springs without adjustable tie arms? I want to lower my car but have been put off doing so because I thought I'd need to replace the tie arms for after market ones as well. I don't do track driving so It's mainly for looks, not for handling aspect.
thanks,
Callum.
 
Judder man : Iv been looking at the brembo set up from the leon cupra r as i think they look awesome through the wheels. They seem a bit pricy so just keeping as eye out on ebay for a bargain. Going to get it on the rollers within the next month and see whats what!:blackrs4: what sort of bhp figure are you looking for on your 1.8t?

CmcKenzie : I have had no issues with fitting my springs atall, the ride is much stiffer and the car seems more planted. The guy to ask would be Tuffty. I believe the tie arms help reduce the ammount of camber. Mine seems to be fine tho. Heres a link from a previous thread :

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...ho-has-30mm-apex-springs-fitted-there-s3.html

Mentions tyre wear and camber etc aswell as personal preference. :racer:
 
The LCR brembo set up is impressive. Picked up mine through eBay bargain, reconditioned and then installed. The 4 pots, whilst weighing more than standard with the larger discs, give much better braking when driving faster for longer with less fade.

They also look great
 
Jimgrim, do you have any pictures of your brakes you could post up? Also if you don't mind me asking how much did you pay? :detective2:
 
£400 ...a steal. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359750450784336

Not the best image but all I had on my iPad

The 323mm discs were about another £199 from eurocarparts.

The existing brembo pads still had plenty of life thankfully.
 
They look smart! See you were on the rollers, what figures did u get?

I'm planning on geting mine on a 4wd one this month.
 
Adam P said:
Judder man : Iv been looking at the brembo set up from the leon cupra r as i think they look awesome through the wheels. They seem a bit pricy so just keeping as eye out on ebay for a bargain. Going to get it on the rollers within the next month and see whats what!:blackrs4: what sort of bhp figure are you looking for on your 1.8t?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the vent link :) Planning eeking 220bhp from my 1.8T. Sounds possible from what I've read. I kinda want to hit the magic 200bhp/tonne though but that would mean putting the car on a diet which isn't an option. Somewhere close would be awesome. After seeing Jardo's videos yesterday I think 220 would be about right as his spins up at the top of 3rd!!
 
No worries Judderman :icon_thumright: have you ordered one up?

Plan tomorrow is to fit my uprated headlight bulbs and restore the headlights with Turtle wax kit.

Also if i get time an oil and filter change and the dreaded window clips on the passanger side need doing.

image-2_zpsec4f7f62.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the link Alex. :beerchug:

Right today i managed to fit the uprated headlight bulbs and use the turtle wax headlight restoration kit on the front headlights.
The oil and filter change will have to wait for another day. Anyway here is a before and after shot of the passenger headlight. Im pretty pleased with the end result.

image-7_zpsd402c08d.jpeg


image-8_zpsa9b3c6b3.jpeg
 
Right the spacers have now turned up. Hopefully these will fill the arches a bit more and give a bit more of an aggressive stance. Looking forward to fitting them :rockwoot:Im still undecided on what to do wheel wise? Thinking the RSTT's would look good in black.

image_zps97f02a0b.png


image_zps5abb3e2f.jpeg
 
What size spacers did you get? Also don't forget to buy some new longer locking bolts :)

Did you end up buying some window clips as I bought 8 by mistake if you need a couple? I will be fitting mine tomorrow along with the new buckets when they arrive.
 
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