n00b questions from new a3 1.8 T quattro buyer

[DrWu]

Hey all

been lurking for a while, I have some questions for you knowledgeable types!

I recently bought an A3 quattro (1.8 T 1999 V) - very nice. I'm well pleased with it.

Do all quattro's come with ESP as standard? Theres a distinct lack of a button on the dash!

If ESP isn't standard is it activated by a button? And is there a big difference between the normal 4wd and 4wd with ESP?

IS it true that after stopping the car I should leave the engine on for 30 secs? Something to do with the turbo?

Anyone experienced a strange knocking sound? Seems associated with the wheel bearings (at least a mechanic friend of mine told me), but I just wondered if anyone had experienced it on one of theirs. It seems wheel related as it speeds up with the rate of the car. You can slightly feel it as well, so it's not just rattling.


As you can guess, I don't know a hell of a lot about cars, I just like driving them and after driving this I thought it was great. Any help is appreciated.

cheers!

 

[Drill]

DrWu,
First off, welcome to ASN (Or at least, for your first post /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

IIRC ESP came std from either 2000 or 2001 on, which explains why you're without. I've never driven one w/out ESP, but HAVE deactivated the ESP on mine, and there's a bit of a difference, but mainly when you're driving a bit more "agressive" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif (Or in adverse conditions such as the icy road I hit this morning /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile_smoking.gif)
As for idling your engine for a bit before shutting it off.... you'll get mixed reactions to this, some'll say you need to, others not. IMO, if you've really thrashed the engine on your drive, and pull straight off to park, THEN you might want to idle for a minute or 2. But in normal daily driving, I don't see much need /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

That's about all I can help with, but I'm sure you'll get more info from the rest of these guys /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

 

[DrWu]

Thanks for the info. I'm a little gutted about that, as I thought it had it. Don't get me wrong, it handles sweetly anyway, but it would have been nice to have another gadget.

Wu

 

[Drill]

Well dude, if it makes you feel any better.... if I plan on "Driving" my car, I always turn it off anyway /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/groovy.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif