Thats a shame tuffty! Been waiting so long for this to be up and running.
Engine bay looking very smart and OEM btw

It is a shame but highlights the issues of disturbing stuff thats not been touched for the life of the car... I find this out more often on my Mk2 Golf of course as most things are fairly rotten after 20 years but if nothing else anyone reading this can be prepared for the worst...

The cars been running for most of the time I have been doing the work... usually only off the road for a few weeks a year for major stuff... I am hoping that after this little lot and the inlet manifold that will be the majority of major issues sorted and I can actually enjoy her for a few years before the inevitable bottom end rebuild...

Should all be running this week though so I can get the battery relocation done... kinda need to do that before doing the inlet manifold really a it will give me better options for pipework routes...

<tuffty/>
 
Parts turned up from TPS today...
CRW_4541.jpg


Part numbers are 1J0 121 087 C for the 45 deg elbow with the top and bottom outlets and N 906 929 01 for the t-piece one...

Fitted them and ran the car up to 90 degs... took the car for a drive round the block and all is good with the world again... yay!

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finally fit the battery tray in the boot and will be bleeding the brakes as its time I did :)

<tuffty/>
 
Productive day.... while Bill was having a much deserved day off I cracked on with fitting the tray for the battery relocation...

Removed the back box and heat shield so I could access underneath for bolting stuff in...
CRW_4544.jpg


Worked out where the tray was going to go... up against the back of the boot...
CRW_4546.jpg


Marked it all up and made spacers as the boot floor isn't flat... bolted it all down, looking good so far...
CRW_4557.jpg


As I am using a lead/acid battery inside the car (albeit in the boot) you need to vent it externally... batterys usually come with two breather holes, one each side and a little plug to plug one up if needed...
CRW_4562.jpg


I then modded a 90 deg pipe joiner (6mm one IIRC... its one I had kicking about..) and there is a handy grommet next to the battery for running the vent pipe outside...
CRW_4565.jpg


CRW_4569.jpg


Drilled the hole for the earth lead and cleaned off the paint to get a good connection...
CRW_4566.jpg


Used an M8 SS bolt and made a stud for the earth lead to connect too... made an earth lead from 50mm sq welding cable... crimped the terminals on for a solid connection...
CRW_4570.jpg


That all done I sealed all the bolts and holes underneath with high temp sealant... seam sealer would have worked just as well but didn't have any to hand...
CRW_4573.jpg


Thats the tray in... need to pull out some of the interior now so I can run the cable to the engine bay (I already have my 4 gauge amp cable run so will need to replace that and re-route to the back)... also need to trim around the boot carpet and make a trim panel to fit over the top of the battery as it will stick up a bit... I have another S3 boot carpet to use to trim the panel... job done...
CRW_4581.jpg


With that done I got on with a full brake fluid replacement as when I tested it the other week it was over the limit moisture wise... I used ATE Blue fluid this time rather than Motul RBF660 this time mainly because Bill had it on the shelf...

Cut myself a little funnel out of a water bottle and bled away... all four corners, clutch and master cylinder...
CRW_4576.jpg


Good thing about the ATE Blue is I could easily tell when the old fluid had bled through as the tube went blue...
CRW_4580.jpg


Once that was done I did a quick check over the coolant hose clips and as expected they felt loose again... this is fairly typical of silicon hoses... boost pipes are the same... usually have to go around the clips again after a day on the dyno after the initial build...

Happy days :D

<tuffty/>
 
I like PT! I was planning on using super blue next as well for the same reason as you!

What sort of bleeder are you using there? Vacuum?

Looking good :)
 
still keeping the battery cover to keep it oem i assume? lol.

Of course :)

I will most likely get rid of the tray etc when I come to make a larger TIP as the intake may end up there... I also need room for the WMI tank which is likely to go in there somewhere too now rather than in the car...

I like PT! I was planning on using super blue next as well for the same reason as you!

What sort of bleeder are you using there? Vacuum?

Looking good :)

Yeah, vacuum bleeder... if I was doing it home I would have used my Eezi Bleed of course :)

<tuffty/>
 
I just want o add that I also share your mild obsession for oem! It's a bit sad I know but there is just something about it!

I love what you have done with your s3. I haven't read your whole thread as I'm very impatient. But what sort of bhp are you running? I'm a blaster and painter by trade wish I felt competent enough to take rocker over and pipe and intake off to do them but wouldn't know where to start!
 
I just want o add that I also share your mild obsession for oem! It's a bit sad I know but there is just something about it!

I love what you have done with your s3. I haven't read your whole thread as I'm very impatient. But what sort of bhp are you running? I'm a blaster and painter by trade wish I felt competent enough to take rocker over and pipe and intake off to do them but wouldn't know where to start!

Somewhere between 360hp and 380hp depending on how she is feeling when on the dyno lol...

tbh I haven't really done much dyno work since the last major work at christmas as I am rewriting the map... I have a good base map that I am running atm but its not tuned for power yet... there have been som many hardware changes since I first did the conversion that it made sense to start again...

Not long now though, few more odds and sods to do and should be able to get her back on the dyno and tweak the map..

<tuffty/>
 
Are you using aftermarket cable for the battery lead? I'm sure you know but the TT 240bhp version has the battery in the boot, if you want a more OEM look you could use that, assuming you can by the cabling or find one being broken.
 
Let's say it's the latter 360bhp, that's still awesome! 0-60 got to be sub 5 secs? You running haldex controller or similar?...

What road tyres you on?
 
Are you using aftermarket cable for the battery lead? I'm sure you know but the TT 240bhp version has the battery in the boot, if you want a more OEM look you could use that, assuming you can by the cabling or find one being broken.

I am using 50mm sq welding cable... have used the same stuff on a couple of customer cars with no issues and its relatively cheap
CRW_4458.jpg


Let's say it's the latter 360bhp, that's still awesome! 0-60 got to be sub 5 secs? You running haldex controller or similar?...

What road tyres you on?

0-60 in 4.2secs verified using a Racelogic v-box... no haldex controller... FK452's

<tuffty/>
 
4.2. ! Fricking sweeeet! Not a fan of fk452 though, but bet you shred tyres rapidly. Cost of build so far.......?
 
What an interesting read, unfortunate with the coolant, but theses things happen I guess. I like what you have done with the battery, nice tidy job as usual. Some good progress since my last read Paul. Good pics and description makes it a really interesting read. Cant wait for the next installment. :) x
 
Found an hour or so this afternoon to make a start on getting the next bit of the battery relocation done... started by removing the rear trim panel and sill trim... then removed the trim panel in the boot and moved the sub out the way...
CRW_4598.jpg


Removed this bracket to get the cable tucked in nicely... will have to mod it though as the cable won't fit nicely behind it... thats ok though as its for the luggage handles which I don't really use...
CRW_4599.jpg


Routed the cable out the way securing it often with cable ties to prevent it from rattling...
CRW_4600.jpg


I didn't want to run the amp cable back the battery doubling up the amount of cabling so I used a junction box in the cavity behind the rear panel where my amp is and will take the feed from there directly...
CRW_4603.jpg


...a closer look...
CRW_4604.jpg


That was how I left it for now... need to disconnect the amp cable from the battery and run the battery cable along the sill while pulling up the amp cable... if I have a spare 5 mins tomorrow I may do that although the weather is looking ok for the latter half of the week so will have some evenings to be able to play...

One last thing for now... I started to get the dreaded 4 beeps from the boot indicating the alarm battery is on its way out...

**edit**
I have found a tutorial (or two) on how to change the battery courtesy of Westy (thanks Neil)... http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...ight-mechanics-replacing-alarm-batteries.html

Hopefully get to finish it all this week..

<tuffty/>
 
Last edited:
Looks good, so whats going to go in all that spare wheel space ???? NOS :cool:
 
Looks good, so whats going to go in all that spare wheel space ???? NOS :cool:

God no... lol :)

I'll me Bering an eye on this thread tuffty as I want to relocate my battery if I ever get me way and am able to fully strip my car.

BTW I think that guide was mine ;)

No worries and I have edited the credit :thumbsup:

<tuffty/>
 
Last edited:
Looks great mate, top work as always. Relocating the battery to the boot was one of the best mods i did to my old mk2. Cleaned up the bay very nicely. Im thinking of doing it on the S3 so i too can benefit from a better induction and charge pipe route.

What are you doing spare wheel wise? Simply not carrying one?
 
Looks great mate, top work as always. Relocating the battery to the boot was one of the best mods i did to my old mk2. Cleaned up the bay very nicely. Im thinking of doing it on the S3 so i too can benefit from a better induction and charge pipe route.

What are you doing spare wheel wise? Simply not carrying one?

Plan is to compartment out the wheel well and use a VAG pump/wheel sealer kit (like newer VAGs) for most of the time and maybe sling the space saver in the boot for longer journeys...

<tuffty/>
 
Plan is to compartment out the wheel well and use a VAG pump/wheel sealer kit (like newer VAGs) for most of the time and maybe sling the space saver in the boot for longer journeys...

<tuffty/>

SMART idea... Tuffty
 
Took advantage of the break in the crappy weather and cracked on getting some more done on the car...

Fitted the modded bracket....
CRW_4606.jpg


Removed the glove box to make it easier to see what I was doing...
CRW_4608.jpg


Taped the 50mm cable to the 4 gauge to make it easier to pull through...
CRW_4616.jpg


..and removed the pollen filter housing for better access to get teh grommet fitted and sealant applied...
CRW_4614.jpg


Terminated the end to the starter motor...
CRW_4618.jpg


...and connected it and the fuse box that was on top of the battery to the terminal block...
CRW_4617.jpg


Connected the battery and started the car...
CRW_4621.jpg


All good.. car starts and all seems well... and of course the engine bay still looks standard (ish) ;P
CRW_4622.jpg


Things left to do include.... a new earth cable from the chassis to the top of the gearbox to replace the std one.. this will be made from 50mm cable too... tidy up of the fuse box and fix it in properly.... brackets to support the battery cover and the air box now I have removed the battery tray... and a short cable run to get power to the amps again :D

I have also ordered the batteries needed to sort the alarm unit so will be removing that and following Westy's guide...

Happy days :D

<tuffty/>
 
PT, I get bored of saying it, but really, nice work :)

Your build is an absolute inspiration to hundreds, maybe thousands of people! I cannot for the life of my understand why it doesn't get more replies!
 
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I can't believe all the work you have done and it looks oem. Great work as always.
 
Hes not human, hes a cyborg sent back from the future to show us how this S3 malarky works!
 
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Managed to catch a break in between showers and fitted the replacement earth lead... made from 50mm welding cable same as the rest it should help minimise voltage drop to the engine...
CRW_4623.jpg


Bolted to the original earthing posts under the battery tray (that was) and also secured the extra earth line I ran to the head etc...
CRW_4624.jpg


Still waiting for the batteries I ordered from Maplins are they appear they are now out of stock but seeing as the rain isn't giving me much of a window to do much then I can wait...

<tuffty/>
 
Some more good progress since my last read Paul. Keep up the good work, you inspire so many others on here. :) x
 
is the battery easy to move over PT should you need to access the warning triangle?

Looking good :) Can't believe it's still looking so OEM!
 
is the battery easy to move over PT should you need to access the warning triangle?

Looking good :) Can't believe it's still looking so OEM!

The battery is held in with a strap so its not difficult to move if need be... not really on the top of my todo list when placing the battery... if need be I'll just move the triangle... got plenty of space in the wheel well... :)

<tuffty/>
 
Good work dude! Finally had some time off from fixing my car to work on yours lol :)
 
Bit more done tonight seeing as the weather is ok...

The amount of free space now the battery is gone is quite impressive...
CRW_4625.jpg


Just need to pull my finger out I guess and get the inlet manifold sorted so I can make use of the space for new pipes and other stuff :)

I got hold of a new loom for the coil packs as I had 'repaired' mine ages ago and was looking sorry for itself with broken plugs and dodgy insulation...
CRW_4632.jpg


Cut the new loom in and soldered the wires rather than try and run it back to the ECU etc... mainly due to the replacement being a generic loom rather than one specific for the S3... the S3 loom has 3 earth wires that connect to the main earth of the loom where the replacement didn't so had to make sure that was all joined up... just something to consider when doing this..
CRW_4627.jpg


All done, need to tidy the wiring a bit and replace some of the convoluted sheathing but its another job done :)
CRW_4629.jpg


Still waiting on the batteries for the alarm but they are in stock now so hopefully not too long to wait now... once I get that finished and the power cable terminated for the amps I can put the interior back together... yay!

<tuffty/>
 
Whats the plan for the new found space dude? Seems a bit untidy for you ;)
 
Whats the plan for the new found space dude? Seems a bit untidy for you ;)

I am going to re route the charge pipe through that space when I fit the inlet manifold, I am hoping there will be enough room left for a small WMI tank too...

Other things that may happen depending on available room/priority is an oil catch tank and some free space for when I upsize the TIP from the 76mm it is now to at least 90mm in the future...

Priority will be to get the inlet on and piped up then will see whats left and plan from there :)

<tuffty/>
 
So much of awesomeness in this thread!

Awesome Work tuffty :icon_thumright:
 
Last edited:
So much of awesomeness in this thread!

Awesome Work Tuffy :icon_thumright:


i wouldn't be surprised if he corrected you its Tuftty :p lol as he did to me but i seriously couldn't get it right
 

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