S3 Clutch Life

Hellz

Hellz

Geordie Racer
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Hi all,

Sold my A3 3.2 a while back and after much searching and considering a plethora of cars have somehow arrived at the conclusion it would be a great idea to buy an S3.

The car I'm looking at has around 40k miles and will be going in for a full AUDI service incl. Haldex before I buy. Having been a member here for a while I'm aware there can often be clutch issues with an S3 however, this is usually mentioned in conjunction with a remap (does the clutch need upgrading at stage 1 or stage 2/2+?).

The car I'm looking at is standard (afaik) - at the 40k mileage mark is the clutch something that is likely needing changing or shouldve been changed already?

Cheers
 
at 40k it will prob last another 10-15k miles if you dont map it, depending how you drive it, if you map it even to stage 1 doubt you will get more then 4-5k out of it before it gives up the ghost
 
Is it essential to upgrade the clutch @ stage 1? I'd be looking to map it soon I think.
 
once the old clutch starts slipping yes, the OEM unit cant cope with more then 300bhp/lbft so if you put the standard set up back in it will fail pretty quickly again and any decent map will take it beyond that
 
You are assuming that there is a 40k mile S3 out there that is not mapped already...:)
 
There is evidence that later clutches, certainly OEMS fitted under warranty, are stronger. Try and find out if its had a replacement.

iirc I got 10K or so from mine with REVO Stage 1. Then did 4K on on the OEM replacement without any probs so difficult to tell. The replacement OEM certainly felt slightly heavier on the pedal but that could have been simply because it was new.

Its the ****test part of an excellent car. Apart from water ******* down the door card when you open the window after a rain fall. And the center console buttress that digs in your leg.

Apart from that you bought a fine car.
Enjoy.

cheers
Paul
 
Cheers Paul, I havent bought it yet, I'm picking it up this coming Friday providing all goes well (its in for its 40k service and a 128 point check? wednesday this week).

I'm used to the water and centre console issue having lived with the 3.2 and whilst I didnt have to worry about the clutch so much with that, I did have to worry about the timing chain, the DSG box going, the car not holding revs, the car cutting out, coil packs regularly dying etc etc etc...

I had put my 3.2 up for sale literally just before you put your S3 up for sale - was selfishly hoping yours wouldnt sell before mine so I could have a realistic chance of snapping yours up ;) wasnt to be. Finding the right spec at the right price is proving tricky.
 
audi upgrades
You are not joking Hellz !! i have had an allert on audis used car search for a S3 within 100miles with Cruise/ DSG/ light pack for over 6 months and not one alert. these are basic bits of kit on a BMW !! that said there must be a reason why i can get an all singing all dancing BM 330i coupe, 2010 with 5k miles on it for way cheaper than the same S3 with poor persons spec. ??????????
To be honest i would still rather have the 3.2 :)
What i have noticed is these low spec S3's hang about for ages, some have been for sale for the 6 months i have had an alert set. Their price drops and drops maybe 3k in that time so never ever pay what audi want.....!!!
 
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For info - Mine is July 2007 S3 on 44K miles, totally standard and has been since new. My clutch is fine ..touching wood as i type! no slip at all but i'd say with it being a weak area on the car it would depend how it has been driven over the years.

Map it and you'd need a new one soon i'd bet. As above mines standard and i don't abuse my car at all - no probs yet ....

Si
 
I know what you mean Paddy - so many basic specs out there with motorway miles and 2 lady owners or good specs that are CAT D where 'only the bumper' was scuffed....

I've given up on getting the 'ideal' spec I'm after which wouldve included DSG (even though it worried the **** out of me on my 3.2) I like the idea of the new and improved 7 speed on an S3 but they are few and far between and out of my comfort zone when it comes to hatchback spend. Back to cog stirring which isnt necessarily a bad thing :)

I'm having to compromise but the 2.0 TFSI nor the 170CR/PD do it for me regardless of how you can mod/remap/ring the life out of them. The 3.2 was/is awesome despite all the niggles and worries - mine had character and I have sorely missed her - best car I have owned to date without doubt.

Looking forward to the next audi chapter though - S3 here we come. Ownership had better be all its cracked up to be ;)
 
Thanks SiT, I tend to like to put my foot down at times but not before a car has warmed up etc. I'll see what the car is like standard and live with it for a while before taking the stage 1 leap which is probably as far as I intend to go - gets v expensive after that to achieve marked improvement.

Having said that - I bought a standard 8P1 S line 3.2 with no intention of modding it. Within 6-8 months of reading what other people were doing/had done here it went through a number of changes - I'm not going to buckle this time though :)
 
Hellz said:
I know what you mean Paddy - so many basic specs out there with motorway miles and 2 lady owners or good specs that are CAT D where 'only the bumper' was scuffed....

I've given up on getting the 'ideal' spec I'm after which wouldve included DSG (even though it worried the **** out of me on my 3.2) I like the idea of the new and improved 7 speed on an S3 but they are few and far between and out of my comfort zone when it comes to hatchback spend. Back to cog stirring which isnt necessarily a bad thing :)

I'm having to compromise but the 2.0 TFSI nor the 170CR/PD do it for me regardless of how you can mod/remap/ring the life out of them. The 3.2 was/is awesome despite all the niggles and worries - mine had character and I have sorely missed her - best car I have owned to date without doubt.

Looking forward to the next audi chapter though - S3 here we come. Ownership had better be all its cracked up to be ;)
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you there mate! I speant ages looking for an S3 with my ideal spec/colour!!!! There is way too many dodgy ones out there.
 
Good luck with the new car fella - it should live up to your expectations, especially after mapping.

Has been said above really. My OEM clutch was fine as std for 30k, then started slipping in very cold weather about 3 months / 4k miles after I'd gone stage 1.

Your new cars clutch might have started slipping on the previous owner, but at least with your warranty it can go straight back if it does.

Look on the bright side as I did - £1k on an uprated clutch means it'd be rude not to go to stage 2 / 2+ tunability and so much more torque...


Paddy - searching about for an S3? Got rid of your anti S3 T-shirt then?!!!!
 
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BigBird said:
Paddy - searching about for an S3? Got rid of your anti S3 T-shirt then?!!!!
Click to expand...

Lol...I think i could have sold a lot of those :)
As the 3.2 gets older the S3 becomes the only choice now if you want a new car with quattro/DSG and a bit of go. Even us die hard V6 guys are going to have to accept that the days of 3.2 V6 shopping cars have gone for ever and clutch munching, turbo exploding, need to map it type cars are here to stay . If i could buy another 3.2 new i would have ordered it yesterday. especially if it had been fitted with the S5 v6 which is what they should have done in the first place. The + side is the A3 body/size/comfort and finish and thats why i look at maybe a S3 but the clutch/dealers service and silly price for poor spec always makes me shy away.....That and the love of my V6.....listen hard......can you hear it ?? :wub:
 
My s3 did the first 10000 miles without a remap and the clutch was fine, I then had it remapped with a revo stage 1, and it started to slip very slightly almost immediately , I didnt actually realise it was clutch slip, just felt like a very small flatspot in the revs. I carried on driving it until 33000 miles where it started to slip significantly and obviously.

I recently had a sachs performance clutch fitted and a new dual mass flywheel, and its fine now, Its really good, it actually feels faster than it used to with the standard clucth presumably because now the clutch isnt even slipping slightly. Hopefully will be fine for a long time, although I have some concerns about the dual mass flywheel. if it fails again I'll go for a single mass one, but hopefully it will last at least as long as I own the car.
 
In short,the OEM clutch is made of chocolate or something similar,and will not last long with a remap beyond 320lbs of torque,as it's that which kills the clutch.

Mine was fine up until the remaps,and rapidly expired after that,although the Sachs replacement,rated to about 400lbs,has coped very well with Stg2+ and now Stg3 for a total of 27 000 miles.
 
My friend has had two S3s mapped, both on around 40k miles and the clutch started slipping not long after the remap, however he took the map off and they were fine. I'm planning to have mine mapped (2008 on 21k) but would prefer not to have the drama of fitting a new clutch so soon after buying the car!
 
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