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- Oct 31, 2007
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After 4.5 years of reasonably happy motoring, the S3 is being returned to OEM this week in readiness for part-exing. I was expecting the new car to be ready for collection at the weekend, but it appears a delay may now mean that the date has moved to end of next week .
Yesterday I was in Brackley for a meeting, and I chanced an opportunity to drop into APS in Brackley as they were based locally to the venue. I'd put the old exhaust in the car on Saturday afternoon after ADI knowing I would have to prioritise getting the car put back to standard pretty quickly.
I turned up early and asked Ed (the head man at APS) whether they would have any spare time in their schedule to whip off the stainless pipework and replace it with the OEM tat in the boot. They already had another S3 8P in for a clutch and coilovers, and an R32 for something else, so it would be a close shave but may be do-able. I said if he could do it then great, if not no it wasn't an issue.
As luck should have it by the end of the day the job was done, and at a very reasonable price. Given the service standards I received during the day I will definitely be using them again. Very clean garage, no bull**** approach, and just seem to be passionate about supporting Audi owners achieve their end game (& help pick up the pieces when the dealers fail to deliver as they so often do in the service arena). Top marks to them, they definitely stood up to their multiple Gold Awards from Audi Driver, and a batch of glowing reviews found from dredging the net. Only shame is they're not a Revo dealer, but then you can't have it all!
ITG / Forge catch can / Lamin-X / Alarm Chirps / NGK Iridiums / Forge hoses / Silvertec & PIAA bulbs / RS4 reps all need to be removed by the end of the week by my own fair hands, then it's a trip to Revo HQ to get the factory code reloaded on Saturday morning.
After 20 years of modding I've never really got over the misery of putting a car back to standard to sell when it's as good as this has been. I remember being hugely disappointed with the S3 out of the box, and the S2+ spec takes a competent car and somehow gives it a soul / makes it such much more fun to drive.
The initial run in period for the new S3 is going to be like pulling teeth having spent over £30k on something that lacks any real exhilaration. Only the thought of the final modification end game makes it a repeatable proposition. The upshot is as part of this miserable process I've found a really decent Audi independent who I can heartily recommend.
As for the difference after the upgraded TBE has been removed, it's.... well staggering to be honest. Amazing a bit of pipe can do so much!
Some memories of the old girl being put through her paces over the years, across 6 European countries and even popping my Ring cherry last year!
1) Last weekend at ADI:
2) 10 minutes after driving her fresh off the dealer forecourt back on 1st March 2007
3) At ADI 2007:
4) At Audi's in the Park
5) ADI 2010 (Staz riding shot gun)
6) At the Hotel at Nurburg 2010
7) At the Ring 2010
8) Saint Malo 2011
9) At ITG as the Maxogen S3 system was developed
10) An impromptu photo at sunrise in Berkshire
Yesterday I was in Brackley for a meeting, and I chanced an opportunity to drop into APS in Brackley as they were based locally to the venue. I'd put the old exhaust in the car on Saturday afternoon after ADI knowing I would have to prioritise getting the car put back to standard pretty quickly.
I turned up early and asked Ed (the head man at APS) whether they would have any spare time in their schedule to whip off the stainless pipework and replace it with the OEM tat in the boot. They already had another S3 8P in for a clutch and coilovers, and an R32 for something else, so it would be a close shave but may be do-able. I said if he could do it then great, if not no it wasn't an issue.
As luck should have it by the end of the day the job was done, and at a very reasonable price. Given the service standards I received during the day I will definitely be using them again. Very clean garage, no bull**** approach, and just seem to be passionate about supporting Audi owners achieve their end game (& help pick up the pieces when the dealers fail to deliver as they so often do in the service arena). Top marks to them, they definitely stood up to their multiple Gold Awards from Audi Driver, and a batch of glowing reviews found from dredging the net. Only shame is they're not a Revo dealer, but then you can't have it all!
ITG / Forge catch can / Lamin-X / Alarm Chirps / NGK Iridiums / Forge hoses / Silvertec & PIAA bulbs / RS4 reps all need to be removed by the end of the week by my own fair hands, then it's a trip to Revo HQ to get the factory code reloaded on Saturday morning.
After 20 years of modding I've never really got over the misery of putting a car back to standard to sell when it's as good as this has been. I remember being hugely disappointed with the S3 out of the box, and the S2+ spec takes a competent car and somehow gives it a soul / makes it such much more fun to drive.
The initial run in period for the new S3 is going to be like pulling teeth having spent over £30k on something that lacks any real exhilaration. Only the thought of the final modification end game makes it a repeatable proposition. The upshot is as part of this miserable process I've found a really decent Audi independent who I can heartily recommend.
As for the difference after the upgraded TBE has been removed, it's.... well staggering to be honest. Amazing a bit of pipe can do so much!
Some memories of the old girl being put through her paces over the years, across 6 European countries and even popping my Ring cherry last year!
1) Last weekend at ADI:
2) 10 minutes after driving her fresh off the dealer forecourt back on 1st March 2007
3) At ADI 2007:
4) At Audi's in the Park
5) ADI 2010 (Staz riding shot gun)
6) At the Hotel at Nurburg 2010
7) At the Ring 2010
8) Saint Malo 2011
9) At ITG as the Maxogen S3 system was developed
10) An impromptu photo at sunrise in Berkshire