My overdue progress/picture thread: Now with Sprint Blue S3 content

smurfworth

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So basically I've been meaning to do one of these for a while, its a progress/picture thread because i don't exactly build cars and i don't think changing a few things like alloys, lights and lowering means you "build" a car.

Anyway, basically i started out on the forums at the age of 18 just after christmas with my first A3, the main reason for having an A3 at 18 was not because mummy and daddy are rich but because i ended up in a pretty horrific car accident where a drunk driver hit me almost head on with an impact speed of nearly 100mph. After my first car did a good job of saving myself and others i wanted a stronger car.

I started out with a 2002 1.8T, which turned out to be such a problem child and having to spend almost every weekend working on. Anyway heres a picture of how that ended up.

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So i had that for almost a year, and then got fed up of spending so much money on it and went out and bought a 2006 A3 2.0TDI 140.

I intended, like almost everyone else on here, not to modify or play with it and save for a S3 8P like I've always wished for. Famous last words ay. This is how it looked back then.

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So after rolling around like that for a while, i started getting a little bored of the sluggishness of the tdi as standard. So after a month a remap was applied, this made it so much better and fed my need to modify. I also changed a few other things like having MY09 rear lights as one side was cloudy, LED sidelights and philips diamond vision bulbs as the standard halogens are horrid.

I always wanted a set of BBS LM's when i had my old car so a bargain set came up on ebay and i foolishly bought them while i was bored at work. I polished the lips a little and installed some H&R 50mm lowering springs which i ran for a few months.

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Polishing in your bedroom, as you do, mum loves me :motz:

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A month or so later i bought a snow foam lance, which is really cool, helps to remove the majority of the dirt before you go rubbing it into the paint.

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As a result of that, a wash and wax we ended up with two shiny A3's

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Then of course a few days later, and this being england it rained, producing this

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So then a few months later i started to think the ride was getting bouncy and i always wanted it lower than the lowering springs could give me so a set of AP coilovers were bought. They were wound all the way down and i was alot happier with it. As far as I'm concerned its now on the limit of being practical and looking nice, ideal for a daily.

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I was rather amused when i looked underneath to find what was dragging along the floor

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The under tray kind of fell off due to the height its at, doesn't scrape anymore unless you go over bumps like a lunatic where the subframe hits the floor, thats not a nice sound.

I then started looking for some winter wheels and always wanted a set of fat fives and after months of searching found some that were in a pretty bad way.

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i then spent some time doing a little refurb on them myself, sanding down, filling, painting etc

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They were then sprayed with the wurth rattle cans producing this

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A few days ago i then had them put on the car, it looks better than i thought it would and these pics are taken after going through some of the deep dark lanes we have here in the south west so excuse the dirt.

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So thats it now, all upto date, always been meaning to tidy the rear up by dewipering and debadging and been meaning to order some pressed plates but apart from that, comments/critics welcome :racer:
 
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what you said about saving for an S3, my exact problem atm, with my A3, to MOD or to save?.... big question!

After you spray on the snow foam, do you just pressure wash it off, or have to scrub it lol?

and i like the colour!
 
Much prefer the fat fives on that car, better suited for sure :)
 
what you said about saving for an S3, my exact problem atm, with my A3, to MOD or to save?.... big question!

After you spray on the snow foam, do you just pressure wash it off, or have to scrub it lol?

and i like the colour!

Well, I've come to the conclusion that if I was to part with the tdi whatever replaces it must be extremely special. Due to this one having the majority of the options, full heated leather, rnse, auto lights wipers and dim mirror, parking sensors etc etc I'd say an s3 must have all this plus the RS4 buckets.

You out leave the foam to dwell for 5-15 mins depending how impatient you are then rinse of and wash with a bucket after, cheers :D

Much prefer the fat fives on that car, better suited for sure :)

Glad you agree, I think fat wheels suit the fat 8P, won't miss cleaning those LM's!
 
+1 for the fat 5's... they look sehr gut! (Like ma German? lol)

As for building a car... what exactly is involved with building a car.. I built a Fiesta RS Turbo from a shell when I was 22... But changing the bits you describe is more than your average person can handle, so kudos to who all who gives it a go, we all have to start somewhere..! :blush:

Cars looking good fella... keep up the good work! :thumbsup:
 
+1 for the fat 5's... they look sehr gut! (Like ma German? lol)

As for building a car... what exactly is involved with building a car.. I built a Fiesta RS Turbo from a shell when I was 22... But changing the bits you describe is more than your average person can handle, so kudos to who all who gives it a go, we all have to start somewhere..! :blush:

Cars looking good fella... keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

Your german man is better than mine, I had to google that haha

Your fiesta sounds like what I'd call a build, im a mechanical engineer by trade though so don't consider this a build.

Cheers for the kind words :respekt:
 
haha.. I done German at school, its 1 of the very few things I remember... Yeah it was a bulid and a half, but cars were a lot simpler back then.. not something i'll do again in a hurry, but enjoyed it at the time... Sold it not long after it was mot'd so I think the thrill was more in the build lol...

I'm a communications engineer so car building/modding is just a hobby to me, or a wallet curse, you decide :)
 
I'd consider it a good leaning curve, my first a3 was an awesome leaning curve as a result of it breaking all the time, I can pretty much tell you most things about the engine on that and what to do if things go wrong haha

Id say it's a good hobby, see I have enough of getting to awkward places and having to put up with bashing knuckles and struggling to undo never ending bolts on a daily basis so I don't exactly enjoy doing the same thing crawling around on the floor when I'm at home haha

Its nice to own the diesel, not have hardly any problems and just drive it, the more it simply works the more I'm amazed by it!
 
Just thought I'd mention, the car seems to be getting lower, the coilovers have been on for a bit over 2 months now.

The car seems to catch on bumps it never normally catches on, it's alright though, it looks good haha

Surely the coilovers can't be still settling?
 
Nice progress thread mate and the cars looking very nice. I think the LM's would of looked better if they were bigger but now that you have the fat fives on I think that they look nicer. Any thoughts on a front splitter or rear valance? You are lucky you have the split rear bumper... always the possibility of adding the S3 or RS3 rear valance :D

Not sure on the coilovers but when I had lowering springs on my last car (Leon Cupra R) it didn't 2 months to settle. Perhapd wind them up a bit to be safe - have you removed the screw in the rear arches yeah? as that tends to scrape.
 
Nice car buddy, I have just bought a s3 and I have been saving for the last 2years for it and omg was it worth it! When I had my previous car I was all for modding it (BMW 316ti) but after having it 6 months and only changing the wheels to 18" mv2s I thought what's the point. I'm going to blow loads of money on it and it's not my dream car. Save for one it's worth it! I'm 22 insurance isn't as bad as you might think!
 
Nice progress thread mate and the cars looking very nice. I think the LM's would of looked better if they were bigger but now that you have the fat fives on I think that they look nicer. Any thoughts on a front splitter or rear valance? You are lucky you have the split rear bumper... always the possibility of adding the S3 or RS3 rear valance :D

Not sure on the coilovers but when I had lowering springs on my last car (Leon Cupra R) it didn't 2 months to settle. Perhapd wind them up a bit to be safe - have you removed the screw in the rear arches yeah? as that tends to scrape.

sorry never saw your comment, thanks for a positive answer, i thought about having a leon cupra R splitter but the bumper catches the floor every now and again so it probably wouldn't last very long. That and i always though about changing the bumpers etc to S line but then thought its not exactly worth the money to do it, dewiper and debadge the rear, apart from the famous rings of course, and they look smooth.

Nice car buddy, I have just bought a s3 and I have been saving for the last 2years for it and omg was it worth it! When I had my previous car I was all for modding it (BMW 316ti) but after having it 6 months and only changing the wheels to 18" mv2s I thought what's the point. I'm going to blow loads of money on it and it's not my dream car. Save for one it's worth it! I'm 22 insurance isn't as bad as you might think!

Cheers mate, i keep checking insurance for S3's, drops to £900 when I'm 21 instead of £3.5k at 20 haha. Anyway I've had this one over a year now, i normally get bored of them but some how I'm not bored with this one, its probably the reason i keep spending here and there on it, not exactly bought lots for it though, however i have bought another little present for it, soon as it is coming up to christmas and all that haha.

Also been considering having a private numberplate for my 21st, can't decide what though as I'm not normally a lover of private number plates!
 
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Like the car!! I want a set if fat fives! Everyone's lucky getting sets but me ;( think I'm doing a remap this month hopefully! What powers yours putting out? Go well?
 
I like this, again, I think the Fat 5's suite it more they're nice wheels. 3.5K is immense for insurance! S3 is good but not at that price.
 
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Like the car!! I want a set if fat fives! Everyone's lucky getting sets but me ;( think I'm doing a remap this month hopefully! What powers yours putting out? Go well?
Well I was searching for around a year to find them! It went well for the first few days, then the turbo seemed to loosen up and didn't go as well. Then that one blew, had a reconditioned one fitted and pulls well and hard everytime. It's transformed it and made it more fun. It's supposed to be 175hp but I've never had it on the rolling road. Not really fussed if it is or not, seems to go alright.. A lot better then the 1.8T that's for sure.
 
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Yea well I'm worried about the clutch and turbo, have a Sachs clutch as dmf kit sat in my room ready anyway hahah.. The place I'm going rolling road it before and after the map, with print outs of both... Apparently about 180 BHP so they say! £300 isn't massively cheap though.... I also need new coilovers as I have the cheapy JOM's at the moment. You have the AP's don't you?
 
Looks good mate, just got a set of these wheels myself for next year. What size tyres you running?
 
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Yea well I'm worried about the clutch and turbo, have a Sachs clutch as dmf kit sat in my room ready anyway hahah.. The place I'm going rolling road it before and after the map, with print outs of both... Apparently about 180 BHP so they say! £300 isn't massively cheap though.... I also need new coilovers as I have the cheapy JOM's at the moment. You have the AP's don't you?

id keep it as close to 170hp as possibly tbh to save the turbo. I know of a few that instantly blew at 180. I do have AP's, best I've been in, won't go as low as the JOM's but you wouldn't even know it's on coilovers.

Looks good mate, just got a set of these wheels myself for next year. What size tyres you running?

cheers buddy, they are 225 40 18's. Has a slight bit of stretch which is alright because I hate stretched tyres.
 
JOM's look okay! Although today after a year I'm fed up and have higher'd the car! Only about 10mm though... Just the JOM's are too soft! Especially with the TDI quattro being heavy! If I go fast on a-B roads it scrubs on the arches a lot..... Thanks for the remap info! I'll talk to R K engineering and see what they say! There VAG specialists so should know what there Doing!
 
If you want it stiff then I wouldn't say to go for the AP's. They are for fast road use, not track use. I don't track it or drive it like a lunatic in corners and comfort is the highest on my priority list which these provide. If I was buying again I'd go for the AP's again, although I'd love a set of H&R ultralows!
 
cheers buddy, they are 225 40 18's. Has a slight bit of stretch which is alright because I hate stretched tyres.

Ye had stretch on my last wheels and it ruined the handling! Need a set of tyres for the wheels so probably go 225 40, you get any rubbing issues on the front arches?
 
Ye had stretch on my last wheels and it ruined the handling! Need a set of tyres for the wheels so probably go 225 40, you get any rubbing issues on the front arches?
nah mate, its not low enough to tuck on the front so no issues at all. i have removed the screw and tab in the front arch though
 
nah mate, its not low enough to tuck on the front so no issues at all. i have removed the screw and tab in the front arch though

Ah fair enough, have mine quite low in the summer so shall see! Had no issues with et42 but I had stretch. All the screws are out on mine and the back liners trimmed out so should be fine quite low. Cheers :) ohh btw you need an s-line spoiler to finish the rear :D
 
Ah fair enough, have mine quite low in the summer so shall see! Had no issues with et42 but I had stretch. All the screws are out on mine and the back liners trimmed out so should be fine quite low. Cheers :) ohh btw you need an s-line spoiler to finish the rear :D

I always thought about doing an s line conversion, never wanted to pay for the paint jobs though haha
 
Nothings changed really, still waiting for the OEM HID's to arrive and I've had a private numberplate bought for my birthday which means i have finally ordered some pressed plates and i can stop advertising imperial car supermarkets haha

Currently its filthy, and we all love some dirty diesel pics, or is it just me? :jester:

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Few photos from my camera today, shame its dirty from where i got it beached in one of our deep dark lanes down here in cornwall

Got my private plate on now, with pressed plates, HID's arrived and are still working well after months of use, and the wind deflectors have been removed due to people leaning on them and braking them all the time.

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Not got anything else planned really, on the lookout for a nice S3 though :shutup2:
 
I had wind deflectors on my 8L S3 and I think they look good. You actually need them on the 8L though as rain tends to pour off the roof and through the window if it's open when you take a corner. I like the look of your 8P with them on :thumbsup:
 
Got a new camera recently so decided to take it out last night after having all that horrible dirty rain





 
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Not feeling the wheels, great pictures though. What camera is it? Last picture photoshop?
 
Love fat fives since I Ads had them on his car, suit 8P's well.

Any plans for an S Line/S3 spoiler? Added one to my Sport and finishes off the rear nicely.
 
Great result on wheels with a rattle can!

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Cheers, can't complain for a first attempt

Not feeling the wheels, great pictures though. What camera is it? Last picture photoshop?

Thanks, personally i love the fat fives, but everyone has different opinions on wheels so its a hard one.

Its a Canon 700d and no none of the photos are photoshopped apart from removing the reg plates, its a longer shutter speed shot used for capturing motion. I took more photos like this too which can be seen below.

Love fat fives since I Ads had them on his car, suit 8P's well.

Any plans for an S Line/S3 spoiler? Added one to my Sport and finishes off the rear nicely.

cheers, I've loved them since Tim had them on his a3, ads was nice but just wasn't low enough to look as nice.

Nope no plans, still on the lookout for a perfect S3 with all the options my a3 has, which is a lot! Finding rocking horse poo seems to be easier.

The beauty of fat fives is just how easy they are to clean compared to anything with spokes.

Oh i know, so much better than the LM reps, as soon as you touch the brakes with them you can see they are dirty :(

Some more photos took that night, i know its not Audi's but still shows how nice the pictures are from this camera.



 
Car will be forsale soon, if anyone's interested in it as is, before I take some parts off then get in touch.

Just want to say, this isn't a forsale thread as there's no price stated and I will not be discussing prices in comments therefore no need to lock the thread. Cheers nowww.
 
Put a link in your signature to the sale ad Smurf
 
This happened over the weekend, so i guess theres another sprint blue s3 on the forum now.







Its a bit of an animal compared to my tdi
 
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Well done!!!!!!

Welcome to Sprint blue club! we will all have to get a secret handshake lol! :think:

:lmfao:
 
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