Edition 30 thoughts

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dancuz

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Hi all,

Rarely head over to this area of the forum as I have a 270 bhp s3 8l that has been satisfying my weekend itch for a couple of years. Would like an 8p s3 in stage 2 or 2+ form but they still command £12k+ for a good one. My question is - how good is the ed 30? Has anyone here owned one? Would I just get ****** off with lack of traction coming from haldex 4wd?

Don't want to hear "it's a poor man's s3" or "it's ugly" as I know both those things!! I'm just looking for honest opinions on how it drives.

Cheers,

Dan
 
I have remapped several ED30's and they are very good cars after it....very responsive and nearly on par with a Stage 1 S3. There is a lack of traction due to no 4WD and one of them ate its clutch in no time after the remap so if your going to get one and get it remapped do it properly and go the whole hog with clutch, HPFP etc etc from Stage 1. If you do that you'll have lots of fun with it.
 
I've never owned one but I really like them a lot, don't think there a poor mans S3 they have their own characteristics. I don't think I'd enjoy the 2WD tho, I just love putting my foot all the way down and not having to worry about lighting the tyres up I'd stuggle to go back to high power 2WD. The missus has got a cooper s and I find that a struggle lol
 
A decent ED30 would command £11-12k though surely? However an S3 for £12k would be abit of a dog i would think!
 
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Best mate has one and was a Revo 2+ software development car.

Completely nuts. Would do immense number 11's, and had WALK fitted and a rear ARB.

Easily drove better than both my S3's. Mostly down to it having WALK in my eyes and the seats in the golf much more **** hugging.

S3 has a lot less drama, being a little heavier and 4WD.

S3 for refinement and predictable-ness

Golf feels much lighter to drive, more of a handful once tuned, and fast starts and accelerating can be a little tricky.

I'd pick Ed30 if I chose again I think. Immense value.
 
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I have one,traction is an issue but it's FWD so it was a learning curve again after seven years of 8L S3 ownership.
I will say it is definitely not ugly at all and the cabin is a good place,love the auto lights,dimming mirror,folding mirrors,mines a DSG one so no clutch issues thankfully.
 
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voorhees said:
I have one,traction is an issue but it's FWD so it was a learning curve again after seven years of 8L S3 ownership.
I will say it is definitely not ugly at all and the cabin is a good place,love the auto lights,dimming mirror,folding mirrors,mines a DSG one so no clutch issues thankfully.
Click to expand...

Good cars, more options available for them too, like auto mirror dip on reverse for example.
 
Buy one and fit a Peloquin or Quaife diff to it, you will not be disappointed. In terms of refinement, I'd say they are on a par with the 8P and no less well built. It's a myth that Audis are better built cars than their VW cousins.

My mk4 golf was miles better built than the S3 I have now and the quality of cabin trim on a different level. TBH I regret chopping it in for the S3, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
 
davc said:
My mk4 golf was miles better built than the S3 I have now and the quality of cabin trim on a different level. TBH I regret chopping it in for the S3, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
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eh??? think you are on your own with that comment
 
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My friend had a stage 1 remapped ED30. Amazing to drive and a nice car generally, but I must say even lowered ~40mm on Eibach sportline springs (reducing wheel hop) it was still horrible to stick any power down on anything other than a bone dry road.
 
All sounds positive, I'm even more tempted.

Voorhees - is yours mapped? Traction a big issue coming from s3? I would also probably go dsg..

Btw what is WALK?
 
dancuz said:
All sounds positive, I'm even more tempted.

Voorhees - is yours mapped? Traction a big issue coming from s3? I would also probably go dsg..

Btw what is WALK?
Click to expand...

Whiteline Anti Lift Kit.

Helps keep the wheels stay connected to the road. On an Ed30 especially, I'd say it's worth it's weight in gold, and I'd say it's a must.

Adds 0.5 static positive caster too, which is nice.
 
Don't want to start a Mk4 Golf fiasco but in my eyes, the only good thing about a MK4 was the R32, and that's purely for the nice noise it made.

As a drivers car, I'd say it it's was a little soft. + they loved wheel bearings from what I can tell lol.
 
mjr901 said:
Don't want to start a Mk4 Golf fiasco but in my eyes, the only good thing about a MK4 was the R32, and that's purely for the nice noise it made.

As a drivers car, I'd say it it's was a little soft. + they loved wheel bearings from what I can tell lol.
Click to expand...

Granted the GTI's were a little soft but I was talking about build quality and perceived quality of cabin materials. I changed both front wheel bearings on it at 100k miles before I sold it and that was on 8.5J rims and 5mm spacers so it hardly went through them.

I owned it from new for 11 years; can't see me keeping the S3 anywhere near that long hahaha.
 
Thanks for the comments all. I need to go and try one, and soon!
 
dancuz said:
Voorhees - is yours mapped? Traction a big issue coming from s3? I would also probably go dsg..

Btw what is WALK?
Click to expand...
Yes its mapped,traction is a learning curve trying to keep 360 down,one things certain is its fun and handles well,I do like the lairy ******
 
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Had a stage 2+ ed 30 and it was a right handful in the wet - no way you could put the power down (even with a trick aftermarket diff). Mine was DSG car too which probably made it worse as you'd plant your right foot from a standstill and wait for the power to kick in, then it would over-ride the TC and just wheel spin and axle tramp. Fun for a while, but the lack of traction did it for me.

Nice looking cars and mine had a lot of extras - very subtle too.
 
Great cars IMO and so is the Cupra. Especially if you get one with leather.

Plenty of S3's around now in the £10k mark but it will be 80k+ miles

Mine is on 82k but in better condition than some 40k examples I have seen for sale!
 
Ive owned a couple of 200PS MK5 Gtis and loved them.
Still not a common sight on the road neither, especially the ED30.

My 2nd one was Stage 1 REVO and was a handfull. Not as all weather capable as an S3 but still great fun and would keep would Jap stuff honest on the motorway.

Nearly bought an ED30 a few years back but they were similar money to the S3 at the time so went for an S3.
 
mjr901 said:
Don't want to start a Mk4 Golf fiasco but in my eyes, the only good thing about a MK4 was the R32, and that's purely for the nice noise it made.

As a drivers car, I'd say it it's was a little soft. + they loved wheel bearings from what I can tell lol.
Click to expand...

Agree.
Mine didnt handle that well and wasn`t fast.
Things broke too.
Coil pack, MAF, window regs, windscreen wipers. Ashtray jammed, cup holder jammed, soft touch plastics wore badly. etc..
The car was 2 owner 50K miles and FVWSH.
It wasnt a great car.
I only bought it because I couldnt afford an 8L S3.

Back on topic....

OP- What about a pre-tuned 200PS car (maybe Stage 2?). Should be cheaper than an ED30.
 
R32 doesn't do it for me as it's just not that quick (although sounds amazing) - I'd rather have the 270bhp 1.8T S3 I have at the moment.

Similarly, I don't think a "normal" GTI (tuned or not) would really do it for me either as I think the Ed30 suspension / wishbones / ARBs has more similarity with the 8P S3 than a GTI? Am I right? If you want a fast-ish car it seems silly to go for anything other than the best sporty model in the range and work from there, rather than spending money making a lower model get to that point...

If I was to buy either car I would preferably want it pre-modded to save myself some money. In that respect the Ed30 would have to be stage 1 - 2, and the S3 would have to be running stage 2 to make it worthwhile in my eyes! Maybe I should just hold out until next summer and get the S3 I want and splash the £13k it would cost!?
 
turbo charge it and you wont be saying that :p I think they look miles better than the ed30 and are 4wd. i drove both the r32 and the s3 and preferred the r32 for the money i have to say. Baring in mind the s3 was a 2012 plate it just didnt feel anymore special than my a3 to be honest. stage 1 or stage 2 would be a different matter all together I would imagine!
 
I had an 8l and now have an 8p. We also have a mkv GTi so I drive both over the course of a week.

The golf is great, no doubt. However traction just isn't there once the road is less than perfect. It's not bad as such, but it's easy to light up the fronts in 2nd if you aren't careful on the throttle. To put this in context on the same bit of morning commute greasy road the S3 (stage 1) will just have a slight hint of struggle.

Personally I'd either get the GTi as standard or get the S3. As far as I can see the extra golf remap power is only useful at higher speed.

GTi is a bit more fun in the handling, but I love the improved haldex in the 8P allowing more sideways opportunities :)
 
S3 all day.

Coming from a stage 1 cupra unless its dry then it was a struggle to get the power down.

With an S3 the power and traction is there no matter the weather (yet to try snow ;) )

It got frustrating very quickly with the cupra, having the power but battling to get it down to the road, some folks may find that enjoyable and a challenge but not me.
 
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I nearly bought one... Long after I'd settled on the S3 I went out in Tuningwerkes' S2+ APR demo Edition 30... Awesome but even as a DSG was hard work! Lovely motors though!
 
I had one 5 door GIAC pump & Race maps, S3 I/C, dbilas CAI, hffp, R32 Brakes, ecs dog bone mount. rolling road @ 305bhp before the dbilas and pump mods. interior was nice better than my 8P for sure great car and def recommend to anyone easier to mod than the audi in terms of small things the audi i have found has a lot of faffing around the ed30 I knew what i wanted done and it was. if i had to chose between an S3 and an ed30 the S3 would nudge it due to the 4wd.
 
Got both on the drive and in OEM and stage 1 guise, the Ed30 (DSG) is much more fun to drive.
 
DeckedS3 said:
Got both on the drive and in OEM and stage 1 guise, the Ed30 (DSG) is much more fun to drive.
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Is that down to the dsg box though as I didn't notice too much difference in the handling stakes and the S3 is not that much heavier either. The lighter BBS alloys do help in the suspension front (but I notice you've got these on your S3?)
 
davc said:
In terms of refinement, I'd say they are on a par with the 8P and no less well built. It's a myth that Audis are better built cars than their VW cousins.

My mk4 golf was miles better built than the S3 I have now and the quality of cabin trim on a different level. TBH I regret chopping it in for the S3, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Click to expand...

lol wat
 
Possibly down to the dsg. It's lighter on its toes and I think you can throw it about more.
interior of the S3 is nicer, but you have more room in the Ed30.
 
DeckedS3 said:
Possibly down to the dsg. It's lighter on its toes and I think you can throw it about more.
interior of the S3 is nicer, but you have more room in the Ed30.
Click to expand...

I've got more rear leg room in the back of my S3 (probably due to sports buckets) - the rest of the car is the same size (same platform). The ed30 is 150kg lighter if you compare manual ed30 to dsg s3 so that would be noticeable.
 
Interesting thread. I've just sold my 2008 A3 TDI for a 2007 ED30 DSG. What a GOOD move that was.

I'm enjoying having petrol again, it's decent enough on fuel & plenty of power on the right pedal. I'm loving owning a VW, alot cooler in some ways than owning an Audi. I would say the build quality is near enough on par with the Audi being a little better. Loving the Cabin in the MK5 though, the RNS 510 is light years ahead of the RNSE and makes me realise how bad it was. The one I've bought has had a Stage 1 Remap, its running around 275bhp. It will receive Shark Stage 3 treatment next year so aiming for around the 360bhp mark.

It's a catch 22 with 4WD/FWD. On one hand you have more grip, and better traction with 4WD, but you have added weight and drivetrain loss to go with it. Same as FWD has less traction, but less weight so once it's rolling in the dry it will be very quick. Saw a video recently of a Stage 2 + Rocco R vs a Stage 2 + Golf R & the Rocco left the Golf behind.

So overall I'm very happy with my purchase. ED30's go from around £9-£14k depending on condition & mileage. They're limited to 2500 so they will hold their value well depending on how they are looked after.

I don't miss the Audi at all tbh.
 
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1 of my neighbours has an ED30... Nice car, but would never trade the S3 for it... The S3 sits so much nicer and I think the golfs look more like a box sitting next to it... If I didnt have the S3 though, i'd take 1 in a minute!
 
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On an Audi forum it simply will not get a full thumbs up,good to see members being loyal though. :applaus:
 
I would stick with the S3, My old A3 8L Quattro was amazing and putting the power down. I have been driving the new Seat Leon 1.4T FR (new works car) and that is a fun and surprisingly quick car, but sh** at putting the power down, after having three Quattro Audis in a row I suppose I have just lost the art of putting power down in a FWD car, I would hate to have driven a B7 2.OT stage 1 FWD after having Quattro. I personally would struggle to come away from 4Wd. Its up to you, I personally think FWD cars are pants now.
 
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