S3 Timing belts.

Maki65 · Jan 19, 2014

Hi,

My wife and I are thinking of an Audi S3 to replace our VW Golf V6 4 Motion. I had thought of the R32, however the road tax puts me off a little. The main stumbling block however, is the timing belt on the Audi. Not that there seems to be an issue, just that I have had the VW v6 engine in the present car and a VR6 before that and enjoyed not having thw worry of snapped belts, seized tensioners etc.

Do any of you guys have any opinions on this subject, I will not say issue as I think I may be over thinking the situation! Any help with this and any other common faults would be of great interest.

Thank you.

shady-ninja · Jan 19, 2014

S3 TFSI 8P renown for a bit of an oil thirst.

S3Alex · Jan 19, 2014

shady-ninja said:
S3 TFSI 8P renown for a bit of an oil thirst.

The truth is that a few are and most aren't.

If you get one that likes to drink it is irritating but most are no worse than any other car.

The weak points of the S3 are the clutch,cam follower and coil packs.

The rest of the car is solid even when heavily modified.

The cam belt isn't an issue if changed on time,and the Haldex service also falls into that sort of category.

Alex_007 · Jan 19, 2014

Test drive both of them , I think the golf drives and feels a lot nicer but audi prob wins on the looks.

Maki65 · Jan 19, 2014

Alex_007 said:
Test drive both of them , I think the golf drives and feels a lot nicer but audi prob wins on the looks.

Thanks for the replies. I have driven both and the Golf did feel slightly more fun, however, the S3 did feel quicker and the fit and finish did feel marginly better.

The problem with the Golf is the road tax, it is quite a bit more for not much more in return.

Alex_007 · Jan 19, 2014

Maki65 said:
Thanks for the replies. I have driven both and the Golf did feel slightly more fun, however, the S3 did feel quicker and the fit and finish did feel marginly better.

The problem with the Golf is the road tax, it is quite a bit more for not much more in return.

What's the difference in road tax prices?

Not sure which Is quicker to be honest , i would of thought that they would be on par with each other but yeah the golf does feel more of a sporty car and just all round nicer to drive. Think the quality is on par too but better designed in the audi .

Was you thinking 3 door or sportback?

s3_sid · Jan 19, 2014

i would go for the s3 as its on a belt parts are cheap and easy to get hold of and you dont have the dreaded problem with timing chains that seem to be a big problem as they get higher milage !!

as the chain stretches is throws out some readings and will put the engine light on if you lucky before they snap but its an expensive fix as its an engine out job to change the chains which are a few hundred quid before labour thats is you dont need to change and sprockets

the tfsi if looked after and serviced correctly and the fuel pump cam follower is changed regularly you wont have any problems

Maki65 · Jan 19, 2014

We are not bothered about which model, 3 or 5 door. Chains should last the life of the car, however, with longlife oil changes on cars that do low miles this could be part of the problem. I come from owning cars with chains, Rover V8 in my Triumph TR7 V8 and many Triumphs before that, never had a problem.

Good clean oil is what is needed and more regularly than people would want I think!

S3Alex · Jan 20, 2014

Maki65 said:
We are not bothered about which model, 3 or 5 door. Chains should last the life of the car, however, with longlife oil changes on cars that do low miles this could be part of the problem. I come from owning cars with chains, Rover V8 in my Triumph TR7 V8 and many Triumphs before that, never had a problem.

Good clean oil is what is needed and more regularly than people would want I think!

I think one of the important words in your post there is "should".

Yes,timing chains should last for the lifetime of the car,but as others here will tell you,that's not always the case,and whilst you've clearly owned other cars with chain driven cams,that doesn't neccessarily apply to the engine being discussed,and the BMW 2.0 diesel is another example of a car with "lifetime" cam chains,and failures.

Your point about oil changes is very important,and as one who started on Audi's long interval service schedule,I think that's a problem for cars like the S3.
Seeing the stuff that came out of the engine at it's first service was enough to convince me to stop the long term schedule immediately.

crunchie · Jan 20, 2014

Maki65 said:
enjoyed not having to worry of snapped belts, seized tensioners etc.

I've just had my belt done on my S3 so I'm happy that I can put it to the back of my mind for 5 years.
I'd love a MK4 R32 to bomb about in this summer but it's the timing chain/tensioners that are putting me off getting one as they are so unreliable and expensive to replace. Same as the RS4, that's a MEGA bill to get them changed.
Give me a belt any day of the week.

Maki65 · Jan 20, 2014

All interesting comments thank you.

I must say I had a 1994 Golf VR6 from 24,000 miles right up to 135,000 miles ( and original exhaust!) and no chain problem. In fact the chap who bought it said it was the quietest VR6 he had heard whilst looking for one. Our V6 4Motion is now on 90,000 give or take a mile or two and still very quiet.

I must say a friend of ours has a BMW 1 that the chain gave way on so all points in a previous post stand true.

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S3 Timing belts.

Maki65

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shady-ninja

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S3Alex

Rarely neutral

Alex_007

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Maki65

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Alex_007

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s3_sid

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Maki65

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S3Alex

Rarely neutral

crunchie

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Maki65

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