S3 delivered - the brakes are awesome!

copperband

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Finally had my S3 delivered yesterday and thought I'd post a few observations:

- Sprint Blue looks amazing,especially in the Sun! So pleased I went for this colour now,it seperates the car from the other A3's and really compliments the silver of the mirrors,wheels and front grill.

- Interior is better than I remember from my TD, everything feels really good quality and looks the part. I love the little hand brake and the amount of storage space. I am a little bermused as to why they didn't keep the brushed aluminium theme throughout the interior, the door handles inside are sort of matt silver and sort of shiney silver,the circles round the heating vents are shiny? Another very small niggle is why the rev counter has S3 on it but the Speedo doesn't? The only thing that looks and feels cheap are the stalks for indicators, I guess they are standard parts on all in the range, for me they feel a little spindley and like they could snap off if you were heavy handed?Small point though.

- The driving position is very comfortable and the seats and pedal position are excellent.The triangle by my left knee which bothered me on the TD seemed to bother me less now that I have adjusted the seat as I like it (low down but forward enough that I can put my wrists on top of the wheel when sat back as instructed by Tiff Needel!)

- The space inside doesn't feel much less that my BMW and there is plenty of room in the boot.I went to see my ICE installer and they are hopeful to be able to put all my amps,etc hidden away behind the false sides which enclose the wheel arches.

- Delivery was on Transporter and the driver apologised for the lack of fuel in the car, he wasn't joking, it had 19 miles on the clock and had a range of 10 miles left,ie the needle didn't move from red. I called the garage (Slough Audi) to thank them generally for their service and mentioned the fuel, they said go and fill it right up and send them the receipt and they will send me a cheque.Clearly someone at the delivery company could be on a scam of not filling the car with at least 1/4 tank like they should, on a lot of cars that could add up very nicely?

- Took it for a drive out to Shell for the Vpower fill up, there is a bit of dual carriageway around there so gave the car a few heavy right foots as I couldn't resist it;) As far as the run in period goes I have always been told by those in the know that the most important thing is to drive the car in as varied way as possible, so not to drive it like a maniac but then also not to just drive it below 4000rpm in a high gear.I've been told to drive with all different styles using as many of the gears and at different speeds.To get in and just drive 1000 miles in 5th gear on the motorway is one of the worst run in's nowadays as the engine is technically run in and loosened up on the bench.Some will disagree I'm sure, but it's worked fine for me on the last 5 or 6 new cars I've had.

- The drive, I love but then who with and S3 wouldn't say that:) I was worried it wouldn't be as big a performance leap from my 330Cd BMW as I wanted but all I can say as I have before is that its a completely different drive. There seems to be 3 distinct powerbands, the below 3500rpm when not that much happens then a strong feeling of power and torque with a controlled "pull" to just over 6000rpm then a real (Knightrider turbo boost button like) kick between about 6300 and the rev limiter.Obviously only did this twice but is is astonishing how diffferent each is? I really like it and maybe its more pronouced to me as I have moved over from a diesel engine which has a much shorter rev range and a strong power band between 3500 - 5500 but smoothly delivered. It almost feels like if you changed gear before 6000rpm each time you'd be missing out on 50% of the cars performance? Anyway, the overall impression is highly positive one and I'm looking forward to a few more drives today! My brother came out with me and was very impressed but suggested I still get it Superchipped as that might smooth out the powerband a little (my BMW was chipped) and give me even more smile factor:icon_thumright:

- The handling is spot on too, i've never had a 4wd car before and test driving cars like the imprezza always wowed me in the past with the grip and surefootedness, the S3 is no different and really gives great confidence and smooth power delivery from wheeels to road.

- To finish where I started, the brakes are awesome,well done Audi:hi: I have never driven a car that has stopped so well. I had a 205gti many years ago with vented discs and fast road competition brakes pads which stopped well but this S3 is like nothing else and although it gives a hint of pulling to the left slightly on hard,hard braking it seems to right itself before loosing any balence. As an advanced driver I sometimes look for some of the boring aspects to a cars performance because if you are going to drive fast it has to be as hazzard free as possible and safe and to have the reassurance of such good brakes for me is almost as impressive as the speed and acceleration.

So Overall :icon_thumright::icon_thumright::icon_thumright:

Strangely, not see any S3's in Bristol then driving back from Shell garage yesterday I passed another Sprint Blue going the opposit direction almost right outside my house, flashed lights but he didn't return the compliment:bye:
 
Good write up mate. Glad you are pleased with your S3, have had mine for three weeks nearly and absolutely love it, except the fuel consumption is not good at the mo. I think after a week or so you get used to the gearing and when you match the correct gear to the road speed etc in a way that always has the revs in the right place, you will barely encounter the low rev "nothingness".

My favourite thing with the car, is the nonchelant way in which it can overtake traffic in fourth gear as if it wasn't there...heaven

And no one has screwed my house or jacked me at the lights for the keys yet...but then I have avoided Cov and Brum like the plague since getting it

The advanced driver bit? IAM or what?
 
normski said:
The advanced driver bit? IAM or what?

Oh dear, I didn't mean it to sound at all like that:redface:

What I meant was that when you have done the AD (you see I'm scared to write it now) course it highlights lots of aspects driving the car like road position, correct gearing,braking points,acceleration points,etc.
Unfortunately I don't adhere to them all the time (far from it) but it does make you think about a lot of other things other than the A to B.

The only reason I put it in my review was because when the delivery driver sat in the car to go through everything with me (which he did very thoroughly) the first question he asked me before going through the controls for ESP,etc was had a I done my advanced driving course.

I did it when I was 25 (8 years ago) because the company I worked for paid for it and I thought it was useful.I did find it incredibly useful but I declined the big silver badge to mount on the front grill:wacko:
 
IAM = Institute Of Advanced Motorists :)

Good write up the smiles only get wider :icon_thumright:
 
S3Didge said:
IAM = Institute Of Advanced Motorists :)

Good write up the smiles only get wider :icon_thumright:

And while the smiles get wider my face get redder:redface:

I did my AD with ROSPA (I prefered the grill badge!)

Off to buy some polish then will post some pics:hi:
 
copperband said:
- Took it for a drive out to Shell for the Vpower fill up, there is a bit of dual carriageway around there so gave the car a few heavy right foots as I couldn't resist it;) As far as the run in period goes I have always been told by those in the know that the most important thing is to drive the car in as varied way as possible, so not to drive it like a maniac but then also not to just drive it below 4000rpm in a high gear.I've been told to drive with all different styles using as many of the gears and at different speeds.To get in and just drive 1000 miles in 5th gear on the motorway is one of the worst run in's nowadays as the engine is technically run in and loosened up on the bench.Some will disagree I'm sure, but it's worked fine for me on the last 5 or 6 new cars I've had.
Loading the engine early on is important but just please tell me you let the engine warm up fully before booting it? Not just the coolant temp but oil too!
 
i got mine today sprint blue one and i have had a few good compliments already the drive is very smooth the stiring is light brakes are good and it goes some too can,t wait for the inters to show it off now lol
 
Comments are spot on with my S3 as well!

The only thing I don't feel is a kick in the back as the turbo enters... probably I'm used to it now... I want more!!! hmmm RS4??

Pedro
 
copperband said:
Strangely, not see any S3's in Bristol then driving back from Shell garage yesterday I passed another Sprint Blue going the opposit direction almost right outside my house, flashed lights but he didn't return the compliment:bye:

I think he might have been too busy arguing with his RNS-E and iPoD interface :motz: (AGAIN!!), he looked up, went, oohh cool another....

:s3addict:

...and then you were gone! :bye: ******.

Did you like the private plate on mine (not posted on here for obvious reasons)? Very nice to see another S3 on the road in Westbury on Trym. You were only my second spot. :w00t: and the first Sprint Blue S3, the only other S3 I have seen was an Ibis white one in Swindon two weeks ago. Cool! :hi:

Was going to post in the spotters forum but ended up getting home and drunk watching 11 guys play 11 brazillian footballers! :sorry: Sorry!
 
Congratulations mate, good review and a true testiment to why the 8P S3 is astonishing!
As said, pics pics pics!
 
copperband said:
And while the smiles get wider my face get redder:redface:

I did my AD with ROSPA (I prefered the grill badge!)

Off to buy some polish then will post some pics:hi:

I'm a member of the IAM and I take a refresher course every three years.

what is a AD is that a one day course.????
 
Scottie said:
I'm a member of the IAM and I take a refresher course every three years.

what is a AD is that a one day course.????

AD = Advance Driver, as I said I did ROSPA which was a series of training drives with a Police driver who was also a member of the ROSPA club in that area.I then had the test with another guy who was the examiner. You then get rated Bronze,Silver or Gold based on standard of drive and standard of commentary. I'm thinking of maybe taking the refresher?
 
copperband said:
Oh dear, I didn't mean it to sound at all like that:redface:

Mate, wasn't saying you sounded like an knob, was merely querying where you did the advanced driving, IAM or whatever.

Don't quite see the relevance of good brakes going hand in hand with AD via Rospa or IAM though, as if you were driving to the book "smooth progressive braking is preferable to a sudden hard application"...only pulling your leg....tear the book up and drive it :icon_thumright:
 
My trip out for polish ended up a longer drive and spending more money;)
Ended up with:
-Full Maguires kit plus wheel cleaning brush and Rain X to do all outside glass.
-Special dog gaurd/nylon blanket thing for the back seats, my last car got wrecked with the dogs muddy paws in and out every weekend, so this time determined to start as I mean to go on with everything protected.
-80g IPOD ready for new ICE Instal going in on Monday:icon_thumright:

Funny how a trip out for something simple ends up with so many other purchases!:think:

Just drove back behind a golf R32, all I could think was why on earth was I even considering that?Exhaust note aside there is nothing about it that is nicer than the S3 IMO!
 
Just one Golf following another Golf according to some, but I can't agree more...

Funny, but since the S3 turned up I too have been spending cash on car stuff like crazy...just wanna look after my motor (£145 for sealant, polish etc brought tears to my wife's eyes mind u)
 
stevec said:
I think he might have been too busy arguing with his RNS-E and iPoD interface :motz: (AGAIN!!), he looked up, went, oohh cool another....

:s3addict:

...and then you were gone! :bye: ******.

Did you like the private plate on mine (not posted on here for obvious reasons)? Very nice to see another S3 on the road in Westbury on Trym. You were only my second spot. :w00t: and the first Sprint Blue S3, the only other S3 I have seen was an Ibis white one in Swindon two weeks ago. Cool! :hi:

Was going to post in the spotters forum but ended up getting home and drunk watching 11 guys play 11 brazillian footballers! :sorry: Sorry!
Hi Steve,

Funnily enough I was in the car with my brother who when I flashed the lights and waved out thought I was being a complete nob! I explained the forum and said there is always a chance of a fellow S3 driver being on here and understanding the flash of the lights:icon_thumright:

By the looks of your options list you have a lot of the things I considered but didn't have,it would be interesting to see what the Bucket seats are like if we ever cross paths again. I avoided the Audi upgraded ICE mainly on th grounds of the problematic IPOD adapter and the fact that BOSE upgrades on other cars have never really wowed me. I'm putting in this which will run as the IPOD with all controls on the HU:


I didn't notice your plate tbh:sorry: I have one going on mine but there was a bit of a **** up with the transfer over from my previous car so I will keep the 07 plate for a few weeks. Have you done anything different with the plate or is it just the number and how it relates to the car?

Do you live in the area or passing through?
 
normski said:
Just one Golf following another Golf according to some, but I can't agree more...

Funny, but since the S3 turned up I too have been spending cash on car stuff like crazy...just wanna look after my motor (£145 for sealant, polish etc brought tears to my wife's eyes mind u)

I'm hopeful that if the hard work is done when the car is new and the paintwork in good condition then then cleaning and keeping that new shine look should be less work in the long run?:idea:
 
Meh! Polishers :lazy:

Get your average mpg down to 10.2 like me then you know your enjoying the car :jump:

Was only once mind after a good rag :w00t:

The S3 was not made just to look good IMO it's a "Q" car if you want to be seen buy a TT or the like :blink:
 
Welcome mate - best colour IMO!! ;)

Disagree with the turbo shove in the back, I find the power builds in a linear fashion, but maybe it your jump from diesal to petrol???

Enjoy it.

I can recommend the JEFF's acrylic kit (Acylic, Trigger and Gloss) to keep your car looking great. I use it on mine it and really brings the paint to life. Have a search under my name and there should be a thread with pics).

Enjoy
 
S3Didge said:
Meh! Polishers :lazy:

The S3 was not made just to look good IMO it's a "Q" car if you want to be seen buy a TT or the like :blink:

Did anyone mention wanting to be seen on this thread?

I for one am only spending a fortune on sealant etc, so that cleaning etc. are easier in the long run, the paintwork is good when I sell it, and the car continues to look as close to new as I can keep it.
 
Glad to hear you like the car Copperband!

The brakes are superb. You think you've used up the braking power, but then, press further and they really dig in. A 100% improvement over the 8L S3, so I'm very happy.

As for a fortune....I've recently spent around £150 on Swissol Cleaner Fluid and Best of Show wax (not applied it yet). BUT...because either I in three washes (and I very much doubt its me, see swirls thread in Detailing forum) or the dealer has put in loads of swirl marks in the paint, I'll soon be spending £300 for a professional detailer to remove them. (www.offyourmarks.com)

AL
 
Just finished the wash and wax,I'm absolutely exhausted and worst part of it it is because it's now dark I can't even tell what it looks like:)

3 things I bough today that are excellent and make cleaning so much easier:

- Silicon squeegy (sp?) to get water off car windows and body work
- Terry towels for drying the bit of water left behind and in hard to reach places
- Meguires shampoo and gold wax:icon_thumright:

Also helped using highly purified water for the final rinse:icon_thumright:
 
copperband said:
- Meguires shampoo and gold wax:icon_thumright:

Also helped using highly purified water for the final rinse:icon_thumright:

Meguires gear is the business, I only use Evian for the final rinse. :)


Mark
 
I found Volvic to give that extra "sparkle"!


I followed polish bliss advice and orderes some blakfire products from them, will try them on my Phantom black and will let you know...

Pedro
 
copperband said:
Hi Steve,

Funnily enough I was in the car with my brother who when I flashed the lights and waved out thought I was being a complete nob! I explained the forum and said there is always a chance of a fellow S3 driver being on here and understanding the flash of the lights:icon_thumright:

By the looks of your options list you have a lot of the things I considered but didn't have,it would be interesting to see what the Bucket seats are like if we ever cross paths again. I avoided the Audi upgraded ICE mainly on th grounds of the problematic IPOD adapter and the fact that BOSE upgrades on other cars have never really wowed me.

I didn't notice your plate tbh:sorry: I have one going on mine but there was a bit of a **** up with the transfer over from my previous car so I will keep the 07 plate for a few weeks. Have you done anything different with the plate or is it just the number and how it relates to the car?

Do you live in the area or passing through?

With my last S3 for the first 2 years I flashed all other S3 owners as there were so few of them...

Have not had the chance to do it yet in my new one!

Finally getting used to the buckets after 1300 miles, not as good all round as the recaros in the 8L but better then the basic seats for me anyway!

The Bose in my old A3, S3 and new S3 has been worth every penny. I have been to hi-fi shows before and slated the home cinema Bose systems as they are rubbish, but keep saying how can they get the systems so right in Audi's and so rubbish for home users?

RNS-E is fab. I think the problems I have with the iPod interface are that the manual states 3G and newer iPods and I have a 2G. Can't see why this is different as i use lots of Mac's and never had a problem with it interfacing to anything before. Its also worse as i record a lot of Radio 1 listen again and so when the interface jumps tracks I have to spend a long time seeking the right section, hence why I missed you on the road the other day!

Sent a PM about the plate, its an S3 xxx plate and so far have yet to see another new S3 with an S3 xxx plate on it, everyone here seems to have 07 plates on their S3's.
 
copperband said:
Just finished the wash and wax,I'm absolutely exhausted and worst part of it it is because it's now dark I can't even tell what it looks like:)

3 things I bough today that are excellent and make cleaning so much easier:

- Silicon squeegy (sp?) to get water off car windows and body work
- Terry towels for drying the bit of water left behind and in hard to reach places
- Meguires shampoo and gold wax:icon_thumright:

Also helped using highly purified water for the final rinse:icon_thumright:

Mate, I got one of the Autoglym Blades the other day really just for the windows, but decided I would read up a bit incase it was okay for the paint work (its intended use).

The stories on detailingworld.com are shocking and the concensus of opinion there is bin it...just get a couple of waffle weave towels such as the Megs Water Magnet.

Seems that the blade is good at causing scratching unless you are very, very careful indeed.

Just thought I would mention it mate, so when you use it you can take extra care if you think it is 100% safe.
 
normski said:
.
Seems that the blade is good at causing scratching unless you are very, very careful indeed



Seem to remember someone on here requesting help after he had used a similar item on his car and covered it in scratches.

Mark
 
Good pointer on the squeegy,I'll be off to inspect the scratches in a minute:hubbahubba:
To be honest though the blade itself is such soft silicon that I can't think how that could scratch anything.I could understand if it someone caught the handle or sides on the paitwork or picked it up with a grain of grit or 2 on it?

Regarding the purified water, the Evian is no good as it is mineral water so its full of TDS Todal disolved solids like calcium which will leave streaks.
I have a very large saltwater aqaurium on which I have to do water top ups for evaporation, the corals are so sensative that I can't have any impurities in it so I have a reverse osmosis and ion exchange resin filer that all the tap water goes through:w00t:
What I get is water that is just, well water:icon_thumright:
 
copperband said:
Regarding the purified water, the Evian is no good as it is mineral water so its full of TDS Todal disolved solids like calcium which will leave streaks.


:wtf: Best stop using it then, good old tap water will have to suffice.

Mark
 
markwiggy said:
copperband said:
Regarding the purified water, the Evian is no good as it is mineral water so its full of TDS Todal disolved solids like calcium which will leave streaks.


:wtf: Best stop using it then, good old tap water will have to suffice.

Mark

:wtf:LOL!

Depending on where you live in the country the tap water will be hard or soft,if it's hard like here in Bristol the water dries and leaves the residue which is like scale, that means more deposits are left when you dry it which is annoying as it leaves streaks,etc.
If you use what is effectively Distilled water which is pure then there is nothing in the water to streak:icon_thumright:
I wouldn't make a point of using it unless I had it free (well practically free) as it would be a hassle to buy all those bottles!

My observation from yesterday using it for the final rinse was that it seemed to make things a lot easier to dry off streak free:)

Just done the full Rain X treatment on all the exterior glass, hard work that I hope is worth it?
 
copperband said:
Good pointer on the squeegy,I'll be off to inspect the scratches in a minute:hubbahubba:
To be honest though the blade itself is such soft silicon that I can't think how that could scratch anything.I could understand if it someone caught the handle or sides on the paitwork or picked it up with a grain of grit or 2 on it?

I think the suggestion is that a lot of people have used one for months without problem and then suddenly they get a bit casual, and voila, a bit of grit has been dragged along the paint by the blade, it's not the actual blad causingthe damage...

Just be careful and I suspect you will be fine, they cettainly speed the job up significantly
 
A few pics after the polish, shame it the sun hasn't been out since Sun to have a nice sun drenched pic to show the blue off properly:





Took the car in yesterday to have the ICE upgrade and although told it would all be done in a day it was far from it.Quite honestly it's all got a bit complicated!
Apparently the door cards are what's called "wet" so anything in the door needs to be totally waterproofed so they are having to build bespoke speaker pods.
The plug on the back of the HU is a new design and as a result there is no adapter yet made to convert to the Pioneer unit going in.
They can't connect up the rear speakers without hard wiring them to the back of the new HU meaning all the rear seats and panels need to come out to run the cabling.
The amps won't fit behind the rear wheel arch covers so I am having to ditch the space saver and have them under there instead and carry a can of tyreweld (not too bothered about this as my RX8 only ever had a can of foam instead of a spare)
The CD changer won't fit in the glovebox without cutting out a small part of the rear of the plastic (invisable once the glovebox is back in place)

I must admit I did wonder yesterdfay if it was worth all the hassle:think:
 
Your ICE does sound like a right headache!
Wishing you just stuck with the BOSE now?
 
jamiekip said:
Your ICE does sound like a right headache!
Wishing you just stuck with the BOSE now?

I didn't have the BOSE,I didn't want to pay for something I was going to take out.Had the Bose upgrade in my RX8 and thought it was pretty good but not great. I spend around 10 hours a week in the car so for me having really good in car sounds are important.It's the only time I listen to music and I guess once you've had an decent aftermarket system it's hard to go back to what the manafacturers view as good?
The hassle will hopefully be worth it as I will have no extra wires any more for Sat Nav, Bluetooth and IPOD cradle :)
 
copperband said:
A few pics after the polish, shame it the sun hasn't been out since Sun to have a nice sun drenched pic to show the blue off properly:

Took the car in yesterday to have the ICE upgrade and although told it would all be done in a day it was far from it.Quite honestly it's all got a bit complicated!

I must admit I did wonder yesterdfay if it was worth all the hassle:think:

Nice Pics. Perhaps I can leave mine on your driveway and you can clean it too? :happy:

Know what you mean about ICE. Its why I had all the stuff installed by the factory this time! I have performed ICE installs myself and afterwards decided after cracking plastic and nicking the bodywork (long story), now have factory fit and spend the time saved cleaning or driving the car...

...problem is just seem to be driving the S3 when i get the chance, and its getting dirty but I'd rather drive it than clean it!!! :racer: