A3 (8P) Design Flaw???? in Aerodynamic Body!

fesss_84

fesss_84

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This may sound very vague but try and imagine what im sayin:

If its raining and driver has window lowered, a couple inches why does big amoutns of water find its way to the window and drop inside the window, so the window control and door handle get drenched, as it slowly rolls lower and lower and int your door speakers?????????? i think its comming from the wipers... as they are cleaning the windscreen, and its partly roof water.

This problem is being a real pain in the *** for me. has anyone else experieced it and got around it

HELP!!!!!
 
and dont think im only talkin about rain droplets....

It runs like a tap inside the car......feel sorry for smokers who dont use the ash tray
 
I usually dont drive with the window open wen its raining but since it has been, my windows steam up allot
 
But seriously, cars used to have gutters to prevent this very problem. Abandoned in the name of aerodynamic efficiency.
 
Yep I know what you mean. Let's say it's been raining and I open the door, water starts to pour down or if I open the window when I just get in, it comes rolling in again.

Dunno if it's a design flaw but it is annoying!
 
This has been a problem since the A3 was first introduced. The 8L and the 8P versions are the same.

Personally I never drive with the windows open and my windows never steam up because I always have the air conditioning running. This drys the air as it comes into the cabin. Very little energy is used by the air-conditioning this time of the year as the cooling compressor is controlled by an electronic clutch and only engages when cold air is requested by the climate control panel to cool down the interior.
 
well, im glad some people understood what i mean.

but this is serious problem, becaus alot of water manages to squeeze into the 2 inche gap when the window is down a touch.

btw having air con on all the time is bad for health of body, as it dries all moisture out of the air. and the fact they put a stupid card holder instead of a drinks holder is just pure ridiculous. its as if they want people to get dry throats while driving, the cup holder iv got is under my arm rest, probably the daftest place to put it lool when your on a long journey and the armrest is in use.

germans, they do most of it sooo well, then these little things which make a BIG difference they ****-up, typical.

im very upset with this flaw as i prefer diving with window down a touch to allow fresh air to circulate.
 
Yes I did notice this card holder on the courtesy car. What a stupid thing!! Glad I've got a cup holder instead!!
 
btw having air con on all the time is bad for health of body, as it dries all moisture out of the air.
Click to expand...

Well I'm almost 60 years old and it's not done me any harm. I've worked in air-conditioned offices since I was 25 and have been driving a car with air-conditioning for the last 20 odd years.

Drinking alcohol is bad for your health but a lot of people, no doubt you included, do it! and it is also illegal to drink anything, water included, whilst your driving.

It's all a matter of degree.
 
when people ak whats that for i just say business cards, unfortunately the casino dont allow one to use their wn cards
 
as my 8p model has dounble din sized audio fitted cup holder wont fit in place of the cards holder, due to restricted space.
 
As an ex puma driver (had 2 of them actually) I'm well used to water design problems - used to flood the boot every time you opened it!

Both my A3's have been the same with the roof issue though - all I'd add is that it's not only with an open window it gets you - if it was that simple you'd just keep it shut. My nicely waxed roof 'dumps it's load' when I open the car and get in after a nights rain, and shutting the window doesn't help that.

The only solution is to get in as gently and quickly as possible :idea:
 
fesss_84 said:
btw having air con on all the time is bad for health of body, as it dries all moisture out of the air.
Click to expand...

Personally I always have the air con all the time the benefits out weight the cons.

Surely your not in the car long enough for this to be a major issue? I spend around 3 hours a day driving to/from work and I've never had any issues!

J.
 
Unfortunately water running into a (even) slightly open window happens on many, many cars these days, not only the A3. Theres nothing else to do but live with it, get rid of the car or buy those wind/rain deflector things that run along the top edge of the windows.
 
Happens on the mk5 Golf too.

If I came out in morning and it had rained during the night, I would pull away and steer left/right sharply a couple of times, this would normally shift any excess water sitting on the roof of the car.

Ok, that sounds REALLY simple, but I only worked it out on my third A3...
 
as my 8p model has dounble din sized audio fitted cup holder wont fit in place of the cards holder, due to restricted space.
Click to expand...

Some people have added a cup holder to a double-DIN installation. Do a search for 'cup holder' and you may find the answer.
 
fesss_84 said:
and dont think im only talkin about rain droplets....

It runs like a tap inside the car......feel sorry for smokers who dont use the ash tray
Click to expand...
I don't feel sorry for them 1 bit. Keep both your hands on the wheel, smoking in a car is a sin for 2 reasons:
1) It's dangerous
2) It makes your car stink no matter how much you open a window

Cars don't need the window open any more. When there was no aircon you needed to, now the only time I open the window is to use use a ticket machine when parking.
 
h5djr said:
and it is also illegal to drink anything, water included, whilst your driving.
Click to expand...

Really?
Care to show us where it says that?
AFAIK,a police officer has the power to convict you under "undue care and attention" or "not in full control of the vehicle", but they have to have reason to suspect your driving is being affected to do that.
Merely seeing someone drinking water whilst driving is no more fundamentally illegal than smoking whilst driving, or picking your nose whilst driving.
And thank god for it, because the day some ponce passes a law saying two hands must be on the wheel at all times is the day I move abroad, or pack in driving.
I don't care about opinions on one hand driving here, I'm talking law.
 
Really?
Care to show us where it says that?
Click to expand...


The Highway Code

[URL="http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_070523.jpg"][/URL]

144-158: General advice


144

You MUST NOT
  • drive dangerously
  • drive without due care and attention
  • drive without reasonable consideration for other road users
148

Safe driving and riding needs concentration.
Avoid distractions when driving or riding such as
  • loud music (this may mask other sounds)
  • trying to read maps
  • inserting a cassette or CD or tuning a radio
  • arguing with your passengers or other road users
  • eating and drinking
  • smoking
You MUST NOT smoke in public transport vehicles or in vehicles used for work purposes in certain prescribed circumstances. Separate regulations apply to England, Wales and Scotland.

It may well be down to the interpertation by individual police officer but I know that some drivers have been issed with fixed penalty tickets for eating an apple, eating an ice cream, drinking from a can of CokeCola etc. Daft it may be but thats what the Highway Code says.
 
So, we're clear then.
It is NOT illegal to drink whilst driving.
Advice suggesting you avoid doing it is not law.
 
audi upgrades
h5djr... Rubbish! While some sections of the Highway Code are supported by law not all are. For a large part the Highway Code is, as the name suggests, a code.

Your copying and pasting from the direct.gov website is very misleading and is out of context to support your own 'factual' claims...

Highway Code 148 said:
Safe driving and riding needs concentration.

Avoid distractions when driving or riding such as

* loud music (this may mask other sounds)
* trying to read maps
* inserting a cassette or CD or tuning a radio
* arguing with your passengers or other road users
* eating and drinking
* smoking

You MUST NOT smoke in public transport vehicles or in vehicles used for work purposes in certain prescribed circumstances. Separate regulations apply to England, Wales and Scotland.
Click to expand...

To make full sense of the above passage you need to read the Highway Code Introduction that you have either not read yourself or have left out on purpose

Highway Code Introduction said:
Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’. In addition, the rule includes an abbreviated reference to the legislation which creates the offence. An explanation of the abbreviations can be found in 'The road user and the law'.

Although failure to comply with the other rules of the Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, The Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under the Traffic Acts (see 'The road user and the law') to establish liability. This includes rules which use advisory wording such as ‘should/should not’ or ‘do/do not’.
Click to expand...

The only point in which the words MUST/MUST NOT appear in section 148 of the Highway Code are in relation to smoking on public transport or in vehicles used for work purposes. The 'distractions' as listed in section 418 are not themselves criminal offences . They can be used by a court to determine liability however they are NOT punishable by law as an act by themselves.
 
If it's rubbish, how have some people been issued with fixed penalty tickets for, as I said, eating an apple, eating an ice-cream and drinking from a can of CokeCola. These were all reported in the national press.

Even it's not illegal, as the Highway Code suggests it's best avoided.

Perhaps if a few more people read and followed the recommendations given in the Highway Code, even those that are not necessary a legal requirement in their own right, then driving would be a better experience for everyone.

For example the section in the code that says about returning to the LH land when the road ahead is clear, ie not being a centre land hogger is only a recommendation as well. So it's pefectly OK for everyone who wants to to sit in the middle lane on a three motorway completely oblivious to everyone else around them. See the Highway Code section below:

Lane discipline

264

You should always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slower-moving vehicles, you should return to the left-hand lane as soon as you are safely past. Slow-moving or speed-restricted vehicles should always remain in the left-hand lane of the carriageway unless overtaking. You MUST NOT drive on the hard shoulder except in an emergency or if directed to do so by the police, HA traffic officers in uniform or by signs.
 
Those said people were probably weaving all over the road whilst doing so, or spotted paying to much attention to their item of food or drink and nearly running into somebody else.
 
h5djr said:
If it's rubbish, how have some people been issued with fixed penalty tickets for, as I said, eating an apple, eating an ice-cream and drinking from a can of CokeCola. These were all reported in the national press.
Click to expand...
As Rodenal has said, those cases were probably all issued with a fixed penalty notice for driving without due care and attention. What never gets reported in the press, because it wouldn't make a story anywhere near as interesting, is the fact that the poor 'victims' in all reality were quite possibly straying over lanes, failing to see stop signs, failing to stop at zebra crossings (if there's someone waiting of course!), almost hitting pedestrians or parked cars, almost rear ending other cars, stopping abruptly at traffic lights (after failing to notice they were on red)... and so on and so on.

You don't believe everything you read in the papers? Every paper, without exception, has its own agenda. For every paper decrying the victimisation of the innocent motorist theres another saying how well the police are doing and that motor related offences have dropped.

h5djr said:
Perhaps if a few more people read and followed the recommendations given in the Highway Code, even those that are not necessary a legal requirement in their own right, then driving would be a better experience for everyone.
Click to expand...
Absolutely! I'm not going to argue with that in the slightest.
 
Well thanks guys for yor advice about te window situation, im jus going to have to live withit for now then.

"Dave R" Cheers for letting me know that , i read on a forum that cup holders wont fit on double din setup 8p models. but i shall investigate.

as for the whole, driving issue, its a FREE country and i shall smoke as many fags, drink as many water bottles and pick my nose for that matter as much as i want in my car, if u want to get down to the nitty gritty say good bye to enjoyment in driving unless your a borin 60yr old sod. whos reflexes dont allow them to ever take a hand off the steering wheel.
BTW, i agree keep two hand on the steerin wheel at all times, if ya changin gears with your feet. lol
 
can anyone tell me if its illegal to recieve a hand-job whilst driving ????
Click to expand...

There was a case some years ago when a lady who plays someone in EastEnders (who's name escapes me) and her boy friend were charged with something for a 'blow-job' on the hard shoulder. Cannot remember what excuse they used !

Probably not recommended!
 
as for the whole, driving issue, its a FREE country and i shall smoke as many fags, drink as many water bottles and pick my nose for that matter as much as i want in my car, if u want to get down to the nitty gritty say good bye to enjoyment in driving unless your a borin 60yr old sod. whos reflexes dont allow them to ever take a hand off the steering wheel.
BTW, i agree keep two hand on the steerin wheel at all times, if ya changin gears with your feet. lol
Click to expand...

I agree it's a free country but we all have to live by various codes, including the Highway Code otherwise there would be total chaos. What if, because it's a free country, some of us decided we preferred driving on the left rather than on the right.

Also, if were are going to get personal and start throwing insults around, it's about time your learned how to spell and type English.
 
audi upgrades
what u mean is its about time i started to proof read what i write, but the truth of this matter is, you dont know me and i dont know you..so lets not get personal. u think i really care how i write, u obviously know what i meant even though spelling mistakes were present.

btw, r u 60ish?
 
what u mean is its about time i started to proof read what i write, but the truth of this matter is, you dont know me and i dont know you..so lets not get personal. u think i really care how i write, u obviously know what i meant even though spelling mistakes were present.

btw, r u 60ish?
Click to expand...

It's no so much the spelling as we can all make spelling mistakes, especially when typing into a computer, but it's the lack of capital letters and punctuation. I know it's probably 'texting speak' which is fine for texting but it does look bad when it's typed out on a screen. Yes I can work out what you mean but that's not the point. There is, despite the increased use of texting, a correct way to write English, which does make it much easier for others to read it, which is why it's used in newspapers, books and every other form of written English. Using texting when writing in other than a mobile always gives the impression of laziness. If you typed a letter like that when applying for a job for example, you would probably not get the job.
Just try and type properly. It will come very easy after a while.

And Yes I will be 60 years old on 2nd December but, as I'm sure anyone who come out with me in my A3 will comfirm, certainly not a 'boring old fart' when it comes to driving.
 
apologies if my abbreviations get on your nerves. i shall try to stick to real english. im gonna look for that cup holder information, which we spoke about earlier.

Does anyone know of a website which can tell me how to install front fogs?
 
cheers dave, i found out some info about the CH to DH modification. thats my next project now, But ill probably just use the front of the CH as this will give a professional factory finish, the CH front is 5mm lager therefore wont close.

At first, i thought the depth of the CH was the restriction, but it is infact the front plate, which if kept and clicped in the front of a cup holder (with a dot of black silicon) shouldnt pose too much of a problem, more importantly look asthetically pleasing.
 
fesss_84 said:
cheers dave, i found out some info about the CH to DH modification. thats my next project now, But ill probably just use the front of the CH as this will give a professional factory finish, the CH front is 5mm lager therefore wont close.

At first, i thought the depth of the CH was the restriction, but it is infact the front plate, which if kept and clicped in the front of a cup holder (with a dot of black silicon) shouldnt pose too much of a problem, more importantly look asthetically pleasing.
Click to expand...
That is exactly what I did.

I purchased the 1DIN Cup holder
Removed the front from the Card Holder and swapped it with the one on the new Cup holder.
You need trim the corners off the Cup holder assembly before the Card holder front will fit and you will need to apply a little glue as otherwise it will rattle.

I also routed cables from the ashtray illumination so that the little decal illuminates when the lights are on.

Be aware that the drinks holder does restrict access to the buttons at the bottom left of the Radio (or in my case RNS-e). It may also get in the way when changing gear on a manual car. With a DSG it is not an issue.

This is another cheap mod and replaces the useless coin/card holder with a slightly less useless cup holder.
 
h5djr said:
There was a case some years ago when a lady who plays someone in EastEnders (who's name escapes me) and her boy friend were charged with something for a 'blow-job' on the hard shoulder. Cannot remember what excuse they used !

Probably not recommended!
Click to expand...
the excuse was indigestion.......... from which I also suffer. But Madame (oddly) does not subscribe to Gilian Taylforth's highly creative remedy!:hubbahubba:
 
audi upgrades
Shortly after this incident car makers introduced anti-submarine seats - to stop you going down?
 
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