Spacers On and Calipers Painted....

PNH80

PNH80

Low life livin' the high life.
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Alright guys...

Finally got round to putting on the spacers and painting the calipers rosso red!
I went for 10mm spacers on the front and 15mm on the back.
The calipers have been painted with the Foliatec 'Rosso Red' kit which came highly recommended....£20 and worth every penny. It's given a very professional looking deep gloss look. I didn't take the calipers off the car so getting to the back of the brake units was a bit of a ball ache but with a bit of patience and careful masking it paid off.

So anyway, on with some photos!.....

Here's a couple of shots of the car before:

SP_A0629.jpg


SP_A0685.jpg


I'd started to find the general appearance of the car a bit dull and uninspiring. The back wheels sit WAY too far into the arches and at times it doesn't even look like a performance car. Might as well be a derv.

So now here's a few quick and dirty shots of the car after the work. I'm sure you'll agree, it sits so much better!
I was a bit unsure of the red calipers before i started but having finished it, they look fantastic. I'm really happy with the results:

SP_A0683.jpg


SP_A0684.jpg


SP_A0687.jpg


Excuse the dirty wheels, i'd had my greasy hands all over them.
Anyway, i think the red suits the Avus Silver nicely and ties in well with the S-Line badges on the rear panels.

Any comments positive and negative are welcome as always.

Cheers for looking!

Paul.
 
i went for a less glossy red on mine - think it suits it better as people might think i just colour coded the calipers to match the car. the glossy shade does suit your car though. i've ordered up a set of s-line logos for my calipers too.
 
I'm really happy with the result Marc. I had reservations about red calipers but the car carries them off nicely. It's really transformed the car to be honest.
After seeing the car with spacers there's no way i could own an A3 without them.
 
PNH80 said:
I'm really happy with the result Marc. I had reservations about red calipers but the car carries them off nicely. It's really transformed the car to be honest.
After seeing the car with spacers there's no way i could own an A3 without them.
Click to expand...
yeah, it's amazing how much they stand out - especially in red. I think wheels with bigger gaps make them more noticable too.

i could never understand why they put black calipers on the S3 instead of red ones.

every day last week when i was walking towards the car to go home from work they were the first thing i noticed.

spacers and lowering are next on my list. just trying to find somewhere local that'll do it. boydie put me onto some people but i've not had a chance to call them yet.
 
norm29 said:
what spacers and how much Paul?
Click to expand...

Hi norm.... I was lucky enough to get a set of 10mm H&R's from another forum member who was selling his car. 2x spacers with bolts for £50 (otherwise they'd be about £90).
I then got a set of 15mm Eibach spacers for the back from a local dealer at a really good price....£70 with bolts. Can't complain at that!
I know some people prefer H&R but to be honest, there's nothing between H&R and Eibach. Both are superbly machined etc.

Spacers for me are an absolute MUST if you've got an A3/S3. But be careful with your insurance. Some don't like it!

Marc.... Definitely get the spacers fitted mate, you'll wonder why you never did it sooner. Transforms the car.

The calipers have always bugged me because the 2.0T's VAG sister cars...The Golf GTI and Leon Cupra R have nice looking calipers but the Audi's look cheap and unfinished....This solves that and gives the car more of a sporting appearance, so i'm well happy. The car basically looks 'finished'
 
PNH80 said:
The calipers have always bugged me because the 2.0T's VAG sister cars...The Golf GTI and Leon Cupra R have nice looking calipers but the Audi's look cheap and unfinished....This solves that and gives the car more of a sporting appearance, so i'm well happy.
Click to expand...
Yeah, my brother has a GTI and it has the nice shiny red ones - although the standard golfs don't - so that would be the same as the standard A3s not having it. I guess they only paint the calipers on the "performance" models - GTI, CR, S3 rather than the 2.0T engines.

PNH80 said:
The car basically looks 'finished'
Click to expand...
Don't kid yourself - the car will never be finished!
 
MarcQuinlivan said:
spacers and lowering are next on my list. just trying to find somewhere local that'll do it. boydie put me onto some people but i've not had a chance to call them yet.
Click to expand...

just found a place in dublin that does the h&r springs and spacers (www.alloy-wheels.ie). no prices on the webpage so i'll have to give the a call tomorrow.

the spacers are
hrdrs.jpg

H&R DR System

10 - 40 mm track widening

DR Series spacers fit between the wheel and hub, and require longer wheel bolts (ordered separately). Please verify bolt specifics before ordering (taper or round bolt head and shaft length)
Click to expand...
hrdrs.jpg

H&R DRS System

10 - 40 mm track widening

DRS Series spacers fit between the wheel and hub, and require exchanging the existing wheel studs for longer ones (included).
Click to expand...
anybody know the difference?
 
Is one set universal & not hub centric??

I personally find red calipers to be to obvious, I think black calipers on the S3 were a good move TBH, something different & discreet, I mean you come out look at a car & last thing you wanna be doing is staring south at the brakes, I think maybe thats there reasoning, also they were fairly tame on the S3 looks & to a degree boring against an S-Line which wasnt far of the S3 styling anyway, but I'm guessing the actual braking did the talking & I will know soon enough, 345mm baby, bring it on, lol
 
Do you know what hub centric means?

It doesnt mean it fits between the wheel & hub!!!!
 
MarcQuinlivan said:
just found a place in dublin that does the h&r springs and spacers (www.alloy-wheels.ie). no prices on the webpage so i'll have to give the a call tomorrow.

the spacers are


anybody know the difference?
Click to expand...

Only difference in the two descriptions is 'wheel studs' and 'wheel bolts' - so I guess it's a fitment thing depending on how the wheels are fastened on your car????
If that's not it I have no idea!!!
 
NHN said:
Is one set universal & not hub centric??

I personally find red calipers to be to obvious, I think black calipers on the S3 were a good move TBH, something different & discreet, I mean you come out look at a car & last thing you wanna be doing is staring south at the brakes, I think maybe thats there reasoning, also they were fairly tame on the S3 looks & to a degree boring against an S-Line which wasnt far of the S3 styling anyway, but I'm guessing the actual braking did the talking & I will know soon enough, 345mm baby, bring it on, lol
Click to expand...

I agree that staying away from red calipers for the S and RS models was a good move by Audi considering what the most popular colours are.... Sprint and Ibis wouldn't exactly look 'classy' with red calipers would they! Gunmetal suits them perfectly.
In the case of mine....Avus can look like grey primer on a dull day so i guess i was aiming to bring the car to life a bit. If it was any more 'understated' it would be invisible!! Painting the calipers grey would be pretty pointless on this particular car and i wanted it to look a little more individual.
As with all these things, you have to see the car in the flesh really. The brakes look great matching in with the S-Line badges and are a nice contrast to the Avus.... Well, in my opinion anyway!

I understand it's not to everyone's taste and at the end of the day i will probably paint them grey or black come sale time but for now it makes a welcome change!
 
Looks great.. red is perfect for the colour of the car... and it's always a great touch to have done. Enhances the overall look of it.

Will you be lowering and leaving standard?
 
Ideally i'd like to lower it but we'll see! Thanks for the compliment. I've had quite a few already this morning!
It's really surprised me how much more striking and agressive looking it's made the car. The gloss red makes the brakes appear much bigger too.
For £20 quid and bit of elbow grease i'd recommend it.
 
MarcQuinlivan said:
just found a place in dublin that does the h&r springs and spacers (www.alloy-wheels.ie). no prices on the webpage so i'll have to give the a call tomorrow.
Click to expand...

just had a mail back from them:

spacers are €95 a pair, extended bolts €2.50 each and a set of locknuts are €30

so €190 for two pairs of spacers, €40 for the extended bolts and €30 for locknuts comes to €260.

They also do the H&R 50mm lowering springs for €256.

Just as a comparison to DPM's prices DPM are €7 cheaper for a pair of spacers including extended bolts and and €45 cheaper for the springs.

Might drop damian a PM to see what sort of deal he can do for me and see if it works out more economical to buy from him once shipping is factored in to it.
 
Marc, check this guy out, I have bought of him & the 4 spacers were perfect, hub centric, longer bolts, set of locking bolts delivered for £158:

performancecarshop.co.uk
+44 7904244036
pcs-sales@hotmail.co.uk

mine were 16mm x 2 & 20mm x 2, but I can assure you the quality was fantastic
 
I might give him a shout tbh as I wanted some new ones for my car, you want me to get a price overall as might get better deal for repeat business.
 
He does others fella so email me then I'll get your info to ask him.
 
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