Is the 8P s3 worth the money?

[quattro81]

I had a 2002 8l S3 in dolphin grey with half White alcantara, eibach coils, h&r arbs, forge fmic, Pipercross viper, revo stage 2 , milltek tbe & haldex controller.. She was pushing 300.. and you know what the best thing about her was? Those big arches.. that's what the current rs3 needs - the bulldog shoulders lol

Although as paddy so rightly points out - just a stage 1 Software map on an s3 puts it there or past, and with the s tronic, you don't have to worry that the clutch is just about to pop! Like on the manual 8L

 

[S3 Nattie]

Your not wrong mate i just read his sig and he has spent a fortune on that old banger and it puts out about the same bhp as mine when its running on cooking oil

Dont know why your dissing. You spent all you time slagging off 8P S3's then went and bought one................

 

[S3Alex]

Cool some tried and tested setups then, whats your goal?

A good,reliable and quick daily driver....500bhp or so seems to be the limit of pretty much guaranteed reliability,although some are going a bit further,and a few of my mates from abroad are stretching things somewhat more.

 

[jojo]

Are you the only one on here that has upgraded the turbo then?

There's a few Dave, Johnny whatshisname? who tweaked it quite a lot, then swopped it for an Edition30 and back to his S3 again I think, and another member was S3BigAndy or something similar, not sure if he was running big turbo or just a whole load of mods, but I was sitting shotgun in his car CastleCoombe circuit, and we was all over an Audi R8! There's a video of it somewhere.

 

[Ash B]

There's a few Dave, Johnny whatshisname? who tweaked it quite a lot, then swopped it for an Edition30 and back to his S3 again I think, and another member was S3BigAndy or something similar, not sure if he was running big turbo or just a whole load of mods, but I was sitting shotgun in his car CastleCoombe circuit, and we was all over an Audi R8! There's a video of it somewhere.

Big Andy was running a big turbo

 

[voorhees]

There's a few Dave, Johnny whatshisname? who tweaked it quite a lot, then swopped it for an Edition30 and back to his S3 again I think, and another member was S3BigAndy or something similar, not sure if he was running big turbo or just a whole load of mods, but I was sitting shotgun in his car CastleCoombe circuit, and we was all over an Audi R8! There's a video of it somewhere.

"johnny whathisname" hes a bloomin tuning hero and a race driver is Jonnyc

 

[jojo]

"johnny whathisname" hes a bloomin tuning hero and a race driver is Jonnyc

That's him!

 

[superkarl]

Why the hell would you swap an s3 for a gti ed30?! I really dont get that

Edit: after a bit of internet searching ive discovered the ed30 is in fact the better car. Alot nicer inside and most importantly a bit quicker and more tuning potential, which is awesome, a lot less common than the 8p too.
Everyday is a school day

 

[voorhees]

Why the hell would you swap an s3 for a gti ed30?! I really dont get that

He modifies cars so it was just another project Karl

 

[S3RYE]

Why the hell would you swap an s3 for a gti ed30?! I really dont get that

Edit: after a bit of internet searching ive discovered the ed30 is in fact the better car. Alot nicer inside and most importantly a bit quicker and more tuning potential, which is awesome, a lot less common than the 8p too.
Everyday is a school day

you should see it! he wanted FWD and DSG i think .. got it to around 440bhp i think. His TTRS is disgraceful, absolute BEAST

 

[Ash B]

Why the hell would you swap an s3 for a gti ed30?! I really dont get that

Edit: after a bit of internet searching ive discovered the ed30 is in fact the better car. Alot nicer inside and most importantly a bit quicker and more tuning potential, which is awesome, a lot less common than the 8p too.
Everyday is a school day

I dont see how it could be more tunable? I thought the ED30 and S3 had more or less the same engine with maybe a few different components. And no way it the ED30 interior better than an S3

 

[S3RYE]

Ed30's tune exactly the same as the S3.. although i dont think they have as strong internals, could be wrong though. But my mates has a 360bhp Revo Stage 2+ Ed30.. And apparently slightly quicker than equivalent S3 due to weight (in the dry)

 

[S3 Nattie]

And apparently slightly quicker than equivalent S3 due to weight (in the dry)

Once rolling I would have thought so due to the weight and transmission loses of the S3.

 

[S3Alex]

"johnny whathisname" hes a bloomin tuning hero and a race driver is Jonnyc

Indeed....He's now running a TT-RS and looking at around 500bhp....the S3 lives on with S3-Dan,and is pushing out around 500+bhp alsoBig Andy's one succumbed to a holed piston after some full throttle action in Germany IIRC but was running stock internals,and that was the end of that.

 

[Ash B]

Indeed....He's now running a TT-RS and looking at around 500bhp....the S3 lives on with S3-Dan,and is pushing out around 500+bhp also
Big Andy's one succumbed to a holed piston after some full throttle action in Germany IIRC,and that was the end of that.

That TTRS & S3 I seen Andy old S3 up for sale not along ago sure it was about £20k some one posted the advert up on here.

 

[S3Alex]

That TTRS & S3 I seen Andy old S3 up for sale not along ago sure it was about £20k some one posted the advert up on here.

Yes...I remember seeing that....I think the engine had been rebuilt after Andy had moved the car on.

 

[Reesy]

Started reading this thread, but haven't read it all the way through. I hopes it's already been mentioned that the 8p isn't worth the money... I've got a 1.8T quattro 8L A3, and I've been looking at an 8L s3, as I can see the difference between them (visually). If I owned the equivalent 8P (2.0TQ), I could slam in a set of buckets and big alloys and effectively have an 8P S3. Just my 2 penneth.

 

[S3Alex]

Started reading this thread, but haven't read it all the way through. I hopes it's already been mentioned that the 8p isn't worth the money... I've got a 1.8T quattro 8L A3, and I've been looking at an 8L s3, as I can see the difference between them (visually). If I owned the equivalent 8P (2.0TQ), I could slam in a set of buckets and big alloys and effectively have an 8P S3. Just my 2 penneth.

Not quite...you'd still have the uprated rods in the stock S3 to contend with......yes,you could certainly get to a stock S3's power,but not a whole lot further without some costly work.
Lots of us have already mentioned that the stock S3 really does need a lot doing to it.

 

[The Cardinal]

^^^ Quite a few of us have owned 2.0T quattros before S3s - and once you have, then we'll take the two penneth as seriously as we do our own.

The 8L and 8P S3 are very much the same concept: low(ish) profile, quick, very usable and in a relatively low state of tune - but already at bigger power than most of the competition. I too wish the 8P had big arches, but it's the only thing lacking between the two IMO.

Great cars, both.

 

[Ash B]

Yes...I remember seeing that....I think the engine had been rebuilt after Andy had moved the car on.

Would love to know if the car has any more work done(power wise) That rebuild must of cost a bit!

Started reading this thread, but haven't read it all the way through. I hopes it's already been mentioned that the 8p isn't worth the money... I've got a 1.8T quattro 8L A3, and I've been looking at an 8L s3, as I can see the difference between them (visually). If I owned the equivalent 8P (2.0TQ), I could slam in a set of buckets and big alloys and effectively have an 8P S3. Just my 2 penneth.

Come on you cant be serious? There a huge difference between the A3 2.0TQ and an 8P S3. If you cant see the difference between an 8P S3 and A3 you are clearly blind or brain dead

 

[Reesy]

Not quite...you'd still have the uprated rods in the stock S3 to contend with......yes,you could certainly get to a stock S3's power,but not a whole lot further without some costly work.
Lots of us have already mentioned that the stock S3 really does need a lot doing to it.

I didn't say it needed work doing, I said it wasn't massively different to a smart S-Line with buckets, which apart from the rods (that I was unaware of) you haven't actually persuaded me otherwise.

^^^ Quite a few of us have owned 2.0T quattros before S3s - and once you have, then we'll take the two penneth as seriously as we do our own.
The 8L and 8P S3 are very much the same concept: low(ish) profile, quick, very usable and in a relatively low state of tune - but already at bigger power than most of the competition. I too wish the 8P had big arches, but it's the only thing lacking between the two IMO.
Great cars, both.

Having driven the 2.0tq for around a weekend whilst mine was being serviced at Audi, you can take my two penneth very seriously.
The flaired arches, recaro design in the seats, rear spoiler - these are all on the 8l s3 that aren't on the 8l a3.

 

[Reesy]

Would love to know if the car has any more work done(power wise) That rebuild must of cost a bit!
Come on you cant be serious? There a huge difference between the A3 2.0TQ and an 8P S3. If you cant see the difference between an 8P S3 and A3 you are clearly build

No, I'm not blind (hence the driving license ), but other members have admitted that there isn't a massive difference. The 2011 s3 is a slightly meaner looking beast, but the 07ish model is pretty similar

 

[Ash B]

No, I'm not blind (hence the driving license ), but other members have admitted that there isn't a massive difference. The 2011 s3 is a slightly meaner looking beast, but the 07ish model is pretty similar

Yes i will agree there isn't a massive difference but a big enough difference to know its not just another A3 s-line. Ok it doesnt have flared arches like the 8L, but really do the flared arches matter that much? The 8P S3 as a package i think is great you have an easily tuned KO4 2.0TFSI engine. Loads of S3 owners on here run stage 2 or 2+ all easy bolt on mods and running an comfortable 360bhp or what ever the max out put is.

Interior wise its a nice place to be no matter what others say. Its far more superior than its rivals like the Focus RS RS500, Golf R, Cupra R & BMW 130I just to name a few. The 8P3 S3 look good but the front bumper lacks the aggressive edge that the 8P2 front bumper has.

This thread should of just been 8L S3 Vs 8P S3

 

[S3Alex]

I didn't say it needed work doing, I said it wasn't massively different to a smart S-Line with buckets, which apart from the rods (that I was unaware of) you haven't actually persuaded me otherwise. Having driven the 2.0tq for around a weekend whilst mine was being serviced at Audi, you can take my two penneth very seriously. The flaired arches, recaro design in the seats, rear spoiler - these are all on the 8l s3 that aren't on the 8l a3.

I think I misundertood your direction there.....you were talking about appearances,and on that score the S3 is very much like the S-Line,but otherwise,the 2.0T is not such a good baseline for tuning that engine from.

 

[voorhees]

Indeed....He's now running a TT-RS and looking at around 500bhp....the S3 lives on with S3-Dan,and is pushing out around 500+bhp alsoBig Andy's one succumbed to a holed piston after some full throttle action in Germany IIRC but was running stock internals,and that was the end of that.

Yeah I know (little britain style)
love the TDI on it
The Stealth Beast hit 430 bhp before it had the piston problem that started a succession of bad luck for Andy,I hope his luck has since changed.

 

[S3Alex]

Yeah I know (little britain style)love the TDI on it The Stealth Beast hit 430 bhp before it had the piston problem that started a succession of bad luck for Andy,I hope his luck has since changed.

Yes....I hope his luck has changed as well,but that incident does have a lesson in it,in the form of not running full boost for extended periods at full throttle,on stock internals.
The EGTs can get very high indeed if you're running a fair bit of advance on the timing,and aggressive seeting on boost,timing and fuelling mean you really do need to be very careful.....mine allegedly has around 450bhp,which seems right given the settings and other people's results as well,but we deliberately avoided being too clever with the settings for that very reason.
The piston failure on JonnyC's old car(the S3 that Dan now has) was a totally unrelated failure due to very poor maintenance and lack of oil changes when it was in someone else's ownership.

 

[Reesy]

Yes i will agree there isn't a massive difference but a big enough difference to know its not just another A3 s-line. Ok it doesnt have flared arches like the 8L, but really do the flared arches matter that much? The 8P S3 as a package i think is great you have an easily tuned KO4 2.0TFSI engine. Loads of S3 owners on here run stage 2 or 2+ all easy bolt on mods and running an comfortable 360bhp or what ever the max out put is.
Interior wise its a nice place to be no matter what others say. Its far more superior than its rivals like the Focus RS RS500, Golf R, Cupra R & BMW 130I just to name a few. The 8P3 S3 look good but the front bumper lacks the aggressive edge that the 8P2 front bumper has.
This thread should of just been 8L S3 Vs 8P S3

In terms of distinguishing between an A3 and an S3 I reckon they do.. Your car is really nice, but I had to check your profile to see that it wasn't an S3. That's good for you, but not so good for people who have spent alot more on the S3, don't you agree? I haven't said anything bad about the 2.0T engine, as I think it's a great engine, and a worthwhile replacement for the 1.8t. I also agree about the interior, as I think that interms of cars the same age, an Audi is the best, hands down.

 

[S3Alex]

That's good for you, but not so good for people who have spent alot more on the S3, don't you agree? I haven't said anything bad about the 2.0T engine, as I think it's a great engine, and a worthwhile replacement for the 1.8t. I also agree about the interior, as I think that interms of cars the same age, an Audi is the best, hands down.

To be honest,that's one of the better points for many who have done a fair bit to the car....it looks relatively stock,and can give some far more expensive cars a bit of a shock.

 

[s3dave]

Yes i will agree there isn't a massive difference but a big enough difference to know its not just another A3 s-line. Ok it doesnt have flared arches like the 8L, but really do the flared arches matter that much?

Im afraid so Ash, its all about the arches, thats why an 8L a3 owners cant just stick bumpers on and seats and say hes got an s3 lookalike
It is very easily done on the 8p
bmw slipped up once on the m e36 and there were loads of copies/lookalikes, then they redeemed themselves with the e46 m and flared the arches to distinguish....

 

[S3Alex]

Im afraid so Ash, its all about the arches, thats why an 8L a3 owners cant just stick bumpers on and seats and say hes got an s3 lookalikeIt is very easily done on the 8pbmw slipped up once on the m e36 and there were loads of copies/lookalikes, then they redeemed themselves with the e46 m and flared the arches to distinguish....

This is certainly true,and there have been some spectacularly awful replicas of both the 8P S3 and the RS3 over on ebay......I know it's a personal choice etc etc,but to buy one model of a car,and spend loads of cash making it look like another model when in some cases it would actually have cost not much more to go and get the real thing....

 

[1animal1]

one thing Reese....go drive an 8P S3 for a few weeks then come back and tell us we're stupid...until that point your interpretation is meaningless. Looks wise the S3 maintains subtlety, I too would like the wide arches my 8L had, but its not to be.....instead I have a lovely S3 flat bottomed steering wheel, S3 gear knob to stare at and lots of other bits n bobs that remind me i'm in an S3 - then i press the loud pedal where I can be found smoking S-lines (not dissing S-lines i might add!) when ever I please....THATS why i'm happy with my purchase and THATS why I wouldn't sell up and save myself however many thousand by replacing with an 8L again

just my two penneth - shoot me down for having done the transition

 

[s3dave]

This is certainly true,and there have been some spectacularly awful replicas of both the 8P S3 and the RS3 over on ebay......I know it's a personal choice etc etc,but to buy one model of a car,and spend loads of cash making it look like another model when in some cases it would actually have cost not much more to go and get the real thing....

Yeah but thats the point, a couple of bumpers seats and a fbsw isnt going to run into thousands? Most people who do this arnt bothered if its not quick they do it to have a visually nice looking car what looks more expensive then it is and get cheaper insurance

 

[s3dave]

one thing Reese....go drive an 8P S3 for a few weeks then come back and tell us we're stupid...until that point your interpretation is meaningless. Looks wise the S3 maintains subtlety, I too would like the wide arches my 8L had, but its not to be.....instead I have a lovely S3 flat bottomed steering wheel, S3 gear knob to stare at and lots of other bits n bobs that remind me i'm in an S3 - then i press the loud pedal where I can be found smoking S-lines (not dissing S-lines i might add!) when ever I please....THATS why i'm happy with my purchase and THATS why I wouldn't sell up and save myself however many thousand by replacing with an 8L again

just my two penneth - shoot me down for having done the transition

Eyup Tim, i thought this thread would draw you in...

 

[s3dave]

Do you think theres a little bit of snobbery in the 8p s3 fraternity tim?

 

[1animal1]

Yeah but thats the point, a couple of bumpers seats and a fbsw isnt going to run into thousands? Most people who do this arnt bothered if its not quick they do it to have a visually nice looking car what looks more expensive then it is and get cheaper insurance

also depends what year car your emulating, facelift will have added expenditure, not least the headlights with DRL's..... still without those its not a £1000 conversion so they would have to be dedicated.

 

[S3Alex]

Yeah but thats the point, a couple of bumpers seats and a fbsw isnt going to run into thousands? Most people who do this arnt bothered if its not quick they do it to have a visually nice looking car what looks more expensive then it is and get cheaper insurance

Depends on where you get the bits from.....the buckets are surprisingly expensive,even from places like ebay,as I'm sure anyone looking for a set will tell you,and the FBMFSW again will set you back a few hundred,plus coding it,and don't even think about the bumpers if you don't have a friendly scrapper.
Someone kindly ran into the back of mine last year,and a new,unpainted rear bumper was over £800 without the fitting......oh and when you start tacking bits onto your A3 or whatever to make it look like the more costly models in the range,the insurance companies want to know,as if it looks like an S3,your local car thief will probably think it IS one.

 

[1animal1]

Eyup Tim, i thought this thread would draw you in...

Always gonna happen

Do you think theres a little bit of snobbery in the 8p s3 fraternity tim?

I think that certain people would mistake it for snobbery(and 8L owners would be the most likely candidates), this would be natural as most of us have an 8P S3 in this part....therefore we feel it's worth the money and will argue the toss as to why we own these cars.

But you already know this Dave....why your throwing the cat amongst the pigeons

 

[voorhees]

Yes....I hope his luck has changed as well,but that incident does have a lesson in it,in the form of not running full boost for extended periods at full throttle,on stock internals.
The EGTs can get very high indeed if you're running a fair bit of advance on the timing,and aggressive setting on boost,timing and fuelling mean you really do need to be very careful.....mine allegedly has around 450bhp,which seems right given the settings and other people's results as well,but we deliberately avoided being too clever with the settings for that very reason.

sensible advice Alex

**gets the sps to lower settings**

 

[s3dave]

Always gonna happen



I think that certain people would mistake it for snobbery(and 8L owners would be the most likely candidates), this would be natural as most of us have an 8P S3 in this part....therefore we feel it's worth the money and will argue the toss as to why we own these cars.

But you already know this Dave....why your throwing the cat amongst the pigeons

You are proberbly one of a few that can give a good argument either way as you came from the earlier S

 

[S3Alex]

sensible advice Alex**gets the sps to lower settings**

Going to a bigger turbo will result in lower EGTs,as well as the other benefits,but running an engine on the ragged edge and then flogging it,is always going to end in tears.....IIRC mine is currently running B7 T5 F6,so it's pretty safe,and boost is about 2bar peak and settles to 1.5 bar,so there's plenty left there as well.