Feedback from those with S3s now

Sounds like most of the test cars had the optional shocks, which maybe says something about the way air suspension performs, but the one I'm testing has air suspension. I like the fact it is adaptable and adjustable to the specific driving you are doing.

Dealer says September delivery, but he's still in selling mode so telling me what I want to hear.
To be fair they are normally spot on with their delivery dates in Aberdeen.

Ah OK - be interested to hear you review of it once driven.

September wait doesn't sound too bad!
 
Just passed the 500 mile mark...

Positive:

* Performance - not really explored the right pedal too much as still running in, but it's pretty obvious what's under the bonnet
* Economy - getting 34mpg average, which for a 300bhp car I think is pretty good
* Exhaust note - could be a little louder (I may put a miltek on it) but I like the dirty pops and farts
* Interior - really nice place to be
* Relaxing to drive on the motorway - comfort mode
* Handling - really chuckable car and I found you really need to push it before the nose will wash out
* Tech - MMI a big step up from what I had in my TTs
* Stealth - it's not a car that shouts about itself and I have noticed people don't react to you so much as I am used to when driving sports cars. The looks of the car are may be a little too understated, but the spec I chose has definitely made it stand out from lesser A3's.

Negative

* Lack of arrestors on the doors
* Gear box is a bit cluncky at low speeds in traffic - first DSG box I have had that's been like that, hopefully it will improve with time
* Paint flaking off the inside of the rear wheel arches - will have to go back to Audi at some point as I am not happy about that!
* Wind noise from windows at speed - am going to get the seals checked
* High driving position & difficulty find a comfortable driving position - I'll get used to it... every new car I get I spend weeks ******* around and eventually settle in. LOL!
* Not much else...

Will report back once I have got a couple of thou on the clock...
 
Same here, always takes weeks to find the ideal seating position.
How many miles before you truly open it up?
 
Sounds like most of the test cars had the optional shocks, which maybe says something about the way air suspension performs, but the one I'm testing has air suspension. I like the fact it is adaptable and adjustable to the specific driving you are doing.

Dealer says September delivery, but he's still in selling mode so telling me what I want to hear.
To be fair they are normally spot on with their delivery dates in Aberdeen.

Air Suspension?!! What are you on about? It's not a Citroen! It's mag ride old chap. I wouldn't spec it. I had it on both my TT's and it made the ride very inconsistent. Unfortunately it was standard on both TTS and TTRS+ I had. Put it in the sport setting and the car was frankly horrible to drive on anything but a totally smooth road surface. On UK roads it just doesn't add up. I drove a new S3 with it and things were no different. Spend the money on some super sport seats instead!
 
Same here, always takes weeks to find the ideal seating position.
How many miles before you truly open it up?

I usually start to push it a lot more from 700 miles and then at 1,000 it's time to have fun. I will gradually ease it in, as I do think it's important to do that. I have had to use full throttle a couple of times to overtake farm vehicles - that aside, I have not used more than 4,500 revs yet - but that's still enough to pass Corsa VXR's with delusions of gandure. LOL!
 
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Same here, always takes weeks to find the ideal seating position.
How many miles before you truly open it up?

Me as well.
I have just started buggering about with it all again, as I did a long journey and my shins were sore on my right leg.
In retrospect, it may have been some new DSquared trainers to blame.....and now I cant get comfortable again.
 
Me as well.
I have just started buggering about with it all again, as I did a long journey and my shins were sore on my right leg.
In retrospect, it may have been some new DSquared trainers to blame.....and now I cant get comfortable again.

Unlucky ;)
I've got a trainers I won't drive in because they annoy me after ½ an hour
 
Just did my first 'launch' using launch control whilst popping out for lunch. F'ing hell, what a rush!! 1 of 200 down, and I see myself doing many more! The main problem is finding somewhere safe and legal to do them. Obviously best on a 60 mph minimum road, where you can stop and go, which is straight, good quality tarmac, and ideally doesn't have any side roads etc for safety. Around me its hard to find, and I don't fancy coming to a complete halt on the A1(M) just to do a launch ;)
 
You say 1 of 200, is there a limit on the number of launches or are they recorded by the ECU?
I don't think there is a limit in the TT, but I've only used LC in it 5 times so who knows.
 
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You say 1 of 200, is there a limit on the number of launches or are they recorded by the ECU?
I don't think there is a limit in the TT, but I've only used LC in it 5 times so who knows.

Yep, not in the manual, but discussed in other threads, after 200 stop being able to do it. TT almost certainly the same, as other Audi's have been quoted with the problem, s4 etc
 
I had this with my TT - see:
The Audi TT Forum :: View topic - Paint problem

All sorted perfectly and nothing has recurred but not quite what you expect from a premium brand.

pressure washer will do this to the arch paint very quickly. Once it starts it gets worse. From what I could see on my A1 (which had the same issue) it was not lacquered, so essentially it was overspray.
 
It's not mag ride on a RS6...... old chap.

Correct-

RS-specific Adaptive air suspension.
Electronically controlled air suspension with infinitely variable adaptive damping system on all four wheels, with RS-specific tuning. This automatically controls the vehicle level and damping, with four modes: comfort, dynamic, auto and lift, which can all be selected via the MMI system.
 
pressure washer will do this to the arch paint very quickly. Once it starts it gets worse. From what I could see on my A1 (which had the same issue) it was not lacquered, so essentially it was overspray.

Pressure washer was (and is!) never allowed near my TT. Dealer admitted it was faulty painting and lots of other TTs had the same problem. Interestingly enough, virtually all were Ibis White. Perfect job done and no sign of recurrence.
 
Pressure washer was (and is!) never allowed near my TT. Dealer admitted it was faulty painting and lots of other TTs had the same problem. Interestingly enough, virtually all were Ibis White. Perfect job done and no sign of recurrence.

Don't have experience of the TT - was referring to A1. Pressure washer will rip the paint off if. It done with care as it's not sealed.
 
Just did my first 'launch' using launch control whilst popping out for lunch. F'ing hell, what a rush!! 1 of 200 down, and I see myself doing many more! The main problem is finding somewhere safe and legal to do them. Obviously best on a 60 mph minimum road, where you can stop and go, which is straight, good quality tarmac, and ideally doesn't have any side roads etc for safety. Around me its hard to find, and I don't fancy coming to a complete halt on the A1(M) just to do a launch ;)

I have a handy set of traffic lights near me, on a 70 mph dual carriageway, with no junctions for half a mile from the lights. It's like a drag strip. :D
 
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Do you find there's a very slight delay from releasing the brake pedal and the car launching? I'm talking fractions of a second here.
My TT (Mk2 V6) and my sons Mk5 R32 both had a brief pause before launching.
 
In LC mode, yes.

The gearbox has to go from disengaged clutches (don't want high clutch clamping pressures at full turbo boost at 4000rpm) - to dumping (ok, controlled engagement) the clutch when you release the brake pedal !
 
I didn't notice a delay, but I was quite excited, so probably missed it :) Related question...can you manual launch without using the system? i.e. could you stick it in sport, TC off, left foot brake and manually hold revs at 4000 rpm then dump? Would there be much difference? Would it knacker the clutch?
 
No, it starts slipping, and won't go beyond about 1500 rpms. 0-62 mph takes about 5.8 seconds without LC. Still impressive.
 
Yes, there is, good for drag racing, you can let go at the last yellow, and will not get a red light.
 
The specific thread is about feedback from those who have S3's.

Craigl has a S3, which is he immensely disappointed with.

He mentioned he is seriously thinking of changing to a RS6, with air suspension.

Where you promptly jumped in and decried that it didn't and had mag-ride, in a rather condescending manner.


I'm sorry I've had to spell it out for you, but perhaps you should read more carefully before jumping in with both feet rather arrogantly, as you have appeared to do in quite a few recent posts.
 
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No, it starts slipping, and won't go beyond about 1500 rpms. 0-62 mph takes about 5.8 seconds without LC. Still impressive.

Does that mean the manual is faster than DSG on a 0-62 run, if the DSG isn't using launch control?
 
Well, that's me twelve hours into a 32 hour test of the RS6.
Epic engine, great AWD system (RWD biased), could feel the diff working away on a B road blast, much improved seating position and the air suspension is pretty impressive allowing you to manually adjust, plus adjusting to the driving mode you select too.
You can tell it's a car that's been engineered to be driven, and it appears all the better for it.

Down side of 14mpg when I was pushing it. Could easily see that into single figures.
However, got just over 25mpg on a leisurely commute home using cruise control, which is the same as my average over 3,100 miles in the S3........
The RS6 has 11k miles on it though so I don't expect that number to improve, the S3 should.

Other downsides, the size of the car and the weight of the car.
Doesn't quite handle like it's on rails, but the drive is still, given the effort been put into it, rewarding.

Is it enough to keep my excitement and keep me entertained?
I think it is.........if the deal is right. Almost there with it, but still a little effort from the dealer before I've placed an order.

They gave me a full tank of fuel, so I'm away out to see how much I can use before I give it back.
 
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Don't be shy with the pics Craig. Come on now

One hell of a car though. Have you launched it?
 
No, it starts slipping, and won't go beyond about 1500 rpms. 0-62 mph takes about 5.8 seconds without LC. Still impressive.

Did you get that 5.8 from holding the revs at 1500 rpm then, or just standing on the loud pedal from rest?
 
Latter. But it does not make a big difference, the engine should produce decent torque at 1500 rpm, but it just doesn't. I'm not complaining, and not regretting to choose the DSG, I only wish the limit of 200 launches would not exist. I'm at 3000 miles and already down to about 180.
 
Does that mean the manual is faster than DSG on a 0-62 run, if the DSG isn't using launch control?

If you can change gear quicker than the milliseconds it takes the DSG oops Stronic I dof my hat 2 u sir, but back to reality no matter the circimstances in a straight drag race to 60 between two standard S3's and despite the skill of the driver the stronic S3 gonna win every time
 
If you use the launch control, yes, otherwise, no chance (decent driver driving). Of course, it's different from let's say 30 to 100, then every time Stronic wins, no question. With LC I was running 12.8-12.9 at the drag strip, without it, 13.6-13.7.
 
If your saying you cant achieve 4.8s without launch control, fair enough but to get to 60 the torque/ sliping issue you mention exactly the same wether manual or stronic so the difference is going to be the gear changes and you are NOT going to be as smooth or as quick to third ie two changes in a manual as the DSG is, so if takes a second longer in stronic gonna be at least a seconger for manual and that gonna vary even more dependent on the skill of the driver!
 
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Not exactly, because I would never launch a manual car at 1500 rpm, it would be rather 4500-5500 depending on clutch and surface. A manual car runs the 1/4 mile in 13.2-13.3secs, with a bit less terminal speed. It's all about the launch, and that's something you just can't do withot LC.
 
LC in stronic not 1500 though you doing it right, think you missing the point the only difference in the two cars is the gearbox! The driver in a manual no matter who it is is NOT gonna get to 60 quicker two gear changes manualy never gonna beat the DSG
 
Maybe you're missing the point, that I'm saying WITH LC, everytime Stronic wins, WITHOUT it, so launching the Stronic from about 1500 rpm and the manual from let's say 4500, everytime the manual wins. The thing is, the guy in the manual car can do it as long as his clucth holds up fine, and then get it replaced. The guy in the Stronic car can do it 200 times, and then the fun is over. (If you believe what others here are telling about the 200 launch limit on the LC.)
 
If you use the launch control, yes, otherwise, no chance (decent driver driving). Of course, it's different from let's say 30 to 100, then every time Stronic wins, no question. With LC I was running 12.8-12.9 at the drag strip, without it, 13.6-13.7.

No No No :banghead: in gear acceleration will be exactly the same, same bhp, same torque and same gear, the only difference would be if I used kick down then you could kiss my xhorst's the difference in stated 60 times is due to the losses in gear changes and nothing more. See you tube vid of golf r dsg vs manual acceleration or something like that by auto express highlights this point perfectly, Night Night
 
Ok, no problem, you don't unserstand my point. Just a small correction: it's not even the same gearing between Stronic and manual.