A3 first mods - rims/spoiler/??? (2008 3dr)

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AndyJM

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Hi all,

I've had my A3 for nearly a year now - lovely but basic 2.0 3dr.

I've done the rear windows since the pics attached, but aside from that no other mods. I am a total novice at anything aftermarket or mod related, but there are 3 things I think I want to do ASAP:
  • Move to 18" alloys - currently on 17"'s and not sure what the effects of this are
  • Add an s-line style spoiler - cannot find how to do this or where to buy one!
  • Potentially some brakepad paint - again complete novice, sure there are many things to consider here
Any advice on these or some standard mods you'd recommend is hugely appreciated!!

-Andy
 

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Nice clean car you got there! For the S Line spoiler it'd just be a case of searching ebay for people breaking a3's, ringing round the local VW/Audi breakers or getting ripped off at dealers.

Not too sure about painting the callipers red, it may look a little out of place on what is currently a black/chrome car. Bigger wheels would make a big difference though!
 
I wouldn't paint the caliper red, it's too boy racer for my liking. I like to paint the disc and caliper silver to give it an OEM look, or some people paint them black.

You can go to 18 inch wheels but remember that will exaggerate the gap between the tyre and the wheel arch and the car may not look as good without being lowered. The gap between the tyre and arch doesn't actually change but a bigger wheel and skinnier tyre has that effect.

The S-line roof spoiler will make a big difference, this is probably the first thing I would do.

I was looking for something else and came across these headlights by chance. If you can and your budget will stretch I'd be all over them. OEM bi-xenon headlights http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-S3-A...604?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c4db37814 although I'm not sure if you would have to change your bumper to make them fit.
 
Cheers guys

I'll continue my hutn for the spoiler, seems like a pretty standard first mod

The brakes just need a going over, maybe a chrome like you say.

I've read it's easier to fit 18" A4 wheels rather than the S3, something to do with offset? I am not down with the lingo. Also not sure about the consequences and considerations of lowering, although I agree this would look better..
 
Not sure about that mate, I had 17"s standard on my SE, swapped out to bigger 18"'s with the standard a3 size (cant remember the exact size of the top of my head) and they fit fine. Although Sayam makes a good point in that getting it lowered to fill out that arch gap would be ideal.

Lowering would arguably increase handling around corners, and look a lot better than stock. H&R or Eibach would be the brands of choice.
 
I'm guessing this isn't available at the local garage...would love to know how to do it myself!
Too scared of buying the wrong wheels haha

I think i'll def start with the calipers and sline spoiler...I need new tyres anyway so may aswell upgrade to 18's!
 
AndyJM said:
I'm guessing this isn't available at the local garage...would love to know how to do it myself!
Too scared of buying the wrong wheels haha

I think i'll def start with the calipers and sline spoiler...I need new tyres anyway so may aswell upgrade to 18's!
Click to expand...

Sorry, what isn't available at the local garage?

Wheels and spoiler are a good place to start! When you seem some that you've liked, just post on this thread and I'm sure somebody will be able to say if they fit or not :)
 
So like all the fitting and mod work (lowering, painting calipers).. Cars are a bit of an alien world to me so I'm hoping this Audi is my way in

Sound! Well I know the size & shape of current, hopefully some kind of standard 18 exists that will fit - this part i'd def like to try myself
 
AndyJM said:
So like all the fitting and mod work (lowering, painting calipers).. Cars are a bit of an alien world to me so I'm hoping this Audi is my way in

Sound! Well I know the size & shape of current, hopefully some kind of standard 18 exists that will fit - this part i'd def like to try myself
Click to expand...

Aah right, tbh mate I've not done much myself.. but if you search the forum, there are a lot of guides with pictures on how to do pretty much everything so you could definitely give it a go yourself!

There are a lot of 18's that will fit, do you have any idea on what type of wheels you're gonna go for? Genuines/Reps etc?
 
audi upgrades
Yeah I'll just keep crawling for info on the fitting and compatibility:

I've attached a pic of the ideal alloys, they looks like the standard s line but I like the 5/6 fat spokes hah!
Looks like a lot of dodgy parts on ebay from a quick search on spoilers and alloys...
 

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Ah okay, the alloys you're looking at are the black editions... You get a lot of reps but the ads normally say as much in the description. Genuine you'd be looking at £600-700+ depending on condition etc. They are a good looking choice!
 
Crikey...a 3rd party choice might be better then, I've seen decent lookers in the £400 range.

Tbh i wouldn't mind 2nd hand, would just have to trust they're not structurally doomed. Do you mind if I ask what you've got/ mods you've done to your Audi?
 
New set of alloys can be very expensive, I have just got a quote to get my original alloys refurbished and coated black (Silver at moment), slightly cheaper than buying a new set lol
 
I wish I could, but i;m not a fan of mine at all! Just today I saw another A3 with the same alloys painted black, it looked terrible.

I have a budget of around £1k over the year to get the tyres/alloys, brakes and spoiler all sorted....do-able?
 
AndyJM said:
Crikey...a 3rd party choice might be better then, I've seen decent lookers in the £400 range.

Tbh i wouldn't mind 2nd hand, would just have to trust they're not structurally doomed. Do you mind if I ask what you've got/ mods you've done to your Audi?
Click to expand...

If you were getting genuine, they'd pretty much all be 2nd hand. If you're on a tight budget, it may be better to go for reps (atleast for the time being). You given any thought to RS4 reps? Can normally pick these up for £250-300 used off ebay/gumtree if you keep an eye out!

I have an SE, put the S line front bumper, black edition rear, newer rear lights, aftermarket spoiler and the newer rs6 wheels (reps). Undid all this when I decided to sell in September, ended up keeping it (till May for now).

AndyJM said:
I wish I could, but i;m not a fan of mine at all! Just today I saw another A3 with the same alloys painted black, it looked terrible.

I have a budget of around £1k over the year to get the tyres/alloys, brakes and spoiler all sorted....do-able?
Click to expand...

Wheels would take up a lot of this budget but that is definitely do-able. Spoiler painted and fitted, if you're patient then you should be able to get this for £200 including fitting... cheaper if you found one the same colour as your car.

Spraying callipers won't cost much at all.

Which leaves say £700 for alloys...
 
That sounds ideal, I forgot to mention the lowering in this cost actually...

But yeah all parts 2nd hand is fine, my cars about 7 years old now anyway

I'll have a look round for tips on caliper painting and fitting new alloys. The RS6's are lovely

Exciting getting into all this haha!
 
Oh yeah lowering... IMO lowering and wheels need to be the priority, the difference it'll make to your car will be massive! Caliper painting will be a nice addition too and the S Line spoiler can wait until one pops up at the right price..

The mistake I made was rushing into certain things and overpaying, lesson learnt that if you be patient the parts you need will always pop up either on the forum or ebay, at very reasonable prices!
 
I appreciate the advice as a total newbie to all this

It makes sense to build up from new wheels, the other stuff is more trivial in comparison but aesthetically will finish it all off.

I'll try and find some smaller/interior additions I can add to satisfy myself in the meantime!
 
AndyJM said:
I appreciate the advice as a total newbie to all this

It makes sense to build up from new wheels, the other stuff is more trivial in comparison but aesthetically will finish it all off.

I'll try and find some smaller/interior additions I can add to satisfy myself in the meantime!
Click to expand...
Agreed, spoiler and calipers would definitely finish it off.

Is yours an SE spec? Any pics of the interior?
 
I'm pretty sure it is! A 2.0 L TDI

Have attached my only interior pic... it's got a wood effect finish in parts I quite like!

You can see everything else is pretty standard
 

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audi upgrades
Ah yes, have that same finish on my own car. A nice cheap mod to do would be to wrap the wood finishes in an aluminium colour... Never got round to doing it although it was on the list, gives the interior a more slicker finish imo and you can also swap out the interior lights to LEDs :)
 
Interior LEDs are a quick, easy and cheap mod that look good.

With the wheels you want 18" x 8J ET45. That will make sure the wheel fills out the arch and the offset means you won't need to run spacers and maintain OEM functionality in that it won't rub. The tyres you'd need are 225/40/18 92Y XL.

I run 36 PSI in the front and 32 PSI in the rear but I'm sure you'd find your balance easy.

Don't let what I said about lowering put you off changing wheels. You can easily have the car lowered later, or not at all depending on how you think it looks.

If it was my car I would do them in this order:

1. Wheels/tyres
2. Roof spoiler
3. Interior LEDs
 
Sayam said:
Interior LEDs are a quick, easy and cheap mod that look good.

With the wheels you want 18" x 8J ET45. That will make sure the wheel fills out the arch and the offset means you won't need to run spacers and maintain OEM functionality in that it won't rub. The tyres you'd need are 225/40/18 92Y XL.

I run 36 PSI in the front and 32 PSI in the rear but I'm sure you'd find your balance easy.

Don't let what I said about lowering put you off changing wheels. You can easily have the car lowered later, or not at all depending on how you think it looks.

If it was my car I would do them in this order:

1. Wheels/tyres
2. Roof spoiler
3. Interior LEDs
Click to expand...

Great, this helps me out a lot! Been struggling to find a spec as some listing detail them, others don't.

I've already found a few £200-£300 RS4 reps that which a little TLC would look good. I'll post a set on here and hopefully get some opinions!

Roof spoilers however are much more difficult to track down so far
 
Just try not to get carried away like many of us do ;)
 
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150 is definitely too steep I'd say, especially with no brakelight!
 
That does seem expensive, plus a pick up only from Glasgow haha

Gumtree seems to be better than eBay for used rims, found quite a few possibilities on there.

Phoning up a local garage today that specialize in VW/AUDI to get some prices on lowering and fitting...will keep you guys posted
 
AndyJM said:
That does seem expensive, plus a pick up only from Glasgow haha

Gumtree seems to be better than eBay for used rims, found quite a few possibilities on there.

Phoning up a local garage today that specialize in VW/AUDI to get some prices on lowering and fitting...will keep you guys posted
Click to expand...

Where are you located mate? I've got a nearly new set of coilovers that were on my car for a few hundred miles and very friendly with a local mechanic so could get them fitted cheap if you wanted?
 
I'm also keeping an eye on gumtree for used rims.

Can be a lottery buying used reps though......
 
AndyJM said:
I'm guessing this isn't available at the local garage...would love to know how to do it myself!
Too scared of buying the wrong wheels haha

I think i'll def start with the calipers and sline spoiler...I need new tyres anyway so may aswell upgrade to 18's!
Click to expand...
I like the 18" S4 alloys from the older model on a3/s3's looks really nice. Have a look through the picture stickie and you'll pick up some ideas of how different mods look. Some really nice ones.
 
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Found these - http://www.gumtree.com/p/wheel-rims-tyres/audi-rs4-le-man-18-inch-alloys-with-tyres/1099881027

With tyres (which I also need) is it a good deal? They look a little rusty on the inside..

Adam Wilson said:
Where are you located mate? I've got a nearly new set of coilovers that were on my car for a few hundred miles and very friendly with a local mechanic so could get them fitted cheap if you wanted?
Click to expand...

@Adam Wilson I'm based in Cheshire, no problem with travelling but would need the tyres first. Where are you mate?
 
I would say thats a good deal.

Exactly what i'm looking for !!!!!
 
AndyJM said:
Hi all,

I've had my A3 for nearly a year now - lovely but basic 2.0 3dr.

I've done the rear windows since the pics attached, but aside from that no other mods. I am a total novice at anything aftermarket or mod related, but there are 3 things I think I want to do ASAP:
  • Move to 18" alloys - currently on 17"'s and not sure what the effects of this are
  • Add an s-line style spoiler - cannot find how to do this or where to buy one!
  • Potentially some brakepad paint - again complete novice, sure there are many things to consider here
Any advice on these or some standard mods you'd recommend is hugely appreciated!!

-Andy
Click to expand...

I have an s line spoiler for you in Black. Factory original paint.

i also have 2 sets of genuine 18" bbs speed line wheels with tyres
 
lakers1234 said:
I have an s line spoiler for you in Black. Factory original paint.

i also have 2 sets of genuine 18" bbs speed line wheels with tyres
Click to expand...

Have you got any pictures? And can you direct-message me with prices?

Cheers!
 
audi upgrades
lakers1234 said:
I have an s line spoiler for you in Black. Factory original paint.

i also have 2 sets of genuine 18" bbs speed line wheels with tyres
Click to expand...

PM Me with the Speedlines too dude ;) Also, Try to keep your ET at around 40+ if your running static, I'm on air and struggle with ET35!
 
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