Quattro or 2wd?

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ajda3

A3 Newbie... Haa
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Hi,
i'm planning to buy a 2002 a3 asap
after looking at various reviews and sites i'm not sure whether to buy the quattro or 2wd of the a3? (the 1.8T model)

the advantages are fairly equal on both from what i have read
the quattro is safer and takes from the line quicker with better grip but is heavier
whereas the 2wd is lighter so perhaps overall quicker?
i know the quattro is 180bhp and the 2wd only 150bhp but because of weight the stock speed is about equal, so post-modifications which would be most efficient?

mod plans:
AmD remap
Millteck Exhaust
Lower 30mm all round
and perhaps new manifold or turbo (money decisive lol)?

Just looking for suggestions on peoples experiences and which model would be more suitable after the upgrades?

Thanks :icon_thumright:
 
ajda3 said:
Hi,
i'm planning to buy a 2002 a3 asap
after looking at various reviews and sites i'm not sure whether to buy the quattro or 2wd of the a3? (the 1.8T model)

the advantages are fairly equal on both from what i have read
the quattro is safer and takes from the line quicker with better grip but is heavier
whereas the 2wd is lighter so perhaps overall quicker?
i know the quattro is 180bhp and the 2wd only 150bhp but because of weight the stock speed is about equal, so post-modifications which would be most efficient?

mod plans:
AmD remap
Millteck Exhaust
Lower 30mm all round
and perhaps new manifold or turbo (money decisive lol)?

Just looking for suggestions on peoples experiences and which model would be more suitable after the upgrades?

Thanks :icon_thumright:
Click to expand...

Better off going straight to an S3, which has the quattro and the extra power the remap would give you...

Then when you remap it, all the better!

Cheers,
 
yup...and to answer your thread once you have quattro you'll not want to go back ;)

especially in this god for saken country :)
 
You need to take into consideration how the car will perform with the extra power. You can stick 400bhp through quattro without an issue but 400bhp through the front wheels only wont be fun.

Personally I love the quattro on my S3 and know I will find it hard if I ever go back to FWD. It's especially good in this type of weather where the roads are wet.
 
alijames said:
Better off going straight to an S3
Click to expand...

Thanks Alastair
I did consider that but tbh can't afford the s3 option :ermm:

Its more of a progressive build when i have the money rather than going for the full s3 straight away

i'm still 17 so just trying to get the best out of the a3 i can get on a 17yr old's wages haha

for different reasons i'll get alot more money next year which is why i'll be able to afford the mods,
would you say the quattro is the better option to go for in the long term??

Cheers
 
yup i'll second that....had both A3 2wd 1.8T and the S3.....will never go back
 
As Alijames said, save and get a S3, much better and will work out cheaper in the end too!
 
I'm gonna go against everyone on this !

The lads only 17 which means not much money (i'm assumning ?? ) and he wants to mod the car.

Modding a quattro is more expensive (lowering it etc) plus they need more maintenance.

If you want a nice looking car then just go for the fwd (although quattro is better :salute:)
 
yeah i agree its more expensive but you dont need to worry as much as the 2wd.... also the cost comparison isnt that much more for the quattro car
 
I had a Golf Mk4 1.8T mapped to around 190bhp before my S3, and the difference is amazing. I've got to be honest, I don't feel a hell of a lot more power like I thought I would... but when it comes to putting the power down, you can't beat the Quattro!

If you want to spin up for 3 hours before taking off the spot and slide out round corners etc. then go with the FWD, otherwise Quattro all the way. You won't regret it. :yahoo:
 
audi upgrades
Hello chaps! I am in a fairly similar situation to ajda3 and I have been umming and ahhing about this for quite some time as my funds (slowly) build up. So a big thank you for some very useful opinions!

I had pretty much come to the same conclusion, that a quattro was the way forward. As i have every intention of modding my car in much the same way as adja3 so I would be alot happier, performance and safety wise, with the power having the opportunity going through 4 wheels as opposed to just 2!

Fantastic forum anyway guys I can see it distracting me to no end whilst at work!
 
I had an A3 1.8T fwd running 194bhp on a remap, with the 02 plate you'd be nearer if not more than 210 with a remap...I loved my A3 and once I sorted the suspension it handled like it wad on rails. I agree I wouldn't be without Quattro now but that's with an S3 running in the region of 260bhp, now an A3 Quattro running aprox 210 bhp may feel a little slow due to weight...it's a tough call really, you can have some real fun in the fwd A3, if I was going to go back to an A3 knowing how good the quattro system is in the wet I think I'd still look for one of the latest fwd A3 purely for the weight factor...

It's a question of what do you really want, a lighter probably quicker car in general or a car that is heavier in the bends but quicker in the wet...
 
paul26982 said:
hence why am excited to mod my a3, just curious on the weight factor
Click to expand...


When I first bought my S3 I remember chucking in to a bend and thinking "Jesus" this car is heavy...lol

I know I'd sorted the suspension on the A3 but even before that, the A3 just felt so much lighter in the bends...
 
They are noticably heavier, but due to the independant suspension the 4wd just seem to just grip the road with no fuss, without invoking the 4wd. I think thats the main difference between the 2 rather than the actual 4wd
 
I've spent some dosh on getting the handling dialled on my fwd A3 and its not all danger and terror like some are making out.

Yes, getting the power down in the wet is an issue, however a bit of common sense and decent tyres helps this. Any front wheel drive car when floored is going to spin up..it just will. If you take a bit of pride in your driving style though then its not half as bad as people are making out. Just dont bury the throttle!.

I like my cars handling now, its spot in. In the dry...brilliant...NO understeer at all and goes round corners like its on rails. It feels really well planted so I cant complain. Stock suspension was gash though...it was like being on a water bed.

In the wet, its OK, but you do have to watch what you're doing with the power. To be honest, in slippy conditions I wouldnt be driving like that anyway...drive within the conditions or you'll run out of talent and it wont end well...no amount of Quattro will make up for poor driving style on a slippy road.
 
I've got a 2003 S3 4WD which i let the Mrs Drive now, but i now drive a A3 2.0T 2WD. I really miss the S3 4WD, the S3 was fantastic off the mark on roundabouts and off the lights, the A3 just spins it's wheels and is no where near as much fun as the S3. The A3 is up for sale next year, but the S3 is staying. So in answer 4WD!!
 
yup quattro for me too as above..... your never likely to push an A3 that much on wet or dry roads to be able to benefit from the £1k worth of suspension.... the S3 is adequate and much more forgiving which makes for an easier safer life..... i loved my A3 but you always had to drive with the car in mind, now i put my foot down when i want, even mid bend which you cant do with a high powered A3 as easily :)

notice nobody with quattro would go back ;)
 
Dont get me wrong, if I was buying now I'd go for an S3 but back when I got my car they were big money even for a miler.

I'm just saying its not all as bad as people make out to be. Lots of fun and pace can be had from a nicely set up fwd car....Clio Williams and Pug 205 GTi for example...hours of fun :)
 
quattro all the way, only 2wd drive car worth getting is a rear wheel drive! now they are fun especially in the wet not as good for racing though! :no:
 
ajda3,
I have two cars, an astra family car which is 2.0 turbo with 170brake (still factory standard) through 2wd, and an S3 which is tickled to allegedly 260ish bhp and obviously through the quattro.

Now when you put the power down on the audi it just grips and goes. you can get away with a lot more in the dry and the wet on the quattro then on the fwd however it is not infallible. Like anything else if you drive like an utter goon then you will not stick to the road.

Now the astra is a different kettle of fish. It will spin the front and understeer given half a chance and in the wet it is.... interesting!

Basically the thing is as someone else further up already said... you really really need to vary your driving style depending on what car you are in. I know i can never ever hope to accelerate in the astra like i can in the audi so i don't bother, just feed the power in more gradually.

Realistically mate given that you are 17 and insurance is gonna be a bitch no matter what you get then you should just take a drive in both and see which you prefer.
 
meh. I'll start by saying that I love the S3, theyre awesome.

but

you lot don't half talk some ******** at times!!!

Sure, it's fairly obvious that a 4wd car will always have more grip in the wet than a fwd one, but the fwd A3 is NOWHERE near as bad as you lot are making out.

The S3 is a great car, and i'd very much like to own one. the 1.8T quattro however, is a pointless car IMO if it's performance your after.

it's simply not needed, there's the fwd 1.8T, and the S3.

having driven both, in standard form with 180bhp, he quattro feels VERY dull to drive, the 4wd system copes so easily with the 180bhp that it totally kills any form of entertainment, resulting in a fairly uninteresting drive. the S3 as standard is much the same, feeling lifeless and boring, and dare I say it (for fear of being shot by the antiprawn crew) slow! A remapped S3 however has enough power to make it interesting again

The FWD A3 in standard form is fairly boring too to be honest, although with a decent set of shocks and springs, and uprated anti roll bars, it copes with the power really very well. Mine's putting out 290lbft (more than the average mapped S3) and outside of 1st gear it copes perfectly well in just about all weathers, well enough to do a sub 10 lap of the ring in damp conditions anyway.

So, in summary, if you're only 17, insurance is going to be a killer anyway, and you're going to want something fun and chuckable, I highly doubt you're massively bothered about being as safe as possible in adverse weather conditions, if you were, you'd be posting on a volvo forum.....
 
to offer an opposing opinion....the chap is looking for a car to live with...he hasnt mentioned racing...the quattro is the easiest to live with and requires the least input, sure the A3 when you've piled your cash into becomes a decent 2wd mover, but you HAVE to pile cash into and question whether you will use it to its limit on public roads..... i would never go back to my 1.8T as much as i loved it, with quattro you dont need to question when you put your foot down, you just do it and 9/10 it sticks....tell me you can do that with a well sorted A3 in any conditions? you simply cannot, and we dont live in a hot climate either...... horses for courses

i agree that the 1.8TQ is boring...but then so is the 2wd unless you throw money at it..... and not much less than you would have to throw at the quattro...sure you'll never have the straight line pace a remapped 2wd would give....

so no we dont talk crap, we talk from experience of living with a quattro...it may be boring but it is sooo much more useable more of the time

and im not anti prawn...just think you talk as much s**t just like the rest of us, we are just intelligent enough to admit we don't know everything :moa:
 
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I am probably the only one who thinks like this.

No disrespect bud, with the nicest intentions, I do not know you, what you are like or your experience. But in my opinion, 17 with a 250bhp 4wd s3 is not what our roads need.

The S3 is a capable motor, which takes very little to drive at lethal speeds. It provides you with too much confidence, which when you do not have a few years of experience under your belt will result in a lovely german machine being binned and your potential harm.

Get yourself a tidy a3 fwd, and mod it. You will be more than happy - its a lovely motor - THE best cabin in its class, a suitably strong engine, an alright chassis and looks which have aged gracefully. When the funds allow you will have 200bhp on tap in a nice predictable FWD motor, from which you can move onto bigger and better things in the future.
 
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