Since selling off my 3rd R53 (Mini) and trying to be sensible, I tried to get by on a Mk 6 GTI (DSG) and failed.
Nice enough car for a daily commute car, but definitely not a weekend car & as I donât have a daily commute it makes it useless⦠(unfortunately the family mobile is also a very sensible member of the VAG family too).
What the Golf did though was made me have a good look at the VAG forums to see what else appealed & made up a shortlist, with a few helpful suggestions from friends (which mostly involved a V8 or a Porsche) and then ended up buying an S3 (8P).
Itâs good a decent spec â Manual, Heated Leather, SatNav, Bluetooth, flatbottomed wheel & Xenons.
It was also pretty tatty when I picked it up, so sent it to WildHorses Mustang Specialist in Edinburgh for a full detail (inside, out and all 4 wheels refurbished) â
Anyway, after coming from a properly sorted (fully built) Mini, the car needs a lot of work to get it to a level that i'll be able to start enjoy driving itâ¦.so phase one took place in early December, with the following done at Autohaus in Edinburgh, (they made a really good first impression & Iâll be back) :
Phase 1 (Dec 12)
⢠Full oil and brake fluid service
⢠New NGK Iridium 8 plugs
⢠RS4 Fuel Return Valve
⢠Revision D Diverter Valve
⢠Pipercross panel filter
⢠New oem cam follower
⢠APR High Pressure Fuel Pump
⢠Full Miltek (sports cat) and resonated 3" exhaust system
⢠APR Stage 2+ Tune
⢠Loba Motorsport uprated clutch & Single mass flywheel conversion (& new Sachs master and slave cylinder)
⢠4 X new Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4Ds to get me through Baltic conditions
The following month it was back to Autohaus for some initial suspension work
Phase 2 (Jan 13)
Phase 2.1 (March 13)
Phase 2.3 will be around June & will include :
+ Uprated Haldex Controller
+ Quaife ATB LSD
+ Upgraded Pads, Discs, Lines and Fluid (which are all sitting in my boot just now & slowing me down....)
The car must look 100% stock though, under the hood and from the outside, donât want any hint of whatâs been done to it from the outside (noise or looks). Donât really even want oem+ look on the outside⦠it really just needs to look like a well looked after S3 8P.
The aim is to get to a reliable and usable 400bhp on this car, that handles really well (on a track) & the Quattro really helps the handling rather than hinders by being a dead weight! The final stage for the car to get it to 400 at the flywheel will be APR Intercooler, APR Stage 3 map & a Loba Hybrid Turbo (which should be done just in time for to get my winter wheels/tyres back on again...lol)
Iâve dealt with quite a few suppliers on here & been really happy with the service â GNJ Motorsport & Awesome GTI. I know Autohaus are not a supplier on here, but they are great bunch of guys and would highly recommend them to anyone in Edinburgh looking for someone to take very good care of their Audi/VW.
There is not much to look at so far, its just a nice stock looking Black S3 from the outside, I do have a few pictures... which I'll post up to show before before and after once the coilovers & BBS CH go on (I'd also like to get it back in for a detail).
I'd like views and opinions on my aspirations - i've still not been able to extract a single respone from anyone on the forum about using an ATB style differential on the S3... Please please please.
I'm also aware that the stock airbox is a big restriction & that 400 at the fly is possibly a pipedream - The only thing i'd consider is the TTS replacement cover to keep it looking OEM.
Any more than can be done on the handling front ?
Nice enough car for a daily commute car, but definitely not a weekend car & as I donât have a daily commute it makes it useless⦠(unfortunately the family mobile is also a very sensible member of the VAG family too).
What the Golf did though was made me have a good look at the VAG forums to see what else appealed & made up a shortlist, with a few helpful suggestions from friends (which mostly involved a V8 or a Porsche) and then ended up buying an S3 (8P).
Itâs good a decent spec â Manual, Heated Leather, SatNav, Bluetooth, flatbottomed wheel & Xenons.
It was also pretty tatty when I picked it up, so sent it to WildHorses Mustang Specialist in Edinburgh for a full detail (inside, out and all 4 wheels refurbished) â
Anyway, after coming from a properly sorted (fully built) Mini, the car needs a lot of work to get it to a level that i'll be able to start enjoy driving itâ¦.so phase one took place in early December, with the following done at Autohaus in Edinburgh, (they made a really good first impression & Iâll be back) :
Phase 1 (Dec 12)
⢠Full oil and brake fluid service
⢠New NGK Iridium 8 plugs
⢠RS4 Fuel Return Valve
⢠Revision D Diverter Valve
⢠Pipercross panel filter
⢠New oem cam follower
⢠APR High Pressure Fuel Pump
⢠Full Miltek (sports cat) and resonated 3" exhaust system
⢠APR Stage 2+ Tune
⢠Loba Motorsport uprated clutch & Single mass flywheel conversion (& new Sachs master and slave cylinder)
⢠4 X new Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4Ds to get me through Baltic conditions
The following month it was back to Autohaus for some initial suspension work
Phase 2 (Jan 13)
- THS Upgraded Lower, Upper Engine and Transmission Mounts
- Whiteline Anti-Lift kit
- Whiteline steering rack mount
- Whiteline bumpsteer correction kit
- 8 sets of Powerflex Polybushes - which covers full front and rear suspension
- H&R Front (24mm) and Rear (26mm) Anti-Roll Bars
- Superpro front camber adjustable ball joints
- 4 wheel alignment
- Changed Haldex Oil/Filter
- Changed Gearbox Oil
Phase 2.1 (March 13)
- KW V3 Coilovers (which will have damper settings set to fairly soft initially & i'll take it from there)
- Replacement stock top mounts
- Whiteline Front & Rear adjustable drop links
- Genuine BBS CH 18x8 Rims & Bridgestone Potenza RE050s (thanks Matt) Summer rims are here!
- 4 Wheel alignment/Corner Weighting
Phase 2.3 will be around June & will include :
+ Uprated Haldex Controller
+ Quaife ATB LSD
+ Upgraded Pads, Discs, Lines and Fluid (which are all sitting in my boot just now & slowing me down....)
The car must look 100% stock though, under the hood and from the outside, donât want any hint of whatâs been done to it from the outside (noise or looks). Donât really even want oem+ look on the outside⦠it really just needs to look like a well looked after S3 8P.
The aim is to get to a reliable and usable 400bhp on this car, that handles really well (on a track) & the Quattro really helps the handling rather than hinders by being a dead weight! The final stage for the car to get it to 400 at the flywheel will be APR Intercooler, APR Stage 3 map & a Loba Hybrid Turbo (which should be done just in time for to get my winter wheels/tyres back on again...lol)
Iâve dealt with quite a few suppliers on here & been really happy with the service â GNJ Motorsport & Awesome GTI. I know Autohaus are not a supplier on here, but they are great bunch of guys and would highly recommend them to anyone in Edinburgh looking for someone to take very good care of their Audi/VW.
There is not much to look at so far, its just a nice stock looking Black S3 from the outside, I do have a few pictures... which I'll post up to show before before and after once the coilovers & BBS CH go on (I'd also like to get it back in for a detail).
I'd like views and opinions on my aspirations - i've still not been able to extract a single respone from anyone on the forum about using an ATB style differential on the S3... Please please please.
I'm also aware that the stock airbox is a big restriction & that 400 at the fly is possibly a pipedream - The only thing i'd consider is the TTS replacement cover to keep it looking OEM.
Any more than can be done on the handling front ?