José's S1 Bumblebeast

OK - first thing! People stare! I knew this car would be a head turner, but I wasn't prepared for it being EVERY car/pedestrian. An on top of that 1/5 give you some kind of acknowledgement as you pass!

So, I'll give a first day review and then some of the pics.

Arrive at the dealership 8.30am sharp. Immediately I notice the handover bay is already full with another car, and not even an S car!! Was mildly miffed, but no big deal, it's about the car, not the location you pick it up in!

Sales guy was excellent as ever, the dealership had got us a nice bottle of wine, and he actually got me a little bottle of JD from him personally as well which was very appreciated!

At this point I will state, I'm not running it in. Once the engine is warm, red line, full throttle all the way!

So initial impressions, FAST! I pulled out of the dealership and gave it a squirt in the 30 yards up to the mini roundabout, I actually giggled to myself I'd forgotten how quick off the mark it is from the test drive!
So off we went to the wrapping place, basically a trundle through busy streets, and with the Mrs in tow in the loan Yeti I couldn't spank it, but on a couple of roundabouts gave it some and this is not like other quattro/S car's I've driven! The only way I can describe it, is it scampers through the corners under power, you don't get that "I'm nailed to the road and the tarmac will get ripped up before you lose grip" sensation you get in an S3, or my SQ5 for example. It skips gayly round the corner smiling all the way (as do I!). It is by no means lacking in grip, it has BUCKETS of it, but you really feel it scrabbling to find the best wheel to send power to, it's a great sensation and you really feel alive, they've managed to remove some of that 'dull and sensible' feeling many other fast Audi's get (often when compared to a RWD BMW for obvious reasons) - so basically scampering=good! I guess this may be partially the result of the new 60/40 Haldex system, rather than the older 100/0 with up to 50/50 shove on demand. However Torsen is more akin to this new Haldex naturally so not sure!

So, get to the wrap place at 11am, the guy had an S5, and had just wrapped an A1 boot lid same as mine (obviously a dreamer, wishing they could have an S1!), so he was very excited to see it. We discussed satin or gloss, on the basis gloss matches the roof, but satin matches the wheels... We decided satin, and I'll be getting the grey diffuser painted gloss, and then the top edge of it wrapped satin to complete the look. So we went down the road for a cuppa while he did his thing.
45 mins later, and it looked awesome! Anyone wanting a wrap in the South (Central) go here... http://www.utws.co.uk!! They were by a LONG way the most recommended to me, and also the cheapest

So off we trot into the New Forest to get the Mrs new vRS, only 15 mins down the road. I won't go into detail about the vRS as I will be doing a full review with pics on briskoda.net and will post a link here for those interested
http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/305121-new-octavia-estate-vrs-20-tdi-dsg-ordered/?p=3948716

So after pickup we went down the road to a spot I knew from a previous photoshoot with my SQ5 and another SQ5 owner.
Unfortunately the weather was not great, so the pics are really not spectacular, but it was a decent spot to just take a few from different angles for you all to see...










I'm really pleased with the overall look! As stated above, just have to be careful as it's VERY noticeable!

Did a couple of the interior, I'll get some better ones of the interior maybe later today, but as you can see, it's equally insane in there!




And one of the 2 new baby's, we have named them Bumble and Wiz (her plate is W12 VRS)...


So we then drove the hour back home, popped into the in-laws for them to pretend they think these are sensible purchases and go for a VERY sedate test drive with them and then it was off to the nighttime photoshoot location...


I also did a shot of the Bose/door lights, they do look pretty cool!



So there were a couple of negatives, nothing major, but worth noting...
The air vents have a tendency to reflect in the wing mirror which is quite distracting.

The Auto headlights couldn't decide between on/off as we drove through the twilight. In the past my experience of Auto lights is once they come on, they stay on until there is a significant increase in light. It was kinda annoying, and highlighted by my next minor gripe...

Despite the Bose lights looking very cool, they are quite distracting, the passenger one is in the corner of your vision and very obvious when everything else is dark.

Not so much a definitive negative, but it was discussed on here in a couple of threads, the not so colour DIS... After using it for a full day, I have decided I quite like the simple, non distracting monochrome look. It displays just what you need in a nice ergonomic and straight forward fashion. It also I imagine will make warning clear there is a problem as they are in colour (not that I have had one yet).

The cruise control, this I am going to report to the dealership. It's can't just maintain a single throttle position. On a straight, flat bit of road you would expect a smooth ride, no, it basically go on/off the throttle gently modulating the speed +- 0.5mph of the target. It's an odd sensation and kinda makes you feel sick after a while. Never had a cruise control that does this before!


I think that's it for now... The weather is much better today so we are discussing best spot to that the cars for some sunnier pics

Pulp84 said:

Great car and excellent write up! Loving the wrap - just like the press launch car

Before reading your post and only seeing the pictures I thought the one of you and your Mrs with the Vrs was a road rage incident LOL!

Interesting to hear how it drives. Definitely sounds much livelier than the S3!

Where in the New Forest was those pics taken? Looks familiar but can't think of the name.

Enjoy it!

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Haha - no, no road rage between us (yet)! However we just went for a walk, at a spot which happens to lend itself to photos in the car park, so I'm there with my camera clearly taking pics of the S1, and some old couple just drive up and park next to it, so they are gonna be in every shot! The car park is huge and there is LOADS of space elsewhere. They get out, and walk off - I didn't say anything and neither did they, I moved my S1 to block them in, and moved the Mrs vRS into the photo taking location! 5 mins later (short walk I thought!), they come back and don't say anything, just get in the car and do no less than a 13 point turn to get out squeezing between the S1 and vRS, I just stood there watching them, his wife glaring at me the whole time - I had zero sympathy, how stupid do you have to be to park next to someone walking round taking pics of their car! RANT OVER! That feels better!

It is Hatchet Pond, near East Boldre. Well technically it's this smaller pond next to Hatchet Pond.

Si_S3 said:

Looks great - glad to hear you're enjoying it. Loving the colour-coded seat backs too - is that standard?

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Thanks. It's part of the quattro interior pack - not cheap!

Couple more pics from today...





Taken from the top of Hardy's Monument

Gothy said:

Both cars look great

The New Forest has literally so many places for car shots, it's so photogenic.

So can't wait until my S1 is built, I went for pov spec with no Quattro packs though :/

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Thanks mate.

Regardless of spec the S1 is a properly fun little toy! You'll be able to ambush unsuspecting people with the understated look and love it!

s3_trev said:

That s1 is one seriously cool little car!

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voorhees said:

Cracking pics/car's there

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Thanks guys!

wilsons3 said:

get some vids of it please !

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GoPro will be used on 11th at ADI. Might get some before tho!

So, 500 mile thoughts...

Firstly, brakes. I went for my first big stop into a chicane and was surprised at the ease of the ABS kicking in. Trying heavy braking a couple more times it seems quite tricky to modulate the brake pressure to stay on the edge of traction, but I'm sure it's just a matter of practice.

Drive Select, did the first 250 miles in Dynamic, and the ride is very firm, and even bordering on harsh (you certainly know if you hit a pothole/low manhole cover!). Today I did a 250 mile round trip of motorway/dual carriageway and as I had a passenger thought I'd try Efficiency mode - WOW - different car, its supple and compliant, and the bumps all but disappear. Someone on here said they can't tell the difference, I think their car must be broken! Also, a previously discussed topic on here, the button under the throttle, traditionally it would be a kick down for an auto box, but in this case in Efficiency mode, full throttle is actually only ~80%, and if you click the button you get 100%, its a significant extra shove, and it also sounds like the sound actuator kicks in - handy for overtakes! I don't notice any change in steering weight, not that I mind, I like it as it is.
It's a real shame there is no Individual option as with other Audi's, I would definitely prefer to have direct control over the sound/suspension/steering/throttle response etc.

MPG, I got 289 miles from tank 1, which was spanking it a lot! Looking like closer to 350 on this one (which as mentioned was mainly motorway @ 80mph). Not bad, and I expect it will get a bit better as it loosens up. I also wasn't afraid of giving it some on the country lanes at either end of the journey though so you could probably get 400 miles to a tank if you had the patience of a saint!

Few problems...
1. The dinked wheel found in PDI, the dealer rang me Tues and said the wheel had arrived (was supposed to be 6-8 weeks, came in 2 days!). I said as I was out n about today I'd pop in. As I pulled into the car park of the dealer they ring me, I answer saying my location and she says 'Ahhhhh....'. They've forgotten to order the tyre to go with the wheel, and they can't find any locally. Great!
2. As I was there, I asked them to look at 2 indentations in the drivers door card, near the interior alarm deactivation button. Looks like someone has stabbed it twice with a screw driver. They are ordering a new door card.
3. All the way up and down from my meeting today there has been a rattle from the passenger door area. My colleague tried to locate it by playing with the air vents/glovebox etc, no luck. I took a technician from a quick spin but due to traffic gave up reproducing it and I'll go back in a quiet hour and get them to look at it when the tyre/door card arrive.
Plus points to the above, they gave me a bottle of champagne for the trouble

A query I have open with them is the rear handles and their non-participation in advanced key activities. The handles have the little square to suggest you can lock by touching it and unlock by grabbing but no such luck. My SQ5 rear handles worked fine, and have to say it's more common than not that I open the rear first to put the dog in her basket. They are going to let me know if it should work. If they say it shouldn't I'm not sure what I'll do, I have no doubt it could be retrofitted but somehow I don't think they will be offering it as a solution!

That'll do for now. Will keep this thread updated with progress on the issues and further thoughts after a few more miles.

I also did a couple of VCDS tweaks...

High Beam Assist activation/deactivation speed has been lowered to 40kph to switch on (was 60) and 20 to turn off (was 40). Means driving through unlit country villages you can drop below 25mph and the high beams stay on now.

Mirror fold on lock enabled. Folds on lock, unfolds on ignition on.
Note for Advanced Key users, you have to hold your finger on the handle lock pad for a second or so for them to fold, you can remove it as soon as they start to move.

Still looking for a rear DRL coding that doesn't have the side effect of putting the nav into night mode all the time. I also plan to reduce the sensitivity of the auto lights so they come on later (this is an MMI option on loads of VAG cars and I did find the coding for a 2011 A1 but it didn't match up to what I saw so thought it best not to try!) - I will be looking at the coding when I change the settings on the Mrs Octavia and hope it's the same module in the S1 so I can copy the byte in question.

So, fitted the DTUK box this evening... So now running 280bhp/430Nm.

Definitely faster! And so much more drivable, really notice the low and mid band torque is way up! Throttle response is also noticeable better.

Only had 10 miles with it on so can't say much more than that, but so far so good!

Defo recommend this to anyone with an S1 - talk to Andrew @ DTUK and mention me for a discount

It's 3 sensors plus power, and would be doable on a jack, but really a ramp is the way, the difficult sensor is behind and just to the right (as you look from the front) of the drivers side fog grill (if it had fogs). It's not too hard to get to once you have the under tray off, but I wouldn't want to try and take the under tray off on a jack...
The other 2 sensors are under the plastic engine cover, so easy to get to.
The box it self I put in between the fuse box and the passenger headlight - packed it in with a bit of foam to avoid having to drill any holes for mounting. It takes power off a spare positive in the fuse box and to the jump start grounding peg so easy there.

I have a good mate that runs a garage so popped in there and after initially putting it on a scissor ramp and telling me to knock myself out he felt sorry for me when I couldn't unplug the first sensor and took over - he's done a really neat job with the loom and tucking the box away. I'm REALLY impressed with the build quality of the loom and box BTW - looks OEM, you'd never know it was an addition!

You could do it yourself at home, the instructions are very good, but for the sake of paying a professional £20 or if you have a mate with the right skills I'd do that...

Tailgate is wrapped.
Roof/spoiler are black with the contrast roof option on the 5 door. The 3 door get only the 'rails' either side of the roof. £150 will get the roof/spoiler wrapped tho. I paid £60 for the tailgate in satin black to match the wheels. Gonna get the diffuser sprayed gloss black too.

PS I know it's anal, but can you remove your quote of my massive post as it just clogs up the thread!

Cruiser89 said:

Hey Jose...
I'm pretty sure I see the bumble when I go to work in the mornings. I'm also pretty sure I see it parked up quite a bit near where I live unless there are two identical S1s in this area.

I did think wow when I had seen it

Shane at UTWS is pretty awesome with his wraps!

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I'm in Dorch so if you live there? There is a yellow one in Poole though.

Cruiser89 said:

Ahh it must be the Poole one then! Both look pretty meaty. I'm pretty tempted myself

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I was mailing you back in July about my Wife's Octy vRS and adding a reversing cam. It's arrived now so will have to pick that up, in sure I can take your a spin in the S1 for a good deal on the camera

Hey All,

So I put the word out on Facebook last night that I fancied doing some nighttime shots and if anyone wanted to join me. A photographer enthusiast friend said he was already planning the same and was heading to Cheddar Gorge, which is about 1hr 30mins away.

It's a rather fantastic 1/2 mile run up a steep/deep gorge, with lay-by car parks all the way up. Due to the unique sound reflected from the cliff walls, combined with the challenging 'course', it has become somewhat of a Mecca for car enthusiasts, with a number of people turning up most evenings! We went up to the top, took a few shots, and then came down to a tighter section and got the below 2.





Before I left (as my friend was in his camper and staying the night), I took him for a blast up the hill, first time I've been in my S1 (last time was in my now gone Nissan 300ZX with 3 inch straight through exhausts - that was loud!). WOW was it fun, I don't normally condone road racing, I do my fast driving on the track, but this road was too enticing, plus it was after midnight with the background hum of jap-can's no longer present as the locals had all gone home. I only wish I took my GoPro so you could see the on board, my buddy got out the car apologising for the fingernail marks he had left in the door handle I was genuinely only driving at 60-70%, would love to have seen his reaction if I'd really gone for it!
He took a few shots, I'll share them here once he gets done processing them.

Quick car park shot



Rollin'

ACWKGYTO said:

How have you found it regarding rattles in the cabin etc

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I have one, which I sometimes think is in the passenger door, sometimes stuff in the glovebox and sometimes from stuff (keys) I have chucked in the centre console...
I also have a drivers side door card waiting at the stealers as mine has 2 big dents in it from delivery, I just haven't booked it in.

So good basically. I'm pretty sure the intermittent rattle is stuff, not a loose cable or something.