Newbie: Upgrading from 8L 1.9tdi to 8P 2.0 FSI Sport

Coopz

Coopz

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Hello! I've been browsing for a few days now and finding some good advice and answers to my questions. Thanks! Seems like a really good forum.

I've had a 2001 1.9tdi for about 2.5 years now, it's just been a workhorse and left totally standard.



Now I've decided it's time to upgrade to something that I will be really happy with and can take pride in. I do love the A3 in general so decided to go for the next model up. I have put a deposit on a 2004 2.0 FSI Sport and will be going to collect it next Tuesday. Here are some pics:





My main question is, does anyone know this car? It's currently in Scotland, as am I. I wondered if the previous owner might have been a member on here, and if anyone knows anything about it's history?

Before I've even collected it I'm thinking about what subtle mods I can do to improve it's appearance (not that it doesn't already look great!)

I'm thinking:

Window Tints
Front Splitter
Dechrome Grill
Black lights with DRL and/or Lamin-x
Bluetooth
Arm rest (?)

And I will probably lower it at some point in the future.

I've looked for pre-cut Lamin-X from the USA site but they don't seem to list it for the A3?

I was also wondering how difficult it is to disassemble the front bumper to get the grill out for painting?

Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading this far!
 
Hi, welcome to audi-sport.net. nice car. Where in Scotland is the car? Hope you enjoy the forum. :) x
 
Thanks! It's in Glasgow, but I'm up north near Inverness. The wait to go get it is killing me, haha.
 
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That be a nice drive home for you. I will add you onto Scottish members list.
 
Yeah, a good long drive to get used to the new motor! :D I had originally put a deposit on one in Bradford but that fell through- that would have been some drive home! And thanks :)
 
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Well I've just taken a deposit for my old A3 tonight so I'm all set to go, I'm going away for a few days and then go collect my new A3 on Tuesday. I can't wait!

I was wondering, will the new car have GALA/Audiopilot? I saw mentions of it on here with some mixed opinions but would fancy giving it a go. Are there any other surprise features like this that I'll find which I didn't have on the 8L?

I also wonder if it would be worth getting a Parrot system installed or if I'm easier/cheaper just to get a bluetooth head unit? It's mainly for listening to music from my phone.

If anyone has any other must do mods then I'm open to suggestions!
 
Congrats on the new car, you will love it! Nice leather interior too that's always good :)

Those alloys are sweet!

Getting the bumper off to get at the grill is a doddle really, just be careful with the clips etc as they will be quite brittle and frail by this point, particularly the plastic mounts at the top edge of each end you'll find within the wheel arch - there are a couple of good guides on here to help you with bumper removal too...

Personally I would look at a double din conversion and a new head unit rather than a parrot, much cleaner install - you'll find two camps on here - the purists who refuse anything non OEM, and the rest of us haha (although for some things I agree OEM is the only way!) - I think you get way more bang for your buck with aftermarket infotainment but that's just my opinion, I have the pioneer SPH DA120 for Apple CarPlay, a decent mid range unit, in my opinion - get the right adapters and you can have a nice clean install :)

Definitely worth considering MY09 or MY11 rear lights - darker lenses and a narrower indicator strip - look them up you'll be surprised how much of a difference something so subtle makes!

Likewise an s line spoiler really completes the back end, but to be fair for what you get I always thought they were extortionate in cost once painted and installed - worth considering though!

Performance wise you don't have masses of scope with a naturally aspirated engine to be fair, but that might not be what you're looking for anyway :)

Regards DRLs if you mean the ones built into the headlights as in later model A3s, beautiful but crazy expensive! And for this aftermarket isn't a great idea for a multitude of reasons, I know this because I would love to have them too, but can't justify the expense.. Maybe on the next Audi!

Final advice, a man called Trups on here from E M Tuning can hook you up with LED bulbs for the interior lights and number plate, again makes a massive difference to modernise it a little.

Loads of helpful people on here will be able to help you out along the way!

Enjoy
 
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hmm those wheels are just to die for...

Seems like a solid car! Never been to keen on the 3 door myself, just looks.. squished :p

before buying any car I recommend everyone go check; https://mot-history.net/

any advisory's which will cost you money in a few weeks/months? I'd try get the price down ;)
 
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Thanks for the replies! The alloys are R8 V10 alloys and they look just as good in the flesh :) I collected the car on Tuesday and couldn't be happier, it looks and drives better than I hoped it would. A massive improvement over the old one! Now if only I had a couple more days off to get out and drive it!

RS3dan, thanks for all the great pointers and advice, very much appreciated! I'll look into the double din conversion, the idea appeals to me but I don't know how it would fit... Will have a search and see what I find. The rear lights sound good too, that's something I hadn't thought of but I'll add it to the list! I will forget about the headlights though in that case, thanks for saving me time looking into that. I'll also put the spoiler onto the wish list for the future, and look into the LEDs from Trups. Thanks again!

Thanks Smir, I had checked that site before going to collect it, so good that we can do this now! And haha, I don't mind having a squished car, I'd feel I was wasting space with a big car since its normally only me in it! I looked at the sportback but don't really like long/estate cars.

I'll post a couple more pictures when I get home later tonight.
 
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Just after collection:


Old car VS New car:
 
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Haha, it really does look like big brother little brother! I am still blown away by the difference in the two. Every time I look at or drive the new one it puts a smile on my face!

Thanks Gazwould- I might have to get myself some lowering springs for my birthday!

It's booked in to get the rear windows tinted on Wednesday, looking forward to seeing the difference it makes.

I've been looking at stereo options, and to be honest I love the look and sound of the stock unit (Concert 2). It would be just perfect if it had either USB/SD slot and Bluetooth (Aux in optional). My music collection is digital and I can't be bothered messing around with CDs. I've found this adapter which looks good and has a few good reviews, has anyone had any experience with them, or know of a better alternative?

amazon.co.uk/USB-Adaptor-Bluetooth-Audi-Radios/dp/B00DZKXGJY (The forum doesn't seem to like the Amazon link?)

I would like track titles on the display but can live without them. I'm not sure though how this would work if you had more than one type of media connected to it (like a USB & SD, or trying to stream music over bluetooth while there's a USB in). Could you chose your input or would you have to unplug whatever you're not using?

I've looked at the Dension Gateway (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dension-G...480376?hash=item51d7c6ca78:g:jfgAAOSwGvhT6fLt) But it says you can't use the bluetooth for calls? So seems pointless.

I've also looked at the Connects2 options (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A3-1...459802?hash=item4ae83668da:g:QTMAAOSwBLlU2k3E) but it's not clear if you can play music from a USB Stick? It only states that you can charge USB devices ith the USB charging port. It would be possible to get a Connects2 USB interface adapter and add on a separate Bluetooth module (http://www.carcommunications.co.uk/...free-kit-for-ipod.3-and-usb-interface-adapter) nut the first option would be better as long as it could read from USB devices...

There's too many options! And I should be asleep by now... Sorry for the long post, but hopefully someone can help me out, and if not at least I've saved the links/options to consider tomorrow, and hopefully they might also help someone else who is looking for something similar to me!
 
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Connects 2 are good stuff.. I had aux kit from them...



Also my channel has other things I did to my Audi
 
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Thanks Tim, that video was really helpful, well explained and produced! Looks like you have a lot of videos that could be of help to me (I had already watched 2 of them!) you have a new subscriber! :happy:
 
Well, after considering the options all day I think I'm going with the lesser known Anycar adapter which seems to tick all the boxes and comes in at least £40 less than my other options. People seem to say good things about it too. There's a youtube video of a guy demonstrating some of its features if anyone is interested. I'll hide the box behind the dash and hook it up to this flush mount usb & aux socket somewhere discreet. I think that should be a nice clean install and do everything I need it to!
:rockwoot:
 
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