Regal VF RSS S3 Build Thread..

Hey

So here is a build thread of my car, from the day I picked it up to my latest dilema on what wheels im thinking of bolting on.. Its been a bit of a trip lol..

Got the car about 6 months ago (for the 2nd time, dont ask!) standard..

(not my car but you get the idea)



Quickly had the car mapped to 310BHP with the GIAC re-map and then started with some more mods..

H&R springs
Neuspeed intake kit
Milltek 3" sports cat downpipe
Custom 2.5" cat back exhaust
Speedline Turini's

This was the car as of about 6 months ago..

Intake



Wheels and Springs



About a week later..

Speedlines powdercoated Satin Black
Custom front grille
Black wingmirrors



Custom OEM / Optics hybrid front grille & Black Mirrors..



Rear view..



Tail pipes..



Black powdercoated Speedline Turini..



Interior - Black with red and FBMFSW..



Other pics..







Last wave of mods included..

GIAC 'Hammer' map
Sachs racing clutch + Flywheel
Full set of VF engineering Engine mounts
EVOMS custom intake kit + turbo heatshield / heat tape
Forge motorsport DV
Forge short shift
Forge side to side short shift
Custom cold air feed
Ferrodo DS2500 pads

Quick shot of the engine bay with the new Evoms intake, Forge DV + VF Mounts..



Cold air feed..





You can just about spot the Forge DV install in this one, pleased how neat that turned out!



Had the car dyno'd and the results were 337bhp and 343ft/lbs





Some more parts fitted last week which included..

KW V3 Coilovers
Custom 3" cat back exhaust
Custom PCV mod
Silver bulbs all round
235/40/18 toyo r888

Next week or so I will have..

KW Adjustable top mounts
PIAA 6200k HID headlight bulbs
PIAA 6200k LED sidelights
09' Facelift rear lights
Lots of little exterior changes

Looking forward to getting them all on!

So that pretty much brings me to the point of embarking on the big turbo kit..

I had been hassling Chris at Regal Autosport even since VF Engineering in the US had annouced the kit for the MK5 GTI (at that point I was driving a MK5 GTI)

So when I got the S3, I knew that this was the route I wanted to go down, heres the story!

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The car is now ready for me to collect from Regal tomorrow, had a good chat with Chris today about the work carried out and he's extremely pleased with the results and the installation!

The car is running perfectly, Regal have spent a long time adapting the kit for the 8P S3 and perfecting the map along with GIAC to have the car run safely and within the limits of the standard engine internals, power and torque figures were important but not the main aim of the project, overall drivability and reliability were paramount!

I will be posting up full logs and graphs later on today once I have them but to give you a quick idea of what affect the conversion has had on the car here are some before and after power/torque figure comparisons..

With all the mods on the car previous to the conversion the car made

358bhp
348ft/lbs

With the Regal Autosport Vf Engineering RS/S kit the car made

417bhp
385ft/lbs

Although the top end figures are impressive, Chris tells me that one of the most noticeable differences is in the mid range pull, so the car is going to feel like it has a lot more than the power increase suggests!

Picking up the car tomorrow, ill nick my brothers camera for the day and get a load of pics of the conversion too.. My god, I cant wait!!!

Full review of the car tomorrow, ill have a good long drive back from Southampton so should have a good idea how well it goes after that!

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Update 1:

Here is the dyno graphs comparing the car when it drove into Regal and how it is performing now..

You may notice the noise in the lines past 5500rpm on the Big turbo plot, this is the car trying to jump out of the dyno!! cool ey!

You can run a filter on the results to get rid of any noise in the graph lines but Chris wanted to see a true result from the plot, notice just how smooth the lines are and the shape of the torque curve!!

Its making 340bhp & 380ft/lbs at 4500rpm!!!!

This is going to be amazing!

(Dashed line pre RS/S - Solid line after conversion)



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Update 2:

So just got home from driving the car back 300 miles from Southampton, I have to say the car feels very very different after the conversion, even more so now its two cars in one!

Cruising back at normal motorway speeds I achieved 31.9MPG which is better than usual, I put it down to a couple of things, the mapping has been 100% tailored to my specific car so no wasted fuel and also with the car now having a bigger turbo, at cruising speeds in 6th the car is not creating any boost, therefore needs less fueling!

Anyways im sure you all want to hear about the performance, well.. Its pretty stunning to be honest!

Even smoother power delivery than the K04, and all the way to the 7k rev limit, the car has been mapped such that the turbo boost is progressively introduced from 2500rpm so when you accelerate you ride a super smooth wave of torque and power, it feels less aggressive than the K04 kit, but its firing the car down the road much quicker!

Bit cliche but its really one of those cars than anyone could jump into a drive and not even be aware that its running over 400bhp! Very much the feeling you get from a big engined car really!

So all in all its pretty amazing, im extremely pleased with the results and cant wait to come accross some 'fast' cars!

Oh.. And it sounds AMAZING!!

Pics and video to follow in the next few days!

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Update 3:

So had a chance to drive the car in a few different conditions today, what keeps on impressing me is how smoothly the car comes onto boost and accelerates, really feels like a standard car, but not, if you knwo what I mean!

From the engine bay things look pretty much the same as before, I chose to retain my Evoms intake, it had to be cut down very slightly before the MAF housing to fit but it enabled me to keep the cold air feed that I had spent a lot of time sorting out!



Heres a quick picture of the PCV mod that I have been talking about, this blocks off the inlet manifold and you run the hose from the PCV to atmosphere, in certain conditions you will prevent yourself loosing 1-2psi boost when the PCV opens with this mod..



On a side note I have also fitted the facelight tail lights, at the same time I installed the silver rear indicator bulbs which really clean them up! Look so much better than the non-facelift lights, they are tinted slightly, think thats what does it!





Also the Lamin-X headlights, they need a while to settle in, looks like they have conensation behind them at the moment but that will burn off over time, really pleased with the look of them, pretty mean!





Next step for the car is to get the Low compression forged pistons and forged rods in, de-cat the exhaust, go with bigger FSI injectors and re tune the car to suit, should be able to achieve 450bhp and 400ft/lbs after them modifications and run the car a little bit more aggressively on the boost in the mid range..



Here are a couple of graphs courtesy of Highwayman which compare a standard S3 dyno graph to my RS/S S3..

Update 4:

Just thought I would post up a new set of pics of my car after a quick claying and polish..

I had a set of Yoko's fitted yesterday, 225/40/18's so that I could lower my car as much as I wanted, really pleased with the results..

Also I have the Lamin-X fronts and facelift rear lights installed with silver indicators..

Just waiting for the Chrome mirror DRL's and PIAA sidelights and the exterior is getting close to as I want it to be..

Still thinking of quite a few more bits, I like the facelift look but that would be a couple of grand..

Anyways here you are















On a side note, the RS/S kit is still running perfectly, still feels quick which is a bonus as im usually completely bored with a cars performance after a couple of hours driving..

Any suggestions for anything more on the exterior?? I certainly dont want to do things for the sake of it, just feels like there is something missing..

Let me know what you guys think!

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Update 5:

So here is the latest plans for the car!!

Getting some H&R Monotube coilovers fitted to the car on Friday, ready for Audi-Driver event, these should allow me to really lower the car down to where I want it!!

Then im thinking of some different wheels.. Really stuck on this one, I love the old BBS wheels, Especially the BBS Super RS, I cant find any for sale, or a place to buy them, so for now it doesnt look like ill be having any of those!!

Heres a pic.. (Tornado red centres)



Also love the look of the Volk Re30 Formula edition.. (only weigh in at 7.2Kg's!!)



Oh I dont know!! lol..

PS. Ill post up some pics of the car on the H&R coils tomorrow if I get a chance..

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Update 6:

Just a few more pics of the car taken from Audi-Driver 08'

The car now has the H&R Mono Tube coilovers, managed to get the car about 10-12mm lower all round than the KW's, since the event the car has now fully settled, I would say at least another 5mm and IMO it looks to be a perfect drop for the wheels and look of the car!

Heres some pics













Ill get a few fully up to date pics up in the next couple of days, should also be featuring a couple of small additions

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Update 7:

So I have been looking into building the bottom end a little more, really want to make the most out of the turbo set up on the car, im only boosting to a peak of 1.5bar and 1.2 at redline, this turbo can support 2.0bar peak and not much less than that at redline, so its got a lot left in it!!

Im going towards a set of Pauter rods, and running the standard S3 pistons as these are already forged and run a lower compression compared to the cast 200hp 2.0T FSI engines pistons..

Cars in the US (standard cast pistons) with forged rods and are running well in the 600bhp bracket now.. with the APR/USP stage 3 GTI making 605WHP on its last dyno run, thats almost 700BHP!!

Anyways so the kit I have on the car now should be able to go to 450ish and with a bit of fettling with the turbo I should be able to go to 500..

The beauty of the strengthened rods is that they also allow you to rev the car from the standard 6900rpm up to 7600 which with a big turbo opens up a huge amount of potential power and torque..

Cant wait!!

Jonny

dc240969 said:

Just a quick question. l may have missed it but you have a pipe coming out just after the MAF to the front of the engine bay. What is that?

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That is the Diverter valve recirculation pipe that all of the K04 turbo 2.0T FSI cars run

hatmeow said:

Johnny, Super vehicle!! I dont think I can ever reach that power level because I have a DSG FWD...

2 questions.
1) why did you replace the Neuspeed intake with the Evoms? Quality? Power?
2) You still have your original discs and calipers... How is that holding out with all that power?

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Pretty much, the Evoms made a little more power and offers greater protection against engine bay heat with the heatshields..

The brakes on the S3 IMO are adequate for the job, plus you only need big brakes if your driving quickly on the road, which I dont really..

Wes G said:

Superb work Jonny!!! Car looked great at ADI, quick question though, are you planning on making the exhaust any quieter so that you can have a blast on track if you wanted or do you not really plan on taking it on track? Be great to see it in action at one of the shows next year mate...:thumbsup:

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Yeah im actually getting a quiet rear section made this weekend to get the sound down, this will be interchangeable with the 'loud' rear section, so ideal for track days when I need to get the car quieter or when my ears are feeling a bit sore! lol..

Jonny

aiculedtzu said:

Jonny, I've told you already that you have a great S3, probably the fastest 8P on this forum. But more important is that you are also a great guy and you share with us everything you do on your S3 !

Also you helped me with your excellent feedback a couple of times ( EVO MS, Sachs SRE, etc. ) !!!

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No worries mate, glad that I could help!

I know that when I had my civic there were some really helpful guys on them forums, it makes it a lot easier to make a decision on something when your talking to an individual rather than someone trying to plug a product..

Jonny

Few more updates on the car..

I have fully decided on stage 2 and 3 for the engine! Stage 2 to be completed before christmas, and stage 3 once the weather gets a little better next year and I have had time to save up!

Stage 2 should see me a little more mid range grunt and quicker turbo spool, and stage 3 will be a full engine rebuild, custom spec GT3071R turbo, around 500BHP and even better spool time..

Until then I have decided to concentrate on aesthetics a little bit as they have been neglected for the last 6 months of engine and drivetrain / suspension development!

Im planning on a full custom re-trim on the interior, with some fancy new, and hopefully comfortable front seats from an Audi TT Roadster, whilst retaining the factory heating etc..

The exterior is going to have most of the attention though, heres a quick break down of the things ill be changing and adding..

Custom front grille, shaved S3 badge, custom surround, shaved plate recess, front rings in custom colour
Facelift rear diffuser, custom paint
Front Diffuser, custom paint
Mirrors, custom paint
Front tints
Carbon front splitter
Custom spring platforms for H&R coils (-5mm) Stance should be perfect after this!
De badged rear
PIAA sidelights and D2S HID bulbs (6500k)

Which brings me to the hardest decision.. The wheels!!!

I have though of so many different designs but I have basically narrowed it down to these 3..





I was thinking of having the centres of the wheels, White, Black and Anthracite respectively..

Its a hard choice to make, they are all stunning, and should all suit my car but its just a case of making the decision now!!

Jonny

So had a little more work done to the car..

I wanted to take the car to Regal to have them check it all over, oil and filter change, gerneral health check and a couple of bits adjusting as well as some extra parts fitted..

First of all I had a set of OEM B7 RS4 injectors fitted to the car and the car re-mapped to suit.. The car is only boosting 22 PSI and holding 18 PSI at redline so were running very safe on the boost levels for now, bare in mind that this turbo can spike to 30+ PSI and should be capable of holding up to 26+PSI at 7600RPM on this engine so there is plenty of potential power still to be had, also these injectors have supported 500WHP on GTI's in the US, so everything that I have on the car now is capable of really running some serious power, IMO 450BHP would be achievable with this current turbo set up..

The car runs super smooth and I have had no problems with cold starts in the morning, engine fires on the money every time, which is pretty cool considering that the injectors are a fair bit larger than the OEM S3 units..

The next part that I had fitted was a VF throttle to intercooler pipe, this does away with the OEM plastic piece which is a fairly restrictive piece in the intake system, also it has the take off mounted for the OEM DV which could potentially impede flow.. As the car is now running with a dump valve in a different location I was able to run a Golf GTI part made by VF which is a larger diameter and smoother bend, all helping to smoothen out the air flow to the engine..

Its difficult to say if this part is directly responsible for the following but IMO it certainly makes sense if it is.. The turbo now spools around 200rpm sooner, throttle response has improved and boost recovery after gear changes has reduced by around 50%, so its all positive!!

Next plans on the engine will be to have some monitoring gauges in the car, think its sensible considering the power levels the car is now running, Boost, EGT and AFR, only problem is that I dont want it to look like a chavved up EVO with gauges every where so im going to look into getting something nice made up which looks OEM

Also going to have the exhaust de-catted, should help even more with spool, lag and general performance, ill report on this once I have time to play around with it..

Only problem with the car feeling even better than it already did is that I now want even more, so hybrid BB T25 GT3071R (GT2871R compressor and exhaust housings) and internals are the next step, with that 500BHP should be achiveable with relatively sensible boost levels, then.. Ill stop.. I think

The S3 is a fantastic car, and really lends itself to such a conversion, even in this weather, salt on the road, damp and 5 degrees there is no problem putting the power down.. Very predictable and great fun! Really starting to love this car now!

Sold the car a while ago, this is the new project

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=679.0

Jonny

Tommy said:

Oh **** the guys a ****** race driver :|

A good one too haha,

Oh dear, he MUST know his stuff

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I know a lot of 'stuff' most of which is pretty useless lol..

Anyways good to see this thread being brought back from the dead, the S3 was a great car for sure!