@hxrpz - Bagged & Stage 2+ S3 Build

[hxrpz]

@hxrpz Audi S3 - Build Thread.

After owning my Audi A1 for two years & having my first taste of modifying cars, I decided it was time to part ways for something with a bit more power.

Which leads me onto this build thread for my Audi - S3. I've had it a couple months now and made a fair bit of progress, so apologies for how long this first post may seem.

There's more pictures on my instagram which is - @hxrpz

This is my old car





So this brings me on to my replacement. I'd had my eyes on S3 8P's for a while and with a pot of luck my good friends 2009 came up for sale for a price I could not complain at. The car came with the Recaro Wingbacks, Airlift Suspension, Rotiform IND's & the APR Stage 2+ map and necesarry hardware. To me the car was a good base to progress with.









So above is how the car stood when I collected it. As much as I liked it I couldn't keep it this way for long as It just didn't feel like mine. So the IND's were sold and the plans started to commence.

The first thing to do was to replace the front grille & that nasty front plate. I wasn't a fan of the plate blanks so decided to swap it out for an RS3 grille.







Private plate on - Really need to get pressed put on but was in a rush to get it on.



The next stage was to sort out some carbon bits for the interior.








So then it was time to start the big overhaul. The first stop was at RIIVA Design to remaster the boot build, as the previous guy had a hidden install. With the help of dual 4 Gallon Seamless Air Tanks & Twin 444 Compressors, I left RIIVA to work on the car and this is what they came up with. There's still a few finishing touches left to complete.

 

[hxrpz]

Then it was time for the interior retrim. When deciding on what to do with the seats. I decided that I wanted something subtle, so decided that going with a black nappa leather & charcoal alcanatara were my best bet. I decided to go with a hexagon pattern for the centers of the seats and arm rest. Then a copper top stitch to add some more detail. The backs of the recaro wing backs were pretty bashed so were sanded down and trimmed in alcanatara as well as a few other bits. The steering wheel has just been redone in leather with a matching copper stitch as the old one had almost worn through, also got a few more details to be adding to the S.W soon.







The center console section is my favourite now. The trimmed gear gaitor & knob, Flushed controller mount in matching alcantara, Carbon Fibre Grab Handles by C6 Carbon all tie in so well & I even popped to the stealers and brought the DSG surround in gloss black, it's all in the detail hey.







Then it was time to take a look at the performance and to get the car running right. The car was running it's standard air intake, which for me at Stage 2+ was stupid. I quickly changed it for a Revo Cold Air Intake and can't fault it. The next thing to change was the PCV, so along came the Garage Midnight PCV Delete. The car's also had various maintenance work done since and is now running a lot better. Also not performance related, but got hold of some Forge Motorsport Covers for Oil/Water/Washer Jet Caps, Charcoal Canister Cover & a TT S smoothed & painted engine cover.





Then I had some Good News & Bad News:
Good News: Performance Struts and H&R Anti Roll Bars...

I'm not going to lie, at time's I really haven't felt safe in the S3. Running 360+ bhp with no anti roll bars & the Airlift Slam XL struts just seems sketchy, the car feels as if it's ready to let go of the road at any time, pretty sure the old family citroen - picasso had less body roll.

So a good friend hooked me up with Airlift Performance Struts which come with the ability to adjust the dampening, camber and to run Anti Roll Bars. Having had a read up on a few forums I decided to go with the H&R front and rear anti roll bars, really can't wait till they go on





Bad News: So my car kind of decided to Shaft me last weekend...

One hard acceleration later & i'm stuck with a bust Prop Shaft. Luckily it happened pretty close to a friends house so as per usual he came to the rescue and got it back safely to his to assess the damage and to repair it for me.

It initially looked like it was just my front "vibration damper" that had gone bang. Having removed the prop shaft it turns out the centre bearing and a couple of other things are on their way out so it's now off to a specialist to be refurbished. The car's with steve still so whilst it's away he's going to be fitting some of my new parts (i'm mechanically retarded) I owe him a bunch really.

Here's a few pictures of the damage:



Anyway, until the cars fixed that's pretty much it, it's still far from over though. I had a full set of custom white forge silicon hoses lined up but it turns out they don't fit, so back to the drawing board with those However its booked in for a front end paint & paint correction once the prop shaft is fixed and my new 3 piece wheels are currently on their way to the UK from the states - Hope you like it!

 

[Pur8]

Hell of a first post! The retrim looks brilliant especially with the wingbacks , love the black rs3 grill on ibis white!

 

[RedDejavu]

wow! very nice ride buddy, shame about the shaft but it seems to become fairly easy to repair if caught in time.

 

[hxrpz]

Hell of a first post! The retrim looks brilliant especially with the wingbacks , love the black rs3 grill on ibis white!

Thanks buddy! kind of starting the thread half the way through the winter makeover so it was a bit heavy with the content! The wingbacks are one of my favourite bits of the car, even more so now!

wow! very nice ride buddy, shame about the shaft but it seems to become fairly easy to repair if caught in time.

Thaks dude, more to come soon! It sucks, as nobody seems to be able to get the parts for them. However it's at the prop shaft specialist now so shall now soon what the outcome will be!

 

[leshkin]

Just wow! Awesome cars, both of them!

I'm sorry, but I will have to steal a few interior ideas

 

[Curley89]

I was getting more excited for this build as I was reading and then it ends like that I look forward to the updates to come.

 

[hxrpz]

Just wow! Awesome cars, both of them!

I'm sorry, but I will have to steal a few interior ideas

Thanks! The A1 was certainly a head tuner, but I needed a project and something a lot quicker! Haha, feel free dude.

I was getting more excited for this build as I was reading and then it ends like that I look forward to the updates to come.

I know the prop shaft situation has got me like but a good friend is on the case & i should be back to me soon enough so I spend even more money on mods haha

 

[Sayam]

Welcome to the forum. Whilst I'm not a fan of air ride suspension and that whole look I can really appreciate the time, effort and money that's been spent. That interior and boot build...now they are right up my street!!

 

[Veedubnoodle]

Love the motor mate. Saw your thread on Editon and I am very impressed!

Bad luck with the prop shaft but at least it wasn't too bad and she's on the mend.

Looking forward to more updates and welcome to the forum

 

[hxrpz]

Welcome to the forum. Whilst I'm not a fan of air ride suspension and that whole look I can really appreciate the time, effort and money that's been spent. That interior and boot build...now they are right up my street!!

Some people aren't a fan but it's good to see people like yourself who still appreciate the time and effort instead of slagging it off haha thanks dude, transformed the car for me as it's obviousy where you spend most of your time!

Love the motor mate. Saw your thread on Editon and I am very impressed!

Bad luck with the prop shaft but at least it wasn't too bad and she's on the mend.

Looking forward to more updates and welcome to the forum

Gotta love edition, however it sucks not having many 8p owners to relate with so thought i'd try this! Appreciate the kind comments dude. Exactly the way I see it, it could of happened on the way to Worthersee & that would've sucked

 

[Compkiler]

I absolutely love that A1!!! Imagine if that was an S1 looking like that!! Wow

 

[hxrpz]

I absolutely love that A1!!! Imagine if that was an S1 looking like that!! Wow

I originally had a Nardo Grey S1 on order, however it kept getting delayed and the delivery time came just shy of a year, which gave me just enough time to re-think about financing a car and cancel my order. The S1 would've been nice, but I wanted to own my next car instead of having to finance it again!

 

[Sayam]

Some people aren't a fan but it's good to see people like yourself who still appreciate the time and effort instead of slagging it off haha thanks dude, transformed the car for me as it's obviousy where you spend most of your time!

I can appreciate the time and effort because one of my roles is at a custom audio shop and I know what goes into making a boot and interior look like that! As I say the whole air ride/wheels thing isn't for me, I bet if you looked at my car you'd say it's on stilts haha

I'm into my audio so hence can really appreciate the boot and interior work. Not to detract from the car at all though, it's beautiful

 

[Pur8]

Sure you'll have a good show season with this beast! Weirdly I just took delivery of my rs3 grill tonight, do you get my attention not mounting your plate on the grill? It looks so much better with out the plate

 

[hxrpz]

I can appreciate the time and effort because one of my roles is at a custom audio shop and I know what goes into making a boot and interior look like that! As I say the whole air ride/wheels thing isn't for me, I bet if you looked at my car you'd say it's on stilts haha

I'm into my audio so hence can really appreciate the boot and interior work. Not to detract from the car at all though, it's beautiful

Audio is something that'll eventually be tackled. Not sure on what to do now the boot space is gone, where would I put a sub? thought about the passenger footwell but my girlfriend would soon go straight through that. Haha! Car's on stilts are very comfy though, where as low cars can sometimes be a pain not going to lie though the air on the s3 is pretty comfy, the a1 was horrible though.

 

[hxrpz]

Sure you'll have a good show season with this beast! Weirdly I just took delivery of my rs3 grill tonight, do you get my attention not mounting your plate on the grill? It looks so much better with out the plate

If it gets fixed that is, it's got me all like this at the moment...

I haven't had a problem in the S3 where I live yet, so fingers crossed. However I had a couple of occasions in the A1 where the cops got a little funny with me, the usual don't let me see you without one again or i'll fine you etc. but never anything serious! be careful when you take the number plate holder off, i believe the tabs on the back swivel.

 

[Pur8]

If it gets fixed that is, it's got me all like this at the moment...

I haven't had a problem in the S3 where I live yet, so fingers crossed. However I had a couple of occasions in the A1 where the cops got a little funny with me, the usual don't let me see you without one again or i'll fine you etc. but never anything serious! be careful when you take the number plate holder off, i believe the tabs on the back swivel.

hope it gets sorted mate! cheers for the advice, dont want get it on only to realise I hate the plate being on it and having to take it all off again.

 

[Compkiler]

Get a flexi plate and put it on ya front bumper passenger side fella!

 

[br20vt]

Love what you've done to this so far mate, sure you'll love the performance struts, cant fault mine! What wheels you going for or is it all hush?

 

[Doogie...]

Very nice car, glad to see you are progressing with doing functional mods to even out the less functional ones.

Keen to see how this will turn out, never been a big fan of bagged cars but with the power this is making, it could end up a nice little build.

Whats the plans for it???

Interioir is spot on though......

 

[bennyball]

Wow, I'm really liking this car, it's not too 'in your face' whilst having some nice details.
Shame to hear about the prop but if progress so far is anything to go by it will come back better!
Looking forward to seeing the new wheels.

 

[S3_Jacko]

Seats are awesome buddy so kudos for that!

 

[Sayam]

Audio is something that'll eventually be tackled. Not sure on what to do now the boot space is gone, where would I put a sub?

I can't find any on my phone but I had a side-load box. I had the sub on the left and the bit one/amp etc on the right side. Maintained 100% boot space and sounded awesome too

When you get round to the audio hit me up, I'm happy to help if needed.

 

[hxrpz]

Love what you've done to this so far mate, sure you'll love the performance struts, cant fault mine! What wheels you going for or is it all hush?

Can't wait to drive it, it's going to be very spirited once I finally get it back! The wheels are currently on their way from the states and it's about the only thing I haven't kept hush on the car so keeping them quiet

Very nice car, glad to see you are progressing with doing functional mods to even out the less functional ones.

Keen to see how this will turn out, never been a big fan of bagged cars but with the power this is making, it could end up a nice little build.

Whats the plans for it??? Interior is spot on though......

I think it's because I enjoy the functional ones more haha.

Next up is some paintwork & a paint correction ready for the show season. However it will be closely followed with a lot of maintenace and uprated parts to keep the engine healthy ready for the 3000 mile round trip to Worthersee in Austria this May. I want a big brake kit really badly though, but just recovering from £3500 on the new wheels! Cheers on the interior

 

[sheridan94]

Welcome jamie !

Been following your car on ed38 and insta.
Its so sweet as ive said elsewhere ! Keep the good work up

Is it going to UD ?

 

[hxrpz]

Wow, I'm really liking this car, it's not too 'in your face' whilst having some nice details.

Shame to hear about the prop but if progress so far is anything to go by it will come back better!
Looking forward to seeing the new wheels.

Cheers man. That was my whole idea behind the car, keep it interesting but keep it classy! However I'm not going to lie the wheels are very in your face, the contrast between the two colours works well though!

Seats are awesome buddy so kudos for that!

Thanks dude

I can't find any on my phone but I had a side-load box. I had the sub on the left and the bit one/amp etc on the right side. Maintained 100% boot space and sounded awesome too

When you get round to the audio hit me up, I'm happy to help if needed.

That's the other alternative, that's the idea I had but I don't want to compromise the boot install and make it look too cluttered! Anyway I can cross that bridge when it comes! Shall do mate

 

[Rayner_1704]

You spend some crazy money dude

 

[curlo]

Fantastic work. Am subscribing to this thread!

Just one observation from me regarding the intake. I believe that the APR tunes are designed with the standard inlet tract in mind, so won't the addition of the Revo intake (which has a larger bore) potentially cause scaling problems with the MAF? I'm sure I read something about that on another thread somewhere...

Otherwise...massive thumbsup from me.

 

[hxrpz]

Welcome jamie !

Been following your car on ed38 and insta.
Its so sweet as ive said elsewhere ! Keep the good work up

Is it going to UD ?

I follow your's on ED38 to dude. Sadly it won't be at edition as I'm not a fan of rushing but it'll be out two weeks later at dub shed and then early edition for it's first show in england!

You spend some crazy money dude

It's not a nice feeling at the moment, but once the paints sorted and the wheels are on it's going to be so worth it!

Fantastic work. Am subscribing to this thread!

Just one observation from me regarding the intake. I believe that the APR tunes are designed with the standard inlet tract in mind, so won't the addition of the Revo intake (which has a larger bore) potentially cause scaling problems with the MAF? I'm sure I read something about that on another thread somewhere...

Otherwise...massive thumbsup from me.

Thanks man, appreciated Until I read that last night, that's something I'd never even considered or read about. So did some reading & I've contacted the original tuner down south who looked after the car for the previous owner, so shall see what he says, thank you for the heads up dude! Half of me is really tempted to add a few more bits, then go to nikki at R Tech to get a custom map along with a DSG remap as he's not far from me.

 

[danwoodcock]

I've seen this one a few social media things. Wicked base to start with, now you've made it your own with the retrim etc.

Keep the updates coming man

 

[hxrpz]

I've seen this one a few social media things. Wicked base to start with, now you've made it your own with the retrim etc.

Keep the updates coming man

Thanks mate. It's mad that apart from the engine hardware & software, there will be no modifications left from the old car. The air suspension; struts, tanks, compressors, fittings and lines have all been uprated along with the boot build being re-designed as it was hidden before. On top of that the IND's have been sold & my new one's are on their way! So it's definitely feeling like my own now

 

[hxrpz]

So it's been a while since I last posted, It's kind of progressed and it hasnt. Problems seem to arise time after time. The car won't be at UD after the problems with my prop shaft, but then again I'd rather not rush just for one show. I'm just glad to have my car back & can't thank steve enough.

Prop shaft:

It turned out to be quite a pain in the **** to get my prop shaft repaired, there seemed to be no companies that could source the parts to refurbish it, so in the end I forked out for a brand new prop shaft from the stealers for just shy of £1400. It hurt but at least I can trust it won't go any time soon. Here's Steve's MK4 with a very big box containing my new prop & some shiny new bolts

I'vealso banned myself from launches, one new prop shaft is enough for now...





Performance Struts & Roll Bars

Whilst Steve was waiting for the prop shaft etc. He managed to do some other bits for me. first up was to fit the airlift performance struts, the difference they make in comparison to the old struts and these is noticeable and the car certainly drives better on them. Our next problem arose when coming to fit the front ARB, steve had discovered that when the previous owner had took the roll bar off, he had also took along the mounting brackets with it. After ringing parts & making a few enquiries it turns out that Audi made it so that these brackets came bonded to the original ARB and couldn't be brought seperatley! So currently I only have the rear H&R anti roll bar fitted, whilst we figure out the next route to go down VWR sell a front bar with new brackets but its big bucks.





Other little bits:

Whilst it was there I also had the cam follower & oil pick up pipe replaced as well as a fresh oil change with Millers Nanodrive 5w40. The old parts weren't to bad in honesty but these are common issues with the 2.0 tfsi, so I thought it would be best to get them tackled before they caused a bigger bill at a later date. Either way the car's running lovely & I only have a few more bits of maintenance to do before Worthersee

 

[Dan-Jnr]

Nice update. Shame about the propshaft, sounds like a right kick in the balls.

 

[hxrpz]

Forge Goodies & TT S Engine Cover:

So it turns out me being a complete idiot, had brought a TSI Silicon Hose Kit and not TFSI Kit. So the hoses couldn't be fitted, lesson learnt, do your research before and don't be a ******. However making the most out of the situation the Alloy Covers & the Charcoal Canister Cover were still installed. I gave the TT-S engine cover a dust off this weekend & placed it on to see what it looks like and now can't wait to hand my money over to the stealership for the brackets to fix it down permanently. I think i'll order some new hoses soon

Also got a few more pictures of the interior. I'm starting to love this car more & more. My new wheels arrived from the states tonight, import screwed me a whole £370 but they're worth it

next stop is the body shop & then it's onto Early Edition!






also decided to be a good civilian & run my plate for once in a blue moon

 

[Adam Wilson]

Them seats are amazing! Need to get someone to do a boot build for me.. You got anymore pics of yours mate?

 

[sheridan94]

Looking sweet ! When i saw you had bought this i really didnt think much would be changed, as it was so sweet anyway !

Just thinking out loud, while your running a plate, it would look like a zillion times better if you had a shortened plate. Ive got one on my rs3 grill and looks quite tidy

 

[Veedubnoodle]

Engine cover looks very nice mate. Can't wait to see the wheels. You still heading over to Belfast for Dubshed?

 

[Pur8]

Loving seeing this coming together- all round great car, inside, out and engine bay!

 

[hxrpz]

Them seats are amazing! Need to get someone to do a boot build for me.. You got anymore pics of yours mate?

I've got quite a few. If I remember to tonight I'll upload some more!

Looking sweet ! When i saw you had bought this i really didnt think much would be changed, as it was so sweet anyway !


Just thinking out loud, while your running a plate, it would look like a zillion times better if you had a shortened plate. Ive got one on my rs3 grill and looks quite tidy

I did like the way it looked, but it wouldn't of felt like mine. Sadly the car wasn't in the best shape, so i've ended up replacing loads of little things you wouldn't of imagined. So that's partly why it's been slow coming upto UD, but it's going to be a clean example once finished! Short plate needs to be order but it's very rare I drive with it on.

Engine cover looks very nice mate. Can't wait to see the wheels. You still heading over to Belfast for Dubshed?

I had all white hoses to woulda looked ace. I got accepted indoors last night but i'm just toying with it. I need paintwork badly before and the ferry is £320.

Loving seeing this coming together- all round great car, inside, out and engine bay!

Thanks mate, it'll get to a point when every corner will of been changed it's addictive.