Dolphin Friendly A3 Sportback

[Fivetones]

Been on here for a few months now and no thread for my ride so I thought I'd get on the case.

As many of you know I picked up where Jules left off with the A3 Sportback. I've modded quite a few cars before and never bought one that's been done but I had a complete picture of an A3 that I wanted to do while I was looking (Sportback, 2.0 TDI, Dolphin Grey, red leather, rails, red Speedlines, air etc) and when this popped up very close to how I was gonna do that I ended up with the car

In some way I don't believe in build threads as they take the fun away from shows but I'll put stuff up on here as we go along.

Even though I loved the Speedlines they had to go as they were very distinctive so the car now sits on its winter wheels some Ronal 8.5x18 ET47 Mercedes Eltanins (5mm spacers at rear), 215/40x18 up front and 225/40 out back (soon to be 215/40s).

At Edition 2011 (on the Sunday in the rain):

Since then I've changed the plate and got on with some plans, pics from today in the wind:

 

[Minstadave]

Lovely colour, not feeling the wheels.

 

[Fivetones]

They're defo a marmite wheel but I love monoblocks and they're perfect for winter

 

[RobMorris]

That looks handsome on the merc!

 

[ern]

Big fan of monos.

Liking this dude, any pictures of the interior?

 

[Fivetones]

I need to get some new shots of the interior but it has full S5 interior, some custom trimming and air install in the boot:

 

[ern]

oh my dear lord

 

[quattro81]

Like the interior and stance mate, but not feeling the wheels either.. Sorry!

 

[Fivetones]

S'okay mate, it's fine we all have different tastes

 

[Lings]

Its a nice motor .Look forward to seeing the summer rims .Are those mercs 18's?

 

[Fivetones]

Yeah, specs in the first post Steve

 

[Lings]

Doh ...LOL. do they do those in 19? those 19 and polished etc

Get some better interior shots up .Love the seats

 

[paddy]

That first picture with it sitting down on the grass with its lip spoiler makes me think........................flymo...dont know why

 

[Fivetones]

19 inch monoblocks are something of a holy grail.

Fresh pics:

 

[quattro81]

Those pics make the interior look fresh not usually a fan of red seats, but they look very nice

 

[Fivetones]

Thanks mate. The electric controls are ace too. Loving having electric lumber control. Big difference from the Polo 9N Sport I used to drive

 

[Pauljamescaton]

19 inch monoblocks are something of a holy grail.

Fresh pics:

Looks class pal do all the electrics on the seats work? What other plans you got or don't you wanna say?

 

[Fivetones]

All electrics work yeah.

Plans are under wraps. As I say it's kinda fun when going to shows to get surprised by what people have done

 

[Pauljamescaton]

No worries pal, I need to get an to some shows, I'm missing out

 

[quattro81]

Couldn't live without electric lumbar....!

 

[nally]

dammmmmmmm

 

[Ash187]

it is a lovely car... and it did look lovely on those red Speedlines it was on... not too sure on the rims as the first pic on the thread does look ok but then on the second pic it looks too low and covers up the tires so the stance looks wrong for me...
also noticed you have chrome roof rails and no rear spoiler... i think you need a spoiler on the back of that... and a big personal choice is dark headlining... that beige headlining with the black and red combo looks totally off!

 

[wez3570]

Very nice and love the wheels

 

[quattro81]

also noticed you have chrome roof rails and no rear spoiler... i think you need a spoiler on the back of that... and a big personal choice is dark headlining... that beige headlining with the black and red combo looks totally off!

I agree with ash on these points.. A roof spoiler would balance out the rear bumper and roof rails, and definitely get a black headlining.... Or you could use the money for some White loafers instead? (sorry ash, I know it's getting old lol)

 

[Ash187]

I agree with ash on these points.. A roof spoiler would balance out the rear bumper and roof rails, and definitely get a black headlining.... Or you could use the money for some White loafers instead? (sorry ash, I know it's getting old lol)

hahahaha!! no mate that never gets old! always makes me laugh! quality!!

but yh quattro is being serious when he is agreeing to the suggestion i made

 

[1inchpunch]

Agree about the black headlining. There's one for sale on eBay at the moment. The wheels work for me always loved monoblocks ever since a neighbour had a set on a mkII golf convertible.

 

[55_UK]

Nice car and nice colour too!

Dare I say that I don't like Air Ride at all it just doesn't look OEM. The stance on coils/springs is 1000x better. But a lot of guys on here like it, so wouldn't argue over your personal preference.

Wheels however, I totally love! didnt like the red speedlines at all before

 

[Fivetones]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Everyone has their own taste with these things so each to their own. I'm very fussy about detail as will become more clear as we go on

In answer to a few points:

- I'm looking for a headlining as it happens. It has Opensky so it's a little harder to find a headlining than for the normal Sportback.

- I hate rear spoilers, they ruin the lovely lines of the car. That was part of my original plan before I even saw this car.

- As for air ride, well each to their own but I've got bored of scraping around in low cars for 24 years of my life

- Glad some of you like the wheels too.

 

[warrenlord]

looking fantastic as per robin. new wheels tie in well with all the brushed silver and chrome.

 

[Paullie]

Beautiful car matey, can't stop drooling over the S5 interior, ..EPIC!! Looking forward to seeing your updates. x

 

[Fivetones]

Cheers guys.

Yeah the silver wheels tie in very well with the rest of the car now Warren.

 

[Adamantium]

love the interior but I can't for the life of me work out why anyone would want to drop a car that low?

Surely it's totally impractical, but on top of that, I'm sorry to say I don't think it suits the style of car. It's a family hatchback, not an italian supercar, and even then they have enough ground clearance to have useful working suspension.

I might understand the appeal if it looked great but personally I don't think it does - sorry.

 

[Fivetones]

It looks amazing like that IMO. It's going a lot lower soon too.

It's on air so that isn't the aligned driving height btw.

As I say, we each have our own taste. The place would be dull otherwise.

 

[Ads]

I've tried to like the merc wheels but I just can't. I think it's because they look too dated for the car, in my view.
But good effort though, there'll be a lot of people who do like them.

 

[Lings]

love the interior but I can't for the life of me work out why anyone would want to drop a car that low?

Surely it's totally impractical, but on top of that, I'm sorry to say I don't think it suits the style of car. It's a family hatchback, not an italian supercar, and even then they have enough ground clearance to have useful working suspension.

I might understand the appeal if it looked great but personally I don't think it does - sorry.

LOL he doesnt drive around like that .Its the best of both worlds .At shows he can drop it on the floor .But when driving a push of the button and its raised where he wants it

 

[55_UK]

wheels are gorg

 

[Ash B]

Like the car, looks good And not bad winter wheels either. Liked it with the speedlines to.
Think i prefer it without a spoiler as it looks alot more smooth and ties in with the whole theme.
Love the front seats want some in mine but having to make do with A5 ones
look forward to seeing what you got planned

 

[Adamantium]

LOL he doesnt drive around like that .Its the best of both worlds .At shows he can drop it on the floor .But when driving a push of the button and its raised where he wants it

Ok, that makes more sense.

What make of suspension allows for that much drop while still effectively controlling the damping of the car to the point that the handling is not adversely affected?

 

[Fivetones]

Think of the air bag as just a part that replaces the spring. The rest makes sense then - when inflated to optimum pressure it's effectively like a coil. When parked it's deflated. When raised (to clear car park ramps and bumps) it's more inflated.

At low cruise there's also some hydrolastic effect too (like Issigonius' Mini) as the rubber contributes to the spring effect.

btw. Cheers Ash

 

[Fivetones]

A quick update. New tyres on the front and the old fronts on the back. (215/35, 215/40 ET47, 5mm spacer at back). Can run super low everywhere now. The new centre caps are a red carbon-fibre weave finish too, perfect match to the interior colour.