Time for a build thread....big turbo

Don't, my bank balance has already taken an embarrassing hit!

;)

I'd paid for the parts from IE a while back,and the bills came back last month,and now I have the bills for fitting to come.....

Thing is though,every time I do more,the smile gets bigger,and I go back for more...
 
Well....big problem.

Engine runs,but something is way out.

It's knocking like mad,even with the ignition software timing pulled as far back(12 degrees) as it will go.
Fuelling is OK,so it's not that.

Which leaves....perhaps a bit of advice from Revo,or......

The worst option is the cams.
If the cam lobe shape or lobe separation angle is off,that may account for it.

Now need to wait for Revo to get back to us,and if that fails,out come the new cams,and off they go to be inspected.
 
Not a good update Alex,have you asked Kev ?
 
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Not a good update Alex,have you asked Kev ?

He wasn't around last Friday and not heard today so I'll be on it tomorrow.

Can't see however why it would be anything other than down to the cams as that's the only real change.
 
Sounds not good!!!

Could it of not been turned by hand first to eliminate the cams ? either way hope you get it sorted asap

.
 
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It was set up correctly with the cam timing marks etc.

What I don't know right now is if the lobe shape or spacing is off or engine timing is out for some reason.
 
Decision made.

Out with the news cams and in with the old.

Something is clearly not right and whilst Cat were surprised by the problem they don't have a workable answer other than to pull the cams having checked all of the possibles such as engine clearances and ignition timing.

The mapping doesn't allow cam timing to be altered from current values.
 
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A couple of cam pics....





New on the right,stock on the left.

First thing that springs to mind is how good the stock cams appear to be in terms of condition,and then you can see the lobes on the new cams are fatter,but I wouldn't know what constitutes a correct profile,and Cat are looking at them now.
 
At least the lobes all appear to be in the same places, that's a good start !

;)
 
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At least the lobes all appear to be in the same places, that's a good start !

;)


I don't know what this is going to come down to.....

If they check out fine,then I'm sort of stuck with them assuming we can't get them to run with the engine and software,but I would have to say that others do run these cams as far as I've been told.

In the meantime,the stock cams simply have to go back in,as a control if nothing else,and we'll see what the car runs on those,with more boost,more timing as planned,and the new breather system.
 
Yes, I'm a great believer in the old adage, "change one thing at a time", so you know which part is responsible ;)

However, enthusiasm frequently takes over, and I end up changing lots of things, then having to un-pick them again.

Good intentions and all that! :)
 
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Yes, I'm a great believer in the old adage, "change one thing at a time", so you know which part is responsible ;)

However, enthusiasm frequently takes over, and I end up changing lots of things, then having to un-pick them again.

Good intentions and all that! :)

Same here to be honest.

The reason I've taken so long with the car is down to the costs(!) and not wanting to wreck it by doing too many things at one time,so it's been done step-wise.

I'm waiting now for Cat Cams to get back with information from other customers with the same cams.
 
Well I have just spent the last 3+ hrs reading this thread from start to finish. The amount of work that has been put into this is amazing. The amount of information which is now available is immense, even if you take in the amount of time/ money that has been put in by yourself (researching etc) and by the team at AmD it truly is on an epic scale most of us could not imagine !!

I look forward in reading the next step in this build, and keep at it. I just wish that sometimes I could understand what I have been reading, modern tuning is a whole new world.

Well done Alex and I bow to your experience and knowledge oh Grand Oracle :anbet: :thumbs up: :applaus:
 
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Thank you very much for the very kind words.

I honestly couldn't have done half of it without the help and encouragement from members of this forum and VAGOC,many of whom have become good friends,and we all share ideas and try to avoid any pitfalls.

The help,expertise and patience of the guys at AMDTuning has also been superb,and in particular Ben,who has to deal with me on a daily basis,Steve,who makes the collection of parts into something that runs,and Shaun for his encouragement,and for having put together such a great team.

In some ways,this thread has become a sort of blog for the car,and a history of the parts that we now have on offer,and where we once had one or two big turbo kits,(one of which,BSH,has since fallen by the wayside),we now have a good selection,plus a huge number of parts from companies like Integrated Engineering,who are both enthusiastic and helpful.

Thanks again!
 
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Car is alive again.

Old cams refitted,knock seems like being sorted,and undergoing final tests and set up now.

That confirms the problem as being cam related,but doesn't answer what it is about the cams that is causing the problem.
I'm still waiting for Matt@Cat to reply with info from other companies who've installed the same cams.

Another mate of mine who's used custom cams from them has said they need specialist tuning.....that wasn't exactly a part of the deal.

I also need to give a huge thank you to Steve from AMD who was in at 1 a.m. this morning working on the car.
That's just amazing,and something you won't see anywhere else that I know of.
 
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That is service above and beyond by Steve @ AMD
 
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That is service above and beyond by Steve @ AMD

I was lost for words......for me,that's very unusual.

I do however have a small token of appreciation in mind....
 
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A few pictures and a few words....


Firstly,this is for Ben,showing my appreciation of a clean car....



Thank you all at AMD,not only for the hard work,but for returning the car to me,way cleaner than when it arrived.

And now...down to business.....there are a shedload more to come,but these are just a few phone pics from earlier on today....

I looked in the boot,and something was missing....




Then behind the front seats,and nothing was hiding there either....




So,unlike me,that's 50+kgs of dead weight gone,but not forgotten,and in storage.


Under the bonnet,the EVAP can has also decided to hide,and in it's place.....






Some ultra-neat work there,courtesy of the ever inventive Steve,who's hidden the EVAP can in the space within the left front bumper,and this little fella has taken it's place.


The nasty plastic cam cover has also gone,along with all it's nasty breathers.....



 
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Nice one Alex and thats great work from AMD. Do you still consider your car an S3 at this stage? At what point does it stop being an S3 in your opinion? Just interested to hear your opinion.
 
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Nice one Alex and thats great work from AMD. Do you still consider your car an S3 at this stage? At what point does it stop being an S3 in your opinion? Just interested to hear your opinion.

It still looks like one.

I don't know to be fair.....it IS still mostly an S3,but with a lot of parts,some special,some not,but I guess you could look at it,and say,uprated engine,suspension,brakes etc etc adds up to it being something different now.

I still see it as an S3 though.
 
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There's a lot more pictures to come when Ben has uploaded them to me,but in the meantime,a lot of work has been done.

Head off,and cleaned.
New Ferrea valves plus guides,and uprated springs.
IE cam cover and breather system.
Suspension adjusted
Boost increased to 2.1bar and controller set up for that.

That's not including those cat cams which have been fitted,engine found to knock like hell,and then removed.

Still waiting for Cat to get back to me on those,so I'm losing the groove on those so to speak.


Anyhow.....as it is,the boost comes in as before from around 3500rpm,and then hits hard at around 4000rpm,and pulls all the way to the limiter,and does feel quicker than before(when running 1.8bar).

It sounds pretty angry,and louder than before,but that's no doubt down to removing the rear seats,and adjusting the boost.

The suspension(kW Clubsport) has been back to be adjusted a couple of times from the base settings.
I initially found it was too bouncy and not well enough damped,so the first step was winding off some the rebound damping to allow it to settle quicker after a heavy compression,and that went part of the way to fixing things,but it still felt a bit too reactive to potholes and bumps,so the next step was a notch more compression damping,and now gone up again another notch,till it feels pretty solid over bumps,but soaking them up as opposed to bouncing over them.

The result is it not only feels faster on it's first drive,but also more controlled,and the sound is great.
 
Can't help it......have to post again.

The car has managed to put another stupid grin on my face this morning.

Yes,it does feel a bit lazy off boost,but the way it goes when it hits 4000rpm is just superb.

Traction control off,Haldex controller set to Race,and just a bit of wriggling as it heaves itself down the road.

I always liked the S3,but it's just about right now.

Anyone not sure about a big turbo(or bigger turbo kit) should just get one,right now.
This is fun.
 
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Can't help it......have to post again.

The car has managed to put another stupid grin on my face this morning.

Yes,it does feel a bit lazy off boost,but the way it goes when it hits 4000rpm is just superb.

Traction control off,Haldex controller set to Race,and just a bit of wriggling as it heaves itself down the road.

I always liked the S3,but it's just about right now.

Anyone not sure about a big turbo(or bigger turbo kit) should just get one,right now.
This is fun.

Do you have end game in mind, or you just gonna push it as far as it'll go?
 
Do you have end game in mind, or you just gonna push it as far as it'll go?

There's more to come for sure,once I've sorted a few things out,like the cams.

Other than that,I guess when it begins to scare me,that would probably be enough.

Right now though it's just hilarious having an innocent looking hatch that goes like it does.
 
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There's more to come for sure,once I've sorted a few things out,like the cams.

Other than that,I guess when it begins to scare me,that would probably be enough.

Right now though it's just hilarious having an innocent looking hatch that goes like it does.

Glad to hear it
More power to ya (pun intended)

I've also noticed you're really helpful in terms of advice round the forum, along with several other members - I'll be in good company when I take the plunge.... :thumbs up:
 
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Glad to hear it
More power to ya (pun intended)

I've also noticed you're really helpful in terms of advice round the forum, along with several other members - I'll be in good company when I take the plunge.... :thumbs up:

All the people I've met here had been really helpful,and they,along with the guys at VAGOC,helped me to mutilate my car and my wallet in this fashion,so I think it's only fair that I help others to do the same...LOL.

If you ever need any help that I can give,just ask!
 
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It still looks like one.

I don't know to be fair.....it IS still mostly an S3,but with a lot of parts,some special,some not,but I guess you could look at it,and say,uprated engine,suspension,brakes etc etc adds up to it being something different now.

I still see it as an S3 though.

Yep me as well! I think as long as it still looks like an s3 I would consider it an s3 lol.
 
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Yep me as well! I think as long as it still looks like an s3 I would consider it an s3 lol.

Looks like a duck,quacks like a duck etc etc...

I think that as long as it looks like one,and smokes an AMG,then it's good.
 
some might say this is what a S3 should look and be like anyways :thumbs up:
 
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keep up the upgrades , it certainly makes for great reading
 
keep up the upgrades , it certainly makes for great reading

Hard work,I'll tell you!

And I know every time the car goes near AMD,they know that a week long job has a habit of turning into a 4 week long job.

Even this one,planned months in advance,and parts all on site,did not go smoothly thanks to those cams.
 
well if you let all of us rob all the good bits off it on the 21st that will reduce all the stress your feeling !
only thinking of your well being ........


and yes I have seen the picture of your dog :notme:
 
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well if you let all of us rob all the good bits off it on the 21st that will reduce all the stress your feeling !
only thinking of your well being ........


and yes I have seen the picture of your dog :notme:


If it takes as long to dismantle as it usually does,good luck,and bring a BIG set of tools.

Dog....ate a good chunk of one of his blankets the other day....and yes,it did come through.
 
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After few days back on the road,it really does feel better in every respect.

More aggressive(maybe due to the timing,and boost controller setup),pulls extremely well,and gains speed at a rate that no S3 should be capable of.

Increasing the compression damping has really improved the front end,and it corners harder,and with greater stability,and uses the tyres better.

And.....as a bonus of the new breather system...it smells of oil. LOL
 
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cool
so are you still going down the cam change route , or has the last problem put you off ?
 
cool
so are you still going down the cam change route , or has the last problem put you off ?

I've already got the ****** things,sitting gathering dust while CatCams try to find a solution for the problem.

They were fitted and set up correctly,by an engineer who has done,shall we say,more than a few before,and the result was maximum knock values across all 4 cylinders,even with maximum ECU ******.

Cams were then removed and my old ones fitted.....hey presto,no knock....so that lays the blame firmly at the new cams.

Cat have since been trying to find out what other tuners have found using these cams,and have said they have made a special cam trigger ring offset to allow for the timing difference,but they don't know how far the ECU alters the cam timing when running.

None of which is especially helpful,and leaves me wondering why I wasn't made aware of any of this prior to buying them.

If I am given a sure-fire fix for this problem then I'll consider having them re-fitted but it's not cheap.

I'm usually a patient guy but this is testing it a bit.