Facelift First FL engine to go?

[billymc92]

Someone from Australia has posted on the other forum that his tuned FL has blown and needs a full engine rebuild at 30k. The first plug is melted and cylinder bore is damaged. The second cylinder piston is also cracked.

Here’s the link,
https://www.audirs3oc.com/topic/8397-2017-audi-rs3-sedan-tuning-issues/#entry141456

 

[MartayMcFly]

What state of tune was it? Remap? Bolt ons?

 

[Callum66]

Not trying to be pedantic but it might well be 30k AUD which is £16.6k. I’d imagine a UK build could be done for this or less. Not that I want to experience it with my RS3 but this is sometimes the cost of playing with adult’s toys.

DV and a Stage 1 remap from the original post.

 

[AudiNutta]

Not trying to be pedantic but it might well be 30k AUD which is £16.6k. I’d imagine a UK build could be done for this or less. Not that I want to experience it with my RS3 but this is sometimes the cost of playing with adult’s toys.

DV and a Stage 1 remap from the original post.

Probably is yes, belief is that an engine is £20k to buy brand new so a rebuild wouldn’t cost 1.5x that.

This is the reason mine isn’t mapped, as soon as it is you are hands down agreeing to pay for anything up to a replacement engine if it went sideways... can’t expect Audi to pick the pieces up for free.

Glad I got the 5 year warranty, haha.

 

[Callum66]

The car is so much better when mapped but there is no excuse for anyone who thinks that Audi should be liable for disasters.

Given the detonation that’s been going on, it looks like it has been running too lean. Possibly a faulty injector or a bad map. Sounds like the poor guy was being fobbed off by his tuner as he had highlighted a possible issue before the disaster happened.

 

[billymc92]

Not trying to be pedantic but it might well be 30k AUD which is £16.6k. I’d imagine a UK build could be done for this or less. Not that I want to experience it with my RS3 but this is sometimes the cost of playing with adult’s toys.

DV and a Stage 1 remap from the original post.

Yeah I think your right. I did think £30k was too much but was just posting what he had posted.

 

[Dodgygtr]

Anyone changed the plugs yet?
I’m planning on changing mine before stage2

 

[2017RS3sedan]

Lol. What’s £30k? We work on $AU here is in Aus.

The American dollar right now is in the high 60cent to the $US Plus our lovely 15% import tax/duty. Around $400 shipping per order if you don’t want to wait 3months for parts. Seeing as Australia has nothing for these cars the dollar conversion plus taxes and shipping alone tipped $6k There is of 4K worth of boaring, heat shrinking and sleeving my block. The residual on my heads were so bad I had to machine that as well. Some of it was etched into the head so we ended up porting and needing oversized inlet/exhaust valves. New lifters, springs, guides and retainers. 8k landed from bar-tek. Forged pistons and Conrad’s 6k landed from IE. we couldn’t get studs or gaskets here so there was another 2.5k landed. So far my mechanic has charged me 4K labour inc, diagnosis, testing, stripping etc. engine not back together yet. And by no means did I even Go to Audi let alone expect them to foot the bill. It’s my issue. The tuner that worked on my car hasn’t bothered to reply or take any kind of responsibility. Anyway Taxes and US dollar conversion is a killer down here. Everything had to be out sourced.





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[Callum66]

Lol. What’s £30k? We work on $AU here is in Aus.

£30k is $AU 54k.

I’m certain that anyone who has tuned their RS3 will have great sympathy for you as many will have suffered with other “projects” in their car history. Most tuning enthusiasts are serial offenders.

I wasn’t suggesting that you were claiming from Audi. That’s just my take on the typical British thought process that we can map a car, cause problems then expect Audi to foot the bill after wiping the map & trying to return it the OEM settings. Simply not possible or ethical.

It sounds like you are going to end up with a strong engine and probably a new tuner if he doesn’t step up to the plate. I for one am very interested in your progress.

 

[D0C]

This most certainly isn't the first FL engine to let go. There's been a few others. A guy over on the TTRS forum had his also let go. For me, it has to be a really shoddy tune for the engine to blow, there's so many safety nets in the ECU. Or alternatively, and more likely, an engine that was defective from new.

 

[2017RS3sedan]

Lol. What’s £30k? We work on $AU here is in Aus.

£30k is $AU 54k.

I’m certain that anyone who has tuned their RS3 will have great sympathy for you as many will have suffered with other “projects” in their car history. Most tuning enthusiasts are serial offenders.

I wasn’t suggesting that you were claiming from Audi. That’s just my take on the typical British thought process that we can map a car, cause problems then expect Audi to foot the bill after wiping the map & trying to return it the OEM settings. Simply not possible or ethical.

It sounds like you are going to end up with a strong engine and probably a new tuner if he doesn’t step up to the plate. I for one am very interested in your progress.

Thanks Callum appreciate your input man.

This is purely for knowledge and not intended to rubbish any workshop. Every one makes mistakes though I care more about how it’s handles more then the issue. I’m just interested to know if anyone had any kind of tuning issues. Stuttering almost felt like it was cutting out at high revs on load?

I will keep you posted on the progress


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[2017RS3sedan]

This most certainly isn't the first FL engine to let go. There's been a few others. A guy over on the TTRS forum had his also let go. For me, it has to be a really shoddy tune for the engine to blow, there's so many safety nets in the ECU. Or alternatively, and more likely, an engine that was defective from new.

I’m surprised the tune resulted in this. The workshop I used was highly reputable and recommended. Is there anyway to know if the engine was shot from factory?


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[Callum66]

Anyone changed the plugs yet?

Mine were changed to NGK8’s for the Stage 2 map. I’m fairly sure it was more as a safety precaution than a necessity on a road car.

 

[Callum66]

I’m surprised the tune resulted in this. The workshop I used was highly reputable and recommended. Is there anyway to know if the engine was shot from factory?

I guess this would be extremely difficult to prove. It might be worth getting your injectors flow tested in case that’s been the issue.

I’d also be keen to let someone knowledgeable inspect the map. Presumably, at Stage 1, this is just a generic map which has been installed on multiple cars. If so, have there been any other problems or is yours the only failure so far?

 

[2017RS3sedan]

Great advice that I’ll definitely act on. Thank you.

Funny you mention it. After my engine blew in endeavoured to figure out exactly what went wrong so I searched nearly every reputable tuner in Australia and a workshop in Melbourne (a totally different state) knew my situation and heard this same workshop blew a second rs3 engine but i can’t vouch for it cause I didn’t personally see or know the other car. What’s stupid is that if he handled it properly you probably wouldn’t have heard about it either. One thing most other workshops said was the octane booster alone would have caused this much damage. And it actually was a “custom tune” then the tuner would have noticed the issues on a dyno. I took it back to him twice before it blew and both time was told the issue was fixed.

Not sure but one thing I do know is that nothing is “bulletproof” and if I had bought this car knowing what I know now. I would have lowered it with wheel spacers and not touched another thing on it. The car drove beautifully from factory and had more then enough power. All the extra work was me just being a ****** and to be honest. When is the power ever enough? I know from my self theee is always something more I want to do. It never stops! Until the car finally did


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[royalsteve68]

Someone from Australia has posted on the other forum that his tuned FL has blown and needs a full engine rebuild at 30k. The first plug is melted and cylinder bore is damaged. The second cylinder piston is also cracked.

Here’s the link,
https://www.audirs3oc.com/topic/8397-2017-audi-rs3-sedan-tuning-issues/#entry141456

£30k ?! A brand new engine is £25k

 

[royalsteve68]

Probably is yes, belief is that an engine is £20k to buy brand new so a rebuild wouldn’t cost 1.5x that.

This is the reason mine isn’t mapped, as soon as it is you are hands down agreeing to pay for anything up to a replacement engine if it went sideways... can’t expect Audi to pick the pieces up for free.

Glad I got the 5 year warranty, haha.

It’s £25k as confirmed by the chief mechanic at my local Audi dealer

 

[D0C]

For crying out loud guys, he said 30k Australian Dollars!!! Which equates to approx £16k. Painful to read these replies.

 

[AudiNutta]

It’s £25k as confirmed by the chief mechanic at my local Audi dealer

Is that just for a block, or block, turbo and ancillaries?

 

[Terminator x]

Just rebuild it surely rather than a new engine esp if warranty won't cover it.

TX.

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[DW81]

Is that just for a block, or block, turbo and ancillaries?

I’d imagine that would be all in mate, the block alone is £8k

 

[AudiNutta]

I’d imagine that would be all in mate, the block alone is £8k

That’s still a fair sum of money, one I’d be much more comfortable leaving Audi to take care of

 

[2017RS3sedan]

lol Do you all think I’m making stories?

Audi quoted me $40kAU for a new engine. Supply only! It was cheaper to hi Performace rebuild using forged parts.


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[2017RS3sedan]

The rebuild had already started

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[2017RS3sedan]

£30k ?! A brand new engine is £25k

30k Australian dollars man. This is for a rebuild. A new engine from Audi landed in Australia only supplied to me not in stalled was quoted 40kAU


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[TYb]

30k Australian dollars man. This is for a rebuild. A new engine from Audi landed in Australia only supplied to me not in stalled was quoted 40kAU


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Ouch, that isn’t a very nice Christmas present.

 

[DW81]

The rebuild had already started

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Your probably get a much better job done by a specialist than these so called dealerships who just like to shaft the customers with over priced parts when most of them could be repaired to a degree.

 

[CWD]

Keep the updates coming I know it's probably painful but it's really interesting and will be great to see how it comes together..

 

[billymc92]

I’d rather get a 850hp engine supplied from IROZ if I was having to go the route you are. Go big or go home

 

[2017RS3sedan]

Yeah mate. There was a lot of other things I’d rather do with that money then spend it on my RS3 like pay for my wedding coming up. This route I’m heading wasn’t intended or planned.
Billy are from Australia bro? Trust me I’ve exhausted every option and no one I spoke to believed what it’s costing me or what the engine cost from Audi. Iroz would have cost me shy of 50k. I spoke to hank many time. He is a great guy and very helpful regardless if I used him or not he was happy to advise.




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[2017RS3sedan]

Just read your profile. Your from Scotland. Not. Sure what is like to your country but we down here get pumped.
Keep in mind you can get what ever engine from anyone. Then? There for a diff. Or both. 9k each. Gear box. Lol another 15k. Everyone gets excited when they hear bolt on mods and forget your going to blow everything else. There is nothing bulletproof about any car.


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[billymc92]

Yeah I totally understand mate. I wouldn’t even justify paying that also. But if I was having to change the engine that would be a good time to change parts

 

[Leo-RS]

Engine damage but not engine destruction. The block is in one piece and that wouldn’t take an engine builder too much time to rebuild and at a fraction of the costs mentioned. Certainly 4 figures in the U.K. not 5.

Australia, says it all. Although it’s freezing here in the U.K., they are in the middle of one of their hottest heatwaves. Heat is bound to play a part as is fuel and the tune.

I just wouldn’t bother boosting in 30c+ temps, not even on the standard tune, never mind 40c+ like it is in Australia just now. Australia has E85 readily available which should offer a lot more protection. Plugs 1-2 steps colder should definitely be used. I wonder what fuel was being used here? Also wonder if the ecu safeguards had been turned off.

I wouldn’t let this story put you off a tune.

Go with a reputable tuner, use the correct fuels and be sensible. Go on a sustained 170+mph autobahn run on the standard cooler and a Stage 1 tune, 98 octane in 30c and I guarantee it would be easy enough to grenade the engine. Just be sensible and you’ll be fine.

 

[Javbomb]

Engine damage but not engine destruction. The block is in one piece and that wouldn’t take an engine builder too much time to rebuild and at a fraction of the costs mentioned. Certainly 4 figures in the U.K. not 5.

Australia, says it all. Although it’s freezing here in the U.K., they are in the middle of one of their hottest heatwaves. Heat is bound to play a part as is fuel and the tune.

I just wouldn’t bother boosting in 30c+ temps, not even on the standard tune, never mind 40c+ like it is in Australia just now. Australia has E85 readily available which should offer a lot more protection. Plugs 1-2 steps colder should definitely be used. I wonder what fuel was being used here? Also wonder if the ecu safeguards had been turned off.

I wouldn’t let this story put you off a tune.

Go with a reputable tuner, use the correct fuels and be sensible. Go on a sustained 170+mph autobahn run on the standard cooler and a Stage 1 tune, 98 octane in 30c and I guarantee it would be easy enough to grenade the engine. Just be sensible and you’ll be fine.

Well we don't have the autobahn here and you get shot for speeding

I have been logging my car since getting Unitronic stage 1+ and truth is our 98 is not up to snuff. It pulls timing right after 41C IATs. If I add 4L of E85 to the 98 tank it runs well and pulls zero timing. Our 98 here has zero ethanol so this is just about E7 or so, seems to bump octane just enough on our BP98 to stop timing pull and knock. Lambda seems to be fine when I log that too.

Agree about a reputable tuner that leaves in all the safeguards... That's a really big one.