buying a new s3, semi auto or manual ?

manual or auto s3

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aspire2010

aspire2010

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hey gents,

just seeing what the general opinion is on the semi auto vs the manual for a 2007-2010 ish s3

how much does mpg decrease?

what needs to be considered to maintenance?

are the auto more expensive to buy ? and repair?

thanks
 
It would be a 2008 onwards facelift S3 if your looking at an s-tronic. I.e. the one with the led drl.
As it's a double clutch auto, the mpg is increased and not decreased, This is because the gear changes are far quicker than you can do in a manual, which also means the 0-60 is slightly quicker too.
It's not for the purist though as you do loose a little control but for me it's the only way to go, especially if you do a lot of town driving.
Servicing your looking at roughly every 40k miles.
It is expensive when it goes wrong too so a belt and braces warranty is a must.
Take a test drive, I'm sure you'll be converted!
 
-Ju- said:
It would be a 2008 onwards facelift S3 if your looking at an s-tronic. I.e. the one with the led drl.
As it's a double clutch auto, the mpg is increased and not decreased, This is because the gear changes are far quicker than you can do in a manual, which also means the 0-60 is slightly quicker too.
It's not for the purist though as you do loose a little control but for me it's the only way to go, especially if you do a lot of town driving.
Servicing your looking at roughly every 40k miles.
It is expensive when it goes wrong too so a belt and braces warranty is a must.
Take a test drive, I'm sure you'll be converted!
Click to expand...
thanks for the input,

are they more expensive to buy generally ?

so is the pre facelift not double clutch ?
 
Yes they are generally a little more, but then they are worth a little more come resale and I would say more desirable.
The pre facelift was manual only
 
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If i was to buy again id go S Tronic.. even though i love my manual. Id planned on getting one but finding one in the condition mine was we snapped it up..
 
Stronic and I own a manual s3 lol
 
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Owned both and manage VAG parts for a living.

S TRONIC is by far the best.
 
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Yeah S-Tronic all the way. Not only my first German car but my first automatic and what a way to be involved! lol.
Its an incredible car when you push that loud pedal down!
 
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Buying second hand I would rather a manual (less likely to go wrong, I have bad luck all the time) if it was brand new then a auto
 
Well....mine was a manual and now it's being converted to DSG.

That covers both options...

Both are reliable and should give little trouble although the DSG is costly if it breaks.
 
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Stronic/DSG is the bees knees as far as I'm concerned. I don't even know what gear I'm in most of the time, as it is so smooth. The Mrs. used to let the clutch up a bit too fast for my liking when we had a manual box, I used to cringe when she changed gear, thinking of worn driveshafts CV joints etc.
All is well now with Stronic in SootySport towers.
 
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I love my manual S3 it's so much fun, I will always prefer a manual as you feel more involved and connected with the car, especially when you slam it into 2nd before a turn! You just can't beat it.

That being said my next car, which won't be for many years, will more than likely be a DSG purely because of it's quicker shifting capability leading to a shorter 0-60mph time.

If you're planning on going to stage 2+ or beyond, then the DSG is your cheaper option as you don't have to spend out over a grand buying an uprated clutch like you have to on the manual.
 
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I'll let you all know how I think it's gone in a couple of months.....I'll be able to compare my old manual with a shiny almost new DQ500.
 
Sorry buts its just got to be a manual , proper drivers car .
 
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audi upgrades
MICHAEL PARKER said:
Sorry buts its just got to be a manual , proper drivers car .
Click to expand...

I know....I'm still looking forwards to no loss of boost and knocking a lot of time of accelerating....

When I get the car back that is....
 
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MICHAEL PARKER said:
Sorry buts its just got to be a manual , proper drivers car .
Click to expand...
They are in effect a manual box, you still can can tell it when to shift gear but it does it very quickly andwithout loss of power. You can also choose the full auto mode for when you are feeling lazy which I do most of the time.Try one out and it will convert you.
F1 and serious competition cars all use sequential boxes which is how a a dsg works as well, more or less.
 
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S3Alex said:
I know....I'm still looking forwards to no loss of boost and knocking a lot of time of accelerating....

When I get the car back that is....
Click to expand...

Wow ! Thats going to hurt the wallet Alex
 
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SootySport said:
Wow ! Thats going to hurt the wallet Alex
Click to expand...

It's turning out to be more than I'd hoped but thankfully about what I'd budgeted for....

As long as it's scary fast as well as scary expensive....
 
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I have an auto and I'm so glad I paid the little extra for it. The auto's tend to hold value better too.
 
SootySport said:
They are in effect a manual box, you still can can tell it when to shift gear but it does it very quickly andwithout loss of power. You can also choose the full auto mode for when you are feeling lazy which I do most of the time.Try one out and it will convert you.
F1 and serious competition cars all use sequential boxes which is how a a dsg works as well, more or less.
Click to expand...
yepI know how they work lol , had a few already .
 
My first auto and I don't think I will go back.

The DSG clutch can take power mods up to Stage 3 easily where the manual struggles.

I would highly recommend a DSG remap (preferably custom) as the standard map leaves a lot to be desired. These are only a couple of hundred quid and well worth the money.
 
Um , loads of manuals around running big power tbh , not knocking dsg its very good .
 
MICHAEL PARKER said:
Um , loads of manuals around running big power tbh , not knocking dsg its very good .
Click to expand...
Power isn't a problem.....torque is the issue.
The manual gearbox is definitely OK for 540lbs,that I can say,but may well need rebuilding more often,as the bearings,and selector forks aren't as robust.

The manual clutch varies depending on which you choose,but there are some,like the Spec 3+ that will cope with that sort of thing.

The other weak point as you push the torque higher,or do a lot of drag starts,is the driveshaft doughnuts,and they do shred themselves sometimes.

DSG.....the best is the DQ500,which of course isn't fitted to our cars,and I've assured that it's good for 600lbs+,and the stock clutch packs are capable as well,with the right software.

The real problem is that if you attend to one weak spot,you simply shift the likely failures to another area,but in general,and certainly up to 440lbs,the guts of the thing,DSG or manual,seem pretty good.
 
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The DSG/S,tronic is a wet clutch and very rare for the clutch packs to wear, the most common problem that ocurs with the DSG is the mechatronics unit needs to be reconditioned, its got lots of valves inside that get sticky and dont work as well as they used to and get slow to operate and shift the gears on time, normally down to bad maintenance, the box need to be serviced every 40k miles and in my opinion every 5 years if mileage not reached.
The gearbox itself is ultra reliable and should see 200k mile plus easily, if the mechatronics does play up? it will cost around a grand to refurb, not bad when a new clutch in a manual will cost around £500, and the only other consideration is the cost of the DSG service around the £200 mark if you shop about which is mainly down to the oil thats used, its fairly expensive and you need 5 litres of it I think.
Mine is on 72k now and I had it last done at 40k, the 1st service is the important one as the oil filter has been updated and improved, that said I've not had any problems with mine yet, so fingers crossed, and next service this summer.
Its a great gearbox and has its own quirks and drives completely different to a multitronic auto box, the DSG farts when changing gear are a riot, F1 flappy paddles or gear changing from gear stick without a clutch pedal, whats not to like, its a manual without the clutch, you can drop gear when you like with the paddles even in drive mode, dropping up or down through the gears from 6th to 1st if needed and you will feel every gear like a manual, or just pop it into drive and enjoy the smooth seamless gear changes as you cruise about saving fuel.
 
I bought an a stronic lads
 
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Good man!
Just to let you know, pictures or it didn't happen, it's a forum rule!
 
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i actually went to pick up and done a bank transfer which didnt go through and they didnt let me take the car so i gotta go back in a few days
 
So did the test drive convince you to go Stronic?
What's the spec of the car and any plans for us to help you spend some more cash on it lol
 
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I did test, and loved the speed of the changes and the noise when it changes, so smooth and easy, one day nobody will have manual The future seems to be semi auto.

Theres almost no advantage to manual but there are several advantages to the s tronic soo logic told me to get

Its just a standard 2012 s3 in ibis white 25k on the clock

I shall probably just do a remap and audio upgrade tbh , dont want to spend crazy amounts
 
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aspire2010 said:
Its just a standard 2012 s3 in ibis white 25k on the clock

I shall probably just do a remap and audio upgrade tbh , dont want to spend crazy amounts
Click to expand...
Sounds a nice low mileage example.
Trust me, it always starts with a "simple remap"!
 
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Yeah they scrimped on the extras though, no parking sensors, no retractable mirrors, no bose (if thats an upgrade think what the standard ones are like), paid 19k for it andthinking was a bit over priced.

Btw were the paddles standard when you get a s tronic?
 
S3Alex said:
That's so true....
Click to expand...
+1!!
Ibis looks great, if you keep it clean which Alex and i don't.
Don't worry about specs, most things can be retrofited.
And yes it starts with just a remap but it doesn't stop there!!!!!
 
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My 8P is a manual and my facelift 8V is auto manual is good when having a blast on B roads etc you feel more involved and the hardcut sound immense where as the s tronic is best for out and out speed and is so easy to drive
 
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aspire2010 said:
Yeah they scrimped on the extras though, no parking sensors, no retractable mirrors, no bose (if thats an upgrade think what the standard ones are like), paid 19k for it andthinking was a bit over priced.

Btw were the paddles standard when you get a s tronic?
Click to expand...

Yes.
Glad you enjoy the car with the new fangled box. All the above can be retrofitted but don't bother with the Bose Subs, it will be very expensive and the sound is not at all inspiring. There are much better non Audi audio upgrades out there, take a look at the ICE forum on ASN, @Sayam is Au Fait with our audio system upgrades and has some great ideas.
 
Yeah i tried out the standard system in the car and if it had the bose trim on the doors speakers you could fooled me, so its okay atm

However i made a major mistake i only noticed on the way home it doesnt have cruise control (head in hands) is this a trip to audi, can you just fit a different stalk, programming? Anybody know
 
Cruise is one of the easier retrofits.
You can buy the kit from Audi, it has the stalk and lower cowel in and then requires coding
 
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