Buying an A3 1.8T :)

1animal1

1animal1

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Hola chaps.... the time has come to sell the misus MCS in favour of an A3 1.8T..... silly buying the car really as she uses it once every 2-3 weeks - anyway, I ideally want her in a facelift A3 KO3s equipped 1.8T....the budget is gonna be anything upto 3k....pointless spending more with the use it gets

My question surrounds the fact that the KO3s came out in 2001 models, is this gonna be attached to ALL facelifts or is it as random as BAM equipped S3's.... as in date orientated as opposed to facelift

Any other tips too....obviously i had my A3 1.8T for just over 6 years which will help me spot most things... cambelt change, water pump, bushes (front wishbones), vag'ing, check boost pipes, exhaust, creamy oil, DIS pixels - think ive covered most things

chars

Tim
 
K03s fitted to facelift TQSs K04s on S3's.

The TQS in not worse than any of the others for wear and tear, but the main thing is the clutch is a ball ache the same as the S3 so test this wisely.

Otherwise Tim you got it covered
 
na they did the KO3S on facelift 2wd's matey :) im sure it was 2001 they started attaching them.....
 
Not on the 150's only the 180s get the K03s don't they? The 180s are Quattro IIRC

I was sure thats how it worked? And the Anniv Golfs got 180 BHP K03s too.

Anyway the clutch advice stands true,lol
 
the ones to watch out for are the ARZ's Tim, they came in some late pre facelifts, and some early facelifts, and had drive by wire throttles but ko3 turbo's still.

The AUM's came in late 2000 it seems, and were in all cars by 2001. The AUM has the ko3S and drive by wire.

Obviously you know where to look on the head for the engine code, I'd always check that to be sure it's an AUM. Having been in a few standard AGU/ARZ/AUM cars, the AUM is definately a much nicer engine to drive, and feels much more refined than the previous ones.

Other than that it's all standard 8l fare, rear beam bushes are a common thing you'll have long left behind with your IRS, but they're not too costly to fix.

£3k should easily see you a good 2001 car with sensible mileage :)
 
How come your the selling the mcs ? Selling it for around 6k by any chance :D

And as prawn said thats the engine you want. theres is a thread about all the 1.8t engines which tell you all the engine codes and turbos they've got.
 
Emery, she just doesnt use it mate.... although asking price is £12500 for an extremely well specced new shape turbo :)

Prawn.... so am i right in thinking that the AUM having the KO3s have a better tuning capacity as well as the better engine to drive and 2wd? why should i be looking for the ARZ's?.... the drive by wire...... we're not gonna be doing much over a map regards the tuning

Ah cheers for the reminder, ended up doing the rear beam bushes on mine, was a right pain for the mechanic IIRC....although such a difference one done along with the front wishbones
 
With a generic remap the the k03s will map to 210bhp give or take. But with maybe a downpipe and a fmic and a custom map you could get it running really high boost and get 225bhp with 270lb of torque. And as the k03s is better internals will probally just take to mods better than the k03.
 
1animal1 said:
Prawn.... so am i right in thinking that the AUM having the KO3s have a better tuning capacity as well as the better engine to drive and 2wd? why should i be looking for the ARZ's?.... the drive by wire...... we're not gonna be doing much over a map regards the tuning
Click to expand...

Sorry mate, by watch out, I meant avoid! The ARZ has the small ports of the later AUM, and the small ko3 turbo, it's generally the worst of the bunch.

As for low budget simple tunning, the AUM is definately the best bet, as with a simple map it'll get the best gains by far. I went in a CC1 AUM a few months ago, and was really shocked at how much quicker it was than when I had a stage 1 map on my AGU. it felt just as quick as my ko3s'd AGU.

The AUM also had the advantage of ESP, which is always nice to have in the current climate!
 
ok cheers chaps..... 2001 onwards it is, im tempted to move her into a quattro as theres a couple going for under the 3k mark but then shes only 24, so insurance will take charge.....ESP will defo help mate :) women drivers ;)
 
a quattro shouldn't cost too much to insure I wouldn't think mate. I pay £400 on my 1.8T now aged 23, so a female driver aged 24 shouldn't be paying too much at all, even on a TQS
 
I agree, My other half was driving the TQS facelfit with only a few yrs NCB and that was only £400 ish @ 24 with me named on it too
 
i'll not rule it out then if thats the case, seem to think the Mini costs her £690 with me as named (30yr old :( ) driver...thats the cheapest we could get and assumed the TQS would be similar given its a group 17?
 
2001 1.8T is abit of a step down from a new shape MCS isn't it? Dated looking?

I think at least a quattro is required for her, if not an S3!! (my other half is insured on the S3 at 24 with no issues)
 
well yeah but the ultimate aim is to get her into a car within the chosen budget, the main reason to sell the MCS is the fact that she has 12500 tied up in it and she uses it once every 2/3 weeks..... speed vs age, she prefers to have the speed....she actually wants to spend 2k but i said that she'll open up a few more doors budgeting for 3k

i dont want her to sell it as ive pretty much detailed it top to bottom ready for the summer shows....but it is a pointless waste of cash ultimately :)
 
Having just dipped into the market myself, I can safely say that there are many 1.8t and 1.8tqs on the market. One thing to remember is that the TQS is thirstier than the 1.8t so if fuel consumption is a factor you may want to consider the 1.8t. But don't rush, I am an ex car salesman, and one thing I did see in the trade is that closer to the plate change (march) there loads of bargains to be had. ;-)

Good luck with the purchase and happy hunting.
 
cheers 9099..... the thing is its gonna spend most of it's time stood, economy difference will be minimal with the costs involved..... my 1.8T used to do approx 30-35mpg, my S3 does 28mpg on average so its not really the deciding factor.....

Task in hand now is to sell the Mini hopefully in silly season (january) when the prices are more bouyant..... problem being that we are asking midrange as opposed to CAP/Glasses ;) ....we arn't in a rush as such and are lucky that the Mini is one of the slowest depreciating cars to this date.... plus she aint in a rush so will just wait for the right one

cheers fella
 
I best sell my car soon then if i want top dollar for it ! what to replace it with is a hard decision though. i have thought about getting the k03s a3 too, with remap and springs etc. Or a 2002 mcs, but buying one is hard as i cant justify the cost of one over an 02 a3 1.8t, which is probally a beter built car!
 
emery1990 said:
I best sell my car soon then if i want top dollar for it ! what to replace it with is a hard decision though. i have thought about getting the k03s a3 too, with remap and springs etc.
Click to expand...
Does your A3 not have a K03S then, or do you want to get an A3 without the Quattro?
 
get a quattro, am only 22 and insure is below the 400 mark with my map and all mods decleared, fully comp :)
 
Yer i just wants a a3 with out quattro but then in this winter id want it back. The k03s fwd remapped to 220bhp would cane my car remapped to 220. Id wanna spend around 3 k on the car like animal then 1k on suspension and brakes and a remap.
 
emery1990 said:
Yer i just wants a a3 with out quattro but then in this winter id want it back. The k03s fwd remapped to 220bhp would cane my car remapped to 220. Id wanna spend around 3 k on the car like animal then 1k on suspension and brakes and a remap.
Click to expand...
Is the Quattro not all that then? Is an A3 TQS really that far from an S3? I was hoping for a TQS or S3 in the next year or so and hadn't thought about a FWD A3t. Maybe I should save my money and get a FWD version when the time's right.
 
quattro will always have the advantages in more weather conditions..... 2wd and mapped you will have a quicker car than the 1.8TQ...id personally go for the S£ and map it, nice enough and fast enough for most
 
Aar0n said:
Is the Quattro not all that then? Is an A3 TQS really that far from an S3?.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a million miles off sadly.

1animal1 said:
quattro will always have the advantages in more weather conditions..... 2wd and mapped you will have a quicker car than the 1.8TQ...id personally go for the S£ and map it, nice enough and fast enough for most
Click to expand...

Tim's right, the quattro chassis just copes with the 180bhp so well it feels utterly dull. even mapped to 220 it'd still be very much shown up my a similar FWD A3 in all but the most horrid weather.

Best bet is to hold out and go for an S3 from the off, it'll be as quick in standard form as a highly tunned TQS, with more comfort and class. Remap it, and you're onto a winner.
 
or do what another member has done and buy a 2wd aswell ;) must say im curious and want to drive a remapped 2wd :)
 
it's a shame you're so far away Tim! I'd happily let you take mine out for a spin :)

I fear the mileage monster will be going within the next 12-18 months or so though..... :(
 
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