Very jealous of your wheels, I had them on a long-term loan car and they are fantastic wheels, pictures don't do them justice.
Been a busy week and at this stage of ownership I hadn't planned on doing much since having had the expensive detail carried out on the car but you know how things go, items you want for sale pop up at the wrong time but its now or never!
I love the look of the car on the stock 18s but something was just niggling at me to change. I had 19" BBS CH on my old S3:
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So my love for a set of 19" anthracite BBS CH-R grew stronger and I was sure they were the wheels I wanted for my new S3. I had some concerns though, was I just repeating my old car, would I face some grief from friends about having no imagination, was the S3 now going to look more like a TDI rep since there are little differences between it and a modded S'Line?
These thoughts kept me awake at night lol (not really)
Anyway, I had been keeping my eye on the for sale section and @chazd was selling a set of immaculate OEM 19" S3 alloys. I hummed and ho'd for several weeks over this but was still sticking my ground to the CH-R idea, then I just decided to go for it. Spoke at length with Chaz (awesome member), pictures sent on request and struck a deal.
The wheels arrived last night and I picked them up from the shipping company as I missed them at home! Bank holiday weekend so want to get them looking perfect before tyres next week hopefully:
Packed up in VOSSEN boxes:
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Was very impressed with how well they were packed as this was a main concern of mine buying wheels and having them shipped privately over to Belfast:
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Lola approved
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Ordered some Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour which should be here next week, immediate plans are to apply some fall out remover to ensure they are squeaky clean, remove any weights ready for balancing and then get them down for tyres - pretty sure I have settled on Michellen Pilot 4S 235/35/19 - their reviews are quite impressive and I had PS2's on my Cayman S which I thought were fantastic.
I have H&R spacers in my garage from my Scirocco which I will mess around with once I have the tyres on, also ordered 20mm H&R springs which arrived last week too so hopefully within the next couple of weeks the stance of the car will have changed considerably - looking forward to the finish line!
Got to say it's the first time I've seen this mod done. No change in noise or anything? I understand why the air flow is better but it causes the filter to become blocked regularly?
I'll check but I dont think so - there is too much traffic in the way to get to the filter for it to block but then again, there were plenty of leaves in there when I removed it.
Your starting to go for the power upgrades now....sounds impressive! Are you going up to the Belfast Audi driving event next week?
Parts coming in this week:
It has been designed with 3 points of contact to eliminate any possibility of resonation. This part will improve the sound of your turbo spooling and improve response due to its sleek single billet design that eliminates the restriction and turbulence caused by the OEM part.
- Turbo Muffler delete
The Forge Motorsport high flow intake hose for the MQB platform 2.0 engines, eliminates the highly restrictive plastic inlet pipe, and replaces it with our smooth bore multi-ply silicone hose which increases air flow, improving efficiency and performance. This equates to increases of up to 10hp which is a remarkable gain for an easy to fit bolt on modification.
- Turbo Inlet
The solenoid coil itself from the factory-fitted valve is great (the ECU opens it faster than any pneumatic valve so why replace it?), but the problem is the plastic piston valve mechanism. So GFB’s DV+ solves this problem by replacing just the valve parts with an anodised billet aluminium housing fitted with a brass piston machined to exacting tolerances.
- GFB DV+
The end result is sharper throttle response, lightning-fast valve actuation, and it will hold as much boost as you can throw at it.
Once the parts are in, I will modify the air intake to allow more air flow and hopefully notice a bit of difference. Next on the list will be a BCS resonator delete pipe with muffler so it doesn't drone as much:
After all this, then hopefully remap time but might wait until after holidays in July.
How did you find them to deal with if you don't mind me asking? Mine is booked in for a second service in 3 weeks but there are a number of issues that need addressed under warranty. I've had no dealings to date with them apart from an awful sales experience.
Agnews? Been a good experience with my S3 so far but I know what you are saying as I had bad experience with my S4 Avant previously
I think if the car is within warranty then there are no real issues to be worried about.
Booked in next week to get the car lowered and wheels on
Hopefully this Friday evening will have the Forge, GFB and splitter parts on as well as doing the grill mod for the air box.
Also ordered a facelift centre console panel - this comes with the lights in the cupholders. I had toyed with the idea of buying the parts individually and retro fitting but for the sake of £65, I bought the panel. I should be able to fit this as well on Friday
Awaiting costs as well from Audi regarding the brake caliper plates which have "S3" on them - my car was spec'd with the optional extra red calipers but came with black "S3" plates - I don't like this look plus, they are faded so I am wanting to change them to facelift red plates. However, at the minute, they are not sold separately until someone makes an inquiry. Audi Belfast did that for me on Tuesday and informed me that they update their ETKA costs on a weekly basis so hopefully get an answer next week. They cost around £30 from memory for my S4 so nothing extortionate!
Looking forward to getting the car looking to how I want it!
Also ordered a facelift centre console panel - this comes with the lights in the cupholders. I had toyed with the idea of buying the parts individually and retro fitting but for the sake of £65, I bought the panel. I should be able to fit this as well on Friday
The pre-facelift has these cup holder lights it’s part of the Interior Light Pack option.
Not sure how much of the console you have ordered but be aware that if you have the entire centre moulding the F/L now has a USB connection next to the cigarette lighter and all switch illumination is now white rather than red.
I don't recall seeing a USB next to my cigarette lighter, have 2 under the armrest though.
Your correct - my PFL A3 was speced with the light pack option and has the lights around the cup holders. I never knew this was part of this light pack option.The pre-facelift has these cup holder lights it’s part of the Interior Light Pack option.
+1 I've got this in my PFL S3 as wellYour correct - my PFL A3 was speced with the light pack option and has the lights around the cup holders. I never knew this was part of this light pack option.
Sadly the whole FL cars are like that, "S" rather than "S3" everywhere. One of my pet hates! Why have you done this Audi!!My S3 was spec'd with optional extra red calipers. At the time, the only colour the calliper plates came in were black which annoys me.
When the facelift (FL) came out, the red calipers came with red plates. Only now they are available to buy as replacement so I ordered a set on Friday and they arrived today (H)
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Sadly and for some strange reason they only say S on them but I'm happy the whole caliper will now be red.
My S3 was spec'd with optional extra red calipers. At the time, the only colour the calliper plates came in were black which annoys me.
When the facelift (FL) came out, the red calipers came with red plates. Only now they are available to buy as replacement so I ordered a set on Friday and they arrived today (H)
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Sadly and for some strange reason they only say S on them but I'm happy the whole caliper will now be red.
Going to put a coat of wheel armour on them to see if it works and helps with the colour lasting.
Roll on tomorrow for extra mods being fitted (H)