S3 Turbo Hissing??

[ellhans]

Hi All,

Hoping some of you could give me a hand with an S3 that I test drove yesterday and thinking of buying.

There were a few things I was concerned about, and I'm just wondering if they are actually problems...

1. There was a slight hissing sound when accellerating, and the guy told me it was the turbo and it was meant to happen. Is this right?

2. The clutch was very stiff compared to other cars that I've drove, the car has only done 50,000 miles. Again, is this expected or does it need changing?

3. The steering also seemed quite stiff... I was wondering if the powersteering was actually functioning correctly or not?

Thanks

 

[madvw]

all sound normal to me...

 

[[Dave B]]

1. The turbo's do make a slight hissing/sucking noise on boost, even more noticeable when mapped...
2. Mine's on 45k and the clutch is heavier than you'd expect for standard.
3. Steering isn't very heavy on mine and its running the standard 18's.

 

[rodenal]

Any S3 i've driven i havent found the steering heavy at all thats perhaps the only thing i would be looking into. Things like the tyres not being inflated correctly could affect that.

Having said that it depends what car you're coming from.

 

[madvw]

depends on what car you're comparing the steering to. I always notice how much heavier the steering is when going from an 8P to an 8L..

 

[Aky]

depends on what car you're comparing the steering to. I always notice how much heavier the steering is when going from an 8P to an 8L..

What he said - unless you drive a P Reg Clio 1.2 without PAS then every motor after that feels light.

 

[[Dave B]]

What he said - unless you drive a P Reg Clio 1.2 without PAS then every motor after that feels light.

Try a 21 year old non-pas 205 GTI with a semi-knackered steering rack....

 

[ellhans]

Lol.

Well I'm coming from a MK4 golf GTI. and I've also been driving a MK5 golf aswell, both seem light compared to the S3's steering. Could it be something to do with power steering fluid?

 

[Prawn]

what wheels are on the car?

a friend of mine (frenchman on here) has a car identical to mine. the only difference is wheels.

i have 7.5x17'' TT wheels with 225/45's, and he has 8x18'' rs4 reps with 225/40/18's.

his steering is MUCH heavier than mine, its really noticable. both setups are in perfect working order.

the clutch on the 45k AMK S3 i drove also felt quite heavy. must be a common thing.

hissing on acceleration is the turbo spooling up, or the air being drawn down the TIP. this is MUCH more noticable on a remapped car, and on my ko3S A3 with a Forge TIP, the inlet woosh scares small children.

if you could turn the steering wheel when stationary at all, the PAS was working! try it with the engine off, its a full bodied 2 handed job to move it.

 

[ellhans]

It was a 2001 facelift model (210) and had the standard 17's on there. I'm not too sure about the tyres as I only looked at it briefly. I'm going to go back and have another look and try what you said.

 

[Aky]

Well being an ex MK4 driver myself I confirm the steering is a little heavier.

 

[danotto]

my s3 feels a little bit heavier than my old 1.8 sport,so probably normal

 

[paul_brad]

I'd have to say, my S3 on 225 18" doesnt feel any heavier than my A3 on 195 16"s...

 

[darko]

have to say all sounds normal to me too