A Bolt from the Blue - PFL RS3

[The Cardinal]

Preamble

For some years I've run a third vehicle to accompany our longtermer, Bus Blue and slightly newer Golf GTD daily driver:

The most recent of which have been a really lovely one-off green RS3 and later an Audi TTS that I took a gamble on:

These cars aren't essential - I've had gaps of up to 9 months in between when I've wanted to focus energy and resources elsewhere - but it's always useful having a second car due to where and how we live (kids, national business travel, Clean Air Zone). So this time the gap was a little shorter at only 6 weeks, but I didn't know what car I'd end up in after selling the TTS.

What did I get?

But the omens were building from the moment I sold my old RS3, and in fact that very car came up for sale 3 times this summer. I tried to buy it back the third time but was pipped to the post. I guess that was already telling me that I wanted another.

Specifically, I wanted a 2015-2016 pre-facelift model. The earlier 8P and newest 8Y models don't quite hit the sweet spot for me - and while for some the pre-OPF 2017-18 8V facelift model with its more tuneable alloy block sits at the pinnacle, for me it's actually the iron block PFL that will forever be the best incarnation.

If you include the time looking while I still had the TTS, I spent about 6 months looking for the car I now have. Perhaps it belonged to someone here?

Let's get this bit out of the way first... this was the most expensive PFL RS3 on the market at the time and it provides context for the following:

Spec

This is one of the last pre-facelifts, being a July 2016-registered car supplied by Norwich Audi with the following options:

- Sepang Blue pearl effect paint
- RS Super Sports seats in Fine Nappa leather with diamond-quilting and RS3 embossing, in black with contrasting Crescendo Red stitching
- Electric lumbar support
- 5-arm Rotor' alloys - (8.5J front, 8J rear) in anthracite black high-gloss finish, diamond cut with 255/30 front and 235/35 rear tyres
- Comfort & Sound package - includes: Cruise control, Bang & Olufsen sound system, Interior lighting package, Auto-dimming rear view mirror
- Dynamic package - includes: Audi Magnetic Ride with RS Sport Suspension, RS Sports Exhaust System.
- High-gloss black styling package - includes: Radiator grille frame, side air intake funnels, front blades and window frames in high-gloss black. quattro lettering in matt titanium grey in the front air inlet.
- Privacy glass - dark tinted rear and rear-side windows from B-pillar backwards
- Panoramic glass sunroof
- Door mirrors - auto-dimming on the driver’s side, electrically adjustable, folding and heated.
- Exterior mirror housing in carbon

Quite a spec, then, and that's before we get to some of the additions:

- MRC Stage 2 tuning (c.450hp & 550lb.ft) - includes: Stage 2 ECU software tune, DSG software tune, high-flow filter, HG turbo inlet pipe, Milltek 200-cell sports cat / high-flow downpipe, LOBA Motorsport high-pressure fuel pump, Forge intercooler and Milltek secondary decat pipes.
- MSS adjustable lowering springs
- XPEL paint protection film to front bumper, wings bonnet, side sills, rear arches and boot lip
- Ghost immobiliser, Scorpion tracker
- A bunch of small stuff like black Audi & RS3 badges and some additions from me like genuine Audi boot mat, rear door protectors etc.

History

It's a full Audi service history with all the items done including sunroof services, Haldex etc - but in addition to that it's had a fair bit of work obviously by MRC and specialists including Suspension Secrets and some non-Audi oil changes.

Service History Mileage Date Supplier

Pre-delivery inspection 0 31/07/2016 Norwich Audi
Oil change service 5,155 26/06/2017 Norwich Audi
Inspection & oil service 9,955 29/06/2018 Norwich Audi
Oil change service 15,183 28/06/2019 Norwich Audi
Inspection & oil service 18,569 12/06/2020 Hyde Audi
Inspection & oil service 25,245 04/11/2021 Birmingham Audi
Tuning package 27,736 07/05/2022 MRC Tuning
Tuning package 31,369 25/02/2023 MRC Tuning
Oil change service 33,830 10/08/2023 Wolverhampton Audi
Additional work 36,916 07/05/2024 Wolverhampton Audi
Inspection & oil service 38,143 29/07/2024 Wolverhampton Audi

The car was sold by Audi to all four of its previous owners. The first had it four years, the second and third for 7 months each (short ownership periods are common with RS3s) and then it was the fourth who had it three years and did all the additions to the car.

Given the type of car it is, I was relieved to see that the mileage of key components matches the odometer and that only 8 launches are recorded:

The car wears what look to be recently refurbished wheels, matching Pirelli P-Zero PZ4 “R02” tyres in correct wider-at-the-front spec, facelift spec front discs, Brembo drilled rear discs and Ferodo pads.

First impressions

I decided to collect the car from its dealer seller, some 225 miles away from where we live. Again, given the type of car and its age, I just had to verify things in person – but in the event I really just gave it a cursory look as I’d been completely won over by the history and spec.

The benefit of this approach was that it gave me a long drive home, plenty of time to assess the car.

Positives

- Fully ticks the boxes for me
- Noise and sensations that are gone from newer cars – one of the finest aural experiences at any price
- Simply gobsmacking performance in any situation, but with the ability to tone things right down via driving modes and the switchable exhaust (on the move at least)
- Familiarity for me and general condition inside and out
- Looks nice on its low suspension and is surprisingly comfortable

For attention

- It’s a very, very, very loud car. Did I mention that it's loud? Start-up is earth-shattering even in Comfort mode and, with the exhaust fully open, the pops and bangs are hard to control. I've said "for attention here", but I'm not sure what I can do about this to be honest - thank goodness it lives in an off-site garage.
- With just one of the cats in place (200-cell), the car will need a good warm-up before its next MoT
- The suspension bottoms out easily – I will be thinking about whether to adjust the springs or to replace them with the supplied originals
- Cracking on full lock, probably springs binding
- Some very minor PPF lifting on the bonnet

A bit for me to be busy with then, but nothing major (hopefully) and it's one of the first times I feel like I'm benefiting from someone else's efforts in a car.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Bells]

Congrats on the new car looks a lovely spec, I nearly pulled the trigger on a PFL Sepang Blue one a few weeks ago but have just put a deposit down on a FL Ara Blue one instead. I know the feeling of searching for months waiting for the right one, given the age of these cars now it’s increasingly hard to find one with good service history that’s been well looked after. PFL’s sound is another level though, hoping my DAZA with sports exhaust can compare!

 

[The Cardinal]

I've been getting to know the car a bit better, putting some miles on it and enjoying myself.

Unlike any other used car I've bought before, there's been almost no improvement I've been able to make to its cosmetic condition. I've only added some new genuine Audi wheel bolt covers by way of renovation. I've also installed a genuine boot mat and ordered some rear inner door sill covers (should really be standard).

There are a couple of hairline scratches to the brake calipers and a few stone chips that have been taped over, but otherwise the condition is flawless for an 8.5-year-old car and it must've been garaged. The interior is unmarked and even things like the brake stone shields are free of corrosion. It's not a Detailing World car, but it could easily be made so.

As with my old RS3, there's no need to use the performance in order to access the enjoyment so I tend to bimble around under the radar. Other drivers do react to the car, but it's almost universally to give me a lot of space.

I quite like that this is a digital-free driving experience: you start it with a key, it has buttons for everything, the (dated) screen is retractable and you just look at standard dials. It's possible to update some of these things, but it also reminds me how fast things have moved on... or not.

Driving shows a wider plane of performance than I'm used to, and again I stress that the experience isn't available on a 2024-made car. The gearbox has been mapped to accompany the mods, so I'm still learning which combinations of setting are best for me. With everything in Comfort or Auto modes, there's just a subtle turbo whistle and odd thump from the suspension to give the game away - as well as a swell of torque from 1,500rpm or so. It's raucous in Dynamic (everything set to max) or Individual (configured so just noise is extreme), far too much on occasion... though I have learnt to feather the accelerator on the downshift so that I don't get the massive exhaust bangs when just rocking up to the lights.

The one thing I am on the fence about is the suspension. It's surprisingly comfortable on smooth roads and corners brilliantly, though more extreme undulations and potholes mean careful steering is required to avoid bottoming out.

Looks like the car has HEL brake lines, Ferodo DS2500 brake pads and powder-coated suspension arms to add to the list of extras.

I've only tried the performance twice in short bursts, and the sensation you feel in your chest is a bit like a downward drop on a rollercoaster. Peak power and torque are more widely available than on a standard or Stage 1 car, as you can see from the dyno printout in my original post. If I'd paid for the Stage 2 mods myself, then this is how I'd have justified the work.

At this early stage, then, it's looking like the car lives up to the price tag.

The one thing for me to focus on is whether the exhaust fumes and occasional smoke at idle are just "normal". It's no surprise that things are a bit more juicy given the tuning work, but I'd like some reassurance if this is so. It drives great, so no concerns there - but it's definitely a bit whiffy.

 

[Audi_Racer]

Great write up

 

[The Cardinal]

I've spent the last few weeks using the car on a few motorway runs with urban traffic at either end, meaning I've done 1,000 miles in it and that the odometer now reads over 40k. No more smoking, which is good.

The car has a lot of depth and adjustability to the way it drives. My favourite set-up is slightly complicated: putting the drive mode into Individual setting, where the suspension is soft but the gearbox and noise are at their most sporting... and then flicking the gearbox into normal setting, and adjust gears via paddles when locked into manual mode. Told you it was slightly complicated.

This means I get a delicious yet slightly more muted noise, with a very generous amount of low speed turbo whistle and 5-cylinder "bees rattling in a can" exhaust tones after that - but, crucially, without pops and bangs to wake the dead.

I have also found out that the car is fitted with MSS "Track" springs, which are unsurprisingly listed as being suitable for track driving and "driving to the track" (as opposed to the Street spec ones). Gulp. The package consists of two separate coils per corner and an adjuster, giving different characteristics to the ride depending on movement and c.30mm of ride height to play with.

I must say that it's a near-flawless setup when coupled with the adaptive dampers' Comfort setting *and* an unbroken road. Undulations are fine, too, but it doesn't have enough spring travel to deal with something like an unexpected pothole.

Sure enough, driving back to back with my Golf GTD shows how that car gives more confidence over rougher sections of tarmac - though the payoff is that this RS3 has outstanding grip and cornering.

My next port of call will be to raise the ride height a little, since the springs are adjustable after all. Youtube makes this look like the work of a moment, though I suspect I won't have time before Christmas.

 

[flybynite]

It is the age old problem with reduced suspension travel, if you use comfort settings, there is not enough travel to slow a pothole down before it hits the bump stop. This is more a function of the dampers than the springs. I find using the auto setting is not as soft as comfort but it controls and absorbs the hard bumps better.

Just be aware that the magride generally needs zeroing with any ride height change, otherwise it ends up fighting itself. it may not have been done for the ride height you have now. Unfortunately it is an ODIS calibration to fix but you can see the error with VCDS. I have a DSC controller that works for me on this.

MSS do a 'sport' setup for the RS3 which is their daily driving version. There have been a couple of reviews of them and they will wind up to stock ride height. It may be where I go next once I am happy with the magride setup. MSS are a UK company so may be easy to get the sport springs without changing the whole setup if needed.

 

[The Cardinal]

Thank you!

The Magride re-calibration has been done, but that makes a lot of sense about the behaviour in Comfort - i.e. not enough travel to offset the slower damping.

The Track and Sport versions of the MSS kit share some components but differ by spring rate and -5mm more travel, so I’ll look into this.

It’s a good setup really, superior to just plain short travel lowering springs. I’ll think carefully before doing anything more though, as we do also have a Golf GTD and Transporter for family duties and so this RS3 can be more focused.

 

[Karbonfaiba]

Would you ever recommend a Magride re-calibration purely for the sake of wear and tear on an unmodified 60k mile RS3?

Suspension comfort is sadly still the biggest compromise for sport cars that manufacturers won't tune for dreadful UK roads, even if it's an Audi sports car and you splashed out for Magride on an RS3 for a daily driver, it's gotta be more comfortable than an BMW M3 right?

I'm finding that the 3 level adjustment on an RS3 only seems to affect body roll, whereas the 15 level adjustment on the newer gen VAGs (with equivalent DCC) definitely affects road bumps and body roll noticeably. I know it's an RS3 and not an RSQ3, but it's tricky to discern what's normal and what could be improved. I have yet to test drive an 8Y RS3 but I've heard it's still on the stiff side compared with an S3.

Surely I should be able to tell in a blind test if the car is in comfort or dynamic though? Well I certainly can't on road bumps at least... this is what has me puzzled, either if something is wrong, or if the improvement over 1 generation was really that incredible.

Have you ever driven your RS3 over cobblestone roads? I actually don't want to feel every single rock... this is not useful information for the driver!

Dealership says my suspension is healthy anyway i.e. no obvious Magride leaks I guess. Calibration has to be worth a try right?

P.S. I wish OBDeleven charts wouldn't crash the app.

 

[flybynite]

Would you ever recommend a Magride re-calibration purely for the sake of wear and tear on an unmodified 60k mile RS3?

IMHO yes

Mine is half that mileage and unmodified and had errors of between 11mm and 16mm, either due to settling or just not set right by the factory. When you only have 80mm or so total travel, 16mm is significant.

I'm not sure OBD11 can see what is needed, but with VCDS you just compare the adaption values with the measuring blocks and then measuring blocks with an actual measurement from outside. that will tell you where the problem is. Audi dealer would have no idea of this error and the ODIS procedure is a dumb guided function to reset datums.

I have a DSC controller on mine, not cheap but it improves it no end. Lets me play to my hearts content and zero the datums whenever I want. They are well thought of in the 911 world and I would generally agree but it cannot magically add suspension travel to a relatively cheap and compromised MQB suspension setup. Once I get the dampers working right I may look at MSS or even S3 springs as the S3 has magride and IIRC a few mm more ride height and a slightly softer spring.

Iron block is going to be harder on the front suspension than the alloy and other things can add to the crashy feeling like bushes and mounts.

 

[Karbonfaiba]

Thanks, that's just want I wanted to hear to be honest.

Magride diagnosis and information is difficult to find online but I've watched a few things. I'm aware of the APR Suspension Control Unit (SCU) Upgrade for £oof!

My problem solving process with OBDeleven was primarily just to get some data logged on comfort then dynamic - thinking if I can't feel it... maybe the data will show the difference.

I can monitor live highside and lowside currents, but all figures are jumping around like crazy from maybe 0mA to 4000mA so fast I wouldn't be able to tell the average current without a plotted graph but at least I see it operating and yes I do have calibrated values set ranging from 354-362mm, I will physically measure what and where that is on the corners.

I do want to take my RS3 into more of a rally stage car though, without new wheels, good idea with the softer springs! Maybe if I can gain 40mm in height then calibrate, I'll have more dampener to use, hopefully my VAG specialist can point me in the right direction there.

 

[flybynite]

I'm aware of the APR Suspension Control Unit (SCU) Upgrade for £oof!

IMHO don't touch the APR unit, it is a licenced version of the original DSC unit. APR put their badge on it but don't know much about it or it's use. DSC are the ones who
pioneered it and have much more knowledge and support.

I can monitor live highside and lowside currents, but all figures are jumping around like crazy from maybe 0mA to 4000mA so fast I wouldn't be able to tell the average current without a plotted graph but at least I see it operating and yes I do have calibrated values set ranging from 354-362mm, I will physically measure what and where that is on the corners.

Looking at current is meaningless and the beauty of magride means it can react at about 500-800 times a second so no wonder you cannot pin it down. The magride dampers operate on voltage applied but without a proper controller you can do nothing about it so no point looking. You need to check the adaption values against the measuring blocks. The adaption can then be set to agree with the measuring blocks with ODIS but they will have to check the measuring blocks mirror real life first. It is a process.

I do want to take my RS3 into more of a rally stage car though,

Unfortunately MQB chassis was never designed to do that simply not built for it, irrespective of the 'quattro' badge on the front. RS3 is no UR Quattro or MK2 Escort, I know as I have had both.

 

[8YARWY]

I’ve done tonnes of mag ride calibrations on RS3’s over the years, standard and modified cars, always have had great feedback from owners.
I’ve never understood the love for the vastly Overpriced MSS spring kit though, at the end of the it’s a Eibach spring and they do a nice standard 10-15 version for a few hundred quid vs crazy MSS costs.
My FL was lowered a little on the Eibachs with the 034 rear swaybar.

 

[flybynite]

I’ve never understood the love for the vastly Overpriced MSS spring kit though, at the end of the it’s a Eibach spring

I think the issue is that if you don't want to lower the car there is not many options out there, but I get what you are saying, they are Eibach springs and some fancy plastic spring perches. If they had double springs at the front I would say there might be some advantage but they don't.

I don't want my car any nearer the ground and I am struggling to see an alternative other than different OEM springs from a magride S3

 

[The Cardinal]

The van did our Christmas miles owing to the amount of stuff we had to carry, but I popped in with it to see how the RS3 was doing beforehand:

Having later driven the RS3 a bit more, I've decided to keep the springs as they are for now. I've had some success in resetting my Individual configuration so that it's on Auto rather than Comfort suspension - thereby adding a bit more damping / rebound and preventing most of the bottoming out.

After some recent winter miles I've given the car a clean, and it's now tucked up back in the garage ahead of a business trip next week.

Plans for the year include retrofitting Hold Assist (i.e. the one where it keep the car braked at a standstill, allowing you to rest your foot at a traffic light) and hopefully some kind of Android Auto / Carplay interface. Just finishing touches really.

 

[Audi_Racer]

The van did our Christmas miles owing to the amount of stuff we had to carry, but I popped in with it to see how the RS3 was doing beforehand:

Having later driven the RS3 a bit more, I've decided to keep the springs as they are for now. I've had some success in resetting my Individual configuration so that it's on Auto rather than Comfort suspension - thereby adding a bit more damping / rebound and preventing most of the bottoming out.

After some recent winter miles I've given the car a clean, and it's now tucked up back in the garage ahead of a business trip next week.

Plans for the year include retrofitting Hold Assist (i.e. the one where it keep the car braked at a standstill, allowing you to rest your foot at a traffic light) and hopefully some kind of Android Auto / Carplay interface. Just finishing touches really.

Could you try uploading the images again? It's all empty squares for me.

 

[The Cardinal]

They seem to be working again now for me... but I've added some more here just in case. I can't seem to edit the original post now...

[Edited to sort out photo links]

 

[Audi_Racer]

Ah what a beautiful thing. I can confirm that the pics are showing now.

It pains me greatly that we can't have the sportback over here in the states.

 

[8YARWY]

This and the FL Daza are peak RS3 in my opinion.

 

[The Cardinal]

Juicy?

Winter and the car not being my daily driver means that it's been out sparingly since the last update. Like my old RS3, it's a great cruiser on longer runs - where a bit of moderation sees 40mpg. But overall it's no stranger to the high octane pump... enough for me to have downloaded a loyalty app for Shell

...

I mentioned in an earlier post that the car gives strong fuel smells when parking in my garage, certainly compared to my old (stage 1 mapped) RS3. Bearing in mind the modifications, including only one sports catalyst in place of three originals.

Sure enough I had an emissions warning light come up recently on a long drive, and when scanned it showed multiple occurrences of a generic P2178 code - indicating overfuelling on the move. This is one of those codes without a clear cause, and only triggers a dash light once a certain number of occurrences are registered, which had taken 3 months.

So while the car was driving well, it was enough for me to hand it over to my trusted local independent garage for investigation.

Unfortunately they recommend replacing the injectors.

Not a cheap job, and one that was only done 10k / 2 years ago by MRC Tuning when the Stage 2 work was done... Fortunately a compression and other tests show an otherwise very healthy engine.

I am in touch with the trader who sold the car to me, and they say they will cover the cost. So the car is booked in for new injectors later this month.

Golf swap

What with all this, the recent swap of our 9-year old Golf GTD has become more relevant. Sometimes you just need a boring car that works!

The new Golf is a late 2023 1.5 "eTSI" 150 in Life spec with DSG, just 3,000 miles on the clock.

Unlike the RS3, this Golf is being used nearly daily and often on short journeys. Not ideal for a diesel and, after a couple of reliability near-misses with the GTD, it was enough to justify bringing forward a purchase that is also intended as our kids' first car.

The pre-facelift Golf 8 has had a mixed press for all its tech, but I must say that I really enjoy it. So long as you don't try to fight it, all that lane keeping and other assistance is helpful and mostly works well. Without asking it to, for example, it will gently slow down once a speed limit changes, maintains distance with the car in front and anticipates changes like an upcoming roundabout. Looks like it'll match the GTD for fuel economy as well.

Impressive, then, for what is the base spec with a mid-tier engine. Really the only things I miss compared to the GTD are the folding mirrors and of course the torque. It does seem to attract more aggressive drivers, though, perhaps due to the sedate look and smaller wheels - whereas I get left totally unbothered in the RS3, probably because it looks like it'll eat you.

So, it's down to this new Golf and our van to keep the show on the road for a bit... I'll keep the thread updated.

 

[flybynite]

Pictures are not showing for me

Personally I would get the tune looked at. Most car dealers don't have a clue. IMHO there are many tuners that get results but don't care how they get there. From what I have seen MRC are sometimes guilty of that and they do not have a good reputation in the wider RS3 crowd. Personally I would get it on a trusted conservative map and work from there.

Too many people will blame part failures but never ask why it happened. Fuel smell and failed injectors would be red flags to me on a catted car (even if they are 'sports' cats) Cheap fuel may have been involved too.

Good call on the 1.5tsi. Our daily is 1.8tsi and getting it over the 2.0TDI 10 years ago was best thing I ever did. I still have a 3.0 TDI for heavy lifting though.

You need to sell that reg and find BLU1R