Leshkin's Sepang Blue S3 Money Pit Project

[leshkin]

Ah sorry yeah I noticed that, my bad. I thought you were putting H&Rs on hence the pic request post lowering.

Lovely colour

Yes, H&R anti-roll bars Don't have a bad thing to say about the ST X Coilover kit though. So much better than the stock suspension in every way.

 

[leshkin]

Parked the car this morning at work and as I was walking away I turned around for a quick look, as you do, and couldn't resist taking a photo.

Shiny things definitely do make it better

 

[JimmyH]

Very nice S3 and a good build thread.

 

[scotty dugg]

Cars looking sweet. That exhaust video.. Oucha! Sounds amazing!!!

 

[leshkin]

Quick update - after many delays with my order for many different reasons, the BBK upgrade has finally arrived today. To say that I'm excited would be an understatement

I decided to go for this kit as it's a well known brand in the JDM and BMW racing/tuning world with good reputation and offer great value for money when compared to similar kits from some of the more well-known brands in the Audi world. @Alex_Wil has the same kit on his S3 and did a good job of selling it to me... The YSR UK importer were having a sale on at the time of ordering, I managed to snap this up for just £918 with shipping.

The disks are 356mm x 32mm:

I know that these won't be to everyone's taste, but decided to go for 6-piston callipers in an anodised gold finish. I thought about other options and settled on this as I always loved the blue and gold colour combination and think that these will be subtle enough for my taste while still being a bit different from the rest of the crowd.

Some details about the kit:
6 piston Calliper (YSCPF6b) x2
Two-piece, slotted 18” 356MM x 32MM rotor x2
High Performance Sport Compound Brake Pads x4
CNC machined steel caliper mounting brackets x2
Stainless steel braided Teflon brake lines x2
Full set of bolts, washers required for fitting

I'm going to try and get the car booked in to get everything fitted next week as well as some other minor bits, so a more detailed review will be posted some time after I've bedded them in and had time to play. That brings me on another point - anyone have tips on bedding these in for fast road use?

 

[paul_zx6r]

Love the colour choice mate

 

[manor13]

Hmm the more i look the more i like them. I never knew they did other colours apart from yellow excellent price

 

[leshkin]

There is quite a bit of customisation possible with them, as most of the units for Audis would be made to order... You can even have custom text engraved on them! Check this out for all the color/finish options - http://www.yellow-speed.com/brake-caliper-New.php

 

[Sayam]

Looks the dog's danglies mate! Post up some pics when it's on the car

 

[Jake 61]

Nice choice of colour @leshkin, they are going to look good with the blue....

 

[DeckedS3]

I like the alcantara wheel, I'll be looking into that. Is it just a cover that could be removed eventually and make the wheel slightly fatter while it's on?

 

[leshkin]

I like the alcantara wheel, I'll be looking into that. Is it just a cover that could be removed eventually and make the wheel slightly fatter while it's on?

No that is a full re-trim over the original leather to make it slightly thicker and improve grip/comfort. Still love the feel of this. They do have other options.

 

[HHS3]

Great build thread mate, your S3 is looking mint!

Wish I had your budget haha but I'm slowly starting with a stage 1 Revo remap and a Revo race CAI (Camcoat) next month. Black Edition rotor alloys will be next later on in the year and then an Android HU and Alcantara steering wheel to follow (thank you for the information on the last two mods). At some point in the future I will hope to get an exhaust system, HPFP and a stage 2 Revo remap as well.

 

[Smirky]

Alex_will also runs these brakes they do seem very good value when you compare to 4pot ap racing or 6pot alcon etc be interesting to see brake pad and disk wear /lifespan
Just noticed you tagged him lol
Who is the uk importer ? I've always looked on yellow speed Europe and was gonna order direct from them ???

 

[leshkin]

Alex_will also runs these brakes they do seem very good value when you compare to 4pot ap racing or 6pot alcon etc be interesting to see brake pad and disk wear /lifespan
Just noticed you tagged him lol
Who is the uk importer ? I've always looked on yellow speed Europe and was gonna order direct from them ???

Yeah, I did ask Alex about his kit on a couple of occasions and he had nothing bad to say about it... The importer is called Tegiwa - a well-known JDM shop in UK, although all of their sites have been down all day today... I found the kit here: http://www.yellowspeedeurope.com/brake-kits/ultra-grand-front-kit.html

They had a Black Friday sale on last year with a 20% discount on any exhaust and brake products, so normally this kit is around £1100. They have a month lead time normally, plus my order got delayed for silly reasons, so only arrived yesterday. I wouldn't say that my buying experience was all that great, but I couldn't ignore the saving over any other option out there and for the sake of a couple of phone calls and a few emails it's still a bargain!

As far as the kit itself goes, then everything seems to be put together rather well with good instructions included for a diy install and typical Japanese high level of quality. The real test will come when I go on an extreme driving course in April or the next trip out to Wales... My current semi-stock setup overheated on me within two hours of the last trip there, so I have a benchmark for comparison

 

[Smirky]

Yeah, I did ask Alex about his kit on a couple of occasions and he had nothing bad to say about it... The importer is called Tegiwa - a well-known JDM shop in UK, although all of their sites have been down all day today... I found the kit here: http://www.yellowspeedeurope.com/brake-kits/ultra-grand-front-kit.html

They had a Black Friday sale on last year with a 20% discount on any exhaust and brake products, so normally this kit is around £1100. They have a month lead time normally, plus my order got delayed for silly reasons, so only arrived yesterday. I wouldn't say that my buying experience was all that great, but I couldn't ignore the saving over any other option out there and for the sake of a couple of phone calls and a few emails it's still a bargain!

As far as the kit itself goes, then everything seems to be put together rather well with good instructions included for a diy install and typical Japanese high level of quality. The real test will come when I go on an extreme driving course in April or the next trip out to Wales... My current semi-stock setup overheated on me within two hours of the last trip there, so I have a benchmark for comparison

Yeah I have been tempted by them a couple of times but seen a few reviews about there suspect customer service ,I was looking at the floating disk set up they offer or the reyland/4 pot ap set up,
There coilovers look to be good value too but haven't seen anyone with an Audi using them

 

[leshkin]

Indeed, it's always a risk with these things, but I know that YSR are pretty well know for their racing expertise and products in ****, so it's not like an unknown Chinese brand or something. We will see... I think that having another BBK option for our community would be a good thing and it's only going to happen if more people take the risk and share the experience... I'll definitely post up my findings

Some talk about this kit http://www.civinfo.com/forum/tegiwa-imports/135794-yellow-speed-bbk-group-buy.html

I saw their range of products, but was only looking at the brake upgrades as I'm very happy with my ST X coilovers for now... Would be great to hear if someone tried their other kit.

 

[leshkin]

Great build thread mate, your S3 is looking mint!

Wish I had your budget haha but I'm slowly starting with a stage 1 Revo remap and a Revo race CAI (Camcoat) next month. Black Edition rotor alloys will be next later on in the year and then an Android HU and Alcantara steering wheel to follow (thank you for the information on the last two mods). At some point in the future I will hope to get an exhaust system, HPFP and a stage 2 Revo remap as well.

Haha, thanks mate! Budget??? Never heard of it... Just lack of holidays, not going out drinking and not smoking with regular saving account raids

 

[Pinky1959]

You car is beautiful and the Brake kit will do wonders for the stopping power .
What is the extreme Driving Course you are doing , ? Is it like the Police Class 2 advanced course ?

 

[leshkin]

You car is beautiful and the Brake kit will do wonders for the stopping power .
What is the extreme Driving Course you are doing , ? Is it like the Police Class 2 advanced course ?

Thanks! No, it's a bit less official than that - It is called Airfield Training Day at Car Limits, which my wife bought me for my birthday - http://www.carlimits.com/script/viewEvents.php?type=airfieldtraining A few friends and I will do a 4-person day and wear out some rubber in the process, plus hopefully learn to use our cars properly

"The exercises we use lend themselves to many different techniques. For example, on the high speed bend, you will be learning some of the following topics: Smooth acceleration, cornering, balancing the car on the throttle, trailing throttle, trailing brake, left foot braking, what it feels like to experience understeer, oversteer and how to feel them and correct them, gear changing, heel and toe, skid control, spin avoidance and even how to control the rotation of your car and get it back inline from 90 degrees.... to name but a few, along with some of the more entertaining, rather than educational manoeuvres. "

 

[leshkin]

Got a couple of things sorted on the car today:

The fact that Revo CAI does not come with any serious support mechanism to prevent it from pivoting around the only bolt that holds it in place is disappointing. This is located near the high pressure fuel pump. I found that the whole aluminium pipe would move too much on bumpy roads and would become too loose and end up making all sorts of knocking noises. Anyway, I asked the guys at Power Engineering in Uxbridge to come up with a bracket which would hold the end of the CAI pipe near the MAF with a jubilee clip and is fixed to one of the turbo heat shield bolts at the back of the engine. Problem solved

The Yellow Speed Racing brake upgrade kit is now on too! I can't say that braking power is massively increased yet as I've spent the evening sitting in traffic, but the brake pedal now feels much better-connected/communicative. Obviously, the freshly bled brake lines must have something to do with that, as are the new braided lines. I'll be sure to bed them in properly and get some time out to properly use them very soon!

A couple of pics with the brakes as soon as I got the car back (Sorry about the extra filthiness of the car, but the weather has been winning the fight )

 

[DJ_26]

Looks the business, the colour scheme grabs your attention! Always like how a big brake kit fills in the gaps behind the wheel. Got much clearance between the caliper and the wheel?

 

[leshkin]

Looks the business, the colour scheme grabs your attention! Always like how a big brake kit fills in the gaps behind the wheel. Got much clearance between the caliper and the wheel?

Clearance? Erm, it's a little cosy under there - the guy who did the fitting said that there was about 2-3mm between the calliper and the wheel weights

I am a little worried about finding wheels/offset that will fit now - want a set of wheels for the summer, but with these bad boys on, I'm not sure what will fit and what will not.

 

[S.]

very nice.
did you have to use spacers with new brakes and oem wheels?
i use oz ultraleggera for summer wheels, and they fit without spacers over ttrs brakes.

 

[leshkin]

Thanks

No spacers on these - I'm hoping that Team Dinamics Pro Race 1.2 will fit as they are my current favourites.

 

[S.]

if they fit oem wheels with no spacers, then they should fit team pro race without issues.

 

[Sayam]

@leshkin brakes look awesome!!

If they fit under the original wheels you'll have no trouble fitting them under the Pro Race 1.2 as they are wider and have lower offset

 

[Tom5190]

Car looks awesome, brilliant thread! Im interested to see how the brake setup performances under some abuse.

What size are the pistons? I was assuming you were going to say the pedal travel was noticeably more with the master cylinder still being standard.

 

[leshkin]

Car looks awesome, brilliant thread! Im interested to see how the brake setup performances under some abuse.

What size are the pistons? I was assuming you were going to say the pedal travel was noticeably more with the master cylinder still being standard.

Thanks, it's a conservative-looking car, but one that packs a bit of a punch, that's for sure

While I have not had a chance to really abuse the brakes yet, I have done some spirited driving already and am very impressed so far - provide good feel with plenty of stopping power and I feel more in control of how much braking force I'm applying. Pedal travel has not increased noticeably, which is a big bonus.

The calliper in the kit has pistons of varying sizes (Front 6-Piston Caliper YSCPF6b: Ø38mm, Ø36mm, Ø32mm), I assume this is to make them easier to get into the desired shape/size for different fitments. The weight is 3.5kg per unit - I need to compare this to the stock S3 caliper, which felt heavier.

 

[leshkin]

Another small update - spent my Saturday replacing the driver's door wiring loom for a new one after my repair form a year ago has failed. @mjr901 has sorted out the loom for me via forum's parts request form.

I was hoping that taking the old loom out and installing the new one would not require removal of any big bits, but I was wrong - the whole window regulator assembly ideally needs to come out as there is very little space to work there when routing the new loom through. I started to try and document this work, but while the door was in pieces it started to rain and I had to pick up all my things and drive to my work car park to stay dry - the amount of swearing I did as a result of that was pretty impressive

Anyway, found a video that shows how to do most of the work on a 3door facelift 8P, which is pretty close to what I did on the 5door car:



And this one shows how to lift the window regulator assembly out properly:



So, after 3 and a bit hours (including the rain interruption) I had a fully functioning door again - result! Quick note for anyone doing the same - disconnect the battery before you do this (you will be messing with airbag side impact sensor) and never switch on the ignition with the loom disconnected if you do not have VCDS. If you do turn the car on whole the side impact sensor is disconnected, you will need to use it to reset the airbag light that will pop up as a result.

 

[Tom5190]

Thanks, it's a conservative-looking car, but one that packs a bit of a punch, that's for sure

While I have not had a chance to really abuse the brakes yet, I have done some spirited driving already and am very impressed so far - provide good feel with plenty of stopping power and I feel more in control of how much braking force I'm applying. Pedal travel has not increased noticeably, which is a big bonus.

The calliper in the kit has pistons of varying sizes (Front 6-Piston Caliper YSCPF6b: Ø38mm, Ø36mm, Ø32mm), I assume this is to make them easier to get into the desired shape/size for different fitments. The weight is 3.5kg per unit - I need to compare this to the stock S3 caliper, which felt heavier.

I can imagine! I've just installed some KW's to mine I've yet to drive it but I'm glad I chose them after what you've said. I couldn't find anyone else who gave any feedback on them.

That's a nice weight, do you know what the disc weight is? I've got my original calipers, pads & discs in a box and its insanely heavy!

 

[leshkin]

I can imagine! I've just installed some KW's to mine I've yet to drive it but I'm glad I chose them after what you've said. I couldn't find anyone else who gave any feedback on them.

That's a nice weight, do you know what the disc weight is? I've got my original calipers, pads & discs in a box and its insanely heavy!

Not sure on the disk weight to be honest, but it was noticeably less than the single-piece EBC disks that were there before. You know what they say about unsprung weight though - it is the devil as far as handling is concerned!

 

[NL316]

The car looks amazing mate and a fab post. Definitely given me a lot of ideas. Will be looking to start modifying mine real soon.

 

[leshkin]

As it's getting warmer I decided to get some new rubber for the summer. I had Michelin Pilot Sport 3 on last year and they were pretty good for the type of driving I do. This year I decided to make a couple of slight changes. One is move from a 225 to 235 tyre width, which should improve grip. The other change is the wheels. I've been torn between a few different sets, but in the end decided to settle for tried and tested Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2. They are lightweight, strong and came in at a reasonable price... Plus I kinda like the simple, function over form look about them. The size I went for is 18" x 8" ET45.

Anyway, I was at home today and as soon as the delivery driver arrived with them, I did not waste any time:

First off, a trip to a local tyre place was in order to swap over current all weather tyres (Vredestein Quatrac 3) for my last year's PS3s, which still have a bit of life in them, on to the OEM wheels in preparation for a trip to Car Limits on the 20th. I expect to completely destroy these tyres as I learn to lose and hopefully recover control of the car at a closed airfield for a day Once back, I'll put the winter tyres back on to the OEM wheels and store them until the next winter.

Once I got back home, it was time to get the new wheels on...

Before:

OEM front side:

OEM rear side:

New wheels and tyres on!

Front side:

Rear side:

The front callipers have a bit more room now, but it's still pretty cosy under there. Overall clearance seems to be OK, although I suspect that the rear will rub a bit with a fully-laden car. We will see...

Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this - I'm off to try these bad boys out and enjoy the rest of what turned out to be a very nice day

 

[Tom5190]

Looks awesome bud! I'm rubbing a little on the rear with the same wheel on 225, although only very slightly its in the plastic section of the rear bumper were the bolt should be to hold it in place. Removing the bolt helped a lot but it still rubs a on the odd occasion when driving hard and hitting a bump on the rear mid corner etc.

 

[S.]

Nice. I guess you have few mm spoke clearance over brakes as i do with oz ultraleggeras 18x8 et45.

 

[leshkin]

Looks awesome bud! I'm rubbing a little on the rear with the same wheel on 225, although only very slightly its in the plastic section of the rear bumper were the bolt should be to hold it in place. Removing the bolt helped a lot but it still rubs a on the odd occasion when driving hard and hitting a bump on the rear mid corner etc.

Thanks, I love the chunky rubber look Yes, that screw is the closest point that I expect the rubbing to occur... I might just take it out now and save myself the hassle later.

Nice. I guess you have few mm spoke clearance over brakes as i do with oz ultraleggeras 18x8 et45.

Yes, it looks like the new wheels are more roomy inside, so definitely more space for the caliper.

 

[HHS3]

She's looking sweet mate, loving those alloys, they go lovely with the Sepang Blue

No spacers were required in the end for the Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's I take? I currently have the standard 2007 S3 alloys which I presume are 8 inches wide, I'm looking to get some Wolfrace Genesis alloys for my birthday in August however they are 8.5 inches wide, how do I know if spacers are required?

 

[leshkin]

She's looking sweet mate, loving those alloys, they go lovely with the Sepang Blue

No spacers were required in the end for the Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's I take? I currently have the standard 2007 S3 alloys which I presume are 8 inches wide, I'm looking to get some Wolfrace Genesis alloys for my birthday in August however they are 8.5 inches wide, how do I know if spacers are required?

Thanks! Yes, no spacers needed. TD wheels have much better clearance than the OEM set I had on before.

I used this site to help me estimate fitment - http://www.willtheyfit.com/ Stock wheels should be 18"x7.5" and offset is probably 55 - it was on my wheels. Armed with that, measure how much space you have with current wheels and whack all your current settings into the wizard on that page. then play about with values in the 'new setup' section and it will give you an idea of how much your new wheel and tyre will change from current setup.

It's hard to take other people's advice on wheels and clearance as there are so many variables like ride height, brake kits, individual wheel parameters, etc... I would say that you should take any advice online with a pinch of salt and do your homework before committing.

I posted the before and after photos with side shots on purpose, so that others could use it as a rough yardstick.

 

[HHS3]

I used this site to help me estimate fitment - http://www.willtheyfit.com/ Stock wheels should be 18"x7.5" and offset is probably 55 - it was on my wheels. Armed with that, measure how much space you have with current wheels and whack all your current settings into the wizard on that page. then play about with values in the 'new setup' section and it will give you an idea of how much your new wheel and tyre will change from current setup.

It's hard to take other people's advice on wheels and clearance as there are so many variables like ride height, brake kits, individual wheel parameters, etc... I would say that you should take any advice online with a pinch of salt and do your homework before committing.

Cool that's great, thanks for your informative posts as always! Hope you're enjoying the motor on this fine, sunny afternoon.