Leshkin's Sepang Blue S3 Money Pit Project

[leshkin]

I left the car with VRT yesterday for some maintenance...

- Major inspection service, with oil and filter changed, using Millers finest as always.
- Haldex oil and filter replaced
- The turbo oil feed lines sprung a slight leak, so the guys replaced the washers on the fittings to stop that
- Powerflex upper engine and gearbox mount inserts fitted

The car has done 89k miles now and with the extra power engine mounts were beginning to allow the engine to move a little too much, so the inserts were added to stiffen things up. Can't say I've noticed any extra vibrations on my short drive home, but she does seem to feel a little more taught at the front, so that was a nice upgrade. Long overdue too!

I ended up with a couple of notes for future remediation, so will need to sort those out.
- Front disks need to be replaced as they are starting to show signs of slight hairline fractures. I planned on replacing them anyway and already have a set of new disks waiting in the garage. I might do them this week if I get a chance.
- Rear propshaft doughnut is starting to deteriorate, so I'll aim to source one and get VRT to fit that in due course. The front was done a couple of months ago, so doing the rear will complete the work on a key drivetrain failure point.

The grin machine lives on!

 

[paddy]

My rear doughnut went and Audi said i needed a complete ne prop as the rubber is not available separately. £1.200 +vat
Got a doughnut from "All german spares" for £140.00

 

[leshkin]

My rear doughnut went and Audi said i needed a complete ne prop as the rubber is not available separately. £1.200 +vat
Got a doughnut from "All german spares" for £140.00

Haha, Audi dealerships are jokers... I got a Febi one for the front and will do the same for rear.

 

[FranA3]

Some photos of the old girl in some early morning Cheddar Gorge and Chew Valley Lake surroundings... Been a while since I managed a ridiculously early hoon.
The S3 felt spot-on! So much love for this car!

Loving the snaps Alex


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[S.]

Powerflex engine mount inserts are great and inexpensive mod. No extra vibrations but they stiffens things up and with manual they make shifts crisp and precise. Love this mod!!

 

[leshkin]

Loving the snaps Alex


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Thanks Fran! We'll need to organise another detailing session soon - I may have created some work for you after one of my recent trips and an unexpected encounter with a branch that was sticking out of the side of the road

 

[leshkin]

Powerflex engine mount inserts are great and inexpensive mod. No extra vibrations but they stiffens things up and with manual they make shifts crisp and precise. Love this mod!!

It definitely seems to stiffen the front up in a nice way - I might go out for a drive tonight to see how it changed things. I like how it still keeps thigns refined in terms of vibrations, which is perfect.

 

[Kaine19]

Do you happen to have the link for the haldex filter bud. I only had it done just recently at vw. But like most dealerships they say no filter is changed

 

[miltybilty]

Haha, Audi dealerships are jokers... I got a Febi one for the front and will do the same for rear.

Is the prop shaft bushings/doughnuts (whatever you call them) a failure point on these cars?

How can you tell there deteriorating?

Nice ride by the way.... Make sure you keep it for years and get full use out of it

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[leshkin]

Do you happen to have the link for the haldex filter bud. I only had it done just recently at vw. But like most dealerships they say no filter is changed

VRT sourced the filter for me and there is no real part number that I can see on the invoice, but this kit is what I think they used: https://www.darksidedevelopments.co...dex-filter-service-kit-generation-4-gen4.html

I love the description for it

Is the prop shaft bushings/doughnuts (whatever you call them) a failure point on these cars?

How can you tell there deteriorating?

Nice ride by the way.... Make sure you keep it for years and get full use out of it

They can fail on any car due to age as all it is is a large piece of rubber and some metal inserts. I've seen a few failures of this part on S3s too... I'm doing mine as a preventative measure. Typically, it's a visual check for cracks or other signs of deterioration in the rubber part - of the doughnut. If it goes, it will make a hell of a racket and given that the prop shaft spins at some speed, it has the potential for damaging a few expensive bits under the car if it lets go, so I best to keep an eye on it.

Thanks for the compliment - I've had this S3 for four years now and don't have any plans to sell it - I enjoy it too much and don't really see a viable replacement given what this car can do and what it's worth currently on the market.

 

[mechanic69]

Do you happen to have the link for the haldex filter bud. I only had it done just recently at vw. But like most dealerships they say no filter is changed

Haldexrepair website and eBay shop sell them


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[Kaine19]

Cheers bud

 

[ch1z64]

Did you happen to put a powerflex in the engine mount , just i was recommended to do that once i got the Powervalve from BCS who where spot on with what one to get as there is so many different colours , btw did you get my Cheese on your way back ( kerps good in freezer for around 6mths )

 

[FranA3]

Thanks Fran! We'll need to organise another detailing session soon - I may have created some work for you after one of my recent trips and an unexpected encounter with a branch that was sticking out of the side of the road

Oh dear lol, will have to sort something out soon matey


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[S38pkyle-ing]

Did you happen to put a powerflex in the engine mount , just i was recommended to do that once i got the Powervalve from BCS who where spot on with what one to get as there is so many different colours , btw did you get my Cheese on your way back ( kerps good in freezer for around 6mths )

I’ve always been confused by what engine mount inserts to get. Might have to search some old
Threads on here see if I can dig up info on the matter

 

[paddy]

The doughnuts tend to tear, at least mine did after 50k but i only changed it as i was changing the diff. No worse than any other car with a prop TBH.

And now i see Fran covers my area....its something i have been promising myself for ages too

 

[mechanic69]

I’ve always been confused by what engine mount inserts to get. Might have to search some old
Threads on here see if I can dig up info on the matter

I swapped to the 034 engine mounts, nice and firm but no more cabin noise


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[James__S3]

I swapped to the 034 engine mounts, nice and firm but no more cabin noise


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Any chance to have a link for these?

 

[mechanic69]

Any chance to have a link for these?

Got mine from awesome


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[leshkin]

Had the rear diffuser painted gloss black to match the rest of the car... I think it works well.

 

[ch1z64]

Looking good mate, i got mind wrapped a little while ago but might go down the painting road sometime in the future or might go for the Hydro dip in Carbon

 

[paddy]

Yea agree that works well on your car, dont think it would work on my Ibis but maybe flat or semi gloss.

Mine goes in Monday to look at this brake judder. Really bad now, bordering on ****** dangerous from high speeds. could be the end of this car as its totally spoilt by this.

 

[leshkin]

Yea agree that works well on your car, dont think it would work on my Ibis but maybe flat or semi gloss.

Mine goes in Monday to look at this brake judder. Really bad now, bordering on ****** dangerous from high speeds. could be the end of this car as its totally spoilt by this.

Oh man, shame about the judder - did you get in touch with Marcus? I would seriously doubt it if he couldn't solve it for you.

Yeah, the gloss black and dark blue seem to go well together when done in moderation. I want to keep the chrome bits as is to break things up a little. Other than gloss black for front calipers and a different splitter, that's the exterior done I think.

 

[paddy]

Is your grill an audi or a copy ?

 

[leshkin]

Is your grill an audi or a copy ?

It's a Xenonz copy from the time when they supplied them with mesh inside the rings. They stopped doing that variant for some reason.

The surround was originally silver, but I got that painted in gloss black. Other than the silver finish on the surround wearing out a bit, I was very happy with it.

 

[ch1z64]

What i have found is the Aftermarket trim round the Grille once removed can be changed out for the OEM trim as i did it no so long ago

 

[leshkin]

What i have found is the Aftermarket trim round the Grille once removed can be changed out for the OEM trim as i did it no so long ago

Yeah, I found the same when we were changing it for @samuelh_888 , I would have done it for my grille, except my original grille has chrome surround, so it was a choice between a new aftermarket grille or paint this one unfortunately.

 

[leshkin]

I went to get my ECU map tweaked by Niki at R-Tech on Friday. It needed doing after decat and RS3 injector head mod by AKS Tuning were done.




Niki made some refinements to his earlier map (417bhp 391ftlb) to make use of the additional exhaust flow afforded by the decat and the fueling was adjusted as the AKS head modification fixed the injector spray pattern. This also removed the need for very high fuel rail pressure, so out came the AKS 165bar frv and in went the RS4 unit. No smoke on wot and cold starts seem to be much improved.

Peak results:
420bhp @ 5800rpm
445ftlb @ 4140rpm

Previous map from a year ago:




Anyway, while the peak power number is only slightly higher from the earlier R-Tech map, I'm now seeing a much wider powerband, with over 400bhp from as low as 4500rpm all the way up to 7000rpm. Not to mention the rather large amount of extra torque. With all that, the car still feels very refined, with smooth and very progressive power and torque delivery - Niki prides himself on creating OEM-like maps allowing easy use of the car at low speeds, while being an absolute animal when you want it.

I asked about the high torque number on a stock CDL engine and he said that he had no issues with this higher value on other cars as he brings it on smoothly, which reduces stresses on the engine. I guess time will tell... Either way, if finances allow, I might just get it forged at AKS next year for peace of mind.

I'm sure he says it to all his customers, but it was nice to hear how well the car handled when we went out for a test drive. Seems all my handling improvement work was not for nothing. When he put his foot down, I could immediately understand how my passengers feel as you don't feel as much when driving - she is a monster! The torque pins you into the seat with some force and the power just keeps on coming in one large wave, throwing you forward for a split second and then pinning you back in the seat for another wave of acceleration during the DSG gear changes.

At this point, it is very tempting to say that she is finally perfect from a performance point of view - after almost two years of engine problems, one disappointment after another, she is delivering the kind of performance I could only dream of when I bought this car four years ago. I've learned a lot and made a fair share of mistakes in this time, but one thing is for sure - this car will not be going anywhere... I absolutely love my 9 year old shed

I can't thank the guys at VRT, AKS and R-Tech enough! VRT for being absolute stars and doing much of the general maintenance and troubleshooting work on this car, and being there to answer all my dumb questions over the years; Alex and team at AKS Tuning for constantly pushing the limits of engineering and coming up with more fun pieces of metal for me to buy ; and obviously Niki and his team at R-Tech for the amazing ECU maps that bring it all together as well as being great mechanics when the brown stuff is hitting the fan.

 

[paddy]

I notice R-Tech are using a 2WD RR on a 4WD car ?

 

[leshkin]

I notice R-Tech are using a 2WD RR on a 4WD car ?

Yeah, very common... The haldex is disconnected and the rears are not driven.

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[paddy]

Ah that would explain it, so they cant really give power at the wheels as they are not using the prop or rear diff/drivetrain or are the figure in the charts crankshaft figures ?

 

[leshkin]

Those a crank figures. I think they calculate with allowance for drive train losses. Pretty standard practice. Any Dyno in UK would be similar, FWD, RWD or AWD

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[leshkin]

Had some fun with the car last night...

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[S.]

Is that corrected time for the slope?
Anyways that's seriously quick!

 

[leshkin]

Is that corrected time for the slope?
Anyways that's seriously quick!

Don't think Dragy does that - if the slope is above a certain amount, it will just mark the run as invalid if it's sloping down by 1%. Doesn't seem to invalidate the runs if the slope is up

 

[S.]

It's still a proper rocket! Love it!

 

[paulk]

Lovely car love the colour rare in 8p

 

[paddy]

Is that std DSG software Lesh ?

 

[leshkin]

Is that std DSG software Lesh ?

No, Niki mapped it last year. Works well with the power!

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[paddy]

That's interesting because mine is on std and it has a huge delay when letting the brake off and just bogs down ....then picks up and goes manic. But by that time you may as well just floor it from a standing start and forget TC. That said i don't think i have tried it since i went 2+ as i worry about the drive train especially having already had to fit a new Diff :-(