My A3 Build Thread

[Chris93]

Thought i would start a build thread to show what i am doing to my car, it is pretty standard at the moment as i picked it up 2 weeks ago

Spec of the car

Xenon Headlights
Auto dim and folding mirrors
Rain sensor
Lumbar support
Armrest
Alcantara/Leather Seats with Heating
Acoustic Parking
DSG Gearbox
Multi function steering wheel
Bose Sound System
Symphony II
Aluminium roof rails

Mods so far

Ice White Main beam bulbs
Led rear number plate bulbs

Here is the car the day i picked it up with my old car to the right


Some more photos






Will add some more photos as i mod the car

Chris

 

[Chris93]

I don't know why none of my pictures are working, i have added the photos to flickr, clicked on the image button put in the link on the forum but they won't show up?

Chris

 

[Samillionaire]

Are you sure they are the image types that are allowed mate

 

[nally]

photobucket is welllllllllllllllll better

 

[Adam.]

 

[Chris93]

Thanks for the help, finally got them working

Chris

 

[Chris93]

I Fitted some of t8ups Icy white main beam bulbs as i only have xenons and not bi xenons, the camera doesn't do it justice as the light is very white and much brighter that the rubbish standard bulbs




And a pic next to the s4



Chris

 

[Baffles]

Nice car - lots of extras. So what are your plans?

Where you based? Nice neighbourhood too

 

[Chris93]

Nice car - lots of extras. So what are your plans?
Where you based? Nice neighbourhood too

Thanks, based in camberley, surrey funny enough My plans in the near future are to fit the rs3 aluminium trim i have at home, fit the light unit with ambient lighting, detail the car and in the summer i want to do an rns-e conversion. Where abouts in surrey are you

Chris

 

[Baffles]

Sounds good!

Farnham - so just down the road.

 

[bug]

Much like you Chris I've got xenons, not the bi- xenons.. And have been wondering what bulbs I need to make the main beam more 'xenon like'! What are t8ups? Cheers haha!

 

[RedDejavu]

Thanks, based in camberley, surrey funny enough My plans in the near future are to fit the rs3 aluminium trim i have at home, fit the light unit with ambient lighting, detail the car and in the summer i want to do an rns-e conversion. Where abouts in surrey are you

Chris

Thats round the corner. I'm Bracknell happy to helpyou with mods if needed.

 

[Ash187]

you have a lovely spec car mate! lots of goodies in there!
You guys all in Surrey! Im just around the M25 near Dartford

 

[Chris93]

Wow so many people nearby!!

t8ups is a member on the forum, here is his profile View Profile: t8ups - Audi-Sport.net

Chris

 

[Chris93]

Got this last night on a long run, very pleased!! range went up to 550 miles

 

[Baffles]

What multi function steering wheel do you have?

 

[Chris93]

I have the standard theee spoke sport one with the perforated leather on the sides and the shield style airbag

Chris

 

[Chris93]

So got back from uni today and got to see my car Also did a few things to it ))

First off was to change the scratched aluminium trims to the rs3 ones i sourced of ebay, they are really nice aluminium which looks like carbon fibre very posh!




Big improvement!! i then removed the ashtray and fitted the non smoking tray and changed the aluminium trim to match the doors:








I then fitted a set of LED sidelights, i ordered a set from t8ups but probably down to the idiot installing them they fell into the headlight twice, i think it was the resistor not clamping the bulb tight enough instead of fiddling with these and the bulb falling in again! i ordered a set from auto bulbs and installed them, they don't need extra resistors and have 5 leds on them
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74731528@N04/6807515113/http://www.flickr.com/photos/74731528@N04/6807517271/



Half and half



Looking much more white




So that was my afternoon!! also ordered a light unit with reading lights and ambient lighting which came and was light beige not grey which is irritating but oh well!!

Chris

 

[Ash B]

Looks tidy fella hope your enjoying it.

 

[Chris93]

Oh yeah, loving the power and the comfort!! and love the bose makes my music sound insane

Chris

 

[Chris93]

Did a few more things today

I changed the audi badge to one of the new a3
Before:


After:


I also got rid of the 2 0 badge as it didn't look great!!







Little changes make a big difference

Chris

 

[Ash187]

whats the difference between the 2 badges?

 

[Chris93]

The new one is bigger and the edges are more angled, looks more modern and it is what all the audis have on them now

Chris

 

[Baffles]

Hmm never noticed that before..

 

[Chris93]

Ok, so very pleased today as i thought i may have some gearbox issues as reverse was slow to engage, i took the car out on a blast today and was in full manual mode all the way and i think i am imagining problems as the gear changes were super quick, down changes were perfect and i just don't think the car would be changing gear so smoothly if there were any problems so that is good news!! I was messing around when i got back cleaning things and happened to remove the panel around the switches to see how hard it would be to fit the facelift switch panel, can anyone tell me how hard this is to do?? i also pulled one of the blank switches off and found it to be wired in, is this normal as i have never seen this before on other audis (picture attached)


Chris

 

[RedDejavu]

I bet its passenger seat eject mechanism...

 

[Chris93]

Haha i hope so!! that would be sooooo useful

Chris

 

[Chris93]

Well, been a while and i haven't really done much as the car was damaged by roadworks being done on the pavement next to my drive, car fell onto a curb which broke the front bumper, under tray, slam panel, wheel liner and fog lights so i have a vw caddy until april which is not exactly sporty or fun But the good news is i bought chris's sline front bumper so this is a good opportunity to fit that, hope it will be worth all the hassle

[/URL]

Chris

 

[Paullie]

Really like the changes you've made to your A3, Chris! The RS3 alu/carbon trim is gorgeous. As you say, it's the little things that make all the difference, very true. Sorry to hear about the damage to your bumper etc, but well chuffed for you that you've got a new one sorted out. Lovely car! xx

 

[lumpy_a3_140]

Looking great there, sorry about the bumper but I'm sure the new one will look the business anyway :icon_thumright:

I was looking at possibly swapping the ash tray for the non-smoking tray myself, did you have to remove the grab handles either side of the centre console to fit that or does it just come out by undoing those two screws under the gear lever gaiter?

 

[Chris93]

Just had the quote in from camberley audi and the damages have amounted to £2,400!!!!!! a lot of broken plastic behind that bumper so i won't be seeing the car for sometime.

I didn't remove the grab handles to fit the tray and it doesn't quite fit properly at the back but you barely notice it really, i think i will remove the grab handles at some point and fit it properly, good mod to do by the way as it gives you somewhere to actually put your phone and other bits

Chris

 

[lumpy_a3_140]

Cheers was hoping you could get away without removing them but looks like you need to then to fit them properly..

 

[Chris93]

Right, finally got my car back yesterday and it now has the new bumper fitted!! Bought chris browns bumper and grille which was described in perfect condition, received it and it had holes in and had been repaired previously and chris was extremely reluctant to give me my money back but fortunately paypal agreed it was not as described so i have now got a new s line bumper, the grille is wrong and is being changed to an s line one next week but for the time being i am very happy! The car looks meaner which i love and camberley audi did a fantastic paint job and the finish is better than the rest of the paintwork on the car!!

After picking the car up i went over to HazzyDayz to have an rns-e i bought of ebay fitted, i chose them because many people i spoken to said that i couldn't get sds to work with the standard rns-e but they managed to make it work (shame it is a bit rubbish though!) and they also got bluetooth and an aux in fitted aswell and i really like the system even though it has its quirks!! Anyway some photos, let me know what you think and please advise me, i wanted to get the s chrome mirrors but now i am thinking i should paint them metallic black what do you reckon??









Chris

 

[Ash187]

Looking good.
i found the SDS hack makes the crappy RNSE much easier to use, why don't you like it?

 

[Chris93]

It just seems like it is an old system, having to spell the town name and having to save tags for my phone names reminds me of bmw's from around 2000 but i am sure i will get used to it, is there any quick way to turn the navigation voice guidance on/off as i can't find a quicker way than going into setup?

Chris

 

[amar06fbr]

This is my car with black mirrors.

 

[Ash187]

Chris get your mirrors done in black,
Amir, you need to get your grill done in black but i already know the plans for your car

Yh the RNSe is a very outdated system with loads of buttons and no quick way to do things. I dont know about the nav voice as i dont have an RNSe in mine but im sure someone will come along in a bit to advise.

 

[Chris93]

Ok, you have sold me!!! black mirrors definitely looks good on akoya silver

My mum has a 2011 s4 with the rnse and whilst the interface looks similar but the sds is much better and the voice for the sat nav and sds are different, i think the a3 rnse system is just the old system with a higher res screen and updated processor whilst the system in a4 and up is a completely re worked system but anyway it gets me places without getting lost so i can't complain to much!!

Chris

 

[amar06fbr]

Glad i helped mine are gone now, iv got new mirrors now

 

[Chris93]

Oh ok, have you got the dumbo mirrors now then? i think i will keep my current mirrors as they are auto dimming and i kind of like the fact that the mirrors aren't massive like they are on all new cars

Chris