Meet my S3
Purchased in December, I previously kept this thread on a VW forum, but I think it belongs here.
This was a big step up from the '06 Polo GTI (build thread with lots of stupid questions and ideas here) even though only a year newer. Before the Polo I knew little about cars, I became obsessed with knowing all the details which are within my means and capability. Power and Handling were high on the list and the Polo was fairly tuned on the stock K03.
The 2 things the Polo were missing were class and traction. After some fun years I decided I wanted something different.
For my budget, I wasn't left with much that I wanted to test drive and after trying out a few toys decided on the S3.
The 1st one I drove was having some power issues and I was going to move on, but the seller kept lowering the price and the offer became more and more tempting. It drove OK, but was pulling timing. I had asked Mark at Recode to have a look at it for me and he was unsure as to why it wasn't responding well. In the end I purchased my Late 2007 Black S3 cheaply, it was a gamble if I would be able to fix it cheaply, but I love a bargain.
Since December the car has been enjoyed, but was always doe for a tune. I had met Mark @ Recode around 4 years ago at a Dyno day and I liked his attitude. I'd talked to him about tuning my Polo which he advised against as it was already running APR at the time and he didn't expect to be able to deliver gains to justify the spend. Since I was leaning towards the S3 and I'd seen great results from Recode on the platform, this was an easy choice.
I'd read some bad stories around the cam follower and wanted to replace the diverter valve as a precaution, so purchased these ahead of the work.
The car went to Recode this week to help determine the fault and get tuned. I jumped on the dump pipe and tune. It took a while for the issue to be diagnosed as the logs showed the car was mostly in balance, the sensors seemed good and the air and fuel were being delivered properly. This was troublesome as it wasn't easy to diagnose how to fix whatever was going on.
The cam follower and dump were installed, yielding no answers as to the issue. The cam follower was slightly worn and the stock Cat was flowing. Turns out the timing belt was installed incorrectly, the previous owner had purchased a car that was crippled and never got to enjoy it. This was rectified and all came good, ready for the tune.
The tune took out a coil pack and has shown a fuel pump in need of some upgrading.
I was able to see the last steps and stages of the dyno tune and see my limping limo getting some real power down through all 4 tyres. Once I'd had a change to drive it myself I was very impressed how much torque ther is across the rev range. The car pulls very well and the Quattro is a welcome upgrade from the FWD Polo. For now the stock Haldex setup is good.
I'm impressed with the sound of the TurboXS dump, its close to stock unless you open it up and has a lovely bark. No drone. The traction is great, I'd been reading on the Haldex upgrades but dont see a need at this point (a little more power from supporting mods and coilovers may change my perception).
I wasn't planning to go further, but have already researched many options and since the tune have been thinking more about supporting power mods and suspension.
Purchased in December, I previously kept this thread on a VW forum, but I think it belongs here.
This was a big step up from the '06 Polo GTI (build thread with lots of stupid questions and ideas here) even though only a year newer. Before the Polo I knew little about cars, I became obsessed with knowing all the details which are within my means and capability. Power and Handling were high on the list and the Polo was fairly tuned on the stock K03.
The 2 things the Polo were missing were class and traction. After some fun years I decided I wanted something different.
For my budget, I wasn't left with much that I wanted to test drive and after trying out a few toys decided on the S3.
The 1st one I drove was having some power issues and I was going to move on, but the seller kept lowering the price and the offer became more and more tempting. It drove OK, but was pulling timing. I had asked Mark at Recode to have a look at it for me and he was unsure as to why it wasn't responding well. In the end I purchased my Late 2007 Black S3 cheaply, it was a gamble if I would be able to fix it cheaply, but I love a bargain.
Since December the car has been enjoyed, but was always doe for a tune. I had met Mark @ Recode around 4 years ago at a Dyno day and I liked his attitude. I'd talked to him about tuning my Polo which he advised against as it was already running APR at the time and he didn't expect to be able to deliver gains to justify the spend. Since I was leaning towards the S3 and I'd seen great results from Recode on the platform, this was an easy choice.
I'd read some bad stories around the cam follower and wanted to replace the diverter valve as a precaution, so purchased these ahead of the work.
The car went to Recode this week to help determine the fault and get tuned. I jumped on the dump pipe and tune. It took a while for the issue to be diagnosed as the logs showed the car was mostly in balance, the sensors seemed good and the air and fuel were being delivered properly. This was troublesome as it wasn't easy to diagnose how to fix whatever was going on.
The cam follower and dump were installed, yielding no answers as to the issue. The cam follower was slightly worn and the stock Cat was flowing. Turns out the timing belt was installed incorrectly, the previous owner had purchased a car that was crippled and never got to enjoy it. This was rectified and all came good, ready for the tune.
The tune took out a coil pack and has shown a fuel pump in need of some upgrading.
I was able to see the last steps and stages of the dyno tune and see my limping limo getting some real power down through all 4 tyres. Once I'd had a change to drive it myself I was very impressed how much torque ther is across the rev range. The car pulls very well and the Quattro is a welcome upgrade from the FWD Polo. For now the stock Haldex setup is good.
I'm impressed with the sound of the TurboXS dump, its close to stock unless you open it up and has a lovely bark. No drone. The traction is great, I'd been reading on the Haldex upgrades but dont see a need at this point (a little more power from supporting mods and coilovers may change my perception).
I wasn't planning to go further, but have already researched many options and since the tune have been thinking more about supporting power mods and suspension.
