Saloon Ordering an RS3 soon. I have some questions.

[RSMinty]

Hi all,

I've reached out to Audi and they will be contacting me once the 2019 order book comes out. I have been slowly putting together some things Id like done with the car once it arrives in a couple months time.

1. Is a full Paint Protection Film worth it? I am still debating if this is a good investment. I plan on having the car for at least a few years and Id like to take care of it. I'm also worried about getting keyed after reading horror stories. Id just like to have some ways to protect the car. I also plan on getting dash cams with parking mode.

2. Id love to stage 1, but I'm planning on getting extended warranties. Is this pretty much pointless? If you go in for service, do you just flash before going in? Could anyone give me their experiences?

3. Id like to do a 2nd-cat delete. I live in California. I've read removing the 2nd-cat won't throw sensors. Is this true? California is the worst place to mod cars, so I'm unsure about this one.

4. What are some first mods I should be doing with this car that current owners recommend? I'm already looking into wheels and coil overs. Just not sure what else to do.

Thanks all.

 

[Spinstorm]

Hi all,

I've reached out to Audi and they will be contacting me once the 2019 order book comes out. I have been slowly putting together some things Id like done with the car once it arrives in a couple months time.

1. Is a full Paint Protection Film worth it? I am still debating if this is a good investment. I plan on having the car for at least a few years and Id like to take care of it. I'm also worried about getting keyed after reading horror stories. Id just like to have some ways to protect the car. I also plan on getting dash cams with parking mode.

2. Id love to stage 1, but I'm planning on getting extended warranties. Is this pretty much pointless? If you go in for service, do you just flash before going in? Could anyone give me their experiences?

3. Id like to do a 2nd-cat delete. I live in California. I've read removing the 2nd-cat won't throw sensors. Is this true? California is the worst place to mod cars, so I'm unsure about this one.

4. What are some first mods I should be doing with this car that current owners recommend? I'm already looking into wheels and coil overs. Just not sure what else to do.

Thanks all.

If you want to keep your warranty you can’t mod it at all - at least not stuff like remaps and coil overs and decats etc. If your set on those then no point in an extended warranty. All those will void it for those areas - and create potential issues if you have any other problems. Dealers are not a great experience. And I can’t comment about the US but I would ask them before you start messing about.

As for PPF - if you want to avoid paint chips it’s worth it - if you don’t care then it isn’t.

 

[Leo-RS]

UK and European cars don't have secondary cats fitted, they are straight through so no it wont throw any EML (Or I wouldn't have thought it would, they never on the last generation of TTRS/RS3)

 

[PanamaS3]

if you go with PPF its worth it as they are usually 'self healing' (upon applying some heat)....but if someone keys the car it will go through and there's not much stopping that
alternatively you could do a ceramic coating
both are good investments
as the guys above said....if you are worried about warranty then do not mod....you have to pay to play

 

[RSMinty]

if you go with PPF its worth it as they are usually 'self healing' (upon applying some heat)....but if someone keys the car it will go through and there's not much stopping that
alternatively you could do a ceramic coating
both are good investments
as the guys above said....if you are worried about warranty then do not mod....you have to pay to play

Ya I think I may do both once I get it.

If you were to do some mods, even if it meant voiding the warranty, which would be the best to do right off the bat?

 

[DW81]

If your not bothered with warranty then it has to be a stage 1 remap. These FL cars are getting phenomenal numbers from a straight forward ecu flash.
Some of the FL guys are also unplugging there exhaust valves for some extra tone.

 

[PanamaS3]

seeing as you are a bit warranty wary you should probably first suss out your local dealer who is providing the warranty to see how "mod friendly" they are.....I'm not saying this will mean they would turn a blind eye to stuff, but to keep you as a customer they may at least give you some assurances that certain stuff is "ok" in there book as long as its obvious you don't drive the car like a tool.
based on the above, I think right off the bat I would do air intake or at least change the OEM filter for a high flowing one like K&N....and maybe also turbo inlet elbow, and then as DW said above go with a reputable Stage 1 remap. I think its worth doing oil changes every 5,000km at this point.

 

[RSMinty]

seeing as you are a bit warranty wary you should probably first suss out your local dealer who is providing the warranty to see how "mod friendly" they are.....I'm not saying this will mean they would turn a blind eye to stuff, but to keep you as a customer they may at least give you some assurances that certain stuff is "ok" in there book as long as its obvious you don't drive the car like a tool.
based on the above, I think right off the bat I would do air intake or at least change the OEM filter for a high flowing one like K&N....and maybe also turbo inlet elbow, and then as DW said above go with a reputable Stage 1 remap. I think its worth doing oil changes every 5,000km at this point.

The only Stage 1 I see in my area is APR. Is this a safe bet to go with?

I will definitely do the other stuff you mentioned. Thanks.

 

[PanamaS3]

I would say that any of the tuner companies who do a lot of R&D and have minimal reports of issues would be the safest bet.
I can't say that means APR is the safest bet, but I have had Stage 1 and then Stage 2 for well over 2 years on my car now and I live in Panama where fuel quality is very suspect and I have had zero problems with all of the map updates in this time (on both ECU and TCU).
If APR is the closest one to you just make sure the garage doing the work is reputable and talk to them also about the mods you are thinking of also. Ask to speak to some of their customers who have had the same mods done.
My APR guy here never tries to sell me on stuff he doesn't think I need and always plays it cautious on maps with people he thinks rag the car too hard. If you get the same good feeling/confidence from your local APR dealer then go for it.
But remember, nothing is guaranteed not to break....I think the smart thing to do is drive the car for 6 months and get to know it and see if anything breaks....launch it a few times and drive it hard after break in....if nothing breaks in that time then you probably don't have a duff car which the mods would be blamed on if you mod it straight away.