S3 KWE - my build thread (it will be slow progress...)

[leshkin]

Good thing your airbags did not go off with the subframe catching like that. A neighbor once caught an exposed manhole cover with his subframe and all front airbags went off in his little Toyota. Instant write-off.

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[samuelh_888]

Good thing your airbags did not go off with the subframe catching like that. A neighbor once caught an exposed manhole cover with his subframe and all front airbags went off in his little Toyota. Instant write-off.

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Really!? I never considered that.
It was one-hell of a bang - I was hoping it wasn't the BCS but the airbags would have been a disaster.

 

[Rob C]

Do you have a photo of it now its been raised again?

So I'm guessing its now sitting at 10mmF and 5mmR?

 

[samuelh_888]

Do you have a photo of it now its been raised again?

So I'm guessing its now sitting at 10mmF and 5mmR?

I don’t at the mo - I’ll upload one later in the week then the car is on a level parking. The kerb outside the house is sloped so wouldn’t do any pic justice. But yes, slightly lower than standard!

 

[fernando young]

ouch!! glad it wasnt something major!

 

[samuelh_888]

A little bit of update having not posted recently, but the pottering with the S3 continues - I think I need to change my thread title.

So, the Spec clutch and SMF have covered only 300 miles so far, barely ran in, but it's feeling very smooth when driving. There is some vibration in higher gears at lower revs but I don't labour it too much. There is still very little (if any) chatter at idle which surprises me but I'm happy with that. The only down side to this setup is it keeps getting stuck in reverse at slow speed i.e. parallel parking. It's actually bl**dy annoying as I'm having to turn the car off to remove from reverse; I'm hoping it's only the linkages needing adjustment so I'll get this looked at next week.

I've been thinking of upgrading the front brakes and was about to purchase a set of TTRS calipers and rotors when I was told about a set of Yellow Speed Racing 6-pots and 356mm discs coming up for sale, so after a couple of text messages I managed to secure a BBK. They are in amazing condition, have only travelled 5k miles and the calipers have regularly been treated to a ceramic detail to keep them looking fresh. Unfortunately my calipers and rotors were traded as part of the deal but it's still significantly cheaper than purchasing new.





Whilst organising the YSR kit I foolishly asked what other parts were available - £150 later + my front and rear ARBs I had also secured a set of nearly new H&R front & rear ARBs.



I booked the car in with VRT in Slough to have the parts fitted but while it was with them they also supplied and fitted an Airtec Stg2 intercooler. This was a spur of the moment purchase and although I now have buyers remorse I would have upgraded the IC at some stage - it's done now. I was hoping the YSR kit would fit behind the standard alloys but it was a little too close so we fitted some 12.5mm ST Hub Centric Spacers. I fitted the same to the rear of the car too for symmetry but I think they are a little too wide and I'm getting guard rub.



I may look to try 10mm all round in the future (and put the 12.5mm on my brothers 8L) and remove the rear bumper screw that catches the tyres but also fit the RS3 bumper reinforcement which does away with the screw (from factory) but keeps the bumper/guard secure.

The RS3 reinforcement is a bumper off job and requires the following parts:

• 8P4 807 097 A (£15)
• 8P4 807 098 A (£15)
  
• 8P4 807 377 D (£14)
  
• 8P4 807 378 D (£14)

With all the parts fitted the car definitely feels different. The brakes are immense and a real upgrade over standard. The Airtec, I'm not sure what to expect here - whether the turbo is taking longer to spool or there is a small loss in torque due to increased, more condensed air, I'm just not sure! The ARBs, I haven't taken the car for a good run to test these but I can certainly feel every bump - more so than when I was running only the ST coilovers.

So whats next? I have a P3 Multi-Gauge being sent from New Zealand but I now think it's time for the Stg 2+ remap...

 

[samuelh_888]

After fitting the Airtec a couple of weeks a go, the S3 hasn’t been feeling the same. I wasn’t sure if it was the extra, cooler air volume making the drive feel different or something else. It felt like it was struggling to make power, being held back.

The car was booked with R-Tech for their Health Check Service (injector clean and inlet clean) on Monday. As they were raising the car on the hoist (within 5 min of the workshop opening) they asked how it was running, I mentioned the change in driving characteristics and within seconds they’d identified a caught/broken IC o’ring on the charge pipe.



For the last 3 weeks I’ve been leaking boost however the car didn’t throw any errors. I hoping this wouldn’t cause any damage to the turbo, potentially struggling to make any boost.

Next up was the walnut blasting of the inlet ports. After 58k miles they were pretty carboned up.



A couple of hours later and the result:



The clean up made the car feel a lot more responsive. And with the IC o’ring replaces the power was back too.

While the carbon clean was in progress R-Tech also did an injector service for me. Three of the 4 injectors gave good readings but after additional cleaning the 4th couldn’t be recovered so a new injector was fitted. As part of the cleaning service steel injector baskets are fitted in place of the factory plastic baskets. The steel items should last far longer and not break down like the plastic.



The new basket is on the right.

While the car was there I also took the opportunity to fit some new plugs (NGK BKR7IEX) and a set of R8 coil packs which resolved a pesky miss I had up the torque band.

The car is now much smoother, starts and idles really nicely and best of all it has its power back.

However, the gearbox is is really growling now. Initially I thought it may be the Spec clutch and the bedding in process but accelerating in 5th & 6th at low revs it’s very noisy. Under engine braking in the same gears it’s also grumbles and grinds. The rest of the gears are getting progressively harder to select so I’ll need to get this looked at soon.

I’d wondered if it could possibly be the smf or the drive shaft. I just don’t know - although I do know it’s never ending as soon as you start tinkering.

 

[paddy]

Just out of interest how long does it take to strip, walnut blast and reassemble ? I am thinking of doing this but R-tech are quite a long way does anyone do this in the South ?

 

[samuelh_888]

Hi @paddy - I’m not sure if anyone down this way does it. They started on the car at 9.30am and between the inlet clean and the injector clean I was ready by 14:00.

 

[paddy]

Just read through your thread here sam, really good, helpful for people going down the same route which is a lot of us. I was looking a vagbrem discs myself this morning, thinking of fitting a set F and B and some decent pads while i weigh up my options for calipers. Awesome seem to have the best price at the moment.

 

[samuelh_888]

Thanks @paddy - it really is a log of my journey with the car but if it helps people on the way then that’s great. It’s been a great resource to me whether it’s general questions or where to ***** money next!

I really rate the Vagbrem discs. Even when I was running OEM pads they held out very well. I think @mechanic69 is on his second set so must be happy too!

If you do go TTRS calipers then they’ll fit well with the 345mm Vagbrem Rotors.

Go and order them all now, before they sell out...

 

[paddy]

Ordered 4 discs and a hel brake line kit. Any thoughts on pads for road use ?

(sorry to keep bothering you )

 

[samuelh_888]

I used OEM Brembo pads which were fine. With my YSR kit I’ll be going Mintex 1144 which are several steps up but still very Road usable.

 

[mechanic69]

Thanks @paddy - it really is a log of my journey with the car but if it helps people on the way then that’s great. It’s been a great resource to me whether it’s general questions or where to ***** money next!

I really rate the Vagbrem discs. Even when I was running OEM pads they held out very well. I think @mechanic69 is on his second set so must be happy too!

If you do go TTRS calipers then they’ll fit well with the 345mm Vagbrem Rotors.

Go and order them all now, before they sell out...

Great discs, love the j hook design stands out from the normal grooves etc, the 340s work with rs3 calipers, they fit better with no overhang, less weight too


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[mechanic69]

I used OEM Brembo pads which were fine. With my YSR kit I’ll be going Mintex 1144 which are several steps up but still very Road usable.

I’ve tried brembos and M1144s now got the ds2500s and they have great bite even when hot


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[paddy]

I think the plugs you fitted were BKR7EIX not IEX in your post above, just a typo but might confuse people who are easily confused....like me

 

[samuelh_888]

I think the plugs you fitted were BKR7EIX not IEX in your post above, just a typo but might confuse people who are easily confused....like me

Sorry! Yes NGK BKR7EIX

 

[samuelh_888]

It's been over a month since my last post so I thought I'd give a bit of an update.

I went to Stage2+ recently - the numbers coming in 350/396 which may be at the lower end of the 2+. Unfortunately, a weak actuator was diagnosed which is causing it to dump boost. I don't think the actuator can be replaced by itself and maybe a turbo off job but I'm assured it's running strong and to be fair the car runs very smooth. I was hoping for more having spent a considerable amount including the Loba HPFP, Airtec Stg2 and the clutch but it wasn't to be for now. When I get around to fixing this I'll need to make a decision whether to replace the K04 or look at going hybrid - maybe that 's the time for a TTE420...

So, with the 2+ sorted I turned my attention to a couple of cosmetic updates.

First up was a P3 multi-gauge which I found on the New Zealand version of eBay (TradeMe). Purchase and delivery to the UK, plus a spare 8P vent to mount the gauge in (with the gloss black bezel) came to less than £180 so quite a saving on new. The gauge plugs into the ODB port giving real-time readings on Boost/Vacuum, EGT, Air Intake, Error Codes and a couple of other readings. I added the Track Pack chip which gives additional Air Flow and enhanced 0-100, 100-0 timers - none of which I have any idea how to read - but it looks good. Mounting it was easy and it looks quite OEM whilst still allowing air to flow through the vent.



Alloys - as much as I like the factory Rotors I've always been on the look out for a set of Oz Racing or some TD1.2. I was checking out Gumtree and came across a set of <3000 mile old, Oz Razing Ultraleggeras with Toyo Proxes T1 tyres (18x8 ET45) in matte bronze. I was a bit nervous how matt bonze would look against my silver S3 (think Fast & Furious or 1996 Subaru WRX with gold Pro-Drives), but I didn't want to miss out on them.



They were balanced and fitted a couple of weeks ago and although I'm not sold on the colour combination they are growing on me. With the Rotors I was running 12.5mm ST hub-centric spacers to clear the YSR BBK, but these fit over with plenty of clearance - I'm not a fan of spacers so I'm happy they're off. My Rotors have a set of near new PS4's on which I'll transfer to the Ultras as some stage and keep the Rotors with the Toyos for either winter running or my brothers S3.

I haven't had a chance to get any decent pictures yet but one from outside the house:



Previously, the RS3 grille has never really interested me however I succumbed and managed to pick up a genuine part, also from Gumtree. The grille came with the number plate holder and crash bar cover - these often seem to be the missing pieces from many of those for sale on eBay etc. The grille was chrome and silver so I removed the rings and had the grill and surround painted gloss black, in keeping with the Back Edition theme of the car; I think the black S3 grille looks great however this will be a nice change.

The paint job is ok but I may see if the surround my S3 grille can be swapped over to the RS3 grille.

I'm looking forward to getting this fitted next week weather permitting.



I'll post a couple of pic once the grille is fitted.

 

[paddy]

Sam you say a weak actuator is bleeding off boost but you also say you have a boost gauge so you should be able to see the boost fade at higher RPM's ?

 

[Raul_Breganzo]

The rattle/buzzing at 2k RPM has returned - this is after Audi did the cam chain, tensioner and balance shaft at the end of July. I can't believe it would be the tensioner or balance shaft again after 600 miles; I suspect it's a heat shield but I can't diagnose it myself.

When I'm driving the vehicle and the revs are sitting on 2k RPM there is a buzzing/rattle, it's not loud but annoying enough. Also between gear changed when the revs fall pass 2k it also rattles.

I took the car back in to West London Audi for diagnostics but also booked for a brake fluid change a maintenance measure too. One week later, with no calls from Audi but plenty of chasing they I collected the car from Audi with no works having been completed. Because I have the Revo CAI and the BCS they won't work on a modified car; they have subsequently cancelled my warranty (whether this is within their franchise group or Audi UK I don't know). All of the previous work was carried out with these mods under warranty but they have accepted that it shouldn't have been and that they'll be reviewing their processes with the Master Technician who did the original work. Master Technician...

When Audi connect to diagnostics I'm not sure if the car received software updates or something but they did wipe half my TPMS and Hill Start Assist settings. I had a TPMS error on the DIS and 03109 - Tire Pressure Monitoring Control Module 2 (J793) when I scanned with VCDS. This was causing my indicators so sound like a high pitched squeal and reverse sensor beeping to be incredibly high pitched. Last Saturday the car wouldn't even rev over 3k rpm. Thanks to a forum post I was able to update the TPMS settings and everything functioned correctly.

So, with that sorted I set about installing my Q3 Climate Control unit. The Q3 Climate Control 8P Retrofit is an excellent resource, all steps were detailed here. I don't normally have the patience for DIY and tend to rush but for this I took my time.

I measured the the 2 units (old & new) against each other then tapped up the Q3 unit, leaving approx 3 mm either side. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of before I started sanding the edges (I used a small detailing sander).

View attachment 141846

The following photo is when I'd finished sanding.

View attachment 141847

Before fitting the new CC to the car, you need to swap the back off the A3/S3 unit and put this onto the Q3 unit. There is about 10 screws however you only need to un-do 4 to remove the back. This photo is my S3 back on the Q3 unit, I've tried to highlight the 4 screws.

View attachment 141848

Once fitted the Q3 CC looks amazing. The white of the unit matches the white of the dash, this small update feels like a facelift in itself! The S3 heated seats had 6 settings but the Q3 CC only has 3, so following the guide I reduced the temp for setting 3.

The finished product:

View attachment 141849

Job done!

I now need to get the rattle & calipers sorted then I'll leave the car alone for a while.

How easy is it to replace a standard A3 8P heat control unit with 1 of these (without the heated seat settings obviously)?

 

[samuelh_888]

Sam you say a weak actuator is bleeding off boost but you also say you have a boost gauge so you should be able to see the boost fade at higher RPM's ?

I don’t rev the car beyond 4500 so I’d never notice

 

[leshkin]

I don’t rev the car beyond 4500 so I’d never notice

I can vouch for Sam not reving past 4.5k

 

[paddy]

Which begs the question......................................................why stg2+ In 1st 2nd and 3rd my car flys after 4.5k bouncing off the rev limiter when the DSG is not quick enough.

 

[samuelh_888]

@paddy - rev limiter?

One day I might but I live a life of fear and paranoia that it will sh1t itself!

 

[leshkin]

@paddy - rev limiter?

One day I might but I live a life of fear and paranoia that it will sh1t itself!

If in doubt, flat out!

 

[paddy]

I sort of get it but the engine is actually designed to do it, they set the red line at 7k because that's a good safety margin. I am not saying i would do it daily going to tesco but if you pull up next to a 911 at the lights.....

 

[leshkin]

I sort of get it but the engine is actually designed to do it, they set the red line at 7k because that's a good safety margin. I am not saying i would do it daily going to tesco but if you pull up next to a 911 at the lights.....

Absolutely! Properly-functioning engine will take a bit of stick now and then. Babying it about probably does more harm than good.

 

[S.]

Tfsi engines need trashing as a part of maintenance.
I read it somewhere (article was about r8 fsi).

 

[samuelh_888]

I had my RS3 grille fitted earlier this week. I want to say a big thanks to @leshkin for fitting it for me, while I stood round watching and asking stupid questions... Thanks Alexei.

The grille I purchased was chrome/silver so I had it painted gloss black. I'd mentioned in my previous post that although the body of the grille looked great the surround wasn't as well painted, it had dust caught under the paint and although it wouldn't have been obvious once fitted, I knew it was there. So with the S3 grille off the car I took the opportunity to remove the S3 surround, matched it to the RS3 surround and they were both exactly the same so we fitted the S3 surround to the RS3 grille.



As for the original RS3 surround, I'll get it sanded back at some stage and resprayed but for now it's fitted to the S3 grille.

I'm really happy with how it's turned out - it certainly adds a cleaner look to the front.

Whats next - well we've booked our flights and shipping back to New Zealand so there are no further plans for the foreseeable. The shipping will take approx 8 weeks following which I need to go through the NZ vehicle testing and compliance process. Ironically NZ isn't bothered by the emissions but it's the suspension, brakes etc that they will query. I don't know what to expect but I'm hoping it won't be costly.

I'll provide an update when the container lands but in the interim I have an Mk5 R32 to get about in. I already have a Trups LED interior kit, new floor mats, Forge Intake and a Milltek cutback lined up - sh1t, I can see where this is heading...

 

[paddy]

Agree it looks really clean and interesting about the black surround.

 

[leshkin]

One of the best examples of S3 8P I've seen! The grill looks epic mate!

 

[samuelh_888]

Recently I’ve been getting a numberplate light warning on the DIS each time the lights turn on. The LEDs are new and are both working so I suspect it’s a voltage issue. Instead of buying another set I’ve decided to give the A5 factory LEDs a try. The part numbers are below, they were £16 each...

• 4H0943021
• 4H0943022

I left the resistor-loom I’d previously fitted for the LED bulbs (the resistor-loom Trups supplies) as I couldn’t be bothered taking the boot plastics off but I haven’t had an error yet. They are brighter than the pic below suggests.

 

[paddy]

Funny, i used to get that bulb blown sign for the number plate light, it never had blown but a new bulb fixed it, i think it was just a bad connection. slamming the tail gate must put quite a shock through the bulb and connections.

 

[Rob C]

Strangely I have just had a LED number plate bulb fail on me but it didn't bring up an error on the dash. They were purchased from Trups a few years back, I bought some replacements from Trups and everything is back to normal.

 

[samuelh_888]

I’m still getting the error and both lights are working. It may be the loom (I’ll drop @t8ups a message) and these factory LEDs aren’t comparable. I’ll revert to the LEDs Trups provided.

Does anyone know if I need the resistors with the factory (A5) LEDs?

 

[tcardio]

I have the same pn and no resistors in place and all work a treat. If you still have the old resistor loom then I'd say take it off

 

[samuelh_888]

I removed the resistor loom and updated the coding via VCDS and so far no errors.

In VCDS I went to:
Select Control Module > 09-Central Elec > Coding-07 > Long Coding Helper > select Byte 17 then tick Bit 7
close page
DO IT
Close and exit.

Pic below is before the change - just in case I needed to revert back.

 

[samuelh_888]

It’s been a while since my last update - the S3 has been packaged up and is now aboard a container ship en-route to New Zealand. With any luck it will arrive by the start of September.

I’ve ordered a Whiteline anti-lift kit (out of the UK) which will be fitted prior to Certification and Compliance for New Zealand roads. Although this part was available here it’s twice the price!

In the mean time I’m enjoying the Mk5 R32 as a daily! It’s a very comfortable drive and as a DSG it sounds great (cats have been removed). This is not for modding blahblah1 although I’ve already treated it to a full set of Trups led bulbs, new (genuine) R floor mats, A5 led numberplate lights, Mk6 switches (they have the chrome derail) and a new gear stick gator/knob as the previous had scratches (the cheap rubbery cover VW used!).

 

[paddy]

Hi Sam

"the S3 has been packaged up and is not aboard a container ship " what happened ? did it fall off

Glad you are staying with us here on Audi Sport mate

 

[samuelh_888]

Hi Sam

"the S3 has been packaged up and is not aboard a container ship " what happened ? did it fall off

Glad you are staying with us here on Audi Sport mate

Haha, already updated Paddy.

Of course, I’m here to stay. I can’t wait for the S3 to arrive. In the several days I’ve been here it’s been easy to see that people generally don’t care about their cars - it’s just something to get from A to B. Bit of shame really.