Time for a build thread....big turbo

[S3Alex]

I'm there now, cracking city

Best place... I'm visiting of my favourite places and eateries when I get there.
Got some work to do but hopefully won't intrude too much!

 

[Kaine19]

I went in november. Loved it. Looking to go back either beforr florida or after

 

[crazylegscrane]

Wow Alex, just got back up to speed on your recent mods and I'm really impressed. 0-60 in 3 secs or less is something else. It was quick the time you took me for a spin but if we bump into each other again you'll have to do that again, would love to feel the pace now.

 

[S3Alex]

Wow Alex, just got back up to speed on your recent mods and I'm really impressed. 0-60 in 3 secs or less is something else. It was quick the time you took me for a spin but if we bump into each other again you'll have to do that again, would love to feel the pace now.

They got less than 3s on a recent R32 project and the data from mine said around that

Certainly feels like that in comparison with before.

You'd be more than welcome

 

[s3_trev]

Great to see this beast is still progressing! This thread must be legendary by this stage!

 

[S3Alex]

Great to see this beast is still progressing! This thread must be legendary by this stage!

Thank you!

Plenty more to come.

Going back to Storm soon after it's running in period for oil changes and more software changes.

Engine is only running 1.8bar@550bhp so there's quite a bit left in the turbo and fuelling.

Considering an RS lpfp at that point to simplify the way the fuel system is running and upping the boost limits and engine maps.

 

[Ollie2014]

Alex can you answer me a question ? My S3 at times seems to rev up from 3000 rpm to about 5000 rom then drops back but there seems to be no power when it does this. I thought clutch but would this be quite a regular occurrence if the clutch was on it's way out ? Is there any other part on the engine that would cause this irregular revving with no power ?
I just thought I would ask you as you seem to know every nut and bolt and valve this model has.

 

[s3_trev]

Sorry to butt in Ollie but what you're describing is exactly what I had when my clutch was slipping, as you have already identified yourself. It wont necessarily happen all the time. I would wager that as time goes on, it probably WILL start to happen all the time though.

 

[S3Alex]

As above it sounds like the clutch.

Peak torque on the stock turbo is in that region and thus the most likely region for the clutch to slip at.

My original one at Stg1 and 2 did exactly this.

 

[Ollie2014]

Thanks for the replies I will get it checked out this week . I have read the clutches on these cars are not the best my car has just turned 53000 miles so is that a good life for it ?

 

[S.]

I would say yes. I had mine changed at 20k-30k km. It was slipping on stage2.

 

[S3Alex]

Little update after a few hundred miles.

It is using more oil than before,but the engine is pretty much rebuilt and almost running in.

Generally very smooth gearchanges,but a little hesitation in first at times.
Amazing in Sport or Manual with full throttle......seamless shifts and no loss of boost or power.

Will drive from around 1200rpm with no stuttering or hesitation,and now hits the boost from 3500rpm up to 7300.

Mileage per gallon has actually improved!.....now does around 24mpg average,and not because I drive like a saint.

All of that without the WMI I was previously running.


Exhaust is schizophrenic......quite quiet off boost or under low load conditions,and very loud and raspy at full boost.....like my son said...feral.

 

[andyb616]

Wow, just wow dude - insanely jelly

Keep up the work, and get a vid up!!!

 

[S3Alex]

Wow, just wow dude - insanely jelly

Keep up the work, and get a vid up!!!

Thank you.

I'll get a video up sometime but then I've been saying that for a while....I've got rather a lot happening right now and this is down the list a bit!

Plenty of things to do yet.....it's going back for a health check shortly after the engine build and before trying a bit more boost,and maybe gearbox mapping.

 

[andyb616]

Hahaha yeah I bet you do

Love the read man - thanks for keeping it so well updated

 

[grainqey]

Little update after a few hundred miles.

It is using more oil than before,but the engine is pretty much rebuilt and almost running in.

Generally very smooth gearchanges,but a little hesitation in first at times.
Amazing in Sport or Manual with full throttle......seamless shifts and no loss of boost or power.

Will drive from around 1200rpm with no stuttering or hesitation,and now hits the boost from 3500rpm up to 7300.

Mileage per gallon has actually improved!.....now does around 24mpg average,and not because I drive like a saint.

All of that without the WMI I was previously running.


Exhaust is schizophrenic......quite quiet off boost or under low load conditions,and very loud and raspy at full boost.....like my son said...feral.

Told you my MPG was slightly better with this gearbox haha!
Have you tried running the W/I in low amounts at the top end or is there just no need for it?

 

[S3Alex]

Told you my MPG was slightly better with this gearbox haha!
Have you tried running the W/I in low amounts at the top end or is there just no need for it?

The gearing in 7th is crazy.....35mph/1000rpm......means if the car would pull peak rpm in 7th it would top out at 240mph...LOL
The really amazing thing for me is finding the car will quite happily trundle along at 1200rpm in 7th around town.

The WMI is switched off completely.....The engine is running a lot cooler with the turbo mods,and the fuelling changes.
The port injectors are coming in a lot sooner,and running more fuel,and the end result is one I can actually feel in that the under bonnet heat is definitely much lower.

So Andy's got the same power,at lower boost,with a much wider torque band,lower fuel consumption,and lower EGTs...that's like voodoo to be honest.

 

[HHS3]

Andy certainly is a wizard!

Glad you're enjoying the car, patience really does pay off!

Let alone you're going back to try more boost and may be gearbox mapping, it already sounds like a machine as it is.

 

[S3Alex]

Andy certainly is a wizard!

Glad you're enjoying the car, patience really does pay off!

Let alone you're going back to try more boost and may be gearbox mapping, it already sounds like a machine as it is.

I remember my first cars required a spanner and occasionally a hammer.

Now this car requires a very nice man with a laptop and a Master's degree....he's done a superb job.
It utterly wasted a V8 Mustang the other day,which was clearly a bit of a surprise to the Ford.

Anyway....he says it's capable of 2.3bar all day,which would comfortably get it into the 600s,but to be fair it is pretty fast already.
Doesn't feel scary any more,but that's how each big step felt for a few days,until I got used to it.

Andy avoided any direct gearbox mapping as he didn't want to risk bricking the Mechatronics straight off,so what he may do is to buy in a Mechatronics unit and try that before swapping over with my existing one.

I think there's a fair bit to come from both engine and DSG,without pushing too hard.

 

[S.]

You sir, your car and those nice guys with the laptop just keep pushing the boundaries further and shock everybody. I'm trully impressed.
Bet your car could get into 9's once full set..

 

[S3Alex]

You sir, your car and those nice guys with the laptop just keep pushing the boundaries further and shock everybody. I'm trully impressed.
Bet your car could get into 9's once full set..

Thank you!

Launch mode is hilarious....ESP off,Sport mode,hold the car on the brake and build boost to 1bar then just let the brake go.
Could hardly believe the way it just dug in and took off.....no wheelspin,no traction or grip issues.

 

[HHS3]

I remember my first cars required a spanner and occasionally a hammer.

Now this car requires a very nice man with a laptop and a Master's degree....he's done a superb job.
It utterly wasted a V8 Mustang the other day,which was clearly a bit of a surprise to the Ford.

Anyway....he says it's capable of 2.3bar all day,which would comfortably get it into the 600s,but to be fair it is pretty fast already.
Doesn't feel scary any more,but that's how each big step felt for a few days,until I got used to it.

Andy avoided any direct gearbox mapping as he didn't want to risk bricking the Mechatronics straight off,so what he may do is to buy in a Mechatronics unit and try that before swapping over with my existing one.

I think there's a fair bit to come from both engine and DSG,without pushing too hard.

Nice bet that was satisfying, I have a lot of fun in my stage 2 S3 and can't wait for stage 2+ power, so I can't even begin to imagine what your stage 5 monster must be like!

Doesn't feel scary anymore? “A car is fast enough when you're afraid to unlock it in the morning.” Well then it would be rude not to give it a go at 2.3bar when she's ready of course haha.

Yeah for sure makes sense, got to be sensible at any sort of power, let alone your level.

 

[S3Alex]

Nice bet that was satisfying, I have a lot of fun in my stage 2 S3 and can't wait for stage 2+ power, so I can't even begin to imagine what your stage 5 monster must be like!

Doesn't feel scary anymore? “A car is fast enough when you're afraid to unlock it in the morning.” Well then it would be rude not to give it a go at 2.3bar when she's ready of course haha.

Yeah for sure makes sense, got to be sensible at any sort of power, let alone your level.

It's just fun.....I drive it like my granny most of the time as there's too much traffic etc,and too few open areas to give it a bit of room to breathe,but it drives so well that it's good even noodling around town.

Each of the quicker cars I've had has felt a bit like that each time something big was done,like taking the Cosworths from 220-270-330-450bhp etc,and this is no different.
Just takes a few days to adjust to the way it drives and runs,and in this case the way the acceleration doesn't let up thanks to the DSG.
That's probably the biggest difference.

 

[grainqey]

If Andy wants it/if it's any good to him to test what he wants to my nzs mechatronics is sat doing nothing

 

[S3Alex]

If Andy wants it/if it's any good to him to test what he wants to my nzs mechatronics is sat doing nothing

Thank you!

On the assumption it may get bricked if the mapping gets locked out!

Would you mind if I ask him?

 

[raffhussain]

Hats off to you sir and your car

 

[grainqey]

Thank you!

On the assumption it may get bricked if the mapping gets locked out!

Would you mind if I ask him?

Can do lol

 

[S3Alex]

Back at it's favourite holiday home today.

Oil and fluid changes after the rebuild,plus a few tweaks.

The clutches were dropping torque in 1st gear,as the car was pulling away,so Andy's adding 5-10Nm to the pressure settings to make the clutches bite a bit faster.
Then some alterations to the touchscreen to add different maps(everyday,snow/ice,and fun modes)plus lockouts and so on.

Fuel level sender was playing up,so that's also being sorted out,but it's averaging 25mpg now,which isn't bad at all.

Oil being changed to Miller Nanodrive 10W/50,to give better road driving cover,and also may reduce oil consumption compared to the previous 300v.
It got through 2L in 1000 miles from the rebuild and that's slowly coming down now.

Also heard from Tim Radlett that he has a few exhaust port/valve mods which could gain up to 50bhp.

And saw Jason's RS.....like mine,it likes to spend time there.

 

[Moxy89]

Alex is it storm who mapped the box, my first is awful really slow off the mark but rapid changes through the rest, don't know if the dsg is just slow to respond in first or what but it's annoying

 

[S3Alex]

Alex is it storm who mapped the box, my first is awful really slow off the mark but rapid changes through the rest, don't know if the dsg is just slow to respond in first or what but it's annoying

Storm have done all the recent work on mine.

This is without mapping the box but using the Ecu to change the clamping values etc.
Have a word with Andy at Storm if you're having problems.

 

[S3Alex]

Upping the clamping pressure has got almost all of the 1st gear issue solved so I think a little more on the next visit should cure it.

Also getting an RS pump next time as the piping on the auxiliary lpfp is getting a bit nasty.

 

[S3Alex]

Just to prove you can have grunt and relative economy....

When I bought the car 8 yrs ago(doesn't seem like that at all for so many reasons)......it was doing about 28mpg and had around 260bhp.

Now.....driven just as badly as before,it's averaging 25-26mpg with 550bhp,so my economy award(LOL) goes to Andy Sahota for pulling off that particular bit of wizardry.
I drive it as I did before,with no emphasis on seeing how far it'll go on a tank of petrol and what it does now is amazing,when you consider that my first car(a Hillman Imp for anyone that can remember those)managed less than 30mpg with an 850cc engine and 40bhp.

I know the gearbox has made a big difference as well,as I don't need to stir the car through the gears to maintain boost,and it'll rumble around town in 7th at 1200rpm,but the more I get used to it all now,the more surprising it is for what it can do.

I wasn't a DSG fan before,and each of the loaners I'd had from Audi with DSG boxes put me off a bit,but the DQ500 has put all of those things to rest,and the way it adapts and shifts algorithms according to how you drive is really something.

 

[Kaine19]

Mines on standard map with intake and downpipe and i only get 24/25mpg pure town driving. So id be really impressed with your figures

 

[samuelh_888]

my first car(a Hillman Imp for anyone that can remember those)managed less than 30mpg with an 850cc engine and 40bhp.

Awesome! I had an Imp back in New Zealand in 1994, put a Hillman Hunter engine in it! Swapped it for a MK4 Zephyr whiched I crashed so I cut the boot off and made a couch with working tail lights.

 

[S3Alex]

Awesome! I had an Imp back in New Zealand in 1994, put a Hillman Hunter engine in it! Swapped it for a MK4 Zephyr whiched I crashed so I cut the boot off and made a couch with working tail lights.

Really clever engine...wonky oil seals and a heater that wasn't worth it....

Love the couch idea!

 

[MICHAEL PARKER]

Alex can I ask you , are all S3 manual gearboxes the same , as in fitment wise ?

 

[S3Alex]

Alex can I ask you , are all S3 manual gearboxes the same , as in fitment wise ?

Don't quote me but as far as I know.

Even fitting the DQ500 had the same mounting holes.

 

[MICHAEL PARKER]

I have been told they all fit , I am thinking of buying another box to rebuild and strengthen plus lsd , easier that way and then the car is only off road whilst the box gets swapped over .

 

[S3Alex]

I have been told they all fit , I am thinking of buying another box to rebuild and strengthen plus lsd , easier that way and then the car is only off road whilst the box gets swapped over .

Good idea.

Mine had uprated bearings and new synchro and selector forks,plus the Quaife diff.

 

[S3Alex]

I've got to say that after a couple of months driving,this gearbox and turbo have transformed the car completely.

It's so easy to drive around town or on the motorways in D mode,and get along quickly but without draining the tank(and still get 28mpg!!),and then switch between fast and lazy with S,or really fast in Manual.

The gearbox hasn't been mapped,although that's something on the list for another time,and it is occasionally a bit indecisive or clunky,and it's algorithms do swap around a bit,so it does have it's little bugs,but overall it's pretty amazing to have the convenience of an automatic,with the performance benefits of a manual,and super quick shifts as well.

I'm glad I didn't get it with the original 6 speed DSG as this thing is way better and tougher,although the downside on our clogged roads is how fast it picks up speed now....it really has become a licence loser in waiting.

Oil consumption and catch can muck have gone down quite a bit with the swap to Miller Nanodrive and the performance overall is pretty amazing.
I know I've already said it,but anyone even thinking of a DSG swap or a huge performance upgrade should really consider a DQ500,and that ECU is another level altogether.