Upgrades for my Audi A3

[JPazzer]

Hello guys this is my first post and I hope to be quite active within the community here!

I've just picked up a 2006 Audi A3 2.0tfsi Quattro Special Edition S Line.

This car is going to be my project of sorts and it'll probably take a few years and a lot of time/effort put in but I'm willing to do it.

So in terms of upgrades. The most common people usually do is a remap and exhaust system.

However my question is, surely it would be much better to get an exhaust and all the other upgrades such as CAI and upgrades camshaft and cams and all that before I get a remap on the car? I've been told that a lot of turbo back exhausts require a remap to function correctly, Milltek told me this themselves when I was talking to them about it. I've also spoken to Revo about their stage 3 remap for the 2.0t with the K04 Turbo upgrade to see if they would fit my exhaust for me when they go to do it and so far no word, it's been almost a week so a bit of a pain.

I've already got a lot of the upgrades listed to get and I think before I go to hardcore on power I want to get the handling sorted. I've looked at some coilovers and big brake kits.

So a few questions to shorten it a little:

Are ST Coilovers any good? I've been looking at the XA ones that they do. They're around £850ish give or take a few.

Has anyone had any experience with the Forge Twintake system on their A3? Is there any others you recommend over this?

Will getting a remap and then adding parts be better or worse than getting the parts and doing a remap to finish it?

Is the diff on the car fine as it is or is it worth getting a Quaife? If so how much of a difference will it make?

Once the K04 has been fitted and all that, what would be better for keeping power. Diverter Valve or a BOV?

I'm sorry if a lot of these are somewhat amateur and I've only recently gotten into the whole world of car performance, I'm an okayish mechanic having learned from a young age and also being in the Army has helped a little with a couple of vehicle maintenance courses done with them.

I only want to learn and improve on my knowledge, thank you in advance!

Josh

This is the car I picked up:

 

[prt57]

Welcome to ASN, you will certainly learn a lot on here but the problem is that the more you learn, the more you spend!
So think of an approximate budget but then be aware that most folks do not stop in their pursuit of their ideal car.
Depending where you live, find out who is going to do most of the work on your car. How far are you prepared to travel to get things done.
Ask on here for garages with a good reputation in your area.
You don't have to get the work done at Revo, there are lots of companies in the Revo dealer net work.
Be aware that there is other software out there that may produce better results for you than Revo. Do lots of research.
Regarding the exhaust, changing to something with a sports cat will make light come on the dash board. What is called stage 2 software removes this light and then optimises the engine for your free flowing system.
Check out BCS exhauts, they are very popular on here.
Not many people bother changing the camshafts.
It is good to retain the electronic part of the diverter valve, lots of people fit the GFB DV+ and not a blow off valve.
A well disciplined person fits all the hardware before the remap, some stuff is worth doing and then having stage 1(+). Eg the exhaust downpipe or full exhaust is only needed if you are going to stage 2(+)
An intake and a updated high pressure fuel pump are the basic requirements for stage 1+ and that will give a noticeable increase in power. Lots of people use the Revo intake, I use Neuspeed P Flo intake with my S3 at stage 2+. Stage 2 can come later but you do not want to waste money by changing to a different brand of software for this. Most tuners offer a cheap upgrade from stage 1 to stage 2 but not if you use a new tuner and it will be full price.
Have a read of Michael Parkers thread just below this and he has virtually rebuilt his car and his remap to stage 2+ is next week.
The big thing to avoid wasted money on software is to research which software will suit you best. As an alternative to Revo, I run APR. Check it out but there are others too.
Good luck and there are always people on here to help you out.

Peter

 

[JPazzer]

Thanks Peter!

Lot's of stuff for me to research into then. When you said about the light on the dash, the stage 2 software, is that a remap or just a quick tweak of the ECU to remove the light?

I will definitely shop around and I'm willing to put a lot of money into it, I want this to be my road racer of sorts! I will probably take it to track days too but I have a little 1.1 2011 Clio to potter around in until I've started a little on this.

Is there generally any benefits to the different software tuners? Or are they all generally similar with slight differences?

My only issue with the car I bought is it's done about 110k miles so I'm having a local garage take a look at it and tell me what needs doing to it before I fiddle around with it. Last thing I want is a leak or something becoming worse when I've spend quite a bit on it!

You've been very helpful and for reference. I live in Burton on Trent in Staffordshire so anyone close would be nice but I don't mind travelling!

 

[s5joe]

I have had st suspention it was good took a while to set it up tho worth the money

 

[JPazzer]

Cheers mate, I'm currently setting up a "todo" list basically with each of my parts and prices in order so I can knock em off one by one!

 

[S3Alex]

Hi there,and welcome to ASN.

You've already had some good advice,and I'll chuck in my few pennies worth too...

Firstly,if you're planning relatively big upgrades,like a different turbo(from what you're saying about the Revo Stg3)then I'd personally be looking to one of TTE's hybrid turbos as a better solution.

You would also need to be quite careful about torque on this sort of work,as the 2.0's rods are not as tough as the S3's are.
My advice would be to speak to someone like Rick at Unicorn,or AMDTuning,both of whom have experience with this sort of build.

You would definitely need a full exhaust and CAI to get the best from that,or any work you do up to that point.

Do NOT change the cams.
We tried this a while back,and I know from other tuners such as Statler,that getting aftermarket cams to work on the TFSi is beyond being a pain.
Timing them is next to impossible without a lot of custom work,and you would need someone with experience in manipulating Audi's VVT system.

In short,you don't need it.

The best of the current intakes is the Revo,and the ITG is as good,but not pretty.

The car has an open front diff...it's OK,but the Quaife is a lot better,but it isn't cheap,and the other problem is that it tends to fight a bit with the car's traction control under wet/slippery conditions,so it's often best with the TC off,if you fit a Quaife.

Brakes....AP and Alcon are the best IMHO,but are very expensive.
A few people here have used Yellow-Speed Racing kits and been very happy with them,and they are a lot cheaper.


Rick is probably the closest to you,and would be able to give you a lot of good advice,and talk you through your requirements.

http://www.unicornmotordevelopments.com/contact.html

Exhausts....if you can afford it,BCS.
The quality is superb,and having recently switched from an admittedly old Milltek,the difference is plain.

A little taste of their work...

 

[leshkin]

Welcome Josh! This is definitely the place for your kind of questions

ST coilovers are pretty good for the money. I've been running ST X kit on my S3 for over a year and it's a solid fast road kit, which improved ride comfort, handling over the stock S3 suspension I had on before. I would say that it is a little too soft for the track, so if you are looking for something for track days then this kit is probably not the one to go for as you will quickly find them too soft when pressing on and given lack of adjustment, you will be stuck with them.

I'm thinking about swapping my ST X kit for Bilstein B14 PSS kit in the near future (not much between them from a cost perspective), but ideally want to go for a ride in a S3 that has them already... May even splash out for the B16 kit to get the extra damping and rebound adjustment, although I'm not sure if the extra flexibility is worth the significantly higher cost.

If, on the other hand, you don't want to track your car then ST X may be the exact thing you are looking for - we could even do a deal when I take my kit out

Anyway, from the mods you listed, I'd focus on handling and braking first. As tempting as it is to go chasing higher power, you will enjoy a nicer handling car much more and for longer than one that only likes to go straight So with that in mind, consider getting a coilover kit and an ARB upgrade, then decent brake pads, followed by engine.

 

[JPazzer]

Thanks everyone, I think I will go with the ST coilovers and in the future I can always swap them if I want to go to track days.

No camshaft then and I think I will go the extra for the BCS, I just want the best for the money!

I'll look into that turbo but that'll probably be a job for next year I think, overall I'm still trying to learn and do some research but you've given me some solid advice and I'll look into the Quaife.

Brakes are a must I think and I'll have a look around and a read and get some solid reviews of the different ones.

You've all been a great help guys, I'm just looking forward to working on it and seeing what I can achieve!

 

[prt57]

I understand that in a lot of cases the BCS exhaust may not put the light on. Something to ask them about.
A bespoke mapper will get the most out of your individual car and so some of the generic maps will give you lower figures. However it is how it drives that is important and you do not want to overstress it as you do not have the S3 engine.
You may be surprised at how well the car goes with the standard K03s turbo when it has been remapped and may not need to go big turbo in the end. That is all down to you.
However in the mean time you can still be thinking about the exhaust, intake, diverter valve, better spark plugs, suspension and research the software you would prefer.
Essential to get your car thoroughly checked over including the Haldex, has this been serviced at the correct intervals? I don't think you mentioned if your car had a clutch, if yes and it is still the original then budget for an uprated version. Has the fuel filter been changed recently?
Ensure you are using top quality oil in the engine. Some of us S3 owners are using Millers Nanodrive 5w 40.
Regarding good garages offering workshop time and software upgrades within reasonable driving distance you have Awesome GTI near Manchester or Midland VW at Cannock.
cheers,
Peter

 

[JPazzer]

Cheers Peter,

I've visited Midland VW before with a friend and his Golf and they all seem really nice guys, plus it's super close.

I understand it's not an S3 so I'll try not to go too nuts on it, even though it would be fun to be able to be an S3/RS3 killer!

Thankfully the car I bought has a full service history! There's a VW/Audi specialist literally a 20 second drive from my house so I'm currently getting him to look all over it for me. He's a friend of my grandad so he's doing it for free, then if anything needs replacing I'll buy the parts and he'll do them for me. She was almost entirely empty when I collected her and I was informed the previous owner only used super unleaded so I've kept that up. I'll grab a few bottles of that oil too!

What I'll do then is get my coilovers, some brakes and then the BCS and Air Filter. Hopefully if it doesn't throw up the light I should be good but if so I'll take it to get mapped, there is a place in my town who does it called CC Tuning. Not sure if anyone has heard anything about them or used them so anything on them would be good.

It the original clutch so that'll be getting replaced. Can you recommend any brands for that?

Thanks!

Josh

 

[prt57]

You will not find that type of oil at Halfords and you would always perform a complete oil change. 5L would be enough.
I would want to use a VAG specialist tuner and the Helix organic clutch gets good reviews

 

[JPazzer]

I'm an avid "online shopper" as that's where I buy pretty much everything I need. The oil will more than likely also be bought from there too haha.

I'll do some shopping around for tuners then and see if I can get some reviews for people within about 60 miles. I'll look into that clutch, thanks! You've genuinely been super helpful and I really appreciate it.

 

[prt57]

Awesome GTI has the oil and has a licence to ship it out.

 

[leshkin]

Opieoils.co.uk is a great place for all your oil needs too.

Sent from a mobile device, please forgive typos

 

[JPazzer]

I think that's where I was just looking leshkin! It seems like a decent place and I'll look at Awesome GTI too Peter, compare prices and I can always drive down to them anyway and have a chat to them while I'm there.

 

[leshkin]

Opie have always did well for me and even gave me a freebie when their courier messed up a delivery.

Remember to not mix the oil, so if you have 5w30 in there now then top up with that. Switch to other oils when changing oil during servicing. Also, while more expensive, look to do an extra oil change between services. Some say it's overkill, but given my recent experience, it's better than a new engine.

Sent from a mobile device, please forgive typos

 

[JPazzer]

It's having a service when it's been checked over by the garage so I'll take the bottle to him so he can use that for me, I'm looking at some iridium spark plugs too as I may aswell get them done while I'm at it!

 

[downtothebone]

Opie have always did well for me and even gave me a freebie when their courier messed up a delivery.

Remember to not mix the oil, so if you have 5w30 in there now then top up with that. Switch to other oils when changing oil during servicing. Also, while more expensive, look to do an extra oil change between services. Some say it's overkill, but given my recent experience, it's better than a new engine.

Sent from a mobile device, please forgive typos

Get my Denso plugs and Mobil 1 from them ...

 

[JPazzer]

So a quick update guys, I've had the car checked out including the haldex and everything seems to be in working order. Brakes are a little worn and will need changing soon and the shocks could do with some TLC but my first upgrades were going to be handling anyway! So I've ordered some ST XA Coilovers and they should be arriving in a few days and I have a question. I was going to get a big brake upgrade but as they are pretty expensive. I've seen a full set of Seat Leon Cupra R Brembo brakes and pads with no much use on them for quite cheap, would I be able to fit these onto my A3? Because surely they'll be an upgrade over my current set up. If not I don't mind shopping around but I definitely want it to be handling and stopping well before I stop with power. For now she's fast enough as it is, beats all my mates cars anyway!