New to S3 tuning

[bjacks]

Same as anything though really. You chip the car, at some point something will give, be it clutch, turbo, gearbox etc. It'll probably be in the hands of a different owner by then, but all the same, you have to take responsibility for your actions [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
MVW, you obviously have some strong views, any chance you can let use know about these useless and costly mods? It would certainly be interesting to have a tuners point of view and experiences.

Thanks

Ben

[sitas3]

wise words indeed. [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

the problem with car tuning is that we all think we know best (rather like our driving!!) and too often follow potentially incorrect advice on forums whereas most of us should probably stick to what we know best (in my case, Supply Chain Software!!) [img]images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[img]images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

[Jody]

I dont want to cause a disruption so i wont go saying what we think isnt much cop, instead i'll let you know what we've found is genuinely worth while buying in the quest for ultimate performance! In this case (the s3 audi) a remap is first port of call whose software you you use is entirely personal pref', what i will say is if you stick to a well known set up ie revo apr etc you wont go wrong. we run revo on our s3 and it seems really good. a quick word of advise on people who claim to remap your car uniquely on a rolling road : they dont write the whole program they too are using a software package simular to revo apr etc and modding it to suit conditions on the day. I wont go into anymore detail as i dont want to spark an arguement, how ever i will state that companies such as revo, apr and a handful of others have genuineley invested hundreds of hours of developement on a rolling road, fine tuning a software code that is best for your car.
A cat bypass or sport cat with a decent performance system also works well, opens up top end revs nicely etc.
The samco inlet pipe is worth while.
Front mount intercoolers are worth while how ever, we find that having the original units replaced with alloy items located in original locations works great. You'll only recieve a small gain in power but you'll loose alot of the heatsoak and make the car more able to tolerate hard driving.
An uprated ricirc with a stiffer spring works well.
In our opinion that is all that is worth doing, or at least it offers best bang per buck.
The 20v cylinder head is already well flowed (we had a company who builds the engines for a 250cc motorcycle gp team check the flow of a 20v and belive me those guys know their stuff), the cams are a near perfect profile and the engine in general is well built/setup.
changing pulleys, lightened flywheels etc will only alter torque delivery and offer small if any increases in power.
A 2.0l setup would be nice but again to expensive to justify.
Obviously larger turbos will give more power, but then you open a can of worms! no one has a software code thats anywhere near as smooth and gud as standard or the likes of revo ,apr etc. So your fuel consumption will plumute and you will experience driveability gliches, increased lag shunting etc. And another big issue in our opinion is the mess is makes of the factory set up ie new/modded oil-water pipes, turbo pipes downpipe etc. a direct replacement kkk hybrid would be very nice, there are many companies in the states developing these, i reckon mid next year and there will be some tasty options available.
300 bhp give or take 20/30 bhp is gona be your lot though. standard manifold wont allow any more.
I know of a modified compressor housing for the stock s3 turbo which is meant to be a really good improvement in power.
we will be testing one of these soon so i will let you know if its worth the bucks.
cheers.

[chris22]

Cheers MVW you obviously know your onions when it comes to S3's. I think I will go for the samco hose first then the cat rep pipe. Any idea which is the best cat pipe and how much. I don't think I'll change the remap as I've just spent a grand on it!
I was wondering if Turbo Technics did a direct replacement turbo.
Bass.

[kiwi_mtm]

Just a word of advice from a proffesional: be careful not to get lured into pointless, expensive mods which dont actually make any gains and infact make the car worse!
And belive me theres lots and lots of so called performance mods out there that sound great cost a bomb and do naff all but ruin emissions, fuel consumption and create a car which idles lumpy, stalls, blah blah................... oh kind of like an rs turbo ( big difference between an old £900 escort and a £15.000+ s3 audi if you guys know what i mean).
Oh and picture this : your lovely panel filter/cone filter decides to collapse or tear, or even the stock airfilter tears and some nice chunks of foreign material pass by the filter like say a small stone, (belive me a whole matter of objects find their way into your engine bay, those of you with the stock air box take a peek under the filter and check the debris rattling around the bottom of the air box)this happy little road chipping then bounces up the intake pipe to the maf where its abruptly stoped by the mesh guard or is it? for some of you yes cause its still there, others may not be as lucky! This little road chipping in the worse case continues its journey until it meets a lovely impeller spinning at many thousand rpm and hops inside the turbo reeking havok and causing lots and lots of damage.
Like i say be very careful when considering your mods, unlike a £900 escort these modern audis can be very expensive to repair......... (the last chap we saw that had this type of miss fortune parted with a £1000 and he was lucky at that!)

NZ has a quest for fast cars. Back prior to the S4 (1996>1999), us southern petrol heads needed more power, thus we bought lots of MTM upgrades for the A4 1.8T.

Out little population bought ~30 286hp A4-TQM, and 100+ 210 and 187hp cars.

You can see the 286hp cars now puffing smoke from 100,000km (not miles). The're wearing out early.

If you chip it, or more, it will wear out earlier. Like it was said above, probably for an owner or two down the line.

Me personally, I would still do it. If it makes the car more enjoyable, even if its more expensive, then its worthwhile. However, if you do it, do it proper. Go to a reputable tuner who knows whats he doing. Unless of course, your a fidler, and get the enjoyment out of doin it yourself, versus the actual final product.

There is my 2 cents worth.

[bjacks]

So my advice of a metal cat and uprated I/C wasn't far off your tuning advice then MVW? [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[sitas3]

So my advice of a metal cat and uprated I/C wasn't far off your tuning advice then MVW? [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Hello Ben, when you say metal cat, do you mean a cat bypass or are there special cats that are not as restrictive etc. Also, would having a better I/C (s) make a difference in colder weather as well as warm etc.

Also, would you consider the bigger turbo jobbie as an upgrade?

[img]images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

[bjacks]

I meant a replacement cat which is less restrictive and provides better flow of the gasses out. Some people call them metal cats or 100 cell or race cats etc. They have a number of cells inside and the lower the number, the less restrictive they are apparently. I'm sure someone else knows the technical blah about them.
I can presume that with the intercooler, the colder the air the better - in all conditions. Clearly this is going to be more effective during warm summer periods but sitting in traffic during winter is still going to heat things up. Again, there will be someone that knows more about this.

Big turbos are clearly the way to go if you want to get more out of your car. If you're running your standard K04 to the max then at some point it will give up. If you have a larger turbo running at a sensible level then that will be less stressed. Heat is an enemy for engines and their components so mods like larger I/C's and bigger turbos help to reduce heat and stress when you crank up the power.
The yanks go mad for bigger turbos on the 1.8T lump, claiming 350+BHP with std internals [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Jabba do an IHI kit here for a couple of grand but I don't know anyone that's been brave enough to get one fitted yet.

The above is what I think to be true and I have no problem with being corrected as it's all a learning process.

Cheers

Ben

[VST]

. Actually Simon is the man to talk to regarding mods for an S3, as no one else has done as much as him

Ahem! [img]images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] LOL

Do the DV/rechip/samco intake/exhaust sys/cats in that order of priority,bang for your buck you will not beat a decent chip/remap,but the other complimentary mods are worthwhile,especially the sports cats,I was always doubtfull of how much of a difference they made on a KO4'd car,but I fitted them before I put on the big turbo and they made a noticeable difference to throttle response and top end power.

As for QST/Kim Collins? Go for it,nice people to deal with and good products,I had the MTM 270 kit for 2 years of hard use with no problems.

[bjacks]

When did the big turbo get strapped on? I missed that one [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[VST]

@Ben

I have it for over a month,but I only got time to fit it this weekend.
Still playing about with boost/timing settings and need a new EGT sensor,but first impressions are good.
Its proper quick........ [img]images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[chris22]

VST keep us informed on the big turbo. What do you mean by modified air box?
I think the big turbo is the way to go. I'll def be getting one next year keep you posted.
Bass
----------------
03 imolla S3.

[VST]

@Bass,

Re Airbox
It has an additional cold air feed from the grille,ducted into the base of the original airbox.