Newbie with tuning questions

[scrob]

Hi all, I currently drive a tuned Ibiza Cupra but want to change for an S3 at some point and was wondering if I could get some advice. My car is quick, will do the 1/4 mile in mid 14s and does 150mph on the clock (although probably a bit less in reality...). So, the S3 needs to be considerably faster!

Early S3 = 210bhp standard I believe. With the addition of a milltek exhaust, green dynatwist induction kit, some form of FMIC, forge 007p d/v (no performance gain I know) and a custom remap or Revo Stage 2, what kind of power would I be aiming for? Ibizas running your K04 turbos can achieve 300bhp quite easily. Would this be a realistic figure to aim for on the Audi?

Thanks in advance!

Rob

[DuncS3]

Hi Rob and welcome

To be honest, you would be miles off a genuine 300bhp.

Miltek exhaust - no gains
Induction kit - debatable but basically no gains
FMIC - good, but shouldnt really add extra power but help maintain power + boost
Revo remap - expect anything from 245 to 260 max bhp

Dunc

[BOWS3]

K04 equipped Ibizias "easily producing 300bhp. Rubbish. People on here with hybrid K04s can't even make it.

Chris.

[S3rdias]

I agree with Dunc and Chris. I think it´s difficult to achieve 300 bhp with the stock turbo. Here in Brazil there is an S3 with a piggyback + exhaust+ larger fuel injectors running on ethanol that achieved that.
This is the dyno run (power output atw) of a chipped S3 + exhaust (no cat) + K&N air filter using gas (95 oct):

[ChrisS2]

It also depends on the size and efficency of your intercooler. With a full miltek system, maybe a miltek cat, and MRC remap, you should see 260+ HP. I'm running a K04 on the 1.8T engine and hoping for 280ish.

Cheers,

Chris

[BOWS3]

Doesn't depend on the size or efficiency of your i/c. They will prevent you losing power up top.
I put a 3" d/p and sigle 100cell cat on my S3, no difference at all. Milltek system, nothing significant. How are you going to achieve 280 ?

Chris.

[scrob]

Was up at Star Performance today getting my Ibiza serviced. Jim reckons he has a good reliable 270bhp out of his own S3, using his own software and mapping and a different actuator on the turbo. He's still playing around with different boost levels and trying to flatten out the curve but it looks very impressive, he was able to show me different graphs with different boost levels. More boost certainly does not always equal more power!

I think he has me convinced though, 270bhp would be a very nice step up from the Ibiza. I'd probs throw on an intercooler too into the bargain.

On a different note, what is the 4wd system like in the S3? I've only ever driven fwd cars myself so I'm quite interested in trying something different. Is there much power getting to the rear wheels? Just wondering as 4wd + wet roundabouts sounds like there's fun to be had

[Doug_S2]

Chris has a front mount IC on his golf along with a custom 3" downpipe, and 3" exhaust, and no cats(it might actually be 3/" - can't remember). It should get 280bhp. A better IC will always keep the temps lower and that can only help in running more boost and timing to achieve more power.

You won't notice a difference unless you you get the car mapped to your new mods.

Doesn't depend on the size or efficiency of your i/c. They will prevent you losing power up top.
I put a 3" d/p and sigle 100cell cat on my S3, no difference at all. Milltek system, nothing significant. How are you going to achieve 280 ?

Chris.

[bakerdcb]

On a different note, what is the 4wd system like in the S3?

The S3 has the same quattro system as the TT which uses a Haldex unit to shift power to the rear wheels when the fronts struggle for grip. The car is basically front wheel drive most of the time and only shifts power rearwards when grip is reduced. Its a clever device and works well on wet roundabaouts etc. You are never short of grip or traction. It is also possible to reprogramme the haldex unit to deliver more power rearwards more of the time. There is a limit as to how much can go back there, I think its no more than 50%, but people who have done this claim it improves things still further and makes the car more of a true quattro, ie. a Torsen quattro.

[scrob]

bakerdcb, that sounds very interesting. How would one go about altering the characteristics of the Haldex unit? IF there are any companies out there you could point me in the direction of I would be greatly appreciative. Surely too much bias to the rear will put additional stress onthe drive train as it was not designed to take large amounts of power all of the time???

Rob

[DuncS3]

www.eiptuning.com

The new ECU is made by Haldex themselves

If you get a S3 though this Haldex ECU shouldnt be top of your list of mods

Dunc