Audi A3 Turbo - Built in Australia, Tuned in Great Britain

[guile]

thought i'd start a bit of a build thread to keep tabs on the process as i modify my a3. the previous owner has already put A LOT of work in to the motor and i don't want to take any credit for that. see the thread below for all work done on the car by alex g prior to me getting my hands on it...

i promise to keep the a3 standard...

[guile]

from the info i have i think the spec when i bought the car is as follows;

ENGINE + PERFORMANCE
- Custom FMIC setup
- Custom twintake
- Oettinger spec'd K04 turbo
- N75j Boost Solenoid
- Forge BOV
- Larger injectors
- Custom Intake Manifold
- Relocated TB
- Custom hardlines
- Custom Catch can
- CustomCode tune (still on base)
- 3in turboback exhaust
- Lightened pulleys
- Larger fuel pump
- Relocated battery to boot (drycell)

EXTERIOR
- Stubby aerial
- Rear wiper delete
- Modified front bar
- Aftermarket headlamps
- Clear side indicators

DRIVETRAIN
- Dieselgeek 5sp shifter
- Spec Performance Stage 3 clutch
- Billet single mass flywheel

INTERIOR
- Parrot headunit

BRAKING
-ECStuning Stage 1 upgrade (330mm front discs)
-EBC greenstuff pads (F)

WHEEL + SUSPENSION
- Raceland coilovers
- DLI Engine mounts (passenger & drivers side)
- BFI dogbone bushings
- Audi TT Mk1 wheels

[guile]

how it looked when I first bought it...



i don't think the stndard plate size suits the rear as it was obviously designed for a euro plate...



i wasn't keen on the plate fixed to the side either so i bought these...



then i found out what the plate was covering... it will be fixed at a later date...



euro plate should fill this recess nicely...

[guile]

didn't like the gear knob so changed it and slipped on a new leather gaiter...



so much better with the fresh leather, just need a cover for the diagnostic port now...



with the addition of the chrome gear knob i thought it didn't really fit the rest of the interior so i also changed the dials and pedals...



i think it gives the clocks a more modern appearance...



old pedals looking a bit tired...



new oem pedal covers to be installed...



i just need a dead pedal cover now too...



finally got that dead pedal cover fitted…

[guile]

fixed up the speaker connections, they worked fine but some of the wires were twisted and taped together. you'll probably see i'm a bit @nal about stuff so wanted to fix it properly, OCD...



this is the reason i wanted to fix it up. looks a bit untidy and a danger of wires shorting out...

[cylinderhead]

Saw this at the Eurocar meet. Looks very tidy.

[guile]

Saw this at the Eurocar meet. Looks very tidy.

thanks mate, needs a bit of tidying up but hoping to fix all that very soon...

[cylinderhead]

How do you like the Spec clutch?

[guile]

How do you like the Spec clutch?

the mrs isn't too keen, so much so we had to buy another car! i don't mind it, you have to put a few rev's on but you'd expect that. i find i also have to depress the clutch the whole way or it grinds, i'm guessing that could be the adjustment though.

no real complaints, put it this way, its never slipped!

[guile]

after spending a couple of weeks tidying a few things up i decided it was time to try and get the final custom tune on the car so i rang gav at custom code. i was fortunate that the previous owner had already purchased the stage 3 tune from CC and they were decent enough to transfer that purchase to the new owner (me).

i quizzed gav on what was required as i am new to the tuning scene. in a nut shell my basic understanding is that we needed to run the car flat out in fourth gear to determine its current tune status before it can be tweaked for maximum performance. as my licence is non too healthy (i also own a Honda CBR600RR) it was agreed we would stick the a3 on the rollers.

a vw specialist was suggested that was only around the corner from my joint...



nice sign above the car, got to love the aussie humour...



bonnet opened to hook up the diagnostics...



and the egt reader shoved up its date...



the remote control was for the dyno, gav was sat in the passenger seat with the laptop...



unfortunately the car was not running 100% so it wasn't possible to log the current set-up; click on the photo below for the dyno run video link...

[seangti]

geez, what's going on from the dyno runs? Never seen anything like that before.

[h100vw]

At the time it had this oscillating AFR issue. Which has been difficult to nail down. Not the software as it's pretty close to Lito's Golf. There was an inline pump which under WOT seemed unable to supply enough pressure. This was confirmed with a fuel pressure gauge. Although the pressure was rising under boost, it wasn't maintaining 4 BAR above manifold pressure. So the ECU was trying to compensate for this and couldn't.

That pump was removed and then it was run with a new intank pump, which still seemed to under perform under WOT but the pressure was following boost properly. A couple of weeks back the fuel filter was replaced again, the one coming out had been in for only a few hundred ks. Anyway, it seemed much better on the road but still need to log it to see if the drivers seat impression is true.

Fingers crossed next time Richard is back home we can finally nail it.

Gavin

[guile]

as said above the dyno run highlighted a few issues which we attempted to narrow down. while the car was on the rollers it was suggested that the plugs might be on their way out and as i didn't know when they were last changed i agreed it would be a good idea. the guys at leon's ordered some on the spot and 20 minutes later (after the reception girl picked them up) they were changed out ready for another run. although marginally improved it was along way off from fixed.

as a consolation prize gav called in on the way home to fix my window motor



spot the problem...



new one installed and working well...



thanks mate!



i had no idea when the fuel filter was last changed so it was a good idea to switch that out



new one hooked up and ready to go...



again this appeared to help but the performance was very erratic. CC suggested that it looked to be a fuelling problem, as the age of the in tank fuel pump was not known it was decided to change that for a performance upgrade (Genesis Mk4 High-Flow Intank Pump)...

usually sideways rally team pump good for 400bhp...



also a minor update; i swapped the arial as it was a she ite reception...



out with the old...



much better radio signal now this is fitted and looks betters too...

[guile]

i had been trying to make my mind up if i liked the rear spoiler or not, only one way to find out

before...



during...



after...



and finally...



in the mean time i went on a trip to the states and bought myself a souvenir



i decided to stick with the wolfsburg that was already on the car as a rear wiper delete when i bought it, hence the gear knob and steering wheel centre



swapped the wolfsburg centre in to the momo housing for a better fit...



thought i'd try the mirror covers, if its good enough for the s3's its good enough for this car...



i think they look pretty neat...



the rear hatch handle was playing up so this was ordered from the uk



installed and fully functional...



to top it all off i bought myself a bra

[khonfahm]

Loving this; Keep it up!