Project - Val

[IanPGonzaga]

Seeing a couple of Audi's pop up (in the for sale section) so thought i'd put mine up.

Been a bit of a project car which i thought i was going to sell but got attached. Was a little neglected when i first got him (and by the looks of things the previous owner) but the car looked clean and just needed some TLC. So, when i was searching, i originally wanted a TT. Brother mentioned he had a friend who was selling a car - so i checked it out and noticed "hey wtf it's got the same engine. What is this!?" I'd never even heard of the S3! So checked it out and a couple days later - drove him home.


• missing foglight grilles, hazy headlight


• blown LED's, no spoiler, no badge


• scuffed up interior bits, broken cupholder (headlining was completely falling off too)


• i was lucky to find it to be pretty clean under the bonnet with the bonus of a silicone TIP and silicone boost hoses (don't know why i cropped them out, probably didn't realise they were aftermarket). When i first drove him i didn't notice it but there was a noticeable lack in power after about 3000rpm

When i finally got time to fix things up i started sourcing things online. stuff from overseas comes in heaps less than brand new at dealers so i was able to fix those little bits up. I like my music sounding GREAT so out went the stock system and now...


• shark fin antenna instead of the HUGE aerial (still spoiler-less), x-over for the German Maestro front stage, pioneer H/U w/time alignment, hidden amps & installed a rear reversing cam (awesome for getting that fat ass into those tight spaces!)


• spoiler on! Full view with original S3 Ronals


• wanted 18 inchers so got these A8 rims that i liked...


• i obtained VCDS as the more i found out about the car the more i wanted to know. VCDS revealed misfires due to a bad coil pack, dead lambda and some other various codes. Set out on fixing the power issues first. The cam cover had leaked oil onto coil pack 1 so off it went for new gaskets and while i was at it - paint


• blue and black theme is coming on along with 2.0 coil packs installed with spacers

Then that was it for a while. Car was still unregistered. A whole lot of nothing again for a bit as studies kicked back in and then...


• Val was born! Dodgiest panels got some new paint, darker tints and found some TT reps (they're not perfect but will restore...)


• Low light shots - black cars at night

... and the focus is now back to the engine...


• IE catch can to (hopefully) keep crap out the engine

So far it's been a rewarding experience fixing him up. Will be better when there's time in a couple weeks to REALLY get stuck into it all!!! Best thing is i did some logs through VCDS and it looks like there's a tune on him - makes sense with the uprated silicone piping! BONUS!!!

Can't wait!

[richierichaudis3]

What year and any pics?

[IanPGonzaga]

well that went well... pictures looked like they uploaded but have vanished

- it's an '02 model

[jgribben]

Looking good Ian. How do you find the Samco intake...i have the B5 one but something seems to be going a miss so considering buying one to see if it solves any issues.

[IanPGonzaga]

yeah the samco intake seems like it's doing the job great - smooth power delivery all up the way up to 5-6k

what's going on with the badger5 one that it's going amiss?

[IanPGonzaga]

was out at PVAG Melbourne Meet and got this shot taken. lookin' good (don't want anything to stand out)



and got this guy on the rear - sticking with the blue and black theme (i didn't actually realise the sway bar would be blue until i opened it two days ago). Did this along with a diff and Haldex fluid / filter change up the back.

[IanPGonzaga]

Couple other jobs done
- changed all oils down the front (dropped the sump and gave all of that a much needed clean)


This is is the magnetic plug from the bevel box - again thank god I'm being thorough because that gunk and metal shavings have pretty much filled the plug! IDK why the bottom transmission plug isn't magnetic though...



- I have injectors 1&2 leaking a bit of onto the manifold so out they came for new o-rings and a bit of a wire tidy. I cleaned them thoroughly by hooking each one up to a home made (cut off from wreckers) injector plug and run carby cleaner through them. All injectors flowing properly.
- Doing the wire tidy was pretty easy once the fuel rail was off. I read a guide saying you needed to unplug a couple of sensors under/ to the left of the engine but I found this wasn't necessary with the fuel rail off. Just had to remove the original black bracket and the plug brackets that hold 1&2 and 3&4 together then re route the wiring however you want! Made sure to clean up all the gunk that had accumulated from the past 120000km's and it looks heaps neater! Fuel loss was minimal too. Once the first injector was out most of the fuel to leak was lost at that point.

Stock shifter linkages


- dieselgeek sigma 6 short shift kit. What a lovely, high quality piece of kit this is! Easy to install (should've just gone with instinct with the bolt off and on process) & adjustment instructions were easy to follow. Excellent reduction in shift travel, no notchiness to be felt and looks great! If only all the rest of the crud wasn't ruining the shiny new metal.

will link to a video once I figure out how to superimpose the two together.

Now the one hugest, most annoying this is I've not been out for a test drive I'm still waiting on a Haldex drain plug from Audi as the unit is empty of oil. So in the meantime Val is still waiting patiently up on car stands and I'm just itching to give the new kit a quick go before moving on to more servicing jobs.

[IanPGonzaga]

stock shifter throw compared to dieselgeek sigma 6 throw. reduced? yup! notchy? nope! easy to get into all gears? yup!

[IanPGonzaga]

been working on doing timing belt/ water pump/ thermostat service today

bit of a bitch and stripped some of the pulley sprocket bolts but got to the point of re-installation

[IanPGonzaga]

I've finally been able to drive now that i received a Haldex drain plug that took 3 weeks to arrive

So while i was waiting and super annoyed with Audi - this happened




• horns relocated to either side of the car as there won't be space on the new bracket which sticks out further than stock




• clearance from radiatior to reo bar - it's tight but all super snug. temperature sensor (i think) just taped down onto the wiring


• cut and soldered longer wire to move this horn to the driver's side SMIC mount




• tiniest bit of grinding needed so the sharp angles of the foglight brackets didn't rub on silicone piping




• Wagner front mount intercooler (apparently fits into Mk1 TT 225 as well!) all cleanly bolted up. For those who are unfamiliar here are the specs

Wagner FMIC - High-performance 600mm x 355mm x 50mm 10,650cm³
Stock SMIC: 2pcs 174mm x 183mm x 85mm, 2.700cm³
CAD / FEM optimized cast aluminum end tanks
60mm inlet, 70mm outlet
Includes High Grade Hardware and Black Silicone Hoses

AND my effing Haldex drain plug FINALLY arrived which i hastily filled up with oil and fitted! woooooo! have finally been able to have some fun with the car and al i can say is that the sigma 6 short shift makes a WORLD of difference. I need to teach myself to push the pedals faster with the MUCH shorter throw. i love it.

Handling is most noticeable when turning and the car is a lot more eager to take the turn and feels like it pushes into it. I read some information saying that upgrading the rear swaybar only to anything more than 19mm = skittish front end when driving straight but i can't feel any of that. All is solid there.

I will have to do some logging to see what difference the Wagner makes but so far i'm happy with how it's all come together and going to leave working on the car until after New Year where i think i will move back to interior stuff!!! I've missed driving Val that's for sure!!!

[schwartza3]

nice work
interested to see the air intake temp difference over stock

[IanPGonzaga]

Took some logs the other night and is very nice to see the intercooler doing a great job!

Old logs with SMIC

Logs with Wagner FMIC

and if you CBF clicking and reading, i'll give a rundown.

Basically did the pulls after logging other things so it would've been run 3 or 4 on both occasions. i picked similar weather conditions too - the SMIC ones being slightly colder.

• intake air temps w/SMIC maxes out at 48˚C @ 7000rpm
• intake air temps w/FMIC maxes out at 33˚C @ 7000rpm - reading the logs the temperature begins lowering by 2640rpm VS the side mount temperatures where they steadily climb up until 7k

[IanPGonzaga]

Ordered a bunch of parts for the suspension upgrade so while i'm waiting for that... onto a job i been caning to do since i got my sub


so this is what's going in - MBQuart RLP254 10"



Which calls for a small/tight response enclosure to be .4 cubic feet = 11.3267 L (or for flat response .65 cubic feet = 18.406 L). I've currently got a 12" in a small box sitting in the boot - now that's not very practical so want to make use of the space where the original sub was behind the boot trim



heres an aftermarket option that lets you put in an 8" sub. you can see there's still so much space around it that can be used... so i'm going to use it





To prep the area i went right up to the seat belt tensioner where i then walled off with some card roughly cut to the contour of the wheel arch (previous to masking the area up i also removed the gray carpet that covers the heavy padding on the wheel arch and hides wiring giving you sh|tloads of space)





I waited a couple hours between layer 1 & 2 and then waited for that to solidify and pulled it out. It was tight but got it out eventually by pulling from the flat part that covers the wheel arch. Should be strong enough that it can flex but won't break




i've got my 11L of packing peanuts ready for the volume test!




volume test




WIN!!! looks like it can EASILY fit 11L with plenty of room to spare. Doesn't even fill past the wheel arch which is the area that would give the most volume so subs that need a tad larger should be doable! Now to add strengthening layers then can work on how the sub will mount to the front.


Am feeling pretty confident about keeping the stock look!

[IanPGonzaga]

Bit of an update!





I found that A3's have this great setup from factory where there's a hole in the radiator support that then connects to the airbox. So i took all that from the wreckers and plan to have it all fitted in to replace the factory snorkel to the guard. Think it'll need tweaking as the extra hoses / sensors that the A3 doesn't have get in the way...

So the audio install got put on hold as i decided to say "fudge it" and get all this suspension gear on! Polybush EVERYTHING!



While all the bushes were being pushed out i installed the adjustable tie bars (bonus as these already came with polybush). Rubber mallet helped in getting these in and out as well as undoing the sub-frame bolt that gets in the way of removing the upper tie arm bolt.



Upper inner tie arms, rear control arm bush, dogbone bushes - these are all relatively easy to push in by hand as they are in halves and plenty of silicone lube comes in the packet. (i got the original rubber ones pushed out in a shop). The rear control arm bush i did in-situ with a drill, chisel/wedge/punch and hammer.


Superpro - bushes of choice, dogbone small end bush, eccentric/caster correcting rear LCA bushes


Swaybar bushes. this was annoying as i thought the factory swaybar size = 19mm. So i when i got it I was shocked to find that the fit is TIGHT and WRONG! Clearly not 19mm hole in there AND it is stamped on the bush as 21mm (didn't see this before ordering). So people... if you're doing this get a 21mm bush to save you from having to bore it out like i did and have blue smurf jizz everywhere!

Getting the bushes on are a bitch too! Them being nice and hard it's extremely difficult to hook the bracket in and get the bolts on. I was trying to be careful with the sprayed bits (don't ask... i just felt like spraying stuff LOL) but then got to a point where i was like "i don't care i just want to get these on". Ended up having to use two clamps on the driver's side bush to make the bolt holes line up!

Then i repainted the brackets AND the bolt... take that!!! LOL



Final piece of the puzzle - steering rack bush and making sure to press it all the way down to make it easier to locate the bolts.

[IanPGonzaga]

Coilovers Install

While all the suspension was out - i also did the coilovers to replace original parts as the car is on ~124k km's.



the assembly of the fronts (green box represents the top hat that sits under the nut you see from the engine bay)



Old VS> new. All still in pretty good condition minus the broken dust protector.



I didn't have the VAG tools to get the OEM stuff off and to replace the new kit. so a bit of DIY =
- vice grips
- 21mm socket / 22mm deep socket which i grinder down two opposing sides for the vice grips to hold on to
- 7mm allen key
- ratchet
- breaker bar



Rear end is a piece of cake compared to the front! Stock height is in the collage and then the dropped height (not yet settled) in the lower right pic. Love the colours of these things! Too bad they're hidden away.

I had them on the highest setting thinking "ah yeah they won't be too high" ummm... it was like 4x4 time! So all the way down they went!