This is my S3 thread. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

[phillyquattro]

Very nice

Me too! Car's looking good man.

Thanks guys!

Looks great ! love the stance and those wheels ! are you considering black emblems to match the wheels ? but maybe some contrast is better .

Thanks! I've been thinking about blacking out the front/rear rings and S3 badge but after getting the wheels I'm actually going to look into whether or not I can get them all finished in the same color as the wheels (Rotiform "Candy Black"). I think that would provide just a touch of contrast but still give the blacked out look. I'm going to run it as is for a bit and see how I feel about it in a couple weeks.

[DarkSideGTI]

are the wheels painted or powdered?

[3Peat]

Looking sweet!

The wheels on the car look so much more concave then off. Love it!

[Alloy07]

Thanks guys!



Thanks! I've been thinking about blacking out the front/rear rings and S3 badge but after getting the wheels I'm actually going to look into whether or not I can get them all finished in the same color as the wheels (Rotiform "Candy Black"). I think that would provide just a touch of contrast but still give the blacked out look. I'm going to run it as is for a bit and see how I feel about it in a couple weeks.

Love the idea of doing the emblems in the same candy black finish as the wheels ! either way your car looks outstanding !

[coolwater]

Looking good Philly. Like the concave profile of the wheels. Are they lighter than stock?

Hopefully by spring an ecu tune from home will be available to you.

I did my eurodyne a week ago and car is insanely quick now. :)

-cW


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[phillyquattro]

are the wheels painted or powdered?

Good question and honestly I don't have the answer. I believe they're painted as the Rotiform finishes page doesn't mention anything about powder coating...but who knows. Perhaps Sean @Tag will see this and chime in. Regardless the finish is gorgeous in person but a bit hard to capture accurately in photos.

Looking good Philly. Like the concave profile of the wheels. Are they lighter than stock?

Hopefully by spring an ecu tune from home will be available to you.

I did my eurodyne a week ago and car is insanely quick now. :)

I didn't have a scale so I didn't weigh them. The FedEx shipment said total weight was 224lbs. Figure approximately 16lbs of packaging to drop it to approximately 208lbs for the set, so 52lbs apiece mounted/balanced. Never weighed a wheel with a mounted tire before so I have no idea what one typically weighs, but that seems a bit high to me. When I swap the Conti Extreme Contacts for MSS in the spring I'll be sure to get a scale and weigh the unmounted wheel. They don't strike me as a very light wheel though so I'll need to get my weight savings with a BBK upgrade and light weight rotors in the rear. I'm ok with that trade off. :-)

I'll probably be waiting a bit longer before an ECU tune. My next upgrades will be BBK and rear rotors, then intercooler and piping, then turboback exhaust. By the time I'm done with those hopefully there's a haldex tune. I want to improve handling, stopping, and efficiency first...then power. The car is already quick enough for me, for the moment at least. Ha.

[Benji00]

Car is looking great! I really like your choice of wheels and overall mod direction. I also suffer from the dreaded mag ride / B14 / KW module issue.

[will13k7]

I also suffer from the dreaded mag ride / B14 / KW module issue.

so your getting suspension errors now too? awww man, I guess raising the car a little won't fix it then. No one really seems interested in helping fix this issue right now, not the tuner shops that know about it, or KW. All KW told me is that the height sensors are out of range, but they don't offer up any solutions.

[phillyquattro]

Car is looking great! I really like your choice of wheels and overall mod direction. I also suffer from the dreaded mag ride / B14 / KW module issue.

Thanks man! Trying to keep it relatively simple and clean. Sucks to hear you get the delete kit issue as well. That doesn't give me a lot of hope now for removing that error. For now it's not a big deal, just an annoyance. When I eventually start to track the car in the spring it will become an issue as it turns traction control back on. The last thing I want is that happening unexpectedly. :-(

[phillyquattro]

Snapped a few quick photos today. I really should invest in a DSLR. I should also remember to wait for the lights to go off on the car before snapping some photos. :-/

[phillyquattro]

Been a while without some updates so here's what I just bought this week and will be installing over the next few weeks.

StopTech 4 piston 355mm BBK
APR Intercooler
APR Boost hose kit
APR Turbo inlet to go with the CF intake
ECS skid plate

I should probably pick up some stainless lines for the rear brakes and upgrade the pads as well. Also getting the taillights and rear reflectors lightly smoked to cut down on the bright red by just a touch. Next few weeks should be fun.

[will13k7]

Awesome Philly, we're going to have some nice S3s roaming 101, lol. Can't wait to see your BBK.

[ECP]

What did you end up doing with the stock wheels?

[phillyquattro]

Awesome Philly, we're going to have some nice S3s roaming 101, lol. Can't wait to see your BBK.

I'm super excited for the BBK. I also forgot I have to pick up a set of MSS tires for a early April track event. Ugh.

What did you end up doing with the stock wheels?

They're stacked in a closet in my apartment. Mounted and balanced OEM Conti Pro Contact tires on them. About 200 miles on the set. 1 wheel has about a dime sized bit of curb rash on it due to parking on a near pitch black street. Been thinking of selling them as all they're doing is taking up space and they'll never get put back on the car as I have plans for a second set of smaller wheels for the track and winter. Interested?

[ECP]

I'm super excited for the BBK. I also forgot I have to pick up a set of MSS tires for a early April track event. Ugh.



They're stacked in a closet in my apartment. Mounted and balanced OEM Conti Pro Contact tires on them. About 200 miles on the set. 1 wheel has about a dime sized bit of curb rash on it due to parking on a near pitch black street. Been thinking of selling them as all they're doing is taking up space and they'll never get put back on the car as I have plans for a second set of smaller wheels for the track and winter. Interested?

Interested, pm me to further discuss

[coolwater]

Looking forward to your new mods. You doing most of the work yourself? Curious what the labor will be on the intercoolor...

-cW

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[phillyquattro]

Interested, pm me to further discuss

Will do shortly.

Looking forward to your new mods. You doing most of the work yourself? Curious what the labor will be on the intercoolor...

A friend and I are going to do the BBK. Not sure about the intercooler. Will take a look at the install instructions when I get it and go from there.

[RyanS3]

looking good

[phillyquattro]

looking good

Thanks man! Love what you're doing with your car as well.

[phillyquattro]

So these showed up today.

[Blaine]

Any install photos yet for the BBK?

[phillyquattro]

Any install photos yet for the BBK?

Nope. They're still sitting in boxes in my apartment. Installing them this coming weekend.

[Blaine]

Nope. They're still sitting in boxes in my apartment. Installing them this coming weekend.

While they are out. Can you get a weight of the Stoptech ST40?

[lamchop]

How are you liking your rear sway bar? Did you ever adjust the stiffness? Did you ever upgrade the front? Looking to keep my car planted on hard turns, do you have any advice?

[phillyquattro]

While they are out. Can you get a weight of the Stoptech ST40?

I don't have a scale at my apartment and the garage I was at today doing the install didn't have one either. Next time I do the install I'll be sure to find a scale and do a side by side comparison because I'm curious as well. If that last statement "next time I do the install" doesn't make sense...read my next post as I explain.

How are you liking your rear sway bar? Did you ever adjust the stiffness? Did you ever upgrade the front? Looking to keep my car planted on hard turns, do you have any advice?

Love the rear sway. Combined with the rear chassis brace the car feels far more firm and planted through turns. I have not adjusted the stiffness yet and will likely do that sometime in the spring when I lower the car back down to it's non-winter height. I also have a track event coming up in early April so it'll be good to see how it performs on the track and not just spirited driving. I'll make the switch on the stiffness and then do another event later in the spring to get a true comparison. I have no plans to upgrade the front at this point in time.

[phillyquattro]

So rented out space at a DIY garage here in the Bay Area today to do the StopTech install. It went great...until it didn't. I'd never done a brake swap myself before. Hell I'd never even swapped my own pads. Turns out it's all incredibly easy and super gratifying...until it wasn't.



ZOMG it looks so fantastic right? I bet it performs even better. Sadly I wouldn't know as this is as close as I got to finding out. Turns out my wheels are too concave and won't clear the calipers. Test fitted the driver side wheel after getting the caliper/rotor installed and it was pressed firmly against the caliper, it would be worse torqued down. Would need a 3mm spacer at minimum to clear. Running a spacer with my wheels isn't an option as A) I'm not a fan of the poke look and B) I'd have to run a more aggressive tire as well to not rub. I'm not willing to do either of those things.

So what does this mean? New shoes of course. So my beautiful Rotiforms that I do not want to part with will be up for sale soon (wheels only) as well as the OEM black optic wheels and tires. More details forthcoming in the semi-near future. The day wasn't a total loss though as I did at least get to install the ECS Street Shield, ECS stainless rear lines, and put in some nice Motul 600 fluid that's going to be totally wasted when I have to install the StopTechs for real and re-bleed the system. Sigh.

Oh yeah, and I have an APR Intercooler sitting in my closet with the boost piping kit. So details on that at some point in the near future as well.

[frd_lee]

The car is looking good bro!!

[lamchop]

Does that mean the factory wheels won't work with this kit? Witch stop tech kit did you get? I was looking to do the kit but still run my factory 18" for the winter, do you think that will fit?

[phillyquattro]

Does that mean the factory wheels won't work with this kit? Witch stop tech kit did you get? I was looking to do the kit but still run my factory 18" for the winter, do you think that will fit?

As far as I'm aware the factory wheels will fit just fine but I highly recommend visiting StopTech's site and checking out their fitment guide to be sure. I have the ST40 355mm kit and it wouldn't work with my current Rotiform wheels as they're extremely concave. Already looking into new wheels so I can get this thing installed.

[phillyquattro]

New wheels ordered today. Gonna be a long 4-6 week wait but it's going to look so so so so so good when I get them.

OEM Black Optic wheels listed for sale here.

[coolwater]

Good job on the DIY. What wheels are you ordering. I'm thinking about switching it up soon also.

-cW

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[phillyquattro]

Good job on the DIY. What wheels are you ordering. I'm thinking about switching it up soon also.

-cW

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Haha, would have been a better job on the DIY if I'd used StopTech's templates to determine fit beforehand...but it was still fun regardless. I ordered another set of Rotiform wheels that'll leave as a bit of a mystery for the moment. I didn't want to switch it up as I love my current wheels...but there's no acceptable way to make them fit with the brake kit so unfortunately I had to. Got any particular wheels you're leaning towards?

[DarkSideGTI]

Just take an angle grinder to the caliper like all the MK4 kids do. :)

[phillyquattro]

Just take an angle grinder to the caliper like all the MK4 kids do. :)

Do they actually do that? That doesn't seem very smart...but maybe that's why you used the term "kids" to describe them. ;-)

[DarkSideGTI]

You can actually machine a bit of material off of the face of the caliper safely. I don't think I would do any more than 2-3mm though. A buddy of mine had some calipers machined down and then the Audi Sport logo machined into it.

Before


After

[ECP]

Do they actually do that? That doesn't seem very smart...but maybe that's why you used the term "kids" to describe them. ;-)

What about going with TTRS front brakes?

[phillyquattro]

You can actually machine a bit of material off of the face of the caliper safely. I don't think I would do any more than 2-3mm though. A buddy of mine had some calipers machined down and then the Audi Sport logo machined into it.

Before


After

Whoa those look pretty good actually. If I wasn't actually super excited for new wheels I might go with that approach.

What about going with TTRS front brakes?

Prefer the StopTech kit as it weighs less.

[ECP]

Whoa those look pretty good actually. If I wasn't actually super excited for new wheels I might go with that approach.



Prefer the StopTech kit as it weighs less.

Understood, was curious.

[phillyquattro]

Did my first track event with the S3 yesterday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Ran in the beginner group so you get paired up with a coach and another car (I got paired with another black S3). Other cars of note in my group: my friends RS5, a stage 1 B8 S4, a Jaguar F Type R, a 991 GT3, and a modded up Cayman S. Had an absolute blast and our team of S3s ate everyone alive all day long.

The GT3 and F Type were paired up and were always the first ones in the starting grid. We purposefully put ourselves a few pairs behind them and the RS5/stage 1 S4 pairing as we figured they'd be good goals for "can we hunt these pairs down". Not only did we hunt them down, we lapped them...all day long. All that power and performance couldn't help them because they couldn't hold the line. We were consistently entering and exiting turns much faster than they were. So while they may have a lot more power, that doesn't help much on a twisty course like Laguna if you're not able to keep the line. I know the driver of that GT3 had to be bitter every time he gave the point by to a pair of 4 cylinders. LOL. That being said, I loved being right on his ass and hearing that flat 6 growl as he tried to get away. That's the sound dreams are made of.

Quick list of things I learned or things that I want to change before next time.
- Roof racks give a noticeable amount of lift that I just don't notice on highway driving. Especially when cresting a hill (turn 1) under power at 100+ mph with a hard brake to 30mph on the other side (turn 2). Can't wait to take it off at the end of this month after snowboard season is officially over.
- Continental Extreme Contact DWS all seasons, while stretched, performed great. I can't wait to get actual track wheels and r-compounds though.
- Stock brakes held up surprisingly well. No fade, no overheating, no problems. I'm running high temp fluid. My partner in his stock S3 was not and did have smoke coming from his brakes after exiting a few times. He also was far more aggressive and often times too hot into corners, so I'm sure he was on his brakes a bit more than I was. That being said, can't wait to get the StopTech kit installed and rear rotors and pads swapped out.
- Rear sway bar on the softer setting was good but I think I want it to be a bit stiffer in the rear so I'll be moving it to the more aggressive setting shortly.

Can't wait to do it again. I'll post up some pics shortly.

[phillyquattro]

Pics as promised.

I believe this is coming out of T11


Passing the garages along the main straight.


Top of turn 8 (The famed corkscrew)


Going through T8A


About to crest the hill heading into T1 along the main straight.