saxon's intro/build/update thread

[saxon]

i thought i would finally make an intro post in this section. i picked up a 2016 s3 may 13th (friday the 13th!)
msrp: 48,800
premium plus
led package
tech package
B&O
sepang blue

purchase price - $41,000 before tax/tags

The only option i wanted but i couldnt find was a car with sports seats and no 19's (didnt want mag ride as i knew i would modify suspension)

20160513_102357 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr


To give a little history of myself, I have been a car nut for a long time and I used to only drive honda/acura until i bought a 2006 evo in 2010. Every since then i have had quite a few awd/performance cars

2006 evo IX MR, 2006 s2000, 2006 tsx, 2006 sti, 2007 335i, 2011 s4, 2015 m3 500whp, 2006 evo IX, 2003 evo 500whp
Untitled by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

Untitled by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

IMW-Dyno-Day5 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

front-passenger by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

20125225194_518cd5e47e_o by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

20151121_131403 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

FullSizeRender by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

FB_IMG_1461621490894 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

of those cars i had the S4 for the longest time (2 years and 50k miles) it was an overall great car and one of the few i had regrets of selling (sold to buy the m3)


I feel i am always in search of the perfect car, for most people who only drive 12k miles a year their perfect car could be much more performance (gas guzzling) oriented than mine since i typically drive 2500-3000 miles in a month and value a car that can get 30 mpg ( i also own a 2010 prius)


Review- So far with 2500 miles on the car i absolutely have fallen in love with the overall practicality, its not the fastest car, not the best handling, not the best at really anything but it does soo many things well enough that its really a great package for someone who is conscious of fuel economy yet want a car that looks nice and can get out of its own way. With that said i plan to modify the car to make it fit my needs and try not to go over board with modifications.

mods so far-
034 dog bone mount- i really havent noticed much of a difference with this mod besides a hard judder when starting the car

034 rear subframe inserts- this have stiffened up the rear end, but havent really impacted handling, id imagine once i start making more power these and the dogbone mount will be much more effective

bilstein b16/pss10 - i just got these in the mail and will update once installed

20160607_213111 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

eurocode end links- still in the mail, will update once installed

factory black optics grille- really love the black optics look but again i didnt want mag ride

carbon by design (aka aliexpress) rear carbon diffusor and carbon rear wing- still waiting on them to come in the mail

clear mounts phone mount- a great piece, i wish it worked with landscape mode but overall i cant complain

35% carbon 3m tint

audi r8 titanium split 5 spoke (4 front 19x8.5)- still waiting on getting all 4 refnished to oem spec

20160531_161307 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

bull-x cat less downpipe- picked this up for a good price used and plan to go stage 2 at some point

the first thing i did when i picked up the car was dropped it off for tint and then took it home to correct any minor swirls and seal the car with cquartz ceramic coating

13323424_10100121683832144_6811280636398289069_o by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

20160528_232632 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

13327375_10100123941018724_1506473652948485041_n by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

i will update slowly with new mods and updates on the car, thanks for looking

[Dudemans4]

I also came from an b8 s4.

[2015S3]

You need some carbon on that bad boy!!!!

[will13k7]

Welcome back to the four rings Saxon!

The s3 really starts to grow on you. I originally was going to keep the s3 near stock as a commuter and keep the s4 as a toy, but that switched after I realized how truly heavy the s4 is and how quick and agile the s3 is... plus I think it's the best looking Audi they have made so far (IMHO).

Going stage 2 or 3?

[saxon]

Welcome back to the four rings Saxon!

The s3 really starts to grow on you. I originally was going to keep the s3 near stock as a commuter and keep the s4 as a toy, but that switched after I realized how truly heavy the s4 is and how quick and agile the s3 is... plus I think it's the best looking Audi they have made so far (IMHO).

Going stage 2 or 3?

I will most likely wait until their is a stage 3 that is just a modified stock frame turbo. For now I'm trying to decide what is the best tune that I can flash at home and will have ability to tune an upgraded turbo

[saxon]

installed the pss10 today, i still need to play around with the ride height and the settings for dampening. right now i have them at 3 and honestly believe it rides "better" than the stock suspension.

once i get an alignment and have more than 100 miles i will give a thorough review

20160609_182736 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr


I also recieved a 2nd hand Bull-x catless downpipe that will be installed at 5000 miles with most likely a stage 2 tune

20160608_223203 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

[will13k7]

I recommend trying out '6' all around before your review, it's a great balance of performance/comfort imo.

[helli217]

Nice start Saxon. Looking forward to your thoughts on the Bilsteins. I am likely going to be swapping out my NGPs, they don't allow enough height in the rear for my tastes, and the roads around here are a disaster.

[saxon]

I recommend trying out '6' all around before your review, it's a great balance of performance/comfort imo.

thanks, i will give that a shot after about 1,000 miles with it on 3, im not looking for a "sporty" ride, but more or less a comfortable ride that will last

Nice start Saxon. Looking forward to your thoughts on the Bilsteins. I am likely going to be swapping out my NGPs, they don't allow enough height in the rear for my tastes, and the roads around here are a disaster.

so far so good, i really like how they ride on 3 setting. its a PITA to adjust height in the rear but i have it set a 25.5" ftg all around right now

[coolwater]

Looking good man. You got the car at a great price! I'm at 25 inches ftg all around and it's perfect IMHO. I highly recommend eurodyne for their stage 2 tune. Flash from home yourself and flash back to stock was confirmed to avoid warranty issues.

Once you go stage 2, I'm curious to know how quick it feels compared to your other heavily modded cars.

-cW

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[saxon]

I recommend trying out '6' all around before your review, it's a great balance of performance/comfort imo.

Looking good man. You got the car at a great price! I'm at 25 inches ftg all around and it's perfect IMHO. I highly recommend eurodyne for their stage 2 tune. Flash from home yourself and flash back to stock was confirmed to avoid warranty issues.

Once you go stage 2, I'm curious to know how quick it feels compared to your other heavily modded cars.

-cW

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

thanks, eurodyne is a consideration due to the flash at home option

so i took the stock wing off by heating it up with a heat gun and a plastic pry tool, and i also took off the stock diffuser. the diffuser was a total pita that i thought i was going to rip!
i then installed the carbon wing and diffuser. the wing fits great and only has a couple very very minor defects in the gel coat, and the diffuser looked perfect but one tab was a bit short however fit great with 2 screws

20160610_153944 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

20160611_072400 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

a picture from cars and coffee

20160611_091239 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

[Lusky]

very nice!

[magnessr]

How dark is your tint? Car looks great.


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[saxon]

very nice!

thanks!

How dark is your tint? Car looks great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thanks! tint is 35% ceramic

An updated picture, i finally got my wheels back from being refinished, went with the oem titanium color. I love these wheels as its an oem+ look and weigh just under 21lbs

[949]

why did u sell the M3 2015?

[saxon]

why did u sell the M3 2015?

sold it to buy a 2nd house, honestly wasn't very upset when i sold it and dont regret it :)

[saxon]

a couple updates

hit 4,000 miles this past week and have first 5,000 maintenance scheduled, after that the guys at cbtuning will be working on the car to unlock some of its potential and installing the bull-x downpipe

installed the black optics grille (this one was meant for the s3, unlike the a3 one i had previously recieved)



installed the eurocode front and rear end links and had an alignment done



bought some 3m gloss black vinyl and wrapped my trim
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[hbracer93]

Nice work, was it pretty easy to wrap the trim yourself? Places want like $700 to wrap all the nasty chrome, I think its something I could handle myself.

[saxon]

Nice work, was it pretty easy to wrap the trim yourself? Places want like $700 to wrap all the nasty chrome, I think its something I could handle myself.

It wasn't hard, mine isn't perfect but it's very hard to notice any issues unless you inspect them up close and even then they are minor. For roughly $40 and a couple hours I'm happy I saved the money

[saxon]

cleaned the car up this weekend and took some pictures with my note 5 (cant find my charger for my dslr :(

[FabianS]

I love those wheels.

[saxon]

I love those wheels.

thanks me too!


update: ordered the unitronic intercooler and stage 2 ecu/tcu software

[STICKY RICE]

Nice and clean. Looks good, saxon.

[saxon]

Nice and clean. Looks good, saxon.

thanks!

[will13k7]

update: ordered the unitronic intercooler and stage 2 ecu/tcu software

fun time! taking it to the track like you did with your b8 s4?

[saxon]

fun time! taking it to the track like you did with your b8 s4?

of course, i plan on having before and after dyno and track times (stock vs tuned) to share with the community as well

[saxon]

went to the track last night to get some baseline runs in

da was 3266 so i was pretty happy with the times considering, id imagine it would be a high 12' with better weather

[949]

whats the full specs of these wheels?
also whats the specs of the rear ones you didn't use?

[Cairo94507]

Great looking wheels and finish. They came from an R8?

[saxon]

whats the full specs of these wheels?
also whats the specs of the rear ones you didn't use?

19x8.5 +42 I believe, rears are 19x11 +50

Great looking wheels and finish. They came from an R8?

Yep r8 titanium edition wheels

[saxon]

went and had my 5000 mile service done today!

afterwards i went to a local dyno that i have had almost all of my cars on

3rd gear i made 244/248 and then found out it should have been 4th gear which made 259/263

i also then had them compare the graph to my stock tuned with Injen intake 2011 b8 s4 (301/314)

as you can see the s4 dominates all around, more tq and faster, more power everywhere. it will be interesting to see how this car performs with stage 2 against the s4 stage 2 (apr)

[saxon]

installed the unitronic intercooler and unitronic stage 2

[cW6mT mKviGLi]

Hey Brian, you were able to drive around for the month with a downpipe and no tune without issue? How are you liking the Unitronic S2 and what made you go Uni over the competition?

The car is looking great as usual! We picked up my wife's S3 last weekend at Audi Reading also.

[TCHUN003]

Great work! Can't wait to see more updates.

[saxon]

Hey Brian, you were able to drive around for the month with a downpipe and no tune without issue? How are you liking the Unitronic S2 and what made you go Uni over the competition?

The car is looking great as usual! We picked up my wife's S3 last weekend at Audi Reading also.

I had the downpipe and tune done at the same time.

I went unitronic as reliability and self flashing are very important to me, I have no doubt that unitronic produces similar results and if I'm slower by 1/10 of a second but my turbo lasts 100k miles I'll be happy

- - - Updated - - -

Great work! Can't wait to see more updates.

Thanks!

[saxon]

some updates:

ordered 034 intake
7mm spacer up front
5mm spacer in rear
finally transferred over my plate from my past cars since i feel its deserving now
ttrs front brakes

the ttrs brakes save about 8 lbs per corner which i am very happy with, i chose stoptech pads from a 2010 STI and will update with results of pad/rotor wear

[Wr3ks_S3]

The TT RS calipers look great! Nice work so far!!

If what your saying is true and the calipers use the same pads as an STI, I'd also suggest Project U NS400. I had them on my previous car. Low dust and no squealing.

[Moha]

great build! Killer cars you had too :D

Any improvements noticed with the upgraded IC ? plan on buying one soon and cant decide between the APR or Uni

[saxon]

great build! Killer cars you had too :D

Any improvements noticed with the upgraded IC ? plan on buying one soon and cant decide between the APR or Uni

I installed it the same time as the software so I cant say personally. However based upon others reviews i should expect a much more consistent power delivery

Thanks!

[saxon]

The TT RS calipers look great! Nice work so far!!

If what your saying is true and the calipers use the same pads as an STI, I'd also suggest Project U NS400. I had them on my previous car. Low dust and no squealing.

Thanks, I'll keep them in mind when the stop techs wear down