Audi S3 GT3582R stroker Build (previously GT3071r)

[tufftybloke]

Bit more done...

Start as you mean to go on... painting stuff...

Then moved onto the heatshielding... double layered the OE one using a new OE part.. this will have a bit of an airgap to help limit heat transfer but the double layer will be beneficial too...

Need to add a bit more here...

Added a bit more to the rack on the side the wastegate pipework will go down...

...main part of the heatshielding done...

Looks a little patchy but its that way due to thin alloy sheet being a ballache to shape as one piece lol...

Still need to look at doing a bit round by the brake master cylinder but will wait until the engine is in so I can make sure it fits properly as its quite tight in that corner...

Next I separated the EVAP pipe from the coolant return pipe as my EVAP vents to air currently anyway and I plan to remove the canister and put the fuel filter there in its place...

Fitted it in place... plan is to run a bit a heatshielding up from behind the OE piece and bolt it up onto this bracket...

Last thing I did was to look at what I need for adapting the RS4 MAF tube to 100mm... Bill had one adaptor already but I will need another for the other side...

Test fit onto the filter...

And a little comparison of the RS4 and S3 MAF tubes

Getting there... will be ordering a clutch plate tomorrow and have mineral oil and some other stuff on order too... hoping that my manifold will be ready for next weekend so I can wrap it... decided against ceramic coating at this time for a few reasons... well... 400 of them to be exact as thats more or less what Zircotec want to do it!!! plus a 10-15 "working" day turnaround... I got a quote from the same place Stacey got his done which was more favourable but at the moment I want to just get the car back on the road and money is a little short so wrapping will do the job and will also allow the manifold to settle... I don't expect any issues but just in case at least it can be easily welded without an expensive ceramic coating on it..

Also need to sort the flexi's for the coolant line and oil drain from a local fella...

All things being well I should be able to pop the engine into the car next weekend sometime

<tuffty/>

 

[tufftybloke]

Had a few odds and sods turn up this week...

Mineral oil and cheap filters for running the engine in... and a new clutch plate...

Decided that my old Falkens were past their sell by date so ordered a new pair of Hankooks (same as the good ones I have currently) as they were on a good deal at Camskill...

I plan to replace these at a later date (when funds allow) for 235/40/18's (currently 225/40/18) to get a little more rubber on the ground and the slightly taller sidewalls should be a bit more pothole friendly...

I have plans for further suspension mods... I am not a particularly press on driver but enjoy a bit of a 'spirited' drive so I am not going to go mental at this time... I am collecting poly pushes and stuff to freshen everything up and will be giving the caster adjust bushes from superpro (like prawn) a go as well as looking at swapping the rear ARB for a 16mm 4-motion one (std is 15mm)... after doing a bit of research it would appear that just fitting the 19mm R32 rear ARB can make the car feel unstable at speed so a bit of further reading suggests the 16mm will give a little bit of balance back without going OTT with it... I am not worried about going too silly with handling at this time as I have yet to really push the car and lets face it I would need to take it on a track which as most people who know me will tell you is not sometign I am really that interested in lol

In other news... I found the source of a bit of a knocking feeling that I got occasionally through the steering wheel... nearside front drop link had a worn ball joint so bought a pair of very cheap replacements from eBay knowing that if they last a year then I would have easily got my moneys worth out of them and if they last longer then its a bonus... (they were a tenner delivered!)

The list of little jobs is steadily getting smaller... if all goes well then the engine and box will be mated sunday and my manifold back so I can wrap it and fit it to the engine ready to go in the car... Monday I will pop over to the hose guy and sort out the flexi's and the engine and box should be back in the car by close of play... excited much

<tuffty/>

 

[Pimped up vario]

You're already half way there on the suspension front with the bilstein struts. Are they b8's?

It's hard to gauge what way to go the ARB thickness. On my front wheel dive car I want the rear ARB to be thicker and stiffer than the front. On the rear wheel drive you want the front end ARB to be thicker and stiffer but not to sure about yours. Have you got the haldex controller with the 50/50 torque split? Is the standard split 70% front 30% rear? As standard it runs as front wheel drive most of the time and engages the rears when the fronts start to spin up so it's like somewhere between front wheel and four wheel drive.

Is yours the same as the mk1 leon in that when you turn the steering wheel the top of the inside wheel leans out and the top of the outer wheel leans in. The compensation in chamber angle compensates for body role to keep a larger tyre contact patch on the tarmac. My cordoba doesn't do this and as the car roles the tyre moves up on to the edge and losses traction. I need to try and keep the cordoba as level as I can but I was never to sure that changing the amount of body role in the leon would be a good idea to match to the steering geometry and the associated chamber angle of a particular steering input.

 

[tufftybloke]

You're already half way there on the suspension front with the bilstein struts. Are they b8's?

It's hard to gauge what way to go the ARB thickness. On my front wheel dive car I want the rear ARB to be thicker and stiffer than the front. On the rear wheel drive you want the front end ARB to be thicker and stiffer but not to sure about yours. Have you got the haldex controller with the 50/50 torque split? Is the standard split 70% front 30% rear? As standard it runs as front wheel drive most of the time and engages the rears when the fronts start to spin up so it's like somewhere between front wheel and four wheel drive.

Is yours the same as the mk1 leon in that when you turn the steering wheel the top of the inside wheel leans out and the top of the outer wheel leans in. The compensation in chamber angle compensates for body role to keep a larger tyre contact patch on the tarmac. My cordoba doesn't do this and as the car roles the tyre moves up on to the edge and losses traction. I need to try and keep the cordoba as level as I can but I was never to sure that changing the amount of body role in the leon would be a good idea to match to the steering geometry and the associated chamber angle of a particular steering input.

Yeah... they are B8's with Apex -30mm springs... combo works well and I am using the LCR rubber top mounts too as they are harder than the normal ones fitted to Mk4 chassis cars

Working out thickness can be a pain but the basic principle of stiffer rear = oversteer and stiff front = understeer still applies...

Std ARB's on the S3 are 19mm front and 15mm rear, this gives the car the factory understeer balance... knowing this makes it a little easier to work out a suitable combo for ARB's... it also helps that the heavier R32 (again Mk4 chassis) uses the same suspension setup but uses a 23mm front and 19mm rear ARB... this is a popular mod for the quattro boys (A3's and S3's) but obviously still retains the factory understeer...

A lot of people just fit the 19mm rear which of course will promote a livelier rear end but most report this makes the car unstable at speed... this is what happened to the TT of course when it was launched and VAG had to dumb down the handling a bit as they were swapping ends...

The slight upgrade from 15mm to 16mm on the rear should hopefully balance out the handling a bit and from what I have heard it does make quite a difference... handling is subjective of course

I don't have a performance haldex controller at this time... I don't find the current setup lacking for how I drive but its on the cards... not too sure on the exact split but I believe it to be more 60/40... all I can say is that I have made the tail end step out a few time in a straight line so I know its working lol... the performance controller is more reactive and works more off throttle position (or load request) than just wheel spin on the fronts... it achieves lock more quickly and is supposed to make the car feel more planted in corners..

All Mk4 platform cars have essentially the same suspension setup, the S3 has the same hardware as the Mk1 LCR

<tuffty/>

 

[tufftybloke]

Just sayin'

<tuffty/>

 

[Pimped up vario]

It wouldn't have looked better at the factory.

That's good info about the ARB, explains the understeer on my cordoba as it has no rear ARB. My mk1 vw jetta had an integrated rear ARB and held the corners like a dream.

If your using apex springs then so am I. I was looking eibachs but can't find them for the 6k5 vario chassis.

 

[tufftybloke]

Got the manifold back so clamped it firmly in the vice and got started on wrapping it

Quite tricky trying to work out how much to cut off the roll to do a runner plus with everything so close it makes for an interesting time to say the least!

...and after a bit of time (and itching like a mofo!) you end up with this...

...and finally bolted to the engine

Fitted the turbo to check it still fits lol

...and so I could make sure the oil drain would still fit (which it did) so Bill welded it up for me

...of course I had to paint something lol...

And thats it for today... the closest the engine and the car have been for nearly six months!!...

Tomorrow the engine will be going back in... waiting on a delivery from TPS for the engine mount bolts and will be sorting out the flexi's for the coolant lines and oil drain

<tuffty/>

 

[wild willy]

Perfection.
We'll run it in on the dyno next weekend.

 

[rae1001]

That manifold!!
As said, perfection.
Been meaning to ask also, where did you get the boxes for making exhaust if you dont mind me asking? Wanting to make my exhaust a little quieter so that it aint so suspecting haha

 

[tufftybloke]

Perfection.
We'll run it in on the dyno next weekend.

I wish... still a few more things to do before that... if I can pull it off I hope to connect everything up as soon as I can... then the last bit of the fabrication can carry on... downpipe, wastegate and TIP...

That manifold!!
As said, perfection.
Been meaning to ask also, where did you get the boxes for making exhaust if you dont mind me asking? Wanting to make my exhaust a little quieter so that it aint so suspecting haha

Pipewerx boxes from eBay mate

<tuffty/>

 

[tufftybloke]

Bit more done today... little jobs that take the time

Tweaked the bracket for the coolant lines...

...captive nut so I can use p-clips to hold the lines...

Bit more heatshielding over the hotside of the turbo to protect the turbo outlet hose...

Then had a shuffle and got the car and engine ready for final fitting

In the meantime Bill sorted a set of PTFE lined flexi hoses for the coolant lines and oil drain

I tacked these in place ready for welding...

After what seemed like ages of faffing with the oil drain I got it all where I wanted it and tacked it ready for final welding...

Pulled the lines and the turbo off the engine and..... Yay!!... its in!!

...next job is to sort this little lot out LOL...

Phew!... been a long time but finally the engine is back in... need to reconnect everything before cracking on with the downpipe and new TIP etc

<tuffty/>

 

[tufftybloke]

Another day off and more progress

Been busy connecting stuff back up, had to paint a couple of brackets too of course lol... I also changed the injector plugs to EV14 ones so I could do away with the adaptors

Removed the EVAP charcoal filter as I plan to relocate the fuel filter there

Lots more bits in and done up etc including the slam panel and FMIC/crash bar

...obviously its while putting stuff back together you discover other small issues... like the injector leads being too short... wasn't because I cut the wires short, its due to the injector spacers so will have to come up with a fix...

Test fitted the turbo to see how stuff will fit around it and ready for sorting the downpipe

...which will go down here somewhere lol...

Bill had welded up my coolant lines and oil drain in the week... (thanks dude)

Was a long day but worth it as she is starting to look like a car again

I also have Monday off so with any luck I should have the DP tacked up and the stuff I have done so far spanner checked in case I missed something

<tuffty/>

 

[tufftybloke]

Just like to say thank you everyone for your kind words... its all very much appreciated

Another day off and some more stuff done

Popped into Forge and got a service kit (with the new style piston) for my supersize and the coolant hose that was missing from the test kit they gave me (the one that goes to the after run pump along the front under the inlet)...

And so on to the next task on the list... the TIP... just need to join the 100mm elbow from the turbo to the RS4 MAF whilst keeping the airbox still looking like an airbox... how hard can it be lol... I cut up the 180 degree 100mm alloy bend and...

...not that hard as it turns out and the airbox still looks like an airbox

There is a turbo there somewhere

Next I made up the inlet for the dump valve...

..and Bill (the hero that he is) welded it on...

...so I painted it

While that was drying I moved onto the downpipe... decided to go 3.5" instead of 4" as it was quite tight and I fancied a little more wiggle room... had to kink the top over a bit to follow the bulkhead heatshielding but its looking good so far...

Test fitted the TIP...

Little bit of fine adjustment needed and I need to make some proper brackets to support the airbox too

Ran out of day again but at least I have broken the back of the last little bits of fabrication... will be looking at finishing the DP at the weekend all going well

I am always getting told that I am going to have to give up the OE look now I have gone top mounted GT35.... to those who are in any doubt I give you this little sneak preview...

How do you like them apples!!!

<tuffty/>

 

[swedey21]

Coming along nicely...

 

[rsrich]

stunning Paul, can't wait to see this when it's all done, absolute credit to you and the capabilities of the Badger cave

 

[Pimped up vario]

Clean as a badgers whistle.

 

[rae1001]

Getting so close now. You surely must be getting excited about the first turn of the key now haha
Good work, finished product will be very impressive

 

[Luke ED30]

nice does this car have vag on the plate?

 

[tufftybloke]

nice does this car have vag on the plate?

Not sure what you mean mate?

<tuffty/>

 

[tufftybloke]

Only a small update as I am waiting on parts

A nice lump of Acetal for making the adaptor rings for the RS4 MAF...

Made a bracket for the EGT sensor black box....

Relocated the fuel filter, made a bracket and secured it in...

Had a play with the PCV pipework... using 25mm hoses and alloy bends to route to where I plan to fit a catch can...

Did a few other little jobs like fit the Forge coolant hose I got last week and repaint a couple of bits that had runs in them..

I have another long weekend coming up so the plan is to get the downpipe and wastegate pipe done with the intention to get the engine oil and water tight... hopefully followed by the initial starting of the engine

<tuffty/>