S3 vents, lower strut brace and brackets to fit :- Pics added 28-2-09

[S3 AKR]

Loads of bods have done this, but I finally got round to ordering S3 vents last week. Chose to buy brand new from Audi at about £85 for the set. A bit pricey, I know, but I really wanted to know they were unmarked as per my original FR ones. Anyway, got them now and have them fitted and will solder the wiring proper tomorrow.

Can't believe how easy these are to fit though. All the old vents simply pull out. The centre vents require a bit of "working around the edge" to lever them out but a bit of patience and they come forward. Drill a 10mm hole inside each vent duct for the wire to pass through. Tomorrow, I am getting a hand with soldering (not one of my key skills it has to be said) and I'll cut off the plugs and solder on extended wires (extend the wires on the centre vents before fitting them in). Tomorrow I'll drop wires to common point and join to fag lighter/ash tray light which is on the dimmer circuit.

I struggled to get the lower dash off on the drivers side to get to the cables, but now I've done it once, its one of those install tasks that should only take 2 hours at most (I removed the bonnet release as its only 2 screws). The glove box was easy, and you don't have to disconnect anything other than the light connection. I took the CD changer out but you really don't need to. The panels on each end of the dash need prising off to get to the screws to remove the lower dash and the glove box- again very easy.

I also have the lower strut brace to fit too. Might have a go at that this weekend. Shouldn't take too long (famous last words). Also have the bracket at the front of the engine (holds the front most drivers side engine cover lug and a water pipe) to swap as mine has snapped. The bracket design has changed a little as it is apparently common for them to break.

 

[Phillc]

£85 not to bad, its always good to know the new cost when looking for second hand parts not that i have seen any of these. i got the LCR ones because i couldn't find the S3 ones.

 

[richellis]

How much did you pay for the S3 lower brace as I fancy getting one my self?
Do want the s3 vents, good to know the price.
Good luck, and get some pics up of the loom you make!

 

[S3 AKR]

The lower brace with all the bolts and fixings was about £30.

I don't intend to make a loom as such for the vents.... just bought some wire to run through from the 6" or so of wire already on each of the vents to the lighting around the ash tray. They will only come together somewhere around here behind the radio. I'll try and get some pics of what I'll do, but it won't be pretty looking!

 

[UncleFester]

I chopped mine into the loom I ran for the W8 light Took a wire down one of the A pillars.

 

[Jimski]

S3 lower brace is quite easy to fit, Bollhoffs are a bit of a pain to sort, but once thats done its chocks away!


Jimski

 

[S3 AKR]

S3 vents all soldered in and working now. It looks so much better in daylight and at night. In the day, the chrome "knobs" on them tie in nicely with the lock on the glove box and the interior door handles. I thought they'd look out of place and was considering a bit of butchering to swap the knobs with the FR ones, but I prefer the chrome. At night, it looks that bit classier than before.

For the wiring, cut off the plugs on the outer vents and extended the wiring upto the centre console to drop down behind the radio. The centre vent wires were extended before I fed them in. The wires lives were all then soldered together, and the earths soldered together. Then soldered a drop wire from the lives to the blue/grey on the back of the radio plug (dimmer circuit) which rather than cut, I removed some of the insulation and soldered to the bare wire. Last wire was a drop across to the main earth point under the steering column which was connected via a spade connection under the bolt. Obviously, all soldered joints were wrapped in insulation tape to protect them. (I was advised to avoid earthing on the radio wiring as the CD changer is very sensitive to noise - apparently a VW trait.)

I still say that if you have all the tools to hand and already know how to remove and put the dash back together, you could do this in about 2 hours. I have never soldered before but a mate of mine even taught me to do soldering properly at the same time as fitting these in! Felt a bit silly as to how easy it was - live and learn!

 

[richellis]

Does the lower brace sit low on the car as mine catches on speed lumps now. can you tell the differance with it fitted??
is it worth getting an upper brace as well??
Thanks

 

[S3 AKR]

I haven't got around to fitting it yet, but as its a standard fit OEM item on an S3, and loads of those are lowered, I wouldn't expect it to touch the ground at all. Also, I think the splash guards under the engine sit lower than the brace.

I'll let you know if it gives me any grief though. I'll fit it on Saturday.

 

[richellis]

Thanks.

 

[S3 AKR]

Does the lower brace sit low on the car as mine catches on speed lumps now. can you tell the differance with it fitted??
is it worth getting an upper brace as well??
Thanks

Finally got around to fitting the lower strut brace today (took all of 30 mins). It took longer to take off the sump guard than to actually fit the thing - so its pretty easy to do!

One tip - actually two tips come to think of it.......the bolts/fixings can be tightened to the point where they grip enough not to spin around in the hole on the brace itself if you tighten them on the brace before fitting to the car. Tighten them to the point where they just begin to buckle as designed (it'll make sense when you buy the bits) but no more or they won't fit into the holes under the car. Also, there is a little bit of lateral play in the bolts as they are slightly smaller than the holes - make sure that you tighten them up so that they are positioned to the centre most edge of the holes and they will then line up perfectly with the holes under the car. It sits better one way round than the other and the foam side points to the floor and it locates just in front of the dogbone mount. There is only one place where the holes line up so you can't fit it wrong.


Once fitted it does not hang down low at all. The sump guards actually fit over it (so it is hidden) and it will not hit anything like speed bumps.

In terms of benefits - it won't transform your car but you can definitely feel that the front end is more rigid and it turns in just that bit sharper. Noticeable without a doubt and worth the £30 (just under).

Its now made me want to change the ARB's though for something stronger as they should be very noticeable. As I always say - one mod always seems to lead to another!!

 

[richellis]

thanks, i got the bits but not fitted yet, its now the plan for tomorrow!

 

[bruceR]

Any pics of the vents and wiring then?

 

[bruceR]

Rich, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to fit the lower strut brace I did mine in about 30 mins.

 

[S3 AKR]

I didn't take any pics of the install in the end as it was so easy to do that there's nothing to it other than a bit of time. The only really tricky bit was getting the lower dash off which I provided a link to in the first post. One of my other posts above does talk about where to take the wiring to to get a good feed that works off the dimmer too.

I'll go and take some pics of the dash in a bit and post them up as I've been asked elsewhere to do that and haven't got around to it! I'll do some daytime ones too as the centre buttons are chrome capped rather than coloured plastic - and I prefer the chrome myself.

 

[S3 AKR]

My 600th Post!!!

This first pic is the centre vent with the extension wires soldered into the wiring that they come with already connected. The extensions are fed into the vent ducting and through a hole punched in the bottom of the duct with a screwdriver :-

This pic is of the lower dash on the drivers side. At the top you can see the original wire wrapped in foam from the vent before attaching the extensions. I pushed this through a 10mm hole drilled into the vent duct which the foam fills/seals nicely and is not visible through the fitted vent. I did the same for the passenger side too :-

Gives an idea of how it looks in the light, but you can't really see the chrome slider buttons too well (and I now realise that I need to spend money on TT pedal rubbers) :-

A selection of shots to try and show the look with the vents illuminated at night :-

 

[vee_dub_modder]

thats pretty trick! nice

 

[S3 AKR]

 

[bruceR]

Save your money for the LCR pedals, look more original IMO

 

[jack-cuprar]

this looks great, is it hard to do?