# Changing to an S3!!!



## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Well the return-to-stock begins today on my red 2015 A3. It'll be replaced with this beautiful 2015 Sepang Blue S3. Just about every aftermarket part on the red one will be swapped over to the S3 except the carbon spoiler and mirrors. The S3 already got 20% tint and is getting the new Gtechniq Crystal Serum applied now. Once done it will get a clear bra and then all the mods installed to be ready for a trip to SoCal for a car show and track event on June 12th. Lots to do in little time.

Premium plus
Tech package
B&O
Convenience pckg
LED headlights
All black interior









Swapping over will be:
Air lift performance suspension
Fifteen52 wheels
TTRS front brakes
BFI mounts and catch can
P3 vent gauge
Far East front splitter
APR intake
Billy boat exhaust
And more to be added as time goes 


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## LilJonny16 (Jan 13, 2009)

Well besides the obvious power difference. Why did you decide to swap?


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## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

LilJonny16 said:


> Well besides the obvious power difference. Why did you decide to swap?


1. he can, he sells them.
2. when he got the A3, the S3 wasn't here yet, and he has little patience
3. b/c racecar
4. the only thing that surprises me about this, is that he didn't get a special color.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Ryan knows me pretty well

My car is a year old with just under 19k miles on it. So financially it makes sense. I'm trading this and leasing a new S3 which has better rates and residuals then when I got my car right when they came out. $5k more car, rolling in $3500 neg equity, doing more miles per year plus better Audi employee discount this year and rebates/incentives. My payment will go up like $30-40 for a new car that should hold better resale than my loaded prestige A3. 

We had the new one in stock and I didn't want to miss this opportunity for all of these incentives to get something now. My next car will be a custom color. 


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## notavr (Aug 28, 2012)

nice!


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## DBVeeDB (Aug 3, 2007)

Congrats! Excited to see how the mods transition onto the S3.

Will you be retaining any of the stock parts since its leased or will they be for sale? (ie - stock S3 brakes)
Also just out of curiosity what are the MF and residuals for an S3 right now? 36/10k mi.


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## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

ProjectA3 said:


> My next car will be a custom color.


plus you have a contact who could wrap it, so it's not a big deal.
good luck with her dude.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Since its a lease i've learned to keep all of the stock parts that I can. My A3 will be traded in with the OEM S3 exhaust since i don't have my A3 exhaust and couldnt find a buyer for my B&B system locally that owns an A3 quattro.


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## tt-ho (May 26, 2011)

Great choice! Specially the color 

How long does it usually take for the shop to install the airlift suspension?


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## gamegenie (Aug 24, 2014)

If I was in your position, I'd wait for the RS3.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

gamegenie said:


> If I was in your position, I'd wait for the RS3.


If you were in my position you'd already know that the RS 3 is the next logical step, unless a TTS gets in the way.


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## RyanA3 (May 11, 2005)

gamegenie said:


> If I was in your position, I'd wait for the RS3.


first the A3
then a TT
then the A3
he has the S3 now
soon the TT-S
then RS3 when it's available
then the TT-RS

hopefully an R8 will be next and last


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

RyanA3 said:


> first the A3
> *then a stage 2 supercharged R32*
> then an A3 big turbo
> then a TT coupe
> ...


fixed


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## Ricky11 (Jun 7, 2012)

ProjectA3 said:


> Ryan knows me pretty well
> 
> My car is a year old with just under 19k miles on it. So financially it makes sense. I'm trading this and leasing a new S3 which has better rates and residuals then when I got my car right when they came out. $5k more car, rolling in $3500 neg equity, doing more miles per year plus better Audi employee discount this year and rebates/incentives. My payment will go up like $30-40 for a new car that should hold better resale than my loaded prestige A3.
> 
> ...


:thumbup:


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Just signed my lease papers. My payment went up $14 a month. I'm super happy with that.


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## brekdown29 (Jun 26, 2007)

Congrats on the swap! You don't want to sell me your BB downpipe, do you?  I'm local!


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

brekdown29 said:


> Congrats on the swap! You don't want to sell me your BB downpipe, do you?  I'm local!


nope, its getting swapped to the S3.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

So the Sepang car is officially mine and it's already been a busy week with the car. 
On Monday the red car was dropped off at my local go-to shop Parts Score to start getting returned to stock. As of now the exhaust is the only thing left to do and that will be done tomorrow. The OEM S3 exhaust will be fitted to the A3 for trade-in, and the Billy Boat system will get put on the S3.

The S3 was also dropped off on Monday to Pit Stop Auto Detailing for a full GTechniq treatment including their new Crystal Serum. They did a full paint correction process, buff and swirl removal and then applied the GTechniq product. It is a composite ceramic coating that is hydrophobic and only needs to be washed. No waxing or polishing needed for a few years.

The pictures from my iphone6 don't do the color, shine, and absolute dept justice. 

But it was odd to see both cars together in fairly stock forms with only the strip and various stickers left on the A3.


















two supercharged E36 M3's in the reflection


















One thing we have noticed with the B&B downpipe is how low mine hangs down. I don't know if it's because mine was the prototype system or what, but doing one of the Unibrace under body braces will not be possible on my car because of how low the DP hangs.

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## Spoooolin (Mar 31, 2015)

ProjectA3 said:


> Ryan knows me pretty well
> 
> My car is a year old with just under 19k miles on it. So financially it makes sense. I'm trading this and leasing a new S3 which has better rates and residuals then when I got my car right when they came out. $5k more car, rolling in $3500 neg equity, doing more miles per year plus better Audi employee discount this year and rebates/incentives. My payment will go up like $30-40 for a new car that should hold better resale than my loaded prestige A3.
> 
> ...


my wife is a fiance manager at Audi, I may have to ask her about trading in the A3 for an S3
Whats APR going to do about the tune?


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## Spoooolin (Mar 31, 2015)

ProjectA3 said:


> If you were in my position you'd already know that the RS 3 is the next logical step, unless a TTS gets in the way.


ETA on that?


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## Revolver1966 (Mar 30, 2014)

ProjectA3 said:


> If you were in my position you'd already know that the RS 3 is the next logical step, unless a TTS gets in the way.


TT-S is gonna be a monster. The Mk3 TT-RS will be a car to order and keep, as it will become an instant legend.


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## cowboycy (Jun 8, 2015)

NICE.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Spoooolin said:


> my wife is a fiance manager at Audi, I may have to ask her about trading in the A3 for an S3
> Whats APR going to do about the tune?


I am having the A3 flashed back to stock today. So it will be 100% OEM this afternoon.
I may be switching over to GIAC as well because of the shop that does all my install is a GIAC dealer. Not sure yet.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

And done. Follow me @brianmccauley1 
128 miles haven't driven it home yet. Gtechniq Crystal Serum with clear bra 










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## 3Peat (Nov 19, 2014)

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!

Car looks amazing!!!!


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## ChrisFu (Jun 9, 2012)

ProjectA3 said:


> My payment will go up like $30-40 for a new car that should hold better resale than my loaded prestige A3.


Resale? I thought this was a lease, are you planning on buying out?


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## brekdown29 (Jun 26, 2007)

How do you like the GIAC map, assuming it's fully adapted? 


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## turbo slc 2.9l (Dec 4, 2003)

ProjectA3 said:


> I am having the A3 flashed back to stock today. So it will be 100% OEM this afternoon.
> I may be switching over to GIAC as well because of the shop that does all my install is a GIAC dealer. Not sure yet.


First off your car is pretty wild!
Second, I guess I was confused about tuning aspects of the A3/S3. After reading threads in this forum I was under the impression that a tuned or flashed A3/S3 would always be detected by the dealership scanners.. Even after a return flash to factory settings?? It seems you work at a dealership so maybe you can provide some clarity to this topic?
Thanks & nice vehicle swap!:thumbup:


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## Revolver1966 (Mar 30, 2014)

turbo slc 2.9l said:


> First off your car is pretty wild!
> Second, I guess I was confused about tuning aspects of the A3/S3. After reading threads in this forum I was under the impression that a tuned or flashed A3/S3 would always be detected by the dealership scanners.. Even after a return flash to factory settings?? It seems you work at a dealership so maybe you can provide some clarity to this topic?
> Thanks & nice vehicle swap!:thumbup:


APR is undetectable once it is removed. Burger tuning box is undetectable. 
No recent reports of denied warranty claims due to stage 1 software ALONE.


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## ChrisFu (Jun 9, 2012)

Revolver1966 said:


> APR is undetectable once it is removed.


Not entirely true. If you were tuned and got a CEL, the ECU logs status information that cannot be cleared. Audi can inspect those logs and determine whether or not the car was functioning at that moment with an active tune (i.e. you had a stage 1 flash, were driving over 155 with the speed limiter disabled when you got the CEL and the snapsot was taken). There are some ongoing threads about this on a few other forums.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

the new S3 performed flawlessly at Fastivus this weekend.
with 157 miles on the clock i left home Friday morning to meet up with friends for the 6 hour drive to Ontario, CA.
Saturday i did two 20-minute track sessions on the car. The first was just a lead/follow and bored me to death but the 2nd was open and fast with passing allowed only by point-bys on the straights.
I am thoroughly impressed with how the Air Lift system held up on the track. I didn't take my time to dial anything in as far as dampening goes, and the alignment i had just gotten wasn't to the specs i liked (i think the toe was in too much which made the car a little to eager to follow road crown and bumps).

I was able to get up to 130mph but kept things in check because of the alignment issue and having seen the results of a 2004 R32 hitting the wall.

the GIAC Stage 1 software makes this car absolutely nuts compared to the stage 2 A3 I had been driving. Both are fast but the S3 definitely has more umph all over the RPM range. Can't wait for the Stage 2 file.

Some pics from Fastivus and a Photoshoot with @itsjustbrian


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## Revolver1966 (Mar 30, 2014)

Sucks for the R32 owner. Those things are getting rare too. Hope he is ok


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Revolver1966 said:


> Sucks for the R32 owner. Those things are getting rare too. Hope he is ok


yeah he was OK. the car was not visually pleasing but setup for a dedicated track car. I think he said he bent a tie rod, needs a new fender, headlight, and a wheel/tire. nothing too serious.


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## PbanyS3 (Jun 13, 2015)

So maybe I'll just make due with an APR intake and milltek exhaust no tune?opcorn:

It's nice to work for AUDI! You're RS3 will be yellow and TT-RS green?:laugh:


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