Rafil's A3 Build Thread (Detailed + Pic Heavy)

[PlatanoRafil]

What's up everyone! Happy to join the forum and be able to contribute my sack on info and progress of building my car with you guys. I've always been a fan of watching build threads from start to (never ending) finish and I felt bummed that I couldn't share my process with my previous cars so I decided to definitely do it with this one. I plan to be as detailed as possible with my opinions on each part and take as many pictures as I can so if anyone has a concern or question about anything my thread would have the info you need. If I post anything and you guys have any questions to ask about it feel free to do so!

Enough blabbering, to introduce myself, my name is Rafil and I live in Miami, Florida! Any SFL guys introduce yourself I need more Audi friends lol. Just to show y'all what I've had before my first car that I can say I've modded heavily and can say was a good build was a 2008 Volkswagen GTI:




I loved this car. Was bagged on Raceland bags, Air Lift management, Eurodyne stage 2+, etc. I was getting ready to go GT30 on the car until I felt like it was need for a change and with the car already creeping up on being 10 years old, doing all the big turbo work and internals the car was still gonna underperform against my local racing scene.

I ended up selling it and getting myself a 1993 (S13) Nissan 240SX coupe (can you tell I like RPF1s) :



I intended to get the car for drift but after experiencing a rod knock due to negligence of an oil leak and being very hesitant of messing up the car from how clean the chassis was, I figured it was best to let it go and maybe find a chassis in worse condition? In the process of looking for the next project to work on I did some searching at the local vw dealership because I did kinda miss the gti in a way, I stumbled upon my current vehicle a 2015 A3 Quattro for a great price that I had to check it out. I did rent a S3 for a trip once so I kinda had the idea of how much I liked the car but didn't realize how small of a difference the A3 felt (to me at least) so I ran the numbers and boom my new project is home!



As for the direction I plan to go with this car, I am still not 100% sure. I will like to keep the car looking like an A3 and not doing the S3/RS3 conversions because I do like to embrace the model I have (as how I didn't do the R32 conversion for the gti). I will definitely tastefully modding the car so I will be able to attend the car shows because I do like the environment but I would also like to be able to take the car to the track/auto x events after talking to my local vag guru with the potential these cars have so motor work will be done as well. I have a feeling this will be a slow process due to my indecisiveness on how I plan to mod this car but I do hope y'all stick with me through it and help me along the way

Can also follow me on Instagram if you guys just wanna see pictures instead of long explanations and detailed pics @PlatanoRafil

[drewedm]

Welcome to the club man! Love scuba blue, our cars are twins lol

[Kirsigland]

Welcome! My biggest gripe, I wish i upgraded to the s-line package, can't stand how our bumpers look with no sideskirt. yuck

[A3_2.0TQuattro]

Looking forward to seeing the progress of this car.

[ralphie_43]

Welcome! My biggest gripe, I wish i upgraded to the s-line package, can't stand how our bumpers look with no sideskirt. yuck

I agree especially once you lower the car 20180225_162718.jpg

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[PlatanoRafil]

Welcome to the club man! Love scuba blue, our cars are twins lol

I love this color! what did you do to smoke out the amber in our headlights?

Welcome! My biggest gripe, I wish i upgraded to the s-line package, can't stand how our bumpers look with no sideskirt. yuck

Yeah man I would've loved the S-line but for the price I'm still happy lol

Looking forward to seeing the progress of this car.

Update going up now!

[drewedm]

[QUOTE=PlatanoRafil;13255484]I love this color! what did you do to smoke out the amber in our headlights?

Lamin-X in gun smoke, traced around the amber and cut it accordingly

[PlatanoRafil]

Okay update! First mod! H&R super sport springs. I pulled the trigger on these because they were on sale for $250 and I got them through URO Tuning right here in Florida link right here:
http://www.urotuning.com/H-R-Super-S...p/50340-77.htm






The two pics above is exactly how it came with the packaging. I didn't really expect much with fancy packaging but everything came as it should so no complaints.
Both the front and rear springs next to eachother. I love the color they come in and they feel solid.



Not as close to the color of the car, but they do look great next to eachother!



Now the listed drop these springs do for the quattro is advertised as 1.8 inches. What I'm going to measure it by will be at the same exact spot measuring ftg (fender to ground).

Rear: about 26.75"



Front: about 28.25"



Putting the rears and fronts next to each other to compare. Noticeably shorter and a slight difference in weight the H&R's felt lighter.





Finishing the rear first since they're easier to finish due to the IRS. Took a shot of how it looks when all put back together. Love the white lettering contrasting with the blue. H&R also makes it very easy to know which spring goes on the rear and fronts (the R for rear and F for front)



and now the fronts



Finished with the install and dropping the car took the ftg measurements in the same exact spot I got the first ones. The car should end up sitting a little bit lower than these after they settle but I'm not expecting a substantial difference.

Rears: about 25.25"



Front: a little under 25.50



After taking the car around making sure everything was well parked it up and took the glamour shots and these are on the stock 18's with 225/40 tires










Now for my opinions on them:

Drop: the advertised drop was about 1.8 inches and it dropped pretty much 1.5 give or take if they settle a bit it should be at 1.8, so they did exactly what was advertised. I do personally wish the car sat a bit lower in the front but that's just my personal preference with how I like the look to be. I don't wanna do any fender rolling of some sort for when I get wheels which I plan to do 19's so the height should be good for 19's with no fender mod.

Handling: handles way better when doing hard turns or curves. The body roll is way less noticeable, car responds better. As for bumps, it IS a little more harsh when you hit bumps, but nothing too crazy to where you regret the springs. It should be something you get used to because as we all know when you lower the car bumps should be avoided at all costs so its rare that you hit a bump. For daily driving the car feels just as smooth on a flat service as it did on the stock springs

Price: For $250, I'm extremely happy with the purchase. In the future I will be upgrading to coilovers because I would like to have more adjustability of my suspension and having new struts as well will enhance the ride, but for now it did exactly what I wanted the springs to do; Kill a big amount of the wheel gap and feel more in control of the car when I whip it a bit aggressively.

Can definitely say I'm 100% satisfied with the purchase and now the mod bug is hitting me even harder now lol. One last pic to when I finished it washing it this weekend:

[A3_2.0TQuattro]

Oh wow! That made such a huge difference. Looking forward to dropping my A3 even more now.

[613B6]

Nice, I have the same A3 and colour! Funny little cars, drop looks great.

[PlatanoRafil]

Oh wow! That made such a huge difference. Looking forward to dropping my A3 even more now.

Do it! I notice myself staring at the car more now lol. These car are way too tall from factory

Nice, I have the same A3 and colour! Funny little cars, drop looks great.

Thanks man. What supporting mods do you have with the gtx28? I'm most likely gonna do eurodyne as well but maybe go is38 haven't decided yet

[613B6]

Do it! I notice myself staring at the car more now lol. These car are way too tall from factory



Thanks man. What supporting mods do you have with the gtx28? I'm most likely gonna do eurodyne as well but maybe go is38 haven't decided yet

Just the usual Walbro 450, MPI, Boss500 setup. Obviously had DP, IC and Intake before. I tune eurodyne so if you my services let me know. I ran 11.7@120mph on the IS38 on my hop up file, dynoed over 380whp. Now is north of 475whp daily beaten, shooting for 10s stock motor first nice day at the track. I also had a mk5 gti making 520whp, its was stupid fast lol

[PlatanoRafil]

Just the usual Walbro 450, MPI, Boss500 setup. Obviously had DP, IC and Intake before. I tune eurodyne so if you my services let me know. I ran 11.7@120mph on the IS38 on my hop up file, dynoed over 380whp. Now is north of 475whp daily beaten, shooting for 10s stock motor first nice day at the track. I also had a mk5 gti making 520whp, its was stupid fast lol

Ughhh those numbers make me wanna do it already lol. I think you know or atleast know of my tuner Luis @ LTMotorsports down here in Miami. He was telling me about your car when we started speaking of the potential the A3 has lol. On the is38 ever done any roll racing and the type of cars you kept up with?

[PlatanoRafil]

Well no mods bought as of yet. But some maintenance completed. Was driving one day and out of nowhere a bunch of lights came on. ABS system malfunction, Trancion control malfunction, Hill assist malfunction, headlight leveling malfunction, you get the idea. Below is a pic of everything:



Took it to the local vw guru and we confirmed it was a rear ABS sensor going bad and since theres two on each side we just replaced both to be safe. Also added a 034 Motorsports mount insert. When I first got the car I didn't really launch it until about two weeks after the purchase. Upon doing so the car spun way way way too much it just did not feel like it was performing correctly even though it is the haldex system it wasn't cutting off when the wheel was spinning. Took it to the nearby Audi dealer and they confirmed the Haldex pump was bad and it was replaced under the warranty definitely everyone check that out because it performs way better off the dig as I feels like its supposed to

[613B6]

Ughhh those numbers make me wanna do it already lol. I think you know or atleast know of my tuner Luis @ LTMotorsports down here in Miami. He was telling me about your car when we started speaking of the potential the A3 has lol. On the is38 ever done any roll racing and the type of cars you kept up with?

haha ya I know Luis, he does good work, just not tuning :P Oh ya raced lots from a roll with the IS38, I was surprised how well it does, beats modded b8S4 etc. holds it own for sure. But it shines down low as its still a small turbo, IMO a prefect street setup for light to light action. Our issue is the long gearing tranny in the A3, its hurts us alot. The S3 and R got shorter gearing so they quater mile faster.

[PlatanoRafil]

haha ya I know Luis, he does good work, just not tuning :P Oh ya raced lots from a roll with the IS38, I was surprised how well it does, beats modded b8S4 etc. holds it own for sure. But it shines down low as its still a small turbo, IMO a prefect street setup for light to light action. Our issue is the long gearing tranny in the A3, its hurts us alot. The S3 and R got shorter gearing so they quater mile faster.

Definitely gonna consider you when we get to that part of the build. Not planning to go with crazy power until I can get a second car to daily but I would love to be in the 350-400 range and I should be content

[PlatanoRafil]

Update: WHEELS ARE HERE!!!!

Rohana RF2 in Brushed Titanium!!

Specs are 19x8.5+42 all around. I love how these wheels look and just had to take some shots to share with y'all. Hopefully it should be on by this week but we will see, still haven't decided what tire sizes I'm going to run. I will use these wheels for the daily commute and of course the car shows and I will use the stocks for my track/auto x days when I get to that point and put some nice rubber on them. Enough talking, on to the pictures

[613B6]

Those dont look like RPF1's? lol Nice rims, should look dope on there!

[Tourenwagen]

Update: WHEELS ARE HERE!!!!

Rohana RF2 in Brushed Titanium!!

Specs are 19x8.5+42 all around. I love how these wheels look and just had to take some shots to share with y'all. Hopefully it should be on by this week but we will see, still haven't decided what tire sizes I'm going to run. I will use these wheels for the daily commute and of course the car shows and I will use the stocks for my track/auto x days when I get to that point and put some nice rubber on them. Enough talking, on to the pictures

those looks awesome! does the 42 offset get you flush with the fender or are you still inside the arch?

[PlatanoRafil]

Those dont look like RPF1's? lol Nice rims, should look dope on there!

That's what everyone else said lol. Knowing me, whenever I get tired of the stocks I'll most likely get a set for the Audi

those looks awesome! does the 42 offset get you flush with the fender or are you still inside the arch?

It's still inside the arch. I mounted them today but probably won't get good pics until the weekend so you can see them. I'll definitely be getting spaers

[ColeQ5]

Cant wait to see how those wheels look!

[PlatanoRafil]

Update: WHEELS ARE ON!!!

For those who are not familiar with South Florida, when it's summer/hurricane season, it rains everyday, literally. Lol but luckily yesterday morning it didn't rain in the morning so I was able to give the car quick wash and take some pics of the fitment before it poured down in Miami.

As for the tires I went with 235/35/19 Nexens which I will talk about after the pictures.


On to the pictures! Disclaimer I am in no way a photographer so they aren't the best pictures so I apologize in advance lol. Just want to show the fitment and how they sit. Also remember I am on H&R super sport springs.




















And my favorite one of them all the money shot!!!



Okay so here we have it the wheels are on. Quick reminder they are Rohana RF2 in brushed titanium 19x8.5+42 all around and wrapped on 235/35/19 Nexen tires.

Wheels: the style is perfect! It's a double 5 spoke design and the reason I chose these is because I love the detail the spokes have on 'em and well I do also sell them. But I'm not supposed to be a merch plug if I'm not a vendor lol. They are rotary forged so they're actually lightweight compared to what I expected from a 19 inch wheel since this is probably the first rotary forged wheel I own. I did not measure the weight of them since I installed them a day or to after I got them but definitely surprised on the weight.

Tires: For tires I went with 235/35/19 Nexen NFERA SU1. I chose Nexen cause its bit cheaper than the higher known brands but I love them. I had them on my 240 and for the stocks on the gti and the road noise is very minimal. Unfortunately the tires on the stocks were Chinese brand and mixmatched due to the previous owner so I can't compare them to that but its a huge difference in the Audi feel, noise, and comfort. I highly recommend these to anyone if they do not want to pay the price for a higher brand. I will update everyone on how many miles they last.

Fitment: Fitment is good, not where I personally want it, but it looks nice. No rub, nowhere close hitting the fenders. I do want to put spacers, I do not know the size I will go since I'm no fitment king but I'm thinking 5mm will do the job? Anyone care to chime in is greatly appreciated!

What do you guys think of the wheels? I personally love em, once the spacers are on I'm sure I'll love em more. let me know!

[Grey3]

Update: WHEELS ARE ON!!!

For those who are not familiar with South Florida, when it's summer/hurricane season, it rains everyday, literally. Lol but luckily yesterday morning it didn't rain in the morning so I was able to give the car quick wash and take some pics of the fitment before it poured down in Miami.

As for the tires I went with 235/35/19 Nexens which I will talk about after the pictures.


On to the pictures! Disclaimer I am in no way a photographer so they aren't the best pictures so I apologize in advance lol. Just want to show the fitment and how they sit. Also remember I am on H&R super sport springs.




















And my favorite one of them all the money shot!!!



Okay so here we have it the wheels are on. Quick reminder they are Rohana RF2 in brushed titanium 19x8.5+42 all around and wrapped on 235/35/19 Nexen tires.

Wheels: the style is perfect! It's a double 5 spoke design and the reason I chose these is because I love the detail the spokes have on 'em and well I do also sell them. But I'm not supposed to be a merch plug if I'm not a vendor lol. They are rotary forged so they're actually lightweight compared to what I expected from a 19 inch wheel since this is probably the first rotary forged wheel I own. I did not measure the weight of them since I installed them a day or to after I got them but definitely surprised on the weight.

Tires: For tires I went with 235/35/19 Nexen NFERA SU1. I chose Nexen cause its bit cheaper than the higher known brands but I love them. I had them on my 240 and for the stocks on the gti and the road noise is very minimal. Unfortunately the tires on the stocks were Chinese brand and mixmatched due to the previous owner so I can't compare them to that but its a huge difference in the Audi feel, noise, and comfort. I highly recommend these to anyone if they do not want to pay the price for a higher brand. I will update everyone on how many miles they last.

Fitment: Fitment is good, not where I personally want it, but it looks nice. No rub, nowhere close hitting the fenders. I do want to put spacers, I do not know the size I will go since I'm no fitment king but I'm thinking 5mm will do the job? Anyone care to chime in is greatly appreciated!

What do you guys think of the wheels? I personally love em, once the spacers are on I'm sure I'll love em more. let me know!

I think they look great man. I considered rohana myself. Sitting just inside the fender makes the car look a bit lower and if u plan on having a full car it's nice to not rub. I know it's not perfectly flush, but a nice compromise I think. H&r sports are a great way to lower on a budget. I love mine

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[PlatanoRafil]

Haven't been able to update this thread due to doing a lot of OT at work. Not a lot to update though. Someone backed into my rear bumper in the parking lot at my job and refused to give me straight cash for it he would've rather went through insurance. It really wasn't bad at all, not even picture worthy honestly, but oh well couldn't do anything about it. Took a while to get it back from the body shop. A tab was broken so it was a good excuse to get a brand new bumper from Audi. Job was great though so I'm happy. Also installed the duckbill wing most of us run and debadged the rear (removed the a3 and 2.0 quattro badges only kept the Audi logo). Really not sure what much I can do to the exterior so it looks better, might start doing the engine work but if you have any suggestions I'd be glad to consider it, just not a front lip or side skirts because those are obvious lol. Okay on to some pics I've taken throughout the last week or two:

[Grey3]

Very clean man

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[thebrit007]

Haven't been able to update this thread due to doing a lot of OT at work. Not a lot to update though. Someone backed into my rear bumper in the parking lot at my job and refused to give me straight cash for it he would've rather went through insurance. It really wasn't bad at all, not even picture worthy honestly, but oh well couldn't do anything about it. Took a while to get it back from the body shop. A tab was broken so it was a good excuse to get a brand new bumper from Audi. Job was great though so I'm happy. Also installed the duckbill wing most of us run and debadged the rear (removed the a3 and 2.0 quattro badges only kept the Audi logo). Really not sure what much I can do to the exterior so it looks better, might start doing the engine work but if you have any suggestions I'd be glad to consider it, just not a front lip or side skirts because those are obvious lol. Okay on to some pics I've taken throughout the last week or two:

Nice bit of motor! I am using yours to preview what mine will look like. I will be adding a CF duck bill spoiler and CF mirror covers very soon. I am not trying to copy any other model, but I do like the sportier look.

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[PlatanoRafil]

Hey guys! Been a while since I've posted here, wanted to bring a bigger update rather than do a small one here and thee. Which one would you guys prefer? Well, it is show season here in Florida we have a lot of shows in the last months of the year so mainly done some exterior mods to make the Audi look better. As far as new mods go:

Painted the brake calipers yellow
Wrapped the lower grilles in silver
Muffler delete to custom blue exhaust tips
ECS tuning carbon fiber front lip

Nothing too crazy, but have made loads of a difference. Onto the pics!





















One of the reasons why I love living in Miami, are the views! As the saying goes "I live where you vacation"












What do you guys think about the new add-ons? I personally love them. As for what's next, I personally am bothered about the rusty look the rotors are having, so I will possibly get some slotted ones. As for performance, for my Southeast people in the states, A bunch of euro show promotors (eurotripper, treffen south, air2water) have teamed up to hose Alpine VAG fair in Helen, GA (where Sowo was previously held) but will strictly enforce vag models only. I do want to have some performance mods done so I can rip up and down the mountains. That will be on May 2019, so we will see what I can do til then!

[ava the a4]

Looks great, i was gonna do my calipers red (my car is black) you got me thinking yellow now though so we’ll see, if you’re looking for more exterior stuff, i’m gonna do the carbon imports rear diffuser with dual exhaust tips that will beef up the rear a lot. Looks great though nice work!


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[PINGERS]

those lower grills look amazing! any pics from the DIY?

[dcohen5]

those lower grills look amazing! any pics from the DIY?

Yes! Please let us know how this step went. Would love to do the same to mine.

[Grey3]

Looking good! Definitely want to know how you did the lower grills as well

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[PlatanoRafil]

Thanks guys, unfortunately I have no patience for tedious things like wrapping the grilles so I had a local wrap installer do that job for me. It really isn't a hard job just have to take your time on it.

[PINGERS]

Thanks guys, unfortunately I have no patience for tedious things like wrapping the grilles so I had a local wrap installer do that job for me. It really isn't a hard job just have to take your time on it.

How about some up close pictures of this not so hard job? 😆