Hello all, I’ve lurked on the forum awhile mainly educating myself on the RS3 and its tuning potential. I’ve been daily driving my built RS3 for over two months now and felt it was time to share my experience. I’ve had many modified rides in the past: several camaros, corvettes, evo, mustang, a couple hellcats, and a 2017 Golf R with APR stage 2 tuning, that I traded in on the RS3.
I’ve educated myself on the RS3 here, other forums, and found the Malaka you tube videos to be very informative as well. When I picked up the 2018 Nardo RS3 I was in the process of moving from Georgia to Las Vegas, so I decided to stop by Iroz Motorsports and check it out. I had decided that I a stage 2 setup would be plenty fast considering the cost, and I conveyed to the Iroz staff that I also wanted suspension work, because I felt the stock RS3 was lacking compared to my Golf R.
I was very impressed with the Iroz staff, in comparison to automotive shops I’ve dealt with in the past. They didn’t try to sell me anything; They listened to what I wanted, answered my questions, and made suggestions. I asked to go for a ride in a stage 2 RS3 with suspension mods, and Hank happily obliged. It was exactly what I thought I wanted. We returned to the shop and I scheduled an appointment to have the stage 2 and suspension parts installed. While we talked, I mentioned that I had seen the “big turbo” Malaka video and asked if I could take a ride in Hank’s car. Once again, Hank was more than happy to help. I later realized that it was at this moment…I f*cked up. Had I never rode in the big turbo car, I’m reasonable sure that I could have lived a happy, ignorant, blissful life with my RS3; however, you can’t un-ring a bell. There was NO comparison between the stage 2 and the big turbo. After that ride I spent the better part of the next hour talking with Hank about going big turbo instead. The sane side of me wanted to stay with the stage 2 and then upgrade later, but I really didn’t want to spend money twice. After having all my questions answered, I decided to pull the trigger on the big turbo. I made the arrangements with Iroz and paid the deposit. I went home and started more in depth research on what was available for the RS3. I told Hank that I was planning to daily drive the car, and I wasn’t interested in gutting it to save weight or set records. I have nothing but praise for Hank, Josh, Nick, Jeff, Jesus, Jared, and the rest of the Iroz staff, for their patience and help with my build. Before it was finished, I returned to Hank several times to make changes. What started as a “simple” big turbo install ended up as:
- IMS 850 v2 turbo kit, down pipe, midpipes, intercooler, dsg catch can, engine catch can, IE intake
- Built head (ported, springs, valves, retainers)
- Fully built bottom end
- IMS upgraded clutches, wavetrac diff, MSS track suspension, 034 sway bars and other suspension parts
- Custom Code ECU/TCU tuned for E85, with EBC
- TSW 18x9.5 Interlagos wheels wearing Bridgestone RE71R’s 255/35 in a square setup
- Custom built 3.5” exhaust
Honestly, I was a bit intimidated when I picked the car up; I didn’t know what to expect from a 900+hp daily driver. The best description that I can give is Jekyll and Hyde. This car is literally whatever you want it to be. When I get up in the morning and drive to the gym, I leave it in “D” since I don’t plan on beating on a cold turbo for a short trip. I average 23-25mpg driving “normal” around town. Unless you put your foot into it, you would never know what’s under the hood. Spirited driving will net you around 14-16mpg. The car has NEVER surprised me. However, when you put it in sport or manual mode and want to play, NOTHING can wipe the smile from your face. As long as you’re in the powerband (around 3,700rpm and up) results are immediate. I have had fun in “Mexico” against many worthy adversaries, and so far nothing has even come close. It’s nice being the apex predator on the street. My only gripe is a drone in the exhaust around 3k rpm, but it is a custom built exhaust and I knew that going in; anyway I just turn the music up on the rare occasion that it bothers me.
Having daily driven the car for a few thousand miles over the past two months, I have had zero problems. I haven’t had to add any oil. I’ve only checked air pressure and added fuel. I’ve also updated the ECU and TCU tunes from Custom Code, and they keep getting better. I can honestly say that I’m happier with this car than any of my previous rides. If, God forbid, something happened to it I would get another RS3 and build a duplicate. If you’re thinking about going big turbo and your resources allow it, just do it. You won’t regret it. I haven’t tracked the car, and I really don’t plan to. It truly is a daily driver* Again, I have nothing but respect for Hank and the crew at Iroz. They have a passion for their work and it shows. Disclaimer: I paid full price for everything. I have received no compensation from anyone, however, I did get the first IMS 850 v2 turbo after Hank called and asked if I minded being a guinea pig. Hank told me he wanted numbers from the new turbo, and said that it should spool faster and make more power than the previous version. That’s all that I had to hear, especially living just across town from his shop in case there were any problems.
Thanks to everyone for reading my novel. Thanks to Iroz Motorsports for building a reliable beast. Thanks to Malaka motorsports for their informative videos and taking their time to answer my questions. I’ll try to answer questions, but I also work 60+ hours a week so it might take a while. I don’t know how to post pics here, but my car is on Iroz’s Instagram page around the end of January. Later.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by CMEPASU
Viva malaka
I live in San Diego and I worry about putting too much into the car then having to strip down for SMOG later on. 
not to mention not that consistent. Times will vary greatly depending on how you’re running and ambient conditions. I remember all this years ago was about 15k less then now. But like everything else, it’s expensive now lol! 
Bookmarks