2019 RS3 mod recommendations - daily driving

[latintrpt83]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to slowly start modding my car. This will be a my daily driver and not looking to track it, but looking for a little more excitement and looks.

My Car:
Glacier White
Black Optics
Dynamic Pack
Technology Pack

I was planning on first going with a Unitronic tune with IROZ downpipes/midpipes, unless someone else has a better recommendation. I kind of figured the dynamic exhaust sounds great stock, but looking for a little more sound from the downpipes/midpipes.

Secondly I was looking at lowering the car with APR springs, again the car will not be used for track. I plan on keeping the stock wheels/tires for now.

Thoughts?

Thank you

[MXblau]

I'd keep one of the two cats for a daily. I took the mid-pipe cats out, much easier and sounds great. Run E85 if readily available.

[Chaoscreature]

How much have you driven the car already? If you just bought it, wait a couple of weeks and spend some time in the seat. If you don't plan on racing it certainly isn't lacking power, and the suspension is already pretty low/stiff.
If you want sound, changing out the mid-pipe and rear muffler are pretty easy.

[latintrpt83]

I have about 12,000 miles on the car. What would you recommend for muffler and mid-pipe?

[whitewaterguy87]

I have about 12,000 miles on the car. What would you recommend for muffler and mid-pipe?

Do you service the vehicle at Audi or have AudiCare, and do you know if they are mod friendly? Is your State strict on SMOG testing?

[latintrpt83]

Do you service the vehicle at Audi or have AudiCare, and do you know if they are mod friendly? Is your State strict on SMOG testing?

"Residents of Memphis in West Tennessee must have their vehicles pass an emissions inspection prior to registration renewal. All Shelby County residents who have an address inside the city limits of Memphis must also have their vehicles inspected prior to title and registration."

I just moved to Memphis, so I will be registering my car next week. I have serviced my car at Audi for my 10,000 mile service and I don't have AudiCare. I'm unsure if my dealer is mod friendly but I do have a shop that I can take my car to that specializes in German cars.

[signde]

"Residents of Memphis in West Tennessee must have their vehicles pass an emissions inspection prior to registration renewal. All Shelby County residents who have an address inside the city limits of Memphis must also have their vehicles inspected prior to title and registration."

I just moved to Memphis, so I will be registering my car next week. I have serviced my car at Audi for my 10,000 mile service and I don't have AudiCare. I'm unsure if my dealer is mod friendly but I do have a shop that I can take my car to that specializes in German cars.

hey fellow tennessean - you should check out the nashville audi club. if you join refer to my user handle.

we have at least one member from memphis, he joined us on our last cruise: rivieras3

as for mods, if you have a 2019, you’ll find a noticeable amount of more exhaust pops/bangs sounds between shifts and overrun just from the stage 1 tune as both APR and unitronic restore these to previous model year behavior. beyond that, i’d look at straight midpipes over the downpipe. no check engine light to worry about like potentially with the downpipe so you’ll still be fine with emissions. midpipes add about 20% more volume, which i think is the sweet spot for daily driving.

other than a tune and midpipes, my favorite mod so far was an upgraded inlet / intake. it’s noticeably louder whooshy turbo sounds. it screams at WOT.

[Rod Paine]

I've had with the 19-inch wheels/tires on our poor VA back roads
in our Nardo Gray 2019 RS 3 now with 5300 miles on it.

Same problem we had with our 2015 Golf R with its 19-inch tires/wheels!
Have ordered 18x8.5 Neuspeed RSe10 Satin Gun Metal color with Michelin
Pilot Sport A/S 3+ 18/245/40 ZR18. This configuration on our Golf R
certainly improved poor roads condition and handling, as well as easily
surviving the serious bad places in the roads.

The 19's simply won't survive such significant potential damage, to say
nothing about the poor ride! The 18's are clearly superior for our use!
FWIW,
-Rod

[fast16]

I've had with the 19-inch wheels/tires on our poor VA back roads
in our Nardo Gray 2019 RS 3 now with 5300 miles on it.

Same problem we had with our 2015 Golf R with its 19-inch tires/wheels!
Have ordered 18x8.5 Neuspeed RSe10 Satin Gun Metal color with Michelin
Pilot Sport A/S 3+ 18/245/40 ZR18. This configuration on our Golf R
certainly improved poor roads condition and handling, as well as easily
surviving the serious bad places in the roads.

The 19's simply won't survive such significant potential damage, to say
nothing about the poor ride! The 18's are clearly superior for our use!
FWIW,
-Rod

Preaching to the choir brother. Just picked up a set of neuspeeds with 18’s. IMG_4994.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[cheeba]

If you want the car to feel OEM, but plus 20%:

Sound: Catless midpipes - cheap, easy install, same sound but 20% more.

Power: Stage 1+ ECU, DSG tune, 4" Turbo inlet, intake. 20% more power, OEM drivability (on Unitronic, anyway), crisper shifts, intake noises without sounding ricer.

Damping/looks: Lowering springs and MagneRide recalibration. 10-15% stiffer than stock (on EMMotion springs anyway, which I used because they're linear like the OEM ones).

Handling: Good rubber is mandatory if you value handling and grip, and IMO is the most underrated mod for any vehicle. Zero toe all around will greatly improve the turn in without being too darty. A rear Anti-sway and Front camber maxed to the negative, and the rear about 0.5° less negative will make this platform much more neutral. You'll need camber plates if you want anything more negative than about -1.5° in the front, which I highly recommend.

Those are the exact mods I would recommend if you're trying to be a responsible owner that wants a reliable vehicle, but still wants to sharpen the car up. With Unitronic, you can also switch over to the E85 tune when you want an extra 90hp without any additional hardware.

[Rod Paine]

Preaching to the choir brother. Just picked up a set of neuspeeds with 18’s. IMG_4994.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

What color are your wheels? Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ 18/245/40 ZR18? Any comments about performance?
-Rod

[mixedjuice]

Following.
And if anyone can get me a good price on a Unitronic Tune Stage 1 ECU/Stage 2 DSG with cable, I'm ready for the power!

[latintrpt83]

Thanks for your input everyone. So nobody recommends springs? I'm looking for a little bit of sportier look. if so, what springs are recommended?

[amusegt1]

Thanks for your input everyone. So nobody recommends springs? I'm looking for a little bit of sportier look. if so, what springs are recommended?

Check this thread: https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...rs3-(mag-ride)

It really depends on your budget and how low you want to go. Most popular ones are Neuspeed, EMD, H&R, 034, Eibach, MSS, KW HAS.

[cheeba]

Thanks for your input everyone. So nobody recommends springs? I'm looking for a little bit of sportier look. if so, what springs are recommended?

Read my post again! I highly recommend doing a MagneRide calibration after spring install - it made a noticeable difference on my car.

[fast16]

Thanks for your input everyone. So nobody recommends springs? I'm looking for a little bit of sportier look. if so, what springs are recommended?

KW HAS all the way. Heard nothing but great things.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[fast16]

What color are your wheels? Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ 18/245/40 ZR18? Any comments about performance?
-Rod

Those are Satin Bronze running on Michelin PS4's 245/40/18 square setup. Love the tires highly recommend them.

[Leonitus86]

If you want the car to feel OEM, but plus 20%:

Sound: Catless midpipes - cheap, easy install, same sound but 20% more.

Power: Stage 1+ ECU, DSG tune, 4" Turbo inlet, intake. 20% more power, OEM drivability (on Unitronic, anyway), crisper shifts, intake noises without sounding ricer.

Damping/looks: Lowering springs and MagneRide recalibration. 10-15% stiffer than stock (on EMMotion springs anyway, which I used because they're linear like the OEM ones).

Handling: Good rubber is mandatory if you value handling and grip, and IMO is the most underrated mod for any vehicle. Zero toe all around will greatly improve the turn in without being too darty. A rear Anti-sway and Front camber maxed to the negative, and the rear about 0.5° less negative will make this platform much more neutral. You'll need camber plates if you want anything more negative than about -1.5° in the front, which I highly recommend.

Those are the exact mods I would recommend if you're trying to be a responsible owner that wants a reliable vehicle, but still wants to sharpen the car up. With Unitronic, you can also switch over to the E85 tune when you want an extra 90hp without any additional hardware.

I have APR Stage 1 tune on it and drive ability is fine, feels "OEM" to me. Shifts are "crisp" and car definitely doesn't sound "ricer" at all. Overall really happy with the tune, personally I don't have anything negative to say about unitronic on their tunes, because I've never used it or had the chance. I've used both unitronic and apr hardware parts in the past and present and both are really solid.

[cheeba]

I have APR Stage 1 tune on it and drive ability is fine, feels "OEM" to me. Shifts are "crisp" and car definitely doesn't sound "ricer" at all. Overall really happy with the tune, personally I don't have anything negative to say about unitronic on their tunes, because I've never used it or had the chance. I've used both unitronic and apr hardware parts in the past and present and both are really solid.

I wasn't implying Uni was the only one that could offer this, just that I was only speaking for the Uni tune since it's all I've ever had on this platform. I have some APR hardware, and have used their tuning in the past. I don't think you can go terribly wrong with either vendor at the Stage 1/2 levels on these cars.

Also, if you don't have a DSG tune, I highly recommend it.

[Leonitus86]

I wasn't implying Uni was the only one that could offer this, just that I was only speaking for the Uni tune since it's all I've ever had on this platform. I have some APR hardware, and have used their tuning in the past. I don't think you can go terribly wrong with either vendor at the Stage 1/2 levels on these cars.

Also, if you don't have a DSG tune, I highly recommend it.

I definitely want the dsg tune, especially since I'm about to go to APR's stage 1+ E85 file but the sad part is that APR doesn't have a tcu tune yet available for my box code(my car is my2020). I spoke to unitronic and same thing, not available. I was able to find another company by the name of TVS and was in contact with a representative, they have the tcu tunes available for my car so I will be going stage 2 for my car. The tcu tune will match apr's raised rev limiter and also provide a higher launch control along with updated maps for d and s modes. Seems promising.

[venom600]

I definitely want the dsg tune, especially since I'm about to go to APR's stage 1+ E85 file but the sad part is that APR doesn't have a tcu tune yet available for my box code(my car is my2020). I spoke to unitronic and same thing, not available. I was able to find another company by the name of TVS and was in contact with a representative, they have the tcu tunes available for my car so I will be going stage 2 for my car. The tcu tune will match apr's raised rev limiter and also provide a higher launch control along with updated maps for d and s modes. Seems promising.

I've got a stage 2+ tune from TVS on my '18 RS3 (with an APR stage 1+ ECU tune). It is definitely a big improvement overall, but I get a couple of odd behaviors that have been completely sporadic and that I have not been able to reproduce on demand:
- super low speed (like parking lot speeds) odd shift decisions between 1 & 2
- odd hard acceleration upshift from 3-4, feels like it decides to execute the upshift, decides to second guess itself mid-stream, and then carries on...a stutter-shift

Again, both behaviors are rare and I can't reproduce them on-demand...so I haven't yet worked with my shop or TVS to try and remedy them yet.

[ReallyNotHalvie]

buy my mss springs pls

[WAF]

buy my mss springs pls

Halvie whats your take on the MSS spring was just going to pick some up.

[latintrpt83]

I'm planning on keeping the stock tires/wheels on. I went with the EMMotion springs but was wondering if it was worth getting spacers to have more flush look. Any real downsides on spacers? Also what would be a recommended size?

[Rod Paine]

Those are Satin Bronze running on Michelin PS4's 245/40/18 square setup. Love the tires highly recommend them.

Yup, same configuration I bought from Neuspeed but in the Graphite color which should look good on our Nardo Gary RS 3. Will be here next week.
Thank you.
-Rod

[MattRG]

Which tune would get rid of the car pulling power/timing during a shift at light throttle input? That's the biggest annoyance I found on the factory programming.