2005 Audi A3 2.0T DSG

[LiamB]

Finally got myself a kind of PH worthy car. I got rid of the Clio as I just wasn't getting along with it anymore, it was too slow, too heavy on fuel (for a 1.2) and the interior was quite basic.

Was looking around at BMW E46 Tourings, A4s, Clio 182s and pretty much anything that was quicker than the Clio. Almost went to view a E36 328i Touring when I saw this just down the road from me with the quite hard to find 2.0Tfsi engine and pretty much every option ticked.

It has from the top of my head;
-Bose System
-Audi Xenons
-Sat Nav
-DSG
-CD Changer
-Full Leather
-Heated Seats
And more I have probably forgot about

Some pictures after cleaning it.












The only problems there are, is the splash guard on the bottom is knocking which is a common issue, and the previous owner fitted a stupid Parrot bluetooth system but didn't get it installed correctly, resulting in whining and interference through the speakers. I have it booked in to get it ripped out tomorrow though.

First impressions after coming from the Clio are that it is obviously a hell of a lot quicker. On my first drive home I was giggling like a child when I put my foot down and it shot off and made little DSG farts when changing up a gear. I love it!

Only plans I might do for it are a Bluefin Remap, a Miltek catback, some 40mm lowering springs and Audi TTRS wheels, whether I do them or not is another thing..

[Shadow R1]

Nice one.

[Jimmy Recard]

Looks a nice car! I do like these - I see a quattro one a lot and I've wondered if they're any good.


I'm a cheapskate so Vauxhall's take on it was good enough for me

[Mr Tidy]

Lovely looking car OP - that is properly PH worthy IMHO! (Especially after a 1.2 Clio)

And now the upgrades begin......!

Just enjoy it.

[LiamB]

Thanks for the comments guys

Parrot system is now out and has stopped the whining!

Next up is to replace the plastic panels in between the doors on both sides and some minor refresh work such as CV joints, check the suspension plus anything else I can when it's lifted up and a service.

[benjijames28]

I own the 1.8 version of this motor. Good cars. Ive had a few niggles with mine tho.

Make sure u get the water pump done. With no cam belt the pump gets neglected. I paid 320 for a genuine Audi pump. The upgraded pump.

Only knew mine needed doing cause the thermostat had packed in and when going to replace it they saw the pump was leaking.

[MDMA .]

benjijames28 said:

I own the 1.8 version of this motor. Good cars. Ive had a few niggles with mine tho.

Make sure u get the water pump done. With no cam belt the pump gets neglected. I paid 320 for a genuine Audi pump. The upgraded pump.

Only knew mine needed doing cause the thermostat had packed in and when going to replace it they saw the pump was leaking.

they have a cambelt. the chain just ties the cams together.

[mattwhite709]

These face lift 8P A3's still is the nicest looking version. Still miss mine all these years later, yours look like a great spec OP

[anonymous-user]

mattwhite709 said:

These face lift 8P A3's still is the nicest looking version. Still miss mine all these years later, yours look like a great spec OP

I see far more 8P's than the new one. The Black Edition facelift is a nice looking thing.

[6cylGolf]

sleepera6 said:

mattwhite709 said:

These face lift 8P A3's still is the nicest looking version. Still miss mine all these years later, yours look like a great spec OP

I see far more 8P's than the new one. The Black Edition facelift is a nice looking thing.

I just got rid of a lovely 1.8tfsi for a q3 for the wife

This one isn't a faxelift tho.
It's a minor grill lift. Facelift along with the black edition was late 2008

[anonymous-user]

Yeah, I was going to buy a 1.8 T A3. I ended up buying a 320i that broke down after 2 weeks.
Went back to Japanese after that but remain a strong German car fan.

The A3 i saw was strange however.. sort of glad I didnt buy it. That example I mean.

[T16OLE]

Stupidly good all rounder.

Enjoy

[LiamB]

Thanks for all the comments

1000 miles in so far and I am loving it! Been up to Buckingham twice in it (The back ways, I never use the motorway to get there) and it has been amazing. It is so much easier to cruise at speed than the Clio and a couple of times I had to ease off on a duel carriageway as I'd hit 100 without realizing!

I have accidentally bought some parts for it, some coilovers as there is a faint knocking coming from one of the rear shocks but will only be lowered 20/30mm, Heko wind deflectors as I am a dirty smoker and they work wonders, a CV joint kit as that will need doing soon so may as well get it out the way, and an unofficial sat nav disc which includes 7 digit post codes and speed camera warnings as mine is scratched and does not work.

Only other plans I have for the future are a Bluefin plug and play remap, Miltek catback and possibly some TTRS wheels. But they won't come until I am sure everything is okay with the car

Have a picture (It's filthy now )

[mattwhite709]

6cylGolf said:

I just got rid of a lovely 1.8tfsi for a q3 for the wife

This one isn't a faxelift tho.
It's a minor grill lift. Facelift along with the black edition was late 2008

They actually did 2 face lifts after launch but the Sport back wasn't available until the 8P2 Face lift.

8P1



8P2



8P3

[benjijames28]

MDMA . said:

they have a cambelt. the chain just ties the cams together.

I don't believe they do have a cam belt, and if they do its not one you ever change.

[ManOpener]

benjijames28 said:

I don't believe they do have a cam belt, and if they do its not one you ever change.

It's an EA113 engine, so primarily belt cam. 4 year/60k mile intervals.

[wjb]

Nice car OP. They do everything well and it's in the right colour.

mattwhite709 said:

8P2



8P3

I was never any good at "spot the difference" but those two look almost exactly the same to me!

Just the bumper strips and the fog light plastic surrounds?

Edited by wjb on Saturday 12th November 08:23

[Biker's Nemesis]

That's a nice car youth.

[anonymous-user]

I would recommend either a Revo stage 1 remap or a r-tech stage 1 remap depending on where you live.

They are the best for the VAG cars!

Enjoy the car its a beautiful engine!

[LiamB]

Thanks again for the comments, good to see a boring A3 can be appreciated here

Unfortunately I have bad news.
I've just moved to from Ruislip to Stanmore with my OH and she still works in Ruislip so on Saturday I took her to work as usual and everything was fine, I leave to go back an hour before she's out so I can have a drive and once the engine got up to temperature I gave it a bit of a boot up a dual carriageway and noticed a rather strange whine when coming off the throttle which progressively got worse as I got to Ruislip. Pulled over and opened the bonnet and got a friend to rev the engine I thought the sound was either some sort of hose issue or something along the Aux belt as it was coming from around the alternator area (so I thought)...

I drove to the OHs work with the noise now very loud on idle but still going away when I have any throtttle applied, I was stting myself. I started to drive home making sure to keep the revs at less than 3k, which is when I tried to pull out onto a roundabout and lost all power. Luckily I managed to coast to a parking space just off the roundabout to kick the car and regret my life choices

After (pointlessly) hoping it would be something minor, I got a lift back to the car on Sunday morning to get it recovered home and find out what's wrong and it's theeeeee

Mother fking timing belt which was supposedly changed less than 10k ago.

I got it home after hating the feeling of being towed and shouted and shouted some more and a bit more for good luck before I looked for a mechanic in my new area, I found one who luckily was able to send recovery for my car tonight (he came at about half 10!) ready to start on it straight away today.

I'm fully expecting valve damage but hopefully nothing internal as I am going to get this repaired if it isn't too much as I really really love this car.

Oh well.