S3 Throttle Response?

[neil.b]

Just bought a 2002 S3 and am wondering if the throttle needs adjusting/looking at. Its when lifting off the throttle to change gear, the revs seem to drop off really slowly. Is this a characteristic or something that needs attention? I didn't notice it on the other's I test drove - not to say they didn't do it, just didn't notice one way or the other.

Its booked into AMD next week, presumably its something they could look at if required?

Also, a friend asked me if I knew whether the car had had "that recall that all S3s had?" He mumbled something about it being quite serious and something to do with the turbo. Ring any bells? Anyone know where I could find out about it and whether my car has had it done?

Cheers,

Neil

[pete]

The only recurrent problem I know of was a batch of faulty coil packs on VAG 20v engines. There wasn't a recall, but if your coil pack failed, Audi replaced it for free.

I don't know about the throttle response. Mine always had a lot of flywheel effect, especially compared to my Tuscan, but no more than other "normal" cars.

Pete

[angrys3owner]

hi Neil I believe it's normal and because of the funny dual mass flywheel on the S3.

There is nothing serious to worry about on an 02 car, the coil pack issues and any other issue were resolved by then to the best of my knowledge.

what are you having done at AmD by the way? great bunch of guys over there.

hope your ownership experience is better than mine!

[neil.b]

angrys3owner said:

hi Neil I believe it's normal and because of the funny dual mass flywheel on the S3. There is nothing serious to worry about on an 02 car, the coil pack issues and any other issue were resolved by then to the best of my knowledge. what are you having done at AmD by the way? great bunch of guys over there. hope your ownership experience is better than mine!

Ah good. That's what I'd been told but I wasn't sure if it was balls.

Got Audi to do a check on the car and they said nothing turned up on the recall list for the chassis number range that my car is in so, fingers crossed I guess.

AMD? The usual. ECU "spice up" + Viper dump valve

I bought myself a third-party warranty on the back of your tales of woe. What's the latest? Is it all sorted now?

[angrys3owner]

Hi Neil,

Not sure yet, Audi are denying all responsibility for the valve being damaged, so AmD are repairing it, remains to see whether they expect me to pay for it or not... they better not!

I have been saying for the last 7 weeks hopefully I'll get my car back this friday / sat intime for the bank holiday, but I'll be so F&"*$D off this time if I don't I really don't know what I'll do - have a nervus breakdown I expect!

what warranty company did you go for as I've been thinking about this, if not for my car, for whatever car I get next.

I take it you already love the car? I really can't wait to drive mine again, so much power and real trust in the car in any conditions. I was going to get mine remapped, but after all this I think I'm just going to get a new car, have no idea what though, what were your other options when buying your S3?

I've been thinking things as silly as a 540 / M5, Elise, CTR...

[neil.b]

I went with Warranty Works after a recommendation from another PHer.

www.warrantyworks.co.uk

Good price for the 3 year platinum cover (everything, basically, even clutch and turbo) - £650. Its limited to a maximum single claim of £2500 but it will soften the blow if anything really major happens. Touch wood.

I really do love the car. Very competent, good fun pushing on round bends and letting the electronics sort it all out Such a lovely cabin, oozes quality, perhaps even have BMW beat in this area. Turbo lag is a real pain but AMD said the Viper valve improves things (said that the OEM one is made of plastic and is prone to warping and sticking because its in a very hot part of the engine).

I bought it to replace my Mustang (long story) as I need a "sensible" car to drive when I'm not driving the Elise.

M5 would be sweet, I've had a couple of M3s in the past. They are such good all-rounders. Not driven a CTR, they don't do much for me to be honest but that's just from a styling point of view. Elise is awesome, brilliant fun. Not sure about them as a daily driver personally, but I know people who do. Pretty undrivable in snow/ice by all accounts.

[fq400]

Mine's been to QST (MTM) and had the ecu + quad exhaust and it drives like an absolute peach

I gotta say the one thing I'm upset about is that I didn't do the full stage3 tuning with the turbo upgrades and the 330bhp. The car's currently at Wizards of Nos getting 75bhp nos, so if I had the 330 upgrade that would give a total of 405bhp - exactly what the FQ400 has to nail 60 in 3.5 seconds

Still though atm I'll have 350 which you can't really go wrong with

The car's just so driveable off the line as well that in any traffic light situation you'll always be first - even if you're racing a 500bhp ferrari. The clutch and shifter's beautiful and the 4wd means that launches are pretty hardcore!

[inigo]

Hi

Your observation re throttle response is spot on for the S3. I found it very odd at first but you just get used to it. Upside is that you stay on boost for longer

There haven't been any turbo-related recalls with the S3 - only major one I can think of was for rear suspension arms and that was on pre 2001 facelift models only.

Enjoy

[neil.b]

inigo said:

Hi Your observation re throttle response is spot on for the S3. I found it very odd at first but you just get used to it. Upside is that you stay on boost for longer There haven't been any turbo-related recalls with the S3 - only major one I can think of was for rear suspension arms and that was on pre 2001 facelift models only. Enjoy

Regarding "staying on boost" - I was going to get a Viper dump-valve fitted down at AMD but I've read contrasting opinions. Some people say that the dump valve actually makes performance worse because the pressure build up is reduced very quickly between gear changes whereas the stock turbo setup is actually designed to redistribute the gas, keeping the pressure up high.

Anyone got an opinion? All this turbo stuff is new to me

[wildeep]

The FBW throttle used on the S3 has a slow throttle response to prevent sudden changes in fuelling in the overrun condition in order to keep emissions down. Its perfectly normal.

[s3am]

angrys3owner said:

There is nothing serious to worry about on an 02 car, the coil pack issues and any other issue were resolved by then to the best of my knowledge.

I had just about the first 02 car into the UK, unfortunately that still had coil pack issues, which were all sorted under warranty. I don't know exactly when they were resolved.

Sam

[neil.b]

s3am said:

angrys3owner said: There is nothing serious to worry about on an 02 car, the coil pack issues and any other issue were resolved by then to the best of my knowledge. I had just about the first 02 car into the UK, unfortunately that still had coil pack issues, which were all sorted under warranty. I don't know exactly when they were resolved. Sam

When was yours first registered Sam?

As I've said, I got Audi to do a check over the phone and they said that there were no oustanding recalls on my car. Then again, you know, Audi dealers.....say no more

[marctwo]

My 02 went in for its first MOT the other week and they said there was a recall on the coil packs and checked them too. There was nothing wrong with mine but I guess there was a recall on them.

[neil.b]

marctwo said:

My 02 went in for its first MOT the other week and they said there was a recall on the coil packs and checked them too. There was nothing wrong with mine but I guess there was a recall on them.

Mine has had its first MOT but I'll mention it to the local dealer as its booked in there for a service and to have a new spare key programmed next Monday.

[monkeyhanger]

The VAG CoilPack issue ran into the early months of 2003...

I think the updated coil packs had a J prefix....check the P No on each coil to be sure.