I just got a lava grey MT 2.0 A3. I love it. I ended up getting the extended warranty (100,000 miles). I had planned to chip + exaust kit it, but now I am having second thoughts because it would be a shame to lose the warranty so early. I read some of the warranty brochures and I never really found a clear answer what violates and what doesn't. So what exactly can I do to increase performance without violating it?

 

Technically......nothing.

Shame you spent all that money on an extended warranty. It would have been better to spend it on mods.

Cheers!

 

Yea, the warrenty wasn't my choice. I got the car for graduation.

I'm grateful.

 

Excellent attitude!

Just drive it for a while and break the engine in properly. Get used to driving the car before you decide on any modifications. The car is absolutely wonderful on its own and you would do just fine to leave it stock. Remember, once you start down the path of mods, forever will it dominate your destiny.

Cheers!

 

You can flash it to your heart's content, but if you take it to the dealer for some work make sure you flash the stock program back in. A flash is the same thing as a chip but without the soldering.

 

what is the difference between a flash and a chip?

Also, I dont have S line so my A3 kinda rides soft... should I think about trying to get the sport suspension installed? I know aftermarket would perform better but I'm trying to keep the warranty.

 

Good beginner reading:

https://www.audiforums.com/m_402135/tm.htm

 

With a chip, they physically solder a chip onto your ECU. A flash replaces the stock program telling the ECU what to do with a different, more powerful tune. A flash generally reefers to "tuning." They both do the same but with a flash you can tweak and change a tune as much as you like. You can still change a chip but it seems to be a bit harder and you can't change as much from my experience. Everything I've ever had or worked on has always been flashed, not chipped.

From the dealer's standpoint, they can see if its been chipped but a flash is invisible.

As for handling a rear sway bar shouldn't affect the warranty because in a sense it really isn't modifying how the car runs and won't cause any additional stress. If its on a lease just make sure you put the stock on back in when you turn it in. Make sure it's installed by a certified technician or the dealer and void the warranty if something breaks or causes something to break because of a poor installation.

If you're confused about it talk to a techy at your audi dealership on what would void the warranty.