Hi All, I am a newbie and a recent purchaser of an 2006A3 2.0 DSG, Cold and Premium.I drove the car one time and I was hooked. My wife thinks I am in my second childhood but it is a blast to drive.I read with great interest all of the modifications that have been made to the A3. I am a lot older than most of the others on this forum, but I am interested in your opinionsas to what single modification to my A3 would be the most beneficial (OK, maybe two mods) in terms of pure driving enjoyment. Looking forward to reading your replies.

 

If you are going to do limited mods, I would probably get an APR ECU flash. It will provide the biggest bang for the buck. Your stock 200hp and tq will jump to: w/ 92 octaneand w/ 93 octane respectively:



246hp/282lb-ft
252hp/303lb-ft
.
Other beneficial mods include a full high flow exhaust, and cold air intake.
Heavy mods include Turbo upgrades, but for increased zip for daily driving , the flash, exhaust, and intake are more than enough.

Probably the best mods if you are interested in tracking your car would be to upgrade the suspension with a set of adjustable coilovers, and upgrade the brakes.
check out this site for an idea of upgrades: http://www.goapr.com

http://www.corelineracing.com

 

If keeping it simple is what you want, then a flash to your computer is the best bet it's about 4-500 bucks takes about 20 minutes for the whole thing. If you like to get your own hands dirty a CAI is always nice to install yourself, i myself have the APR brand, but there are others out there GIAC, REVO. Go to any of their sites and locate a dealer near you.

My main man Chef will be by shortly and probably tell you close to the same thing i just told you, he'll probably tell you to also check out an exhaust system for your new baby , anyway please let Chef know that the Miami Dolphins are going to win the super bowl game tonight not Da Bears. LOL (i wish) Damn superbowl teams are practicing in our facility. I guess thats what you get when you dont make the playoffs. Good luck buddy sorry i got side tracked.[8D]

 

Thanks for the input. I agree with your assessments that an APR ECU upgrade would probably be the best one, at least for a start.(There is an APR dealer only 10 miles away from me.) CAI and maybe suspension upgradescould come at a later date.

Question: Is there a worry that increasing HP and torque via a chip enhancement would harm the engine/DSG because of the increases in power and torquewithout some sort of corresponding beefing up of engine and transmissioncomponents? It would seem there must be a limit before a failure happens in these areas. Am I wrong on this?

Again, thanks for the input and I hope to become a regular contributor to this forum.

 

I don't know if APR has the same policy, but REVO offers a 5 hour trial program. The 5 hours are driving hours, so it's plenty of time.

I tried it on last week. Let me just say... it is mind blowing. Even better than an S3, which, according to specs puts down about 250 ft-lbs.

I owned a REVO-ed 1.8T GTi before, and had no issues with it. Power delivery is almost instantaneous, the nanosecond you step on the gas, it will start roaring. The only down side? You better have your headrest adjusted, or you'll break your neck.

Edit: the DSG should be able to take the upgrade without a problem. Now, if you had a CVT, that would be an issue. We have a VW dealer in town that works closely with PGPerformance, and they even have a modding department themselves. Now if only our Audi dealers would be so light hearted about it.

 

I haven't heard of anyone having a problem yet with the engine/tranny because of a chip. These cars are seriously detuned from the factory and can fully handle the upgraded ECU. Stryker gave you same advice I'd give, except for the Dolphin comments.

Chip it and you'll be a very happy person. The other mods can wait.

Cheers!

 

no one mentioned a rear sway bar, which a relatively cheap (around $200) way to increase handling. the two most popular ones are from neuspeed and h&r

 

You are most likely not a lot older than I am. I have not been very agressive in modding, but I am working my way up. I went with an AWE boost gauge to start. Next I installed some aluminum pedals, now I have ordered a Neuspeed intake. I would like to get an exhaust ( not too loud ) and of course an ECU reflash in the future. Good luck with your A3!