Hi all, I've been lurking here for a month or two reading up. Thanks to everyone, there is a lot of good info on here. I have my heart set on the A3 and I am hopefully going to be getting one in the next month or two. Ideally I'm looking for a lava gray with black leather, DSG, and Open Sky.

Regarding the stock electronics, I have only seen a few members with aftermarket stereo equipment. The first thing I would like to do is ditch the stock stereo. Now I'm not scared to get my hands dirty with the wiring or fabbing a dash kit, but I have heard conflicting things about how 'tied-in' the stock head unit is with the other electronics. If I remove the stock unit, I realize I am going to lose the steering wheel controls and the track info on the gauge cluster display, that's no biggie. However, I am a bit worried about losing functions of the diagnostic system, trip computer, or climate control. Can anyone with an aftermarket head unit tell me if you lost any functionality?

Also, how extensive is the stock alarm? Most cars come with very simple alarms, but I have heard that some Audis go as far as having motion detectors! Anyone know if the A3 has this?

Thanks in advance, I have found answers to most of my questions from other posts but I am not too clear on this. Looking forward to participating in the forums, and I hope I can add to this community in a positive way.

Oh, one last (dumb) question- I have seen 'gtg' in a lot of posts. What is that? Thanks!

 

Hi BAMF-

Welcome. I'll let others comment on the hands-on electronics modifications. GTG is an abbreviation for "get together" with fellow enthusiasts. Have fun.

~ Blue Jays ~

 

Ah, thank you! Any A3 owners in NE Florida?

 

I've always wanted to upgrade the A3 stereo as well, but the steering wheel controls and the multi function display dragged me back in. If you listen to the stock stereo, it really isn't that bad. You can acutally get a real cleanflat pre-out signal from the back of the stock stereo (not speaker line signal) and feed that to an equalizer and an amp if you just want cleaner sound... if you want something else, ie DVD/nav/etc, then you'll need to swap it out.

Luckily, you wont lose any other electronics/comfort features if you swap the radio other than the steering wheel controls and the MFD. However, PAC audio actually developed a Can-bus adapter that will re-enable your steering wheel controls and it should be released by now. ALso, if you want a face trim plate for the aftermarket radio, contact www.vagparts.com Audi luckily makes an aftermarket radio faceplate/mounting brackets.

Alarm is crap. It just beeps away as if your "lock" button on your key-fob was stuck. There is a way to change it to the BMW siren sound which is a little better. As far as motion detectors... NADA! I kicked my tires once and didn't get an alarm. I think it only detects open doors and broken glass.

 

Thanks A3Night! Vagparts looks like they carry a lot of good stuff, that will come in handy. The main reason I'm looking to replace the head unit is for iPod integration, it sounds like Audi's solution is lacking. I've got a 2005 Alpine unit now and honestly I don't think I've listened to a CD in my car for over a year! I'm looking at the Alpine IDA-X001 (http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...model=iDA-X001). I got some hands on time with it this weekend and it seems like a winner. You can select red illumination and it has customizable wallpapers, I think it will match up with the dash lighting/instrumentation real nice. It is compatible with PAC's solution for steering wheel control too, so that is definitely a perk! Thanks again

 

I'm in Jacksonville.

The stereo system on this car was the main thing I wanted to change. After a while of driving the car I began to get used to the lower quality sound compared to my previous system. I still changed out the door speakers front and rear with a set of Infinity components and the sound is much improved.I will disable and replace the stock sub next. Not sure exactly how I want to proceed with that though. Unfortunately at the moment there isn't much out there to make audio installation easier. I'll probably wait to replace the HU until Crutchfield has a plate for it and wiring harnesses. I wouldn't want to be with out the steering controls and I haven't heard good things about the PAC unit that is available for our car. Just a note for all those who decide to buy door speakers from Crutchfield. The adapter plates they sent required me to either epoxy my speakers to them (like the factory ones) or drill holes into my door to hold the speaker down. The adapter has no location to screw the speaker into.I opted to drill rather than commit the speakers to this adapter plate.