Bald Eagle

Hello and welcome to the site! I'm on my first Audi, had it since March. I had a run of 5 Fords before, and a mixture of Vauxhall, Ford, Fiat and Mini before that. The A3 is a nice, agile motor, isn't it? I had to laugh when a Range Rover tried to burn me off on a roundabout the other day, but had to lift off when his car threatened to tip over! Enjoy!

Ha ha, I just googled 997 TT and it's not some weird Audi code like B8, it's a Porsche! Would have helped if you'd said! :D I still say get the R8 because, despite Richard Hammond's perennial effervescence over Porsches, they really do all look the same. How many Porsches do you see on the road? And how many R8's ? No contest So what did you get?

Yes, any dealership will only sell genuine parts supplied from the motor manufacturer or approved suppliers. If they sold or fitted parts from other sources, then they run the risk of voiding the manufacturer's warranty for you. I've had a look at Limebug's web site and they seem have the usual "Contact us" form, email address and phone number. Why not phone them and ask how it's done on your car? Or see if you can drop in for them to actually point things out for you? Maybe have a road trip to Stoke on Trent and see someone at their Visitor Centre? Best of luck! BE

My mate has a 61-reg A5 2.0 TFSi and he's had to have new piston rings to cure excessive oil consumption. Luckily his was within warranty. I have discovered that Audi were supplied with a bad batch of piston rings for the 2-litre engines. Maybe the same happened with the 1.8 as well? I'd do a web search & look at the Honest John web site. You may find that Audi might agree to cover some of the cost if you ask. Good luck!

Hello Biffo and welcome to the site! The Civic Type R is certainly a formidable motor, with great looks as well. One of the best looking Honda ever did. Some of their others look downright plain. I bet the lack of speed in the diesel will one day be made up by the savings on fuel? And you now have a motor that should depreciate more slowly than just about anything else, so there is an upside! :D

If the retailer cannot give you the right advice they don't deserve your money.

Hello and welcome to the site! My advice is to keep it standard. The insurance on a modified car can be more than on a car that, as standard, does what the modded car aims to do. And there are so many horror stories. My last car was a 55-plate Mondeo Mk3 Titanium X 2.2 TDCi with 155 bhp and 295 lb ft as standard. I fitted a decat, larger intercooler and a Bluefin remap. It generated 186 bhp and 327 lb ft after the mods. The brakes could handle it because the ST220 with 220 bhp had the same brakes. It was a lovely, lovely car, comfortable, spacious, all the toys and quick too. People would walk over to tell me how good it looked. The trouble was the dual-mass flywheel. It was not really up to the job with the engine as standard, but with the extra oomph it wasn't going to last. What I've learned is this: if I want my car to go faster, sell it and buy one that does. So I'm not going to mod my Audi - I'm happy with the standard 197 BHP and 7.1 sec 0-60 time.

The simplest answer is to sell the car and take 3 mates as ballast to the next one you test drive, so any scraping tyres show up before you buy it. Failing that, you could get some 17 or 18 inch alloys and tyres, then sell the 19 inch ones to help with the cost. Otherwise it will mean some stiffer springs or progressive springs. Progressives have tighter coils at one end, so the more they are compressed, the more they resist. And then sell the old springs. The problem is buying a car someone else has modded. If they got something as fundamental as this wrong, what else is waiting to bite you or your wallet?

Hi Jim, My alloys are bright silver and only a day or two after washing them, the front ones look noticeably darker than the rears. So I'd go for the dark "Titanium" finish next time. And the fewer spokes the better, to show off the designer calipers... I guess you'll have to get wheels with the correct offset for your hubs. You'll have to ask a few of the wheel retailers or find the right offset on the web. As far as the width goes, I guess you'll be modding the arches so you can go as wide as you want. Diameter: the bigger the better that you can persuade inside the arches.

Welcome to the site, Phil. Sorry to have left it so long before answering your post, but I sort of come & go where these forums are concerned. Why not post a few pics of the car (with reg number obscured)?

Hello Maringo and welcome to the site! I'm glad you are enjoying your A6. They are lovely cars.

Welcome to the site! Regarding Ford: Me too. The Mk4 Mondeo is just too big and the Mk4 Focus is just too ugly. And the attitude of the service reception guy telling me "Sunroofs rattle" made me decide to vote with my feet after 2 Escorts, a Focus and 4 Mondeos. I did love my modded 2.2 TDCi Mondy Titanium X with about 190 bhp and 320 lb ft but in warm weather the sunroof rattled above my head and in wet weather it let the rain in somewhere so the windows were always covered in damp on the inside. Then either the clutch started to slip or the dual mass flywheel was giving up, so it had to go.

It's all about having the same level of grip on both sides of the car, so if you have to brake hard in the wet, the car pulls up straight. If you have a new tyre with 8mm of tread on one side of the car and a part-worn one with 4mm of tread on the other side, the old tyre will aquaplane before the new tyre, so if these tyres are on the front, you are likely to spin the car. This is because the front tyres do most of the stopping when you brake.

Glen & Steve have hit the nail on the head. It's the tyres. When I bought my A3 it had 3 Evergreen EU72 and a Kenda Kaiser. All were class C for wet grip. In the wet it understeered as if on slicks. I changed them all for Goodyear Asymmetric 2 (Class A) and now it corners it's like it's on rails, wet or dry. Winter tyres are best for snow & ice, because the rubber stays soft enough to grip at low temperatures as well as the chunkier tread pattern designed to improve grip.

Hi Shiraz, and welcome to the site! Great art there!

If you can afford an R8, I'd say buy it and be as cool as Iron Man. Otherwise you're just another TT owner - no disrespect to TT owners, especially as I'm only a lowly A3 owner!

No problem Tech, I hope you enjoyed the holiday! Hey Guitaro, how did you get on with fixing the knocking noise?

I'll have to try one. So far, the only Audis I have driven are three pre-2012 shape A3's and one new-shape A3. All good!

Hi Guitario and welcome to the site Sorry, I can't help with the problem. There is a very helpful guy with the logon name "Tech" who has helped out before, but I haven't seen any posts from him for a few weeks. Maybe he's on holiday.

If you've paid for a spare wheel kit, the dealer should supply the full kit. I'd go back to them and get them to do the job properly.

Looks sound! Bet you keep sneaking to the front window to have another look at your new pride and joy!

Hi & welcome to the site Kev! The Ford Probe was very underrated, most likely due to the poor choice of name. Perhaps it was time to re-use the Capri name, like VW have with the Scirocco? Why not put up a few pics of the Audi?

Hello Sam and welcome to the site! Nice car, especially with the black roof rails and sills that really set off the red paintwork. You're right about the TLC - the sunlight does reveal a few swirls in the paint, but I can't see any pink areas on it like you get on Vauxhalls. Nothing a few hours of polishing and good wax won't fix - here's hoping for a clear weekend!

Hi Zach and welcome to the site! Car looks good, bet you can't stop grinning when you drive it! 1.8T engine is the best balance of power & economy, I think. Good question about meets, I'd be interested as well.

Hi and welcome to the site! Can't help with the mods, but there's a guy called "Tech" who is very helpful & knowledgeable. I had a remap on my last motor, a Mondeo 2.2 turbo diesel. It wasn't slow before, but the remap really brought it alive. I was thinking of getting a 1.8t before I settled for this 2.0t, and I had a look at remaps. You can add another 40 bhp to your motor! But there's always the risk of drivetrain wear. Xenon lights have to be self-levelling to avoid dazzling other drivers, and they need headlamp wash to avoid dirt scattering the light and dazzling others. Watch the panel filter doesn't reduce the engine power by taking in hot air from the engine bay instead of cold outside air. Best performance mods without touching the engine or turbo are usually remap, then exhaust, then intercooler. A bigger intercooler can improve power at some revs but reduce it at others. Good luck!