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From YourSITE.com Technical Features Well they say “the third time is a charm” and this time the number 3 has more significance than ever before. For me, this is the beginning of my third project car, which also just happens to be the all-new Audi A3. It’s Audi’s intent that this new 5-door A3 (a.k.a. A3 Sportback in Europe) will put the company on the map to a whole new world of buyers. A side of that which may not be intended is that of the aftermarket. The A3 is built on the company’s corporate A platform. When product planning comes to reality, this platform will play home to the TT as well as several Volkswagens, meaning the tuning aftermarket will be considerable and healthy. There’ll be plenty of ways to personalize and tune these cars to each owner’s preferences, and that’s a market we intend to explore.
I’ve been around modified VW’s and Audi’s for a few years now. I have seen many trends and have been to the shows. I currently live outside Phoenix, AZ, but have lived in Fairfax, VA and Columbus, OH. It is really amazing to see how different areas of this country tend to tune their cars in different ways, and I plan to incorporate some of these in the Audi. I’m now an Audi Brand Specialist at Audi North Scottsdale here in Arizona. The brand continues to impress me, from the quality to the customers. Although, in the Audi employment or not, I’d have still purchased an A3. I’ve wanted one since 1998 when I first got into the scene and became aware of the car. When the car finally became available here, I had to make the plunge. Our car features some of the hot new options like the trick Open Sky sunroof and Navigation Plus. Even more significant is the car’s 6-speed, dual clutch “DSG” transmission. There’s a lot to learn of the new gearbox. It’s not your everyday automatic or even Tiptronic style shifter, and there’s a lot to love for a manual-snob like many of us are. DSG was an intriguing choice, offering the best of both worlds and offers a challenge in its very newness as it applies to the aftermarket. Thus, I checked the box for that option as well when I placed my order on this car. Here at work, I’ve tried to stay as involved as I could on the car’s launch. Late last year, Audi finally started filtering product information through to salespeople like me – bits and pieces of A3 information. I’ve tried to help get the word out and act as a sales-go-to-guy for A3 enthusiasts like me who didn’t have the access I did. This interaction with folks on the forum and seeing what some people wanted actually bore some fruit when we were able to influence Audi to open up special options such as the OEM roof rails from the factory – something the company hadn’t planned on offering on North American models, but that those of us on the discussion forums were really interested in. It’s pretty cool when you can see results like that, and I’m happy to say I was involved.
Being a completely new car in this market, the A3 is like a blank canvas just waiting to be painted. I am sure the process of this project won’t go completely smoothly or follow a concise timeline; after all, we have all seen shows like Overhaulin’ and Pimp My Ride where the deadline always seems to come too soon. As far as a deadline for this project we hope to be significantly along in time for November’s SEMA show in hopes that the car might find a space there, though the series will go on long beyond that. SEMA seems like a challenging but attainable goal. Time will tell if we’re up to it. Ok I’ll admit I’ve always wanted a car that draws a lot of attention… not attention on a public street, but attention at an enthusiast show or a show like SEMA, where attendees are jaded because they’ve seen it all. That’s another high aspiration, but if it can be done, this would mark one of the first A3s done of this level here in the States. At the same time, the intent is to create a car that can be built on a normal person’s budget… well a normal car nut. This won’t be a big corporate sponsored hotrod like so many cars shown at SEMA. We’re treading new waters here, and I hope we can live up to our aspirations, and provide an entertaining story along the way. Like all projects there has to be a start and a vision. Performance and visual cleanliness are key elements that I think are important for the A3. Audi has provided a great start with crisp lines, a menacing face, and great proportions to give it an aggressive appearance but remain stylish at the same time. We know there’s an already healthy market of parts for the A3, especially Sportback parts from Europe. Like I said though, the market is exploding, and we hope to help find new things as well, perhaps even being the guinea pig for the development of new parts, maybe even providing insight on what goes into making these modifications we buy.
What you can look forward to see are some pretty in-depth modification installments, show coverage, and public/reader reaction to the car. I am in no way influenced by any one style of modding, so we gladly welcome any constructive criticism and ideas of things to do from forum readers and manufacturers alike. We’ll do our best. In no particular order of installments, I’m currently shooting for build-up reporting in this sort of structure: • Full turbo-back exhaust fabrication and development • Cold Air Intake and intercooler tubing development • Software testing • Suspension install and autocross use • Possible body work and paint • Wheels and Tires • Brakes • Dyno charts and performance results • Trial and error • Additional print coverage in Total Audi Magazine (UK) • Probably some confusion along the way just to make things fun • More? I hope you enjoy the ride. I’ll be the one reporting on this new project live from dusty ole AZ, with photographic support from the local and extremely talented Nicol Wheatcroft and William Westfall. All in all, it looks to be a fun trip. With a little luck, we hope you’ll enjoy reading about this effort as much as we do reporting it. Stock Features and Options of Project A3 provided OEM by Audi: • 200hp/207lb-ft 2.0T 16v FSI engine • Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) aka “thequickestshiftever” • Murano Green Pearl Effect paint – special order color w/ limited availability • Black leather interior • Sports package o Sports suspension, 17” 16 spoke bi-color wheels with Dunlop Sport 9090 tires 225/45/17, aluminum belt line trim, aluminum door sills, multifunction leather 3-spoke sport steering wheel w/ alloy shift paddles, roof spoiler, front fog lights, leather sport seats with contrasting stitching. o Cold Weather package o Sirius Satellite Radio o Bose Sound system o Audi DVD Navigation Plus with SD card capability for MP3 playback o Xenon headlights o Open Sky system – dual pane sunroof
Related Links Project A3 DSG Main Page Audi North Scottsdale William Westfall Photography
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