What have you done to your car today?
- Thread starter mattyprice4004
- Start date
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
How comes it's the last time? Has an offer ended?
Soldato
Pretty interesting day for me today. Went to CC Tuning in Burton on Trent for a custom map. Rolling roaded the car on the standard map and my current mods made a nice difference, it ran 221BHP and 216LBFT. Mods in short are 2.75" downpipe/precat decat, 2.5" system from the downpipe back, also decatted. Crossover delete so direct feed to turbo air intake, 200x80x80mm Pipercross air filter. Of course not long serviced, VXR spark plugs etc. So off to a good start.
Then the map went off to be written. Some rolling road runs and checks later we were seeing good figures but the standard side mount intercooler doesn't cope brilliantly. Intake temps were rising along with the power curve! So maybe look into a front mount intercooler as summer approaches. Anyway, we ended up on 260BHP and 270LBFT. Fairly good gains! And all at no more than 15PSI. But we ran it again and the boost dropped off mid run to about 8PSI. All boost hoses, vac pipes checked by eye, no issues. Smoke test was then done, no leaks. Map was re-checked, all fine. So off we went to test on the road and log any issues, but again none showed up on diagnostics and no fault codes have come up. So we think the boost control solenoid is iffy. Occasionally in higher gears the boost will tail off then pick back up. Only £28 for a new one so will fit this weekend coming.
Graph, you can see a boost drop (black line) on here too. Not too much of a boost spike as it spools so my clutch lasts:
Vid on one of the rolling road runs:
One washed car after as I felt sorry for it looking filthy:
Then the map went off to be written. Some rolling road runs and checks later we were seeing good figures but the standard side mount intercooler doesn't cope brilliantly. Intake temps were rising along with the power curve! So maybe look into a front mount intercooler as summer approaches. Anyway, we ended up on 260BHP and 270LBFT. Fairly good gains! And all at no more than 15PSI. But we ran it again and the boost dropped off mid run to about 8PSI. All boost hoses, vac pipes checked by eye, no issues. Smoke test was then done, no leaks. Map was re-checked, all fine. So off we went to test on the road and log any issues, but again none showed up on diagnostics and no fault codes have come up. So we think the boost control solenoid is iffy. Occasionally in higher gears the boost will tail off then pick back up. Only £28 for a new one so will fit this weekend coming.
Graph, you can see a boost drop (black line) on here too. Not too much of a boost spike as it spools so my clutch lasts:
Vid on one of the rolling road runs:
One washed car after as I felt sorry for it looking filthy:
Soldato
took it for its MOT
needed a couple of small jobs doing which were age related on the front flexi brake pipes
but passed so that's 22 years and still rolling for another year
needed a couple of small jobs doing which were age related on the front flexi brake pipes
but passed so that's 22 years and still rolling for another year
Soldato
Haha I should have thought ahead there I agree 
Soldato
Fitted a new battery, which involved removing the wipers and scuttle.
Quite fancy removing the symposer now I've seen how it comes off.
Quite fancy removing the symposer now I've seen how it comes off.
Fitted an iPod kit and when i plugged the radio back in a security code was needed and the one i had didn't work. Quick phone call to audi to get a new one and they said it will be £30 inc VAT and they also said there is a recall for the coil packs to be replaced. Not bad considering its an 11 year old A3. Was a bit annoyed at first but the free coil packs soon sorted that! 
Soldato
Fitted a new rear wiper, Rainex'd all the windows, sorted the misty left headlight (about an egg-cup full of water in it!), sorted the main beam bulb in the right headlight (wasn't seated correctly giving weird light patterns), fixed the FM radio reception (connection fell out the back of the HU), added a LED bulb to the reverse light for more light for the reverse camera and finally I soldered the reverse camera power lines together properly.
And after finishing all that when I turned the engine over the Oil Service light popped on, it never ends!
And after finishing all that when I turned the engine over the Oil Service light popped on, it never ends!
Soldato
The Alca ones I've always bought after trying others in between are these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110889729693?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
As you can see they're much flatter than the usual "flat" aero type blades. The centre bit where the arm goes into does come out a bit so there is an obvious gap between blade and arm when attached.
One thing to note is that they do lift a bit at very high speeds but at motorway legal speeds they're just fine and the wipe is clean from end to end
I bought these a while ago and noted that you recommended them.
Unfortunately they are truly crap. 50mph sees them moderately lifting and not clearing the screen, 70mph sees them barely clearing ANY of the screen.
Even at 0mph there is a small section of the windscreen the middle that they don't clear.
It just seeks to remind me that "buy cheap, buy twice" is a very true phrase. Never had any problems whatsoever buying Bosch/Valeo/BMW wipers. Every time i've bought "MTEC" or "Alca" or some other random name, they end up either lasting 5 minutes, scraping across the screen or not clearing the screen at all.
Lesson learnt!
Soldato
Speaking of wipers, I coated my windscreen with GTechniq G1 Glass Sealant (bought this kit http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=1322 and used all the products systematically) and it's honestly the best thing since sliced bread.
I've tried RainX before and it never was much cop when you used the wipers at lower speeds but with the G1, at speeds above about 40mph the water sheets straight off, you don't need to use the wipers at all. At lower speeds the wipers are silky smooth with no juddering or smearing.
I applied it a month or so ago and it's handling all this nasty frosty salty weather just fine no deterioration to speak of - they claim it lasts for 2 years but I'm a little skeptical..! But as long as you follow the application procedure as directed, it's fantastic.
I've tried RainX before and it never was much cop when you used the wipers at lower speeds but with the G1, at speeds above about 40mph the water sheets straight off, you don't need to use the wipers at all. At lower speeds the wipers are silky smooth with no juddering or smearing.
I applied it a month or so ago and it's handling all this nasty frosty salty weather just fine no deterioration to speak of - they claim it lasts for 2 years but I'm a little skeptical..! But as long as you follow the application procedure as directed, it's fantastic.
How many applications do you think you could get out of the kit? Have had decent success with RainX in the past but always willing to try new stuff.
Man of Honour
Hmm, never had an issue with Alca ones personally but I do accept that it's never going to be the same experience for everyone. As I said, mine have all lifted at above 75MPH but at normal speed they have been nothing but fine!