Make a perfect car better?

March 23, 2011 11:25 AM

Bought an A3 TDI. Help me pimp it?

We just traded our v6 Q7 (18mpg) for a brand-new 2011 A3 TDI (42mpg) to minimize our fuel costs, as my wife has a long, mostly highway commute everyday. And we love it.

Now I wonder what improvements I can make.

• What accessories / aftermarket toys would you recommend?
• What tweaks to the car are interesting / worthwile?
• Are there interesting things that can be done with the computer?

This is pretty free-form. I'm interested in anything you may have done to your A3. Horror stories of what not to do are also welcome.

posted by jeffamaphone to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

I love it, but use it as a weekend rider, my wife commutes in it.

If you live in an area prone to potholes do not get the low profile tires. We eat through the things during winter. And they aren't cheap.
posted by JPD at 11:31 AM on March 23, 2011

vwvortex.com will keep you busy for awhile.
posted by rhizome at 12:30 PM on March 23, 2011

Also, tdiclub. They now have a section devoted to the A3 TDI. Note that on that site, "A3" can refer to two different things: the 3rd generation VW Golf/Jetta platform, or the Audi A3. As far as I'm aware, they're unrelated (aside from both being VW group products).
posted by penguinicity at 12:42 PM on March 23, 2011

Best answer: This is the main VW Vortex forum for the current model of A3 - of most interest to you would probably be the DIY/FAQ thread.

There tends to be a lot of cosmetic crap on the Vortex forums, but there's also a lot of very practical mods, as well - I know the older TDI Jettas were able to use a much higher quality fuel filter originally designed for heavy trucks. You can definitely chip the ECU, or upgrade the turbo, or the exhaust. There's plenty of information out there about all of that.

And here's a list of things you can do if you know someone with a VAG-COM.
posted by god hates math at 12:45 PM on March 23, 2011

Greasecar?
posted by plinth at 2:00 PM on March 23, 2011

Response by poster: Greasecar?

Not just yet.
posted by jeffamaphone at 2:19 PM on March 23, 2011

Pretty much every modification you can make to a car is tacky unless you are actually building a race car or are 19 years old. I would leave it as is, as can be attested to by my completely stock 2007 GTI.

I used to modify cars when i was younger. It was a big waste of money that really didn't get me much except the respect of a bunch of people I didn't really care about.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 2:46 PM on March 23, 2011 [3 favorites]

Hook up your iphone to get stats?
posted by stratastar at 4:16 PM on March 23, 2011

For style and go-fast parts:
www.ecstuning.com

For the community:
www.audizine.com

Cheers and welcome to the 4 Rings!
posted by oldefortran at 5:29 PM on March 23, 2011

Response by poster: @tyler: Rest assured that I won't be making tasteless modifications. I won't be adding big wings and lighted windshield squirters. But I am interested in exactly the sort of tweaks that have been suggested on the forums. Specifically I'm excited about the ability to turn on the auto window closer functionality from the key fob and the ability to turn the seatbelt warning chime off.

@oldefortran: Thanks. This is actually my 3rd Audi (S4/Q7/A3) and my 6th VAG (928S/Passat/Jetta) car.
posted by jeffamaphone at 9:22 AM on March 24, 2011