Hi all,

I wanted to start a thread for a possible project I am going to look to start next year, I am looking around for certain car/engine combos for me to base my project on and it would seem that the 1.8t engine would be ideal. Coupled with a 4WD setup for traction I was setting my sights on either the mk1 TT or the 8L A3 - considering the kerb weight on the 8L is much lower than the TT with the same running gear I am leaning towards the A3 instead.

I noticed that the S3 has the BAM engine which would be ideal for the project, however due to stripping out the car for weight reduction I didn't really want to remove slightly rarer items so will be looking at a basic 1.8T A3 instead. The plan will be to max out what I can on the stock engine before looking to drop in an uprated engine - basically swapping out rods and pistons, I know that some OEM pistons are already forged and its just the rods that are the weak point.

Using a 1/4 mile calculator and dropping in a few stock numbers it would seem that a stock 180bhp powered A3 would run a mid to high 14 second pass, a stage 1 tune (with the K03s @ 210bhp) would theoretically run a high 13 whereas a stage 1 tune plus weight reduction would possibly run a low 13. I need to check the different engine configurations but I know the BAM engine has a forged crank and pistons, need to check which engines in the A3 have the forged crank to ensure that the bottom engine is strong enough.

I have heard that the stock rods bend at around 260bhp, however I don't know what the internals are like on the non BAM engines - will have to do more research.

Owing to the kerb weight of the A3 being much lower than the TT I won't need to go for such big power to run faster drag times - I was initially trying to go for quite big power but it seems that I might be able to get away with much more modest power levels. The car will still be road legal etc, its not going to be trailered anywhere.

I am still looking at options on this build, I might look to go with a 2.0 TFSi in the 8P chassis, although I have my reservations about the 2.0 TFSi mainly centred around the oil usage issue the engine itself seems to be quite strong with some of the stage 2 tunes running well over 300bhp. I am looking into if its worth going with the 2.0 TFSi powered 8P and also look to rebuild another to swap out the stock (probably slightly higher mileage) engine.

The 8P is indeed heavier, but might make up for it due to the additional power the TFSi engine - considering the upgrade from the 1.8T engine is a 2.0 stroker kit.

Hi. Hows your track project coming along.  I am looking at buying a W plate, 2000 year, A3 Quattro, 1.8turbo, sport for track use.

It will need to be road legal and on a limited budget so nothing too extreme on the mods. Thinking I'll lower it, air induction, exhaust and a remap. 

Struggling to find anything on the forum about track mods which makes me wonder how suitable the car is for track.  What's your thoughts?

 

If it's for drag get a 1.9tdi (PD) and go all out on that instead. Everyone tunes 1.8t's