ekimj10

Thanks Gareth, the Bosch Aerotwin along with Valeo were the ones that came as recommended, both saying 26" and 18". I like the idea of extending the wipers to check and will have a go tomorrow. Regards Mike

Probably sounds daft but came to order new wipers and saw all makes are 26" and 18" long. Just checked what is fitted and they are 24" and 18" long and work fine. Anyone know why this might happen, do 26" long catch somewhere and the previous owner decided to reduce the length?

Amazed how efficient the DVLA has become, in the space of four days I have bought a new car, received the new V5C, transferred my old ownership to my son, received confirmation of private plate change. I remember the old days of signing and posting and waiting. So good luck to them!

Well, collected the car today, a decent run home on country roads and I'm well pleased with the ride and handling, so the question of which replacement tyres has almost one away. My problem at the moment is dealing with the entertainment centre, so far cannot find a way to play a CD. More research required!

Hi Gareth, Have to admit the thought of RFT never entered my mind, sincerely hope not and no question they will not feature on the A3! I have owned a couple of BMW's with RFT and never again, one was a Z4 which would tramline and twitch all over, Regards, Mike

Hi Gareth, Many thanks for your constructive reply, I have driven the 'S' line and was not deterred by the quality of ride but a short test drive is a poor substitute for long term use. I was hoping to find Audi giving an option but so far nothing. I collect the car tomorrow and the tyres are legal but will need replacing before too soon. If Audi do not recommend an alternative I can see an insurance problem in the event of an accident. Common sense says 'leave as is' I guess. Thanks again. Mike

Upgrading my current A3 Sportback 2.0 SE to a 2015 1.4 'S' line and thinking of new tyres in the very near future. Currently fitted with 4 x 225/40 R18 and would like to change to 22/45 or even 225/50 at a pinch to provide a slightly less harsh ride. Anyone advise if this creates problems with speedo readings, handling or insurance issues. Thanks, Mike

You can buy an aftermarket kit to replace existing with folding mirrors and the UK based company I looked at would also do an installation service. I decided not to bother too expensive and too far from me. I would think the wiring loom already includes for them but couldn't find out for certain. Look at these but there are others https://www.audiretrofit.com/

Well done Henry, as earlier said I've had two wiper motors replaced, the first was caused by leakage of water into the electrical side which caused major problems with signals showing boot open etc. The second was less than two weeks old and just stopped working. The one I have now has been good for 8 or 9 months.

I had this recently and the local garage advised it was an engine emission fault, maybe cat. converter. Mine cleared after a few hard runs to burn off any residues. Good luck.

There are cheaper detailers on the market and being a glutton for punishment have tried a lot of them, this seems to beat all the others I've tried. Like most things these days there is too much choice around.

From another forum I use, this spray-on 'Bead Maker Paint Protectant' came highly recommended, so I bought some from Amazon and it is very impressive. Easy to apply on a clean car, can be applied to all surfaces and it dries to a quality finish. Be interested to see how long it lasts after another wash. I have no connection whatsoever with the product, just a satisfied end user and the attached photo does not show the finish very well.

All done, tailpipes and tube arrived today so about 2 hours later all sorted. Cost for everything was £27.00, they look good to me, slightlly larger than original, maybe a bit too boy racer? Anyone needing the links, more than happy.

Decided to go with Steves' advice and have ordered two from Ebay plus some tube to make up the slight difference in diameters. Overall much cheaper than the OEM ones but will be of a lower quality for sure. Thanks again.

Many thanks Steve, I would never have guessed. I have attempted to move by hand and it feels pretty tight, not surprising after all these years. I have found them on Ebay from Germany and I'm thinking it may be easier to remove if the exhaust back end was removed, failing that buy one that goes over the original.

An Audi dealer on Ebay has suggested that the trim may be welded on! and advised that Audi no longer supply the trim as spares. Looks like they stay in a grotty condition.

The twin chrome tail pipes on my 2.0 Sportback need replacing and I can't see a way of removing the old ones. Anyone have the answer or do you have to by replacements that fit over the existing ones? Probably not a new topic but I can't find the answer. Thanks for any response.

Hi Clifford, Thanks for response, my thoughts exactly so I guess next thing is to have poke around and see if anything appears behind the foglight grille. My previous cars were BMW and they were quite good at leaving tail for future fitment, cruise control and the like.

I'm looking to fit foglights to my 2007 2.0 Sportback and wonder if anyone has done this and if so whether the existing wiring loom has the necessary connections already. I think they were an extra back in the day and there is a slim chance the necessary wiring is there and all that is needed are the lights and switches. Thanks for any response.

Hi Trevor, I had a Z3 before I changed for a Z4, great cars and might go back to one sometime. The Audi is in excellent condition, had the garage give it a machine polish and when new it was treated with one of those ceramic? coatings which salesmen are always trying to flog you. I'm the third owner and it's covered 63000 miles. The only thing internally was the aluminium door trims near the door openers were badly scratched by someone wearing a ring or something, got the rear trim from a UK breaker and the front trim from USA!

Thanks for the welcome, I have been a member of the Z4 Forum for quite a while but no longer have a Z4, found it too difficult getting in/out unless the roof was down. Anyway a photo of the car I now own.

Just to say hello and I have just taken over a 2007 A3 Auto Sportback 2.0 fsi in amazing condition for it's age. So far very impressed with the quality and finish and will post some pics soon I hope. Two problems I've had sorted was the rear window wiper leaking and causing alarm system to fail (common fault I understand) and the second was horrible rattle from rear drivers side which turned out to be a plastic water diverter adjacent to the rear brake? at least that's what the mechanic called it, anyway removed from both sides and a world of difference. No intentions of modifying except to add fog lamps and use them as DRL's if not too difficult or expensive.