Magnet

Hello my namesake from the Homeland. I recently bought some Chinese ones for our non-Audi, at less than a third of the price of the main dealer ones, and all I can say is that if they had been genuine ones, I would not have expected them to be any better in quality or fit. I got mine via. an EBay seller, but you could look at Ali Express as well - they do all sorts of replica accessories - well for our non-Audi they do. One tip I would add, is wherever you get them from - including a main dealer - buy equivalent stainless fasteners, rather than fit the ones that come with them. Again, you should get what you need from EBay. Perhaps you could let us know what you decide Gareth, and how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tyler, Many thanks for your comprehensive post. If this were mine, I would be trusting this to a small trusted local garage with a request to give it a full service including a new air filter. 118k is relatively low for a 18 year old car, but some reasonable expenditure is inevitable. Spending more than you need to on a good service for this age of car would not make sound economic sense - hence entrust it to a local garage who you can talk to, rather than receptionists at larger dealerships. Stick some Redex or similar in it, and treat it to some non-supermarket petrol, and give it a good run before retesting the emissions. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Many thanks for joining and posting your plea. In essence, your question cannot be answered, since ‘coincidence’ comes into play, and really, who knows whether it was about to split anyway? Since they are now going to rectify the coolant loss, then my main concern would be:- did the temperature gauge give you sufficient warning of increasing coolant temperature to allow you to stop and switch off before all the coolant was expelled and any significant overheating prevented? Cambelt changes can incur having to remove the engine mounting, and obviously the need to support the engine to prevent stain on any components. Not sure about your actual engine, but personally I don’t see that any degree of post mortem is going to put you into a better position - at this time. Kind regards, Gareth.

Price Gordon?

Thanks Gordon, You would aid your sale by posting photos on here. Also, can you post MOT details and the price you want for the car? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. personally I wouldn’t post my contact phone number on an open forum. It’s your decision of course, but interested parties can contact you by PM. I can remove your number for you if you want to.

Hello Lewis, Is performance that (in caps) important to you then? We are all going to be subjected to increasing 20mph limits, leave alone the vast stretches of 30/40/50 s we already have, so where are you needing to go in a hurry? It sounds a nice example, and probably non-hacked, or been subjected to the mercy of the go-faster tribe. £5000 can be dodgy territory money these days, but in any case read up about oil burning issues with cars slightly younger, before jumping out of the cosy just-warm-enough oven, and into the fire! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lewis, Thanks for joining and posting your plea. I think- but you would need to confirm - that what you have is a 1.6, so called Special Edition - which is in fact the most basic model of the A3, and as I understand it, has the older generation engine. I ask for your confirmation, since we have that model bought new into the family in 2006, and is still with with some 168k miles under its belt. Economy? Never bought on a must-be-economic on fuel basis, and happily returns lower 30s knocking around, and upper 30s on long runs. Performance? Will readily maintain 80mph for motorway overtaking, but you will find that the revs are the other side of 4K at that speed, and it really needs another gear to be more economic. I always compare this with the non-Audi in the family which sits at 2k revs at 70mph! Folks rave about mileage, but often forget that mileage (wear) is relative to engine revs., and cruising revs are an important consideration. Tuning? As I see it Lewis, you don’t buy a 1.6 Special Edition if you want performance - you buy it for its comparative simplicity. Yes, I guess you can ‘tune it’, but I suppose it’s a bit like tuning a Morris 1000. The economics of spending money to possibly get more miles per gallon? A bit of maths needed to work out how many thousands of miles need to be covered to get your money back. Of course, discount all of above if yours isn’t to 1.6 Special Edition. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brian, Can see you’ve revisited the forum. No further information to give us? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, You don’t tell us whether you have the rear wheels rebalanced (once tyre pressures were correctly set). You don’t tell us anything about tyre brands/patterns across the axle, or any indication of whether tread depths are even. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brian, Can you let us know where you have searched to avoid us advising where you have already tried. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Roy, but I think I would leave that topic open to further debate with the latest generations of BCM vehicles. Kind regards, Gareth.

I guess we are here trying to help, at anyone’s beck and call, and I think Steve Q’s welcoming responses to new posters - ‘we are a helpful and friendly bunch’ - and I genuinely think we try to uphold that. However, to post and ask for advice, but never even return to read it, let alone leave some acknowledgement, is taking people for granted, and frankly rude - Genuine reasons for not returning, accepted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Have you tested for a parasitic drain on this battery? Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Glen, but I meant what is the current ‘best-price’ retail price of these tyres-?

Sounds good Joshua. If this were mine I would be asking for an ‘invoice’/detailed statement of exactly what has been done to your engine. I would guess that simply replacing the (skinny) rings is likely to result in similar issues, so it’s likely to require new pistons, and that will be (very?) expensive, so will they do that? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Glen, It would probably aid your sale if you advised what is the best current price per tyre for these - and what their date code is on yours. Kind regards, Gareth.m

Hello, The original poster joined and posted on the same day, and has never returned, so I really don’t think you are going to hear anything from her. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darrell, Sender unit part of the in-tank pump on your car? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Tyre brands and tread wear compatible across each axle ( and ideally all matching on AWD-? Logic points to rear balancing if felt through the car, and your seat. If the rear imbalance wasn’t there before, then I would be getting the rear balance rechecked. You say you’ve checked the tyre pressures - before or after balancing? Were the tyre pressures checked when cold and set to Audi’s figures? I ask since my experience leads me to believe that most tyre retailers never ask what pressures you use, and it’s not uncommon for them to fit tyres and not even have matching pressures. If the vehicle has been driven for an hour, you will find that the pressures will have increased by 3 to 4 psi, so well worth setting pressures after being parked up overnight. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Andrew, So it looks like you’ve never had a reliable pressure test done on the system. This would be an obvious next move in my book. Sorry, I cannot follow your logic re. possibility of the heater matrix causing your system to pressurise. By your logic, every Audi would over pressurise when the heater is turned off! Also, in your case, you say inlet and outlet heater pipes are both hot, so the matrix cannot be clogged. Sounds like you first need to get the system pressure tested, if you are going to avoid unnecessary expense, but as with any advice on here, the person seeking advice is free to do what they want to do. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Thanks for joining and seeking advice. First things first:- a simple battery voltage measurement using a multimeter is of little use in assessing the battery’s efficiency. This needs to be carried out with far more sophisticated equipment which tests the battery under load conditions. For 2.24v I guess that’s a typo for 12.24v. - but still meaningless. Alternator output at 14.5v seems reasonable. OK, so you have decided to treat the car to anew battery - great. I my book, I buy once and wisely and buy batteries with a minimum of 5 year warranties - usually Varta/Bosch, although I also heard good reports about Excide and Yuasa. I always buy on line at best prices, delivered to the door. EBay is usually my first port of call. I’ve used Battery Megastore, Tayna and others - no connection with any of them. Need to code? I would have thought certainly yes on your 2014 car. As I understand it, Halfords can fit and code, so it’s worth getting a quote even though their prices are generally higher. Simple bit of economics - compare on-line price for quality battery of your choice + coding at independent, with Halfords quote. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, When you say there was an abortive attempt to pressure test the system, was that with the old reservoir and cap? If so, have you had a repeat test with the new parts? If not, I would certainly arrange that - with another garage. Heater matrix problem? - why should that be over pressuring the system? Simple test:- turn the heater off and see what happens. Sorry, I don’t have any experience of an Audi independent in S. Wales. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Andy, Worth trying an alternative brand, but the tyres our local executive hire company are using and getting high mileage on on their Mercedes and Audis? - Continental! Michelin might ( in caps) give you more mileage. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, Thanks for joining and posting your plea. You should find replacement flexible sections ( possibly a bit longer) for sale from EBay sources. You will simply need to know the OD of the pipe. What’s poor about Wales U.K. and fabricators then ? Where have you looked? Have you tried searching ‘exhaust fabricators’ - you should come up with at least stainless exhaust specialists, who should be able to weld, or even supply-and-weld the section you need? Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Andy, With an average annual mileage of only 4K, I would anticipate that the car is used infrequently and on short runs. If so, obviously tyres are going to wear quicker due more frequent changes in direction and more stop stop starts. One of our local ‘executive hire’ companies gets many tens of thousands of miles from their tyres on cars operating on continuous long distance motorway trips. Kind regards, Gareth.