despawned

So I'm throwing around the idea of possibly purchasing a 2017-2018 RS3 and was curious as to the limits of the stock motor? What needs to be limited to keep the car safe and reliable(obviously with any modifications there is possibility of engine failure) how are these cars reacting to e85? Are the cars blowing up due to much torque? hard launches?

Also obviously this being a audi forum some may be basis but is there another car you would look at?(GTR, 2020 Supra, ??). What car did you come from?

If you're able to post your mods, mileage with mods, issues, etc.

signde

in before someone says you are going to void your warranty and how you should never do that

i don't think many of the readers here are tuning vs. some of the other audi forums so this maybe this isn't the best place to start this dialog. there are lots of folks on other forums running stage 2 e85 on stock internals with no problems thus far. i think that gets you somewhere in the wheelhouse of nearly 600hp at the crank and i hear it's insanely fast with that setup.

there's always the possibility of engine failure, even at bone stock. one person here threw a rod on a completely stock car with minimal miles, i think less than 10k.

i've scoured over several other forums for feedback on this. my anecdotal assertion is that stage 1 is pretty safe, stage 2 is slightly less safe, but still relatively okay and only minor higher risk than stock. folks reporting issues after tuning doesn't really seem any higher than those who are stock who are having issues. it's not really until you start going with bigger turbos that folks are upgrading the internals / having lots of issues.

i'm running apr plus (stage 1), apr tcu, apr midpipes, apr inlet and intake. so far so good but i only have around 5k miles after 9 months so i can't really comment on reliability. what i can tell you is the car is so much better now, i couldn't imagine it without all that.

EXELR8

FWIW, my car spun a rod bearing @ 46,000 miles. !00% stock. Always factory recommended oil & filter changes. They replaced entire engine + turbo. My engine failure is in addition to the guy that had less than 10,000 miles on his.

Sinister#4

Having owned a race engine shop for 40+ years i'd say IF you get a "perfect" one from audi it probably would be able to take 550 ish hp in stock form. However IMHO if I was modding one i'd do rods, valvetrain, pistons and good pins and better head gaskets and upgrade the oil system then you would have zero issues at 650+ HP......ive done bwm and porsche well over 700hp with proper components.


aftermarket rod and piston

stock rs3 rod and piston

rodpaine

I agree with Sinister#4's comments. I've not been an engine shop owner, but I've been involved in building and racing drag racing and desert racing machines since 1958 and can confirm from first hand experience that what he suggests is very good information to follow, at the MINIUM! The truly good shops also know a lot of other 'tricks' that they've discovered over their years of high performance competition engine building, that improves engine longevity that other shops don't involve. Use the best shop you can afford, recommended by owners of well known performance machines, it'll pay off in the long run.

Good luck,
-Rod

Sinister#4

just look at the stock rod and ask yourself, umm perhaps a 15-20% factory safety margin built in maximum, how far do I really want to push it? And thats on a hand built test engine, not one thats "slightly" off in the production run. And a replacement engine for a rs3 is not a cheap LS lmao

Ahdov

hi there,
Hope all good with you guys.

Can you tell me a bit more about issue you had? I think I'm having some similar issue with my engine and wanted to hear about your problem - perhaps to link with mine.

Thanks a lot for any details you can share with me. Highly appreciated.

Thanks Lukasz

EXELR8

The best I can tell you, is that you'll know it when you hear it. Super loud bang, then your car will sound like a diesel truck! Very loud engine/mechanical noises ensue. The dealer had my car for 2 full months 😳

Ahdov

thanks for your reply. did you notice any noise just before this super loud bang? Im asking because I hear only the knocking after starting the engine and not just after starting but some 2-3min after. Knocking for another 2-3min and then knocking is gone. And only on cold engine

that.blackrs3

Sounds like waste gage rattle, knock is pretty distinguishable so I doubt it’s that.