New car time; 2015-2016 Audi S3 VS 2016-2017 VW Golf R

Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
Same engine, same AWD system. VW is cheaper and no trims to pick from - just fully loaded....

Audi is more premium, nicer interior, more expensive to both purchase and maintain.....

Both would be immediately flashed with APR stage 2, with turbo back exhaust and intake....

Who has experience with these cars, and would you recommend one over the other?
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
You know what costs a bit more but also retains a shitload more value... Subaru...
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I considered a Subaru, but their turbo doesn't allow for near the same kind of tuning. Stock S3\Golf R are 292hp, but with a downpipe and $500 they can easily hit close to 400hp and 400+ ft\lbs of torque.

The STi is a pretty nice rig, but nowhere near as nice inside as the Golf R, and *COUGH* not as quick either..... add on the higher price tag, and I'm not sold.... plus the gas mileage on those 2.5L aren't great.
 
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Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
I am considering an A3 S-line as well.... but it has to be a Gen3 EA888 so I can get decent tuning out of it. 320hp is ok as long as it's AWD.... considered a GTI (used to own one) but I really think AWD is the way to go.

I also considered a Tiguan, but in Canada they all had the 2.0T Gen2 which doesn't tune as well. The 2018's are the new Miller cycle 2.0T which has a smaller turbo and APR nor any other tuners have cracked the ECU encryption yet.

I also considered a Golf Alltrack or SportWagen Highline, but the 1.8T just doesn't tune as well.
 
srh88

srh88

Well-Known Member
Beefbisquit said:
I considered a Subaru, but their turbo doesn't allow for near the same kind of tuning. Stock S3\Golf R are 292hp, but with a downpipe and $500 they can easily hit close to 400hp and 400+ ft\lbs of torque.

The STi is a pretty nice rig, but nowhere near as nice inside as the Golf R, and *COUGH* not as quick either..... add on the higher price tag, and I'm not sold.... plus the gas mileage on those 2.5L aren't great.
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Subaru has about a million bolt on parts and Cobb makes a real nice tuning setup for the sti. But if my choices were the s3 or R32 I'm getting the r.. cheaper to work and to most people it's just a golf. Nice sleeper to the average person
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
If you are worried about mileage, I wouldn't do ANY upgrades....
i had to sell two of my favourite cars because they became too thirsty to keep around. Actually, make it three.
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
srh88 said:
Subaru has about a million bolt on parts and Cobb makes a real nice tuning setup for the sti. But if my choices were the s3 or R32 I'm getting the r.. cheaper to work and to most people it's just a golf. Nice sleeper to the average person
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Not the R32.... R32 was a VR6......The Golf R is 2.0T just like the GTI, but it has the K04 turbo. The Best part about the Golf R and S3 is that with Unitronic or APR you can keep the warranty intact. Particularly with Unitronic, they do not override and re-write the ECU values, they make a copy of the original file and overwrite the tuned value when you flash back.

Meaning, you can flash your ECU before you take it to the dealership and avoid having warranty claims rejected.

If I wanted to get into bolt ons, the 2.0T in the Golf R with a garret turbo and all stock internals is capable over well over 500hp. If I did forged internals, folks are getting 600+ out of the 2.0TFSI..... :)

I've tossed around the idea of an older RS3 or RS4, but the parts for "RS" cars is obscene (TTRS included in this statement). I have some cash, but I don't want to waste it needlessly. Power, price, maintenance, are all things I will take into account.

I do REALLY love the look of the STI hatch backs form the 2011-2012 era though..... *sigh* and the noise...... oh the noise.
 
srh88

srh88

Well-Known Member
Beefbisquit said:
Not the R32.... R32 was a VR6......The Golf R is 2.0T just like the GTI, but it has the K04 turbo. The Best part about the Golf R and S3 is that with Unitronic or APR you can keep the warranty intact. Particularly with Unitronic, they do not override and re-write the ECU values, they make a copy of the original file and overwrite the tuned value when you flash back.

Meaning, you can flash your ECU before you take it to the dealership and avoid having warranty claims rejected.

If I wanted to get into bolt ons, the 2.0T in the Golf R with a garret turbo and all stock internals is capable over well over 500hp. If I did forged internals, folks are getting 600+ out of the 2.0TFSI..... :)

I've tossed around the idea of an older RS3 or RS4, but the parts for "RS" cars is obscene (TTRS included in this statement). I have some cash, but I don't want to waste it needlessly. Power, price, maintenance, are all things I will take into account.

I do REALLY love the look of the STI hatch backs form the 2011-2012 era though..... *sigh* and the noise...... oh the noise.
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Ah I thought you meant r32
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Beefbisquit said:
I considered a Subaru, but their turbo doesn't allow for near the same kind of tuning. Stock S3\Golf R are 292hp, but with a downpipe and $500 they can easily hit close to 400hp and 400+ ft\lbs of torque.

The STi is a pretty nice rig, but nowhere near as nice inside as the Golf R, and *COUGH* not as quick either..... add on the higher price tag, and I'm not sold.... plus the gas mileage on those 2.5L aren't great.
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These arguments don't hold water under closer examination; why compare stock performance numbers when modifications are the first order of the day?

There's a ton of these cars infesting my Colorado college town. Subaru WRX and STi cars are the clear favorites for the following reasons; tunability, reliability, versatility, economy. That's because there are a million miles of mountain roads nearby, not all of which are heavily traveled, paved, or smooth. And then of course there's winter. Lots of these guys run a different tire and wheel combo based on the season to get the most out of their AWD cars.

Consider that the police department of Aspen got tired of the STi crowd trolling them all winter, so what did they do? After all, they could afford literally anything they wanted... They got their own STi cars, of course!

It boils down to what you want, as of course it always does. You want to look like a poor poseur? Get the R. A rich one? The S3. But if you want respect, including from those driving much more expensive cars like Vipers, Vettes and the like, build yourself a killer Scoobi.

Or better yet, start with an old Forester and stuff it full of STi parts. It will be just as fast and the troll factor is not to be underestimated! My buddy who works at NAPA built one and it's a practical sleeper... With giant killer cred.

Whatever you build, I wanna ride in it!
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
These arguments don't hold water under closer examination; why compare stock performance numbers when modifications are the first order of the day?
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It's EASY modifications that potentially won't void my warranty.

A simple ECU flash, no hardware whatsoever gets you +67hp and +87 ft\lb over stock with a Golf R or S3.

There's a ton of these cars infesting my Colorado college town. Subaru WRX and STi cars are the clear favorites for the following reasons; tunability, reliability, versatility, economy. That's because there are a million miles of mountain roads nearby, not all of which are heavily traveled, paved, or smooth. And then of course there's winter. Lots of these guys run a different tire and wheel combo based on the season to get the most out of their AWD cars.

Consider that the police department of Aspen got tired of the STi crowd trolling them all winter, so what did they do? After all, they could afford literally anything they wanted... They got their own STi cars, of course!

It boils down to what you want, as of course it always does. You want to look like a poor poseur? Get the R. A rich one? The S3. But if you want respect, including from those driving much more expensive cars like Vipers, Vettes and the like, build yourself a killer Scoobi.
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No interest in looking like anything. I like VAG... Audi, VW, Porsche, Lambo... always have, always will. STI's tune great and hae a fantastic AWD system, but they require more modificaiton to get the same kind of performance out of a Golf R or S3. For $200 I can get a down pipe, and $500 for an ECU flash and I'm +96hp and +122ft/lb over stock (and probably not void my warranty as I can just flash my ECU back to stock).

Can't do that in a "scoobi".

Or better yet, start with an old Forester and stuff it full of STi parts. It will be just as fast and the troll factor is not to be underestimated! My buddy who works at NAPA built one and it's a practical sleeper... With giant killer cred.

Whatever you build, I wanna ride in it!
Click to expand...
After the warranty is gone, I'll get a stage 3 kit from APR and juice it to 600+ hp. But my goal is go have a "quick" AWD car that is stock enough to not fuck my warranty, and fun enough to not leave me bored.

Oh and this...


:)
 
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