people are quick to say the RS3 is just an overpriced VW, but once you get behind the DAZA you get the full experience. Very robust, very aggressive, huge top end power. Congrats again Pete! excited to see what the future of your build looks like.
Stoked for this platform. Really impressed with everything so far. The interior feels really good especially when compared to the Golf. But the DAZA sound is what takes the cake for me. I am constantly driving with the valves open.
Gonna be saving money and sell my Z next year to get an RS3 can't wait! Hoping to get a 2018-2020 because I like the body style of them but the aggressive style of the new RS3 from a stance view could change my mind.
RS3 looks and sounds awesome, without a doubt. I’m curious - in your search / test drives did you compare it to an M2? If you don’t need the back seat regularly, I’m a big fan of the M2. Of course if you’re using 4 doors the RS3 is an easy choice.
M2 was the runner up, however, the N55 has power limitations. I also considered the S55 in the M2 Comp, but it sounds very horrible, so that was kinda ruled out. I test drove an M2 (N55) this Winter and the rear end was too active. The Audi is heavy and not as good around the corners, however, the Haldex AWD keeps it in check and really helps thrust the car out of corners.
Hey Pete, I'm considering selling my RS5 8t and switching to the RS3 DAZA. You've driven both, so maybe you can tell me which one drives better? The RS3 is definitely much faster because, on stage 2 with 500hp, it can do 100-200 km/h in 7.5 seconds, while the RS5 takes 10 seconds. I've heard a lot of opinions that the RS3 is like a Golf on steroids and, apart from the 5-cylinder sound, it doesn't offer much more
The RS3 drives similar to a Golf, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The RS5 is just heavier and slower RS3. The RS3 is likely even faster when comparing stock… from the torque alone. If you find a solid deal, I would definitely get the RS3. However it depends what you want. Something fast and fun, or keep the RS5 for the sound and low/lack of payments.
Essentially the same intervals. Spark changes every 15k instead of 10k on the Golf R. I play it super safe though. Otherwise, 30k for Haldex & Screens + 40k for DSG.
Integrated Engineering has the auto upshift disable option for the Golf R but I seldomly ever use it. Love the auto shift of the DSG TBH. I'm full weight on my R but I'm planning on running 18's now instead of the 19's so ordered a set of PS4S today and they are on their way! The 18s are much lighter which I run in the winter even on PS4. Do you do find it faster than yourstage 2 Golf R? I wasn't sure on my lengthy test drive last summer buy it seemed slower TBH but it rode and handled better stock than my R on sway bars
@@tglizzy- I almost bought the same car as NP. 2018 year with relatively low mileage but walked away. Walked away cause the 2 Audi dealerships up here where I live either lowballed me on my R or they wanted me to revert my car back to stock. No way I was doing that as I was not very mechanically inclined and I figured it was about 7 hours of labor to have my garage swap out all the boltons. I regret it in some aspects but I had spent $8k in parts and software and was R waa stupidly quick at the time. What I liked about the Rs3 after spending an hour on the road with her; 1. Handling was marginally better than my R even with sways bars 2. Low end pull was very good 3. Had a nice low end grunt 4. Cabin sightlines straight ahead and positioning better than my R 5. Better steering wheel than my R 6. Car looked baller, hella nice 7. Well planted What I didn't like; 1. Car was slower stock in every area than my stage 2 R DSG 2. Noticed it caught a lot of wind on the roof when burning down the highway at 80 3. Visibility wasn't as good peripherally as my R
@@RDriver2.0 i got a 2018 R a month or so ago, i’ve done ie intake & stage 1 high torque it’s a blast i probably won’t do anything else for a while. not sure if i would do a down pipe and stage 2 or hpfp/flex fuel for e85 and stay stage 1. there’s not much online regarding experience with e85 stage 1 on the 7.5R
@@tglizzy - I can't get e where I live so I've maxed out at 94 pump gas. HPFP def helps but I found intakes and inlet pipes do very little for power gains TBH. My biggest gain came when I added a high flow dp and catback exhaust and went stage 2. I got a bit of noticable hp gain on stage 1 but nothing drastic. Also doing the TCU tune makes s huge difference. I'm 3.5 seconds to 60 on my old 19" Pretorias. Waiting for my new 18s to arrive and might go catless this summer too...
I can’t seem to find what exactly is better than this car versus a Camaro 6.2l or mustang 5.0 in terms of sound, performance. No offense but the daza sounds very much like a vacuum cleaner. Not much better than the average turbo cars. Cars like the Elantra N, Quadrifoglios, etc are all better sounding cars inside and out. Even the performance of the rs3 stock is nothing impressive. An SS and 5.0 also trap high 110s and weigh roughly the same amount too. I genuinely do love the RS3. In terms of looks, it’s size, it’s turbo + AWD, etc but I don’t think it’s particularly impressive performance wise. I think what I find the worst about the car has to be the sound. Again, no offense, but it sounds like crap. I heard a little bit of the I5 sound but isn’t mostly overtaken by the turbo sound and overall isn’t anything crazy unique for a car that costs 60K+ new? Also these things eat gas like a V8. I think most would agree the sound of a stock 5.0 or SS sounds way better than these boosted 4-5 cylinders. I know when I’m behind those V8s everything feels so visceral and interested. The RS3 is way more tame in comparison and ends up feeling a bit EV ish. AWD, automatic, etc…
Quite the essay! I grew up loving muscle cars. I still have a fondness for a lot of the GM lineup (LS3/LS9). I decided to not go that route for this latest project as my Golf was eating them on the race track and quarter mile. The ZL1 and GT500 would probably give the RS3 a run for it’s money, but I don’t plan on leaving this car stock for long. Once you tap into the performance of these cars, you can really make them fast and fun… which is certainly good enough for me. I have also never heard anyone say that an Elantra N sounds better than an RS3. But of course… personal preference.
@@NewEnglandPete yup in terms of a straight-line an RS3 will be 100% quicker in the 1/4 every time when stock. It’s got AWD so it’s 0-60 will always be almost half second quicker. But then in the 1/4 it’s trap speed is basically identical to those other cars. On a track though I’m not really sure. I’d imagine the mustang isn’t great. But I know a SS/1LE is stupid fast with a decent driver. I’d assume it’s quicker than a RS3 and Golf R but I’d imagine it depends on the track and driver. AWD can definitely help out and those other cars do weight a bit less though. Now I do know the tuning potentials on the daza are some of the best. Right up there with the B58 and Boosted Coyotes. Dropping 5-8K into the car will probably get you into the 10s while still being somewhat reliable. So if you will be modifying this car I can see it being totally worth it. But stock, weighing almost as much as V8 cars an SS/GT, getting 20mpg (similar to those V8s), and performance similar to those V8s while costing so much more new doesn’t really make sense. Especially because the technology inside the car isn’t particularly outstanding and it sounds meh? As for the sound I’ve never really liked turbo cars. But after watching videos again I only now realized RS3 can either have a standard or sport exhaust. After hearing more videos on them I take what I said back. I think the RS3 and Elanta N are pretty similar. I actually prefer the deeper sounding pops and burbles on the rs3 but with no pops and burbles I think the N sounds better to my ears in it’s sport mode. Either way if you are doing exhuast upgrades it will end up sounding sweet either way. Main reason I point all this out is because cars like the new Ioniq 5 N seem like such a similar car to the RS3. I know I sound crazy but hear me out: the new Ioniq 5 N offers artificial shifts/trans with paddles to replicate the DCT in its N cars, offers engine noise through its speakers from its N cars, comes with AWD, has drift modes and artificial clutch drops, etc. I’d suggest you watch a video because it’s pretty damn convincing and really reminds me of an RS3 without an engine. It’s odd but seems like reviewers have liked it thus far.
@@NewEnglandPete “I’m not reading all of that” Bruh I’m deceased 😂💀 5Cyl turbo will always sound better than 4cyl turbo, love the EN though still a nice car, but no where near the potential of the DAZA though 🤷🏿♂️💯
@@NewEnglandPete ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tUtPMH9CgOs.htmlsi=s5FYDNTXy1TnPTTq I mean the top comment is literally from a AMG GT63 S owner talking about how the Elantra N is one of the best sounding cars for under 100k. It's completely subjective but I firmly believe an Elantra N stock sounds better than a RS3 stock exhaust. Now I only recently learned the RS3 comes with a sport exhaust from the factory which I will say is honestly quite similar to the Elantra N. I actually like the pops and crackles better but it seems to be less consistent from the videos I've seen. Either way if you are going after market it doesn't matter. But stock the car sounds tame for a 60k+ performance car is all I'm saying.
Justin- I welcome you to start your own RU-vid channel and follow that model. You seem to be extremely invested in my personal life and it’s very flattering. 😄
@@NewEnglandPete you know you’d get 50k+ views if you had a girl in the videos like your gti days. Seeing how you have a face for radio be a nice change of pace, food for thought 🤠
