R to 8Y RS3

[aloha_from_bradley]

An 8Y fell into my lap today at MSRP. No markup, no BS. Was supposed to be someone else's car who backed out at the last min. I found it on Audi's inventory tool and called the dealership. I've put down a refundable deposit but want to get some feedback from those who have made the switch. The car will be here next month. It just so happens to be specced out exactly how I would order it. The wait lists are roughly a year, and the mark ups for this car are usually around 10-20k.

I put the deposit down so I don't miss the opportunity, but this opens an entirely new set of circumstances. For those of you who have made the switch, do you regret the decision at all?

 

[Acadia18]

@sterkrazzy

Pretty sure he's the only one around here who's made that switch.

 

[jay745]

99% regret it as rs3 only comes in automatic

 

[Salami]

What color is it?

 

[JC_451]

If it's Turbo Blue you have to say Turbo every time.

 

[sterkrazzy]

The only thing I miss from my R is the fender sound system. The b&o system is just too flat without a sub. Otherwise maybe just 1 or 2 minor complaints. I feel like the DCC on the R had a softer comfort mode and a stiffer race mode, but now that I think about it I honestly don't know if I've driven in comfort mode yet. The suspension on the RS3 feels better to me either way. There's way less body roll around corners. I noticed that pretty quickly going around my first corner. Surprisingly seems like visibility hasn't changed much, it's still pretty similar to a hatch. Oooh and here's one...The amount of engine rock on my GTIs/R always bugged me, but that's something I don't notice at all anymore. I'm happy just putting around and listening to the motor. 5 cyl farts are also magical like unicorn farts. I don't have any rattles I can complain about. No mechanical or electrical problems I've noticed. Everything's been perfect for me so far.

My only complaints would be things like the drive mode not being saved when you shut the car off. There's a couple modes it'll save, but in almost any other mode it'll default to auto when you turn the car back on. Some of the stuff on the gauges doesn't save either so you have to cycle through with the steering wheel to get to the info you want to see. The other would be not being able to keep the dsg in M while in D. If you don't shift for 10 seconds or so it'll revert itself back to shifting automatically for you. The only way it stays in M permanently is if you put the dsg in Sport. Sport just seems a little aggressive for daily driving. It brings the idle up to 1100 instead of 800, and I've noticed it doesn't disengage the clutch when you press the brake in enough at a complete stop. I haven't looked it up to see if I can change that at all yet. I've just assumed it's the way it is. I've always had manuals so this dsg thing is still pretty new to me.

It's a fun car though. It gets a lot more reactions from random people than my R did. People love seeing it, but I think that turbo blue has a lot to do with it.

 

[Acadia18]

My only complaints would be things like the drive mode not being saved when you shut the car off.

In states like CA where the legal exhaust volume limit is 95 dbA, the default mode a car starts in has to comply with that limit. More than likely, when your car is in Sport mode and the valves are open, the exhaust gets louder than 95 dbA. That's why the drive mode won't save when you shut off the car, and it's in "normal\auto" every time you turn it on.

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

What color is it?

Glacier White

 

[sterkrazzy]

In states like CA where the legal exhaust volume limit is 95 dbA, the default mode a car starts in has to comply with that limit. More than likely, when your car is in Sport mode and the valves are open, the exhaust gets louder than 95 dbA. That's why the drive mode won't save when you shut off the car, and it's in "normal\auto" every time you turn it on.

I mean it does that even with the chassis control modes. If I turn the car off in performance, but the dsg is in drive (normal/auto) it'll revert to the 'auto' chassis mode. It's like turning your R off in race mode but when you turn it back on it's in normal.

 

[Charlotte.:R]

99% regret it as rs3 only comes in automatic

While I'm one of probably tens of people who agree with this perspective, pretty sure OP has a DSG R, so this would be a worthy upgrade.

I say if you like the spec and colors and the financials of the deal work -- do it!

 

[avenali312]

If it's Turbo Blue you have to say Turbo every time.

People love seeing it, but I think that turbo blue has a lot to do with it.

Checks out.

Edit: I know I joke, but I just realized I subconsciously do this with Tornado Red as well

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

While I'm one of probably tens of people who agree with this perspective, pretty sure OP has a DSG R, so this would be a worthy upgrade.

I say if you like the spec and colors and the financials of the deal work -- do it!

Yes, DSG R.

Thinking this through and talking financing right now. Interest rates suck. The price of the car sucks. Insurance goes up. Staggered wheel setup, so tires will be $$$ and need to be replaced more often. Need to tint & PPF. Lose the convenience of the hatchback (I'm an avid road cyclist and can fit my bike in my car right now).

Lots of things against me.

I'll have a very sizable down payment, but even so, the MRC will be more than my Golf was after a sizable chunk of cash. I'm finding that when I paid 38.5k for my 7.5R @2.9% in 2019 (brand new), I got an absolute steal. Never thought I'd be back in the position to buy a car nor did I want to be shopping in this absolute dog fight of a market. Near perfect credit and I'm look at a 5-7% rate. That's bonkers. My Tiguan has a 0% finance because I bought it during Covid. Free money.

I've got some thinking to do. Give up the convenience of a significantly more utilitarian car in exchange for one of the best engines the world has ever seen? But that also comes as a cost.

 

[sterkrazzy]

Checks out.

Edit: I know I joke, but I just realized I subconsciously do this with Tornado Red as well

 

[RudyH]

Ya if we had the 8Y RS3 in Canada, my MK7.5 R would be long gone.

Many who have upgraded from the 8V /w built engines and went to the 8Y love the upgrade as well...I think getting some type of diff going whether front (preferable) or rear is needed as the Haldex system is only that good, and with the XDS (for the R anyway) is good for a stock car, maybe, but not much beyond that

 

[sterkrazzy]

Yes, DSG R.

Thinking this through and talking financing right now. Interest rates suck. The price of the car sucks. Insurance goes up. Staggered wheel setup, so tires will be $$$ and need to be replaced more often. Need to tint & PPF. Lose the convenience of the hatchback (I'm an avid road cyclist and can fit my bike in my car right now).

Lots of things against me.

I'll have a very sizable down payment, but even so, the MRC will be more than my Golf was after a sizable chunk of cash. I'm finding that when I paid 38.5k for my 7.5R @2.9% in 2019 (brand new), I got an absolute steal. Never thought I'd be back in the position to buy a car nor did I want to be shopping in this absolute dog fight of a market. Near perfect credit and I'm look at a 5-7% rate. That's bonkers. My Tiguan has a 0% finance because I bought it during Covid. Free money.

I've got some thinking to do. Give up the convenience for an overall less utilitarian car in exchange for one of the best engines the world has ever seen? But that also comes as a cost.

The aftermarket stuff for this car really sucks right now too. There's less than 1k of these cars in the states so far, so there hasn't been much made for it yet. I know there's 112 turbo blues, should be a pretty similar for white. There's only a few intake options and anything with a closed box is over $1200. There's also only a few exhaust options and they're all $2600-3200. No ones unlocked the ECU yet, so there's no tunes for it, but that won't be something I do for a while anyway. So far all I've done is tint, midpipes, and an exhaust valve controller. Still waiting for apr to release the catback they announced 3 months ago.