Good times for tuners
Audi RS3 against the BMW 1-Series Coupé… that’s an unending contest between to two Bavarian carmakers seeking to rival the hottest Golf models. And this can only be good news for horsepower addicts and even better news for the proprietors of specialist tuning firms. A few weeks back we reported of the first tuning of a 1-Series ‘M’ model by TechTec and now we have the first pimped Audi compact to consider. Tij-Power based in Paderborn have worked a bit of magic on the 2.5 litre five-cylinder power plant and have done all the other modifications to make this an auto which just loves to race.
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- The upgrade involved enhancement of the 2.5 litre five-cylinder power plant. With a new intercooler, a new exhaust unit and software optimization the result is 410 horsepower and 550 Nm of torque.
The turbo solution
The stock five-cylinder turbo is no weakling by any means with its 340 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque. But when it’s a question of turbo charging anyone knows that there is the implicit possibility of enhancing performance by a considerable margin. Thorsten Meier and the Tij-Power team certainly think along these lines. They have added an aluminium intercooler (1,499 Euros), a hand-crafted stainless-steel exhaust system with 76 millimetre diameter ducting behind the turbo and controllable flaps (2,499 Euros) and well as software modification (1,299 Euros). Then there are silicon pressure hoses (177 Euros) and a Forge blow-off spacer (63 Euros) and the confident prediction that all this will result in an output of 410 horsepower and 550 Nm of torque. The Tij-Power crew are hard at work at an even more far-reaching upgrade… to 450 horsepower and 600 Nm of torque… through the deployment of a much modified turbocharger (4,700 Euros).
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- To deal with the often heard complaint the brakes of the latest RS3 model are not what they might be Tij-Power have fitted new high-performance brake pads and steel braided brake hoses.
Track settings
With so much oomph under the hood it is only fitting that the pimped RS3 should be given what it needs to have excellent driving characteristics. Thus Tij-Power have resorted to the respected and track-proven KW Clubsport coil-over suspension with uni-ball top mounts (2,099 Euros plus 250 Euros for the setting of the axle geometry). Wheels have their role here, too, and Tij have fitted the fastest A3 with ‘eMotionStrada’ rims in 9x20 inch format and given them Conti Sport Contact 3 rubber sized 245/30 and 235/30 respectively (2,699 Euros)… we remind ourselves that the construction of the RS3 means that the tyres at the front are broader than those at the back. To deal with the often heard complaint the brakes of the latest RS3 model are not what they might be, Tij-Power have fitted new high-performance brake pads and steel braided brake hoses (550 Euros). How all this translates to performance will be the subject of our report when we have completed a comprehensive test drive.
