My 2013 Audi TT-RS Build Thread…

TT/All
#1

My 2013 Audi TT-RS Build Thread…
So I bought a 2013 TT-RS and figured I would do a build thread to track my progress along the way and hopefully you guys enjoy it as I know I will… If not you don’t have to read it… lol

Anyway, it’s a 2013 Audi TT-RS in Sepang Blue with the Technology Package and Heated Seats… Would have liked the CF mirrors but couldn’t justify the $1,900 for them… Didn’t go for the sport exhaust since I plan to upgrade with a full turbo back exhaust…

Car arrived with 27 miles… Asked for it to not be washed or prepped… Picked it up on Tuesday April 30th this was 75 days after I ordered it on Feb. 14th… The dealer was planning to order for stock and I think placed the order on Feb. 1st but modified it for me before it went into production… I believe it was the last week or second to last week of production for the current TT-RS… I know people always ask about lead times and such so I figured I would mention that…

The whole process with the dealer was very easy as usual and as I mentioned before I got it for 5% off MSRP and the loyalty discount so after tax, title and plates it was right around $62,750. Can’t complain since it is a limited production car and not eligible for supplier pricing… From what I have read I got a good deal…

Spent all day yesterday detailing the car… Washed it, clay barred it, some paint correction, used opticoat paint treatment, vacuumed it, wiped down the interior, treated the leather seats, cleaned the windows, etc. Just took my sweet time and enjoyed the weather and car… There were a few blemishes on it that I was able to get out for the most part with my orbital polisher but nothing major… Paint is very nice and I wanted to make sure of it before I put the opticoat on… Stuff was easy to apply and I did it in the garage so dust didn’t get in and the biggest challenge was the lighting but overall very happy how it came out…

Overall, I have only driven the car about 80 miles so far but wanted to post my initial impressions…

Exterior:
Car is very cool looking and I am really digging the lines of it… Glad I went with Sepang as it is such a nice color and changes based on the lighting conditions… The front end is mean looking with the large grill and I am glad I went with the wing as well since I think it fits the car well… Had two dudes in a R32 that were passing me going in the opposite direction almost stop and as I looked back in my rearview they were both turned around looking at the car… lol Definitely gets a lot of looks…

Interior:
Somewhat spartan but I knew that going in… Seats are very nice and hold you in place well… Stereo system sucks honestly, biggest disappointment with the car by far… Oh well what can you do… Haven’t played with the nav much but I won’t use it too much anyway so no biggie there… Steering wheel is very meaty and I do like the flat bottom… aluminum pedals are neat… Visibility when driving is better than I thought it would be… Rear seats, yeah ok… no person can sit in those with someone my height driving… I may just delete them… Overall very happy with the interior… Total drivers car for sure…

Driving:
Wow! This car is fun… The steering is very tight and precise… The car stays very level through corners especially in sport mode… I didn’t push it super hard… I took a back road route that I always run in the S, and was able to easily keep a similar mph pace and the car actually felt much better… Was worried about it being haledex awd car but so far it seems very competent… I’ll still go with the HPA chip soon… Sport mode is a little weird and I am not used to it… Makes the car very very firm and the throttle response very edgy… I actually like non sport mode better but again need more seat time… The brakes are really good and I think better performing than the Brembo kit on the S4, granted this is a 3200ish lbs car vs 4000ish lbs car… They just stop this thing fast and it stays more neutral than the S… The clutch is taking me some getting used to… I will admit to stalling it 3 times so far… It’s so quiet and the engagement point is weird but I am starting to get a feel for it… Haven’t launched it hard yet… Power is very linear but it does have some lag and lacks the tq of the S4… No doubt this car is much slower at this point… Overall though it drives very nicely and could be used as a daily… Will update after a few more days and miles…

Plans:
Short term plan is to drive it for probably a month or so and hit the strip for some baseline numbers… As I mentioned I haven’t launched it yet and am still getting a good feel for the clutch so I need to do a few street launches before hitting the strip… First mod will be an exhaust as the car is way too quiet for my taste… Not sure what brand I will go with yet still debating and I am hoping to hookup with Sean(Jonese) from C-bus who has one so I can hear his setup… Will tune it soon as well… Larger front mount, nicer forged wheels, and haledex unit fairly soon as well… I’m sure I’ll go with a larger turbo next year…

Any question just let me know… If anyone wants any particular pics let me know and I’ll gladly take them and post as well… Here are a few of it cleaned!

http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/concordslim/TTRS_4_zpsc4bf7dc8.jpg


http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/concordslim/TTRS_1_zps539ee550.jpg


http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/concordslim/TTRS_5_zpscc0d0541.jpg


http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/concordslim/TTRS_3_zps6b92abaf.jpg


http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/concordslim/TTRS_2_zpscb9f2e46.jpg


http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/concordslim/image_zpsd3bcd278.jpg

#2

Great thread. Wonderful post. Congratulations on the new ride

#3

Thanks! I appreciate that…

#4

Looks really good Ron! Love that color.

Seems like you are happy with the Opti-Coat. Did you apply any wax/sealant over it?

#5

Yes I have a question.

Can you recommend a good conditioner for a man with blonde/light brown hair… Something that will give me full body but still help with detangling?

#6

I’m actually crying with laughter right now…

Prime, thanx for the time to put all this together for us. If you don’t mind me asking. Performance wise what’s your vision with the car? I love the dedication to track testing. Can you share what you’ll be expecting each stage?

#7

Ken, Thanks! You can’t wax/polish for 30 days after you apply… I am very happy with the product best part is I have enough to do another car… Gonna do the S4 but will need to spend more time with the clay bar and paint correction… Just too busy enjoying the new car this weekend…

Saki, LOL Sorry no help there… I realize the stigma of the car but being married and a little older I don’t worry too much about that… The car is a fucking hoot to drive it handles very well… I’ve had more looks and thumbs up in a few days then I get in the S4 in a year… lol

Hyden, Thanks and no problem I enjoy it… As for the expectations will see… Like I mentioned I’ll do some passes soon and then start the mods… Probably do the tune and then exhaust as it’s way to quiet… Haledex chip and front mount will probably follow and then wheels… I would like to think I could run high to mid 11’s with the above and have a very nice road car and decent track car… As for the road course I have a ton to learn so I just want to enjoy it while learning and hopefully not destroying it… Gonna do Nelson’s Ledges open track day soon and my brother is bugging me to do a day in June at Mid Ohio, but will see…

#8

The rs246 forum guys who own the ttrs get constantly deluged with hairdresser comments. Had to make you feel welcome lol

I like the car personally. I also don’t care a out the stigma of any car. Fuck I have owned a few wagons in a row here. No worse stigma than that! Ttrs is too little for me but I wouldn’t mind the upcoming rs3 with that engine in a four sedan. Back to b5 s4 size at 176"

#9

Beautiful car again!! I have never been a fan of blue until I saw the RS5 in Sepang Blue…and now this…oh and TTRS4’s custom painted RS4.

#10

sepang is beautiful. Psychotic and primotiempo need to get together for a photo shoot.

#11

was that autocorrect?..lol

#12

Gorgeous car Prime!! Gotta say I’m insanely jealous of you owning an S4 AND a TTRS! Someday…

As for Nelsons Ledges, super fun track! Took my 03’ EVO VIII out there a few times when my Broker/Dealer rented it as part of our summer conferences (the guys that run it are big time corvette racing guys). I hope to get my S out to Mid-Ohio this summer and fall when the Dayton Porsche club has a couple events there. Would still love to meet up in C-Bus sometime over the summer to see either one of your sick audis.

Congrats again on the new Toy!

#13

Ron - thnx for taking the time to post such a great write-up! I look forward to seeing how all of this progresses.

You shld definitely take the RS to a road course - seems like the perfect car for it. I participated in an HDPE event over a weekend with the Audi club, and it was awesome. Great group of people, and I actually learned a lot. However, I’ve since decided to make that a one-time experience, given the cost involved and the amount of stress I’d be putting on my car - it is, after all, my DD. But hands down, it is more exciting than the 1/4 mile.

In any event, your car is stunning - way to represent! 8)

#14

DD, Thanks! I appreciate it… Heck yeah I am up for a meet somewhere… I plan to hookup with Jonese as I mentioned so if he and I set something up I’ll let you know and if you can make it that would be great…

Brandon, Thanks! I’ll have another update in a few days now that I have more time with the car… Was practicing my rev match shifts yesterday and my brother showing me or trying to show me proper heal/toe shifting… I have a lot to learn and practice ;D The car gets funner and funner to drive… It is really nimble and quick… Still haven’t launched it but I have shifting down for the strip pretty good… I was thinking of going tonight but it is supposed to rain and I still want to do a few street launches to find the right launch RPM… I’ll be going for baseline #'s in a week or so… Damn car needs an exhaust as it’s too quite!

#15

Haha! If only we didn’t live in different time zones… :stuck_out_tongue:

#16

Decided to take my first trip to the strip today in the RS…

Car: 2013 Audi TT-RS - 6-speed, 470 miles, 1/4 tank of gas, full weight, stock air pressure in the tires

Mods: NONE!

Conditions: 70F, 66% humidity, 30.2 BP… DA was 2138… So pretty much not the day to go! LOL

Time was limited as I have to go to a b-day party at 12:30 so I only made 2 passes…

Well it’s been about 2+ years since I made passes in a stick shift car and I have never drag raced an AWD stick shift car so I wasn’t sure how it would go… I have launched a handful of times on the street and the car always seems to bog… I am fairly confident in my shifting so launching would be the only real challenge…

Bogged the launch and left TC on one pass so we’ll forget about that one… LOL It was a 13.1

The other pass was spot on and I now think I somewhat have the car figured out, at least for stock… I semi slipped/dumped it at about 4.5K RPM… I didn’t try to rev and hold instead I swept the tach up to 4.5K and at about 3.5K started to slip dump and boom it hooked hard as is evident by my fairly good 60 for a stock car ;D (how about that 60 Pete?) This clutch is going to last I can tell… Not a biggie as long as I can get something decent, not worried about price just quality… I don’t want to deal with the BS setup the B8 guys have to… I plan to talk to Arin and see what he recommends especially with their stage III… Car is strong but runs out of steam up top needs more timing and boost… I logged the car so I’ll review those and see what I can tell… Hit all my shifts and ran the below…

60ft - 1.6732 (Not bad for a DSG guy :)… )
330ft – 5.2504
1/8 ET - 8.2121
1/8 MPH - 84.71
1000ft – 10.6962
1/4 ET – 12.7932
1/4 MPH – 108.68

Overall I was pleased after this pass and decided I wouldn’t do better as there was probably a 30-45 minute wait and temps were climbing so I bailed with a good stock baseline… I honestly think I could go 12.4-5 in a great DA at probably 110ish… Maybe I’ll stay stock until the fall… LOL yeah right… Exhaust is next and will see what that nets me…
Does anyone know how to invert a gopro vid? I’ll read the manual later but given no sun roof I mounted it on the side window and it is sideways since the camera was oriented that way… I should have checked beforehand but this trip was somewhat a spur of the moment…
Here is the slip…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pKpnbauHtw


http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/concordslim/IMG-20130609-00423_zps5d06e18f.jpg

#17

Slower than my rs4 woo hoo! Or should I say whew

;D

Good rip on the launch. Holy shit.

P. S. I totally forgot they’re all manual over here

#18

Nice! Only two passes and it seems you’ve already nailed the proper launch technique. 60ft is great. And 12.7 is respectable, but I agree you could shave off maybe 2-3 tenths in better conditions.

Does APR offer a clutch upgrade for stage 3?

#19

Saki, Thanks! Yeah I honestly thought about that on the way home… Better DA and I had you for sure but not a biggie… I’m going to practice my launches on the street but don’t want to abuse to clutch too much as I prefer to save it for the strip… I was actually surprised how well I was able to 60ft the car really… Going to be a beast with tune, DP, exhaust, and front mount…

Brandon, Thanks man! Not sure APR has a clutch out yet but I believe they have alluded to it so will see… Hopefully, this one can make it through this season and I’ll upgrade it in the spring when I go to a bigger hairdryer:)

Edited post to add vid… Sorry not the greatest I’ll figure out how to better mount going forward…

#20

Interesting… Your 330 and 1/8 times are on pace for 12.45-12.60. Definitely had that turbo gasping for air in fourth.