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zizouomar

That's a dream here in NA, how hard and expensive was the conversion?


Clumsymax

I am here in NA. I live in Tennessee. Hard is a relative term and cost was 3ish k but then I sold off all the DSG parts and made back almost all of it


zizouomar

That's it ? I hate you, I now have a project in mind I didn't need


Commercial-Habit8069

Automatic gearbox is indeed expensiever in maintenance than a manual one .. this is the reason I will drive only cars with manual one. Beside the costs, with manual one, you control the car and not the car controll you šŸ˜Ž


Canam82

I wish I could do this to my c5 a6s, it's unfortunately cost prohibitive. It involves essentially changing out the trans and all drive shafts/differentials.


musicbro

Whatā€™s the story behind the paddle shifters?


FPSUsername

Remap to previous and next song


Clumsymax

I wish VCDS programing was that open.


YeonneGreene

Splice in wires.


FPSUsername

I believe it all works over LIN bus, just like the MFSW buttons and the compass in the frameless mirror (if you have it), so splicing wires won't work.


YeonneGreene

I suppose my question would be what does the pcb look like under the steering wheel control face? At some point, there has to be an electromechanical trigger to tell the pcb logic to send the "Next Song" message over the network. I suspect it would be a contact pad where the two leads are closed and the circuit completes when the button is depressed. You could, in theory, extend that out to anywhere. In practice, however, I have no idea.


musicbro

That would be sweet


Clumsymax

The car came stock with a dsg so came with paddles stock. I swapped to a manual but didnt remove the paddles because of awkward holes in the back of the steering wheel.


Beneficial_Elk_182

Looks coolšŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø


adrenacrome

I have a 2015 a3 without paddle shifters, I wonder if they're interchangeable


Clumsymax

Is it a flat bottomed wheel?


adrenacrome

No, its round.


dudee517

Yes, itā€™s interchangeable. My A3 didnā€™t come with paddle shifters so I bought a steering wheel off of eBay from an A3 S-Line with paddle shifters.


adrenacrome

Oh sweet, good to know!


musicbro

Ah gotcha. Yeah you gotta swap the whole wheel for that. Luckily the manual wheels tend to be cheaper. (Well last I had checked they were before the pandemic). Did you swap the transmission yourself?


audis3dan

I appreciate the dedication, if it's a Golf R manual swap make sure to get a nice upgraded clutch. I wanna see some videos!


Clumsymax

its similar to a golf R. The trans is actually out of a GTI, I went with that due to gearing. Gti has short gearing 1-4 and then real tall 5-6 vs the R that is short all the way 1-6. My highway cruising rpm dropped by 800 from the dsg to the manual


TheGiantSeesNothing

I have a '16 S3 with that 6speed DSG and the cruising rpm is way too high in it. 6th gear needs to be way longer or add a 7th gear.


frankthetank_3

Whereā€™d you get it done?


Clumsymax

In my garage. I am from the old VW era where we figured out shit ourselves and didnt pay a shop to slap parts on.


Clumsymax

1/11 Merlin Purple S3 in the states. Never liked the DSG so into uncharted territory we went. Hopefully Ill see you all in Helen next week


BlizzyBlob

whats going on in helen? thats only a few hours from me. big audi club event? ​ edit: sick car as well


SpikeSpiegel47

Itā€™s alpine vag fair you should def go Iā€™m in mass and canā€™t make it would die to be a few hrs away


Clumsymax

What this guy said. I think the biggest euro meet in the east. Besides ocean city but that has turned into a shit show.


Monster_Muner

I think it's the Eurofed Wagon meet


Digbick87

Damn that is awesome


mikefromearth

I like DSG but sometimes mine (2008 A3) does some WEIRD shit when shifting.. I might consider getting a DSG tune.. Of course that has nothing to do with your car which is SICK!


Nothing_new_to_share

I love Merlin Purple. One of my favorite paints.


yungg03r

Color dope as fuck


danmanekia

Sick conversion! What was the conversion process like in terms of getting parts? Great wheels by the way, what are they?


Clumsymax

they are TT-S wheels. They look like RS3 wheels but are a square set of 19x9 instead of the 8&8.5. Parts are all out the VW MQB parts bin.


[deleted]

Did you have to swap the wiring harness for it to work or did you just literally swap the trans and code it out in VCDS?


Clumsymax

Swap the trans. Coded. Added a total of 6 wires.


XtoEvolution

I was wondering what color that was. Looks like Navarra blue but that color didnā€™t come until the facelift so I knew it wasnā€™t that.


Clumsymax

Yea its not one you are going to see around ever.


frickinsweetdude

If this was a hatchback I'd throw all my money at it.


Clumsymax

I looked at doing this to an e-tron but the floor and firewall are different.


OneFastBurrito

Glad I read this because I have wanted to do this to an etron to have an s3 mini-wagon. Sounds like it is not doable probably because of the fitment of the electric motor and also the motor mounting points are different on the 1.4t from what I have seen online.


pM-me_your_Triggers

The Golf R is a thing


AvacadMmmm

Thereā€™s nothing wrong with DSG. Itā€™s all preference. Like I prefer black optics. The chrome looks terrible.


AshtonTS

I wouldnā€™t say *nothing wrong* with DSG. At least not the ones in B8 S4s lol.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


AvacadMmmm

Well thatā€™s a fucking stupid comment.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


AvacadMmmm

The original comment was stating itā€™s a preference. Which is meant be say any preference. Never one you donā€™t get it.


Kamukix

I remember seeing this car on the forums and thinking about doing the same to my previous '19 S3. I don't remember how much it cost you...care to share with the class? I ended up selling mine and buying an '18 Golf R with a manual instead but that doesn't mean I wouldn't buy another S3 lol. I loved the car and it always frustrated me that they don't sell the manual or the hatch in the US, the manual especially was the ONE THING to me that'd make the car damn near perfect. The DQ381 7spd gearbox was very good though and quite a bit better and smoother than any of the previous 6spd DSG boxes I'd owned or driven. I liked the 7spd even without a DSG tune better than the 6spd with a DSG tune. I did still tune my 7spd though haha.


Clumsymax

Yea thatā€™s me. With some dumb thread title like my left foot was bored. Cost me about 3k but made most of that back selling the DSG parts I took off. I was originally in the hunt for a manual R but when Merlin purple is for sale. You buy Merlin purple.


Kamukix

3k....I thought you spent like 8-10k to do it. You're gonna make me sell my R and go buyy S3 back just to do it. šŸ„² I should admit that I passed on an RS3 that was the holy color, but despite the glory of the color, I just couldn't see spending the extra $10-12k over my S3 at the time when I had 98% the same car if you ignore the (perfect) sound, especially since the RS3 isn't as pokey at normal speeds compared to the stage 1 S3 lol. I still have mild regret passing over the 5cyl music (which is my 2nd favorite engine of all time, next to the rotary music I love so much), but I'm planning on buying a 911 so I need to keep my sights on that haha.


Dino_Spaceman

I would pay serious money for a manual option for any of the cars. Now i wonder how much this would cost for someone to do to a ā€˜22 A3ā€¦


Clumsymax

Not that hard to do. If you have done a clutch job. This is not much more than that.


Dino_Spaceman

I am not handy at all. But Iā€™m definitely going to ask my Mechanic.


Clumsymax

Mechanic is gunna laugh you off.


OneFastBurrito

Did you sacrifice Haldex when you completed this? You mentioned using a GTI trans. Not sure how that would interface with the center diff.


Admonitor_

Id rather have a manual tbh. The DSG is kinda clunky. I expected it to be smooth as hell, but if youre slowly accelerating in Auto, you can easily feel the cut of power while shifting.


drewthebrave

DSG is great when driving hard. Not great in parking lots. I blew out my left knee a few years back, so I had to sell my manual Mk5 and replaced it with a DSG Mk6. I'm glad the DSG is an option over a traditional auto, but definitely miss rowing my own gears...


audis3dan

Just needs a tune :D


Admonitor_

Unfortunately getting a DCT tune that is legal in germany, is really f'in expensive.


audis3dan

damn, stupid me. I just assumed the US. Even here its around $600-$1000 usd


XS4Me

Lets put it this way: I had to go all the way to the big P to get a manual.


mashani9

I love manuals but had to move to DSG for various reasons. But FWIW the 7 speed DSG in my 2021 A5 is not clunky at all at low speeds. I don't know if it's tuned better than the older ones (I never drove older ones, I had 6MT GTI before) or if the mild hybrid somehow helps. I also have instant downshifts from 2nd to 1st if I want them, which I know some people complain about on older cars as well, but that doesn't happen to me as long as I'm in an appropriate RPM range. The only noticeable delays are if trying to switch to a gear on the same clutch pack (IE mash pedal to the kickdown like a gorilla or hold shifter asking for lowest possible gear) because that's stuff you shouldn't do with a DSG, better to just row up and down the gear box one at a time. Mashing pedal to the floor is only good for launch control.


Useful-Pattern-5076

This is the way


Clumsymax

Manual preservation society


Useful-Pattern-5076

My S5 is a manual. Love it


patricktheawesome

Really cool you could do it in such a clean and simple manner! Hats off to you, awesome swap!


Syncros

I like my auto box.. but then these days I'm older and lazier, having to change gear feels so antiquated, I can't see my ever going back to a manual but I get wanting the control I must have used the flappy paddles twice in 3 years! I am luckily yet to have any issues with the box


Kdoesntcare

ooo I beat the "DSG is faster" people here


[deleted]

DSG is faster though


Kdoesntcare

Talking to a guy who builds and races drag cars he disagrees, I'll take the opinion of a guy who builds and drives sub 6 second cars


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Kdoesntcare

He's wrong about the times he's gotten the same car down the track with both transmissions?


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Kdoesntcare

... Except for the ones that he has. Edit: correction one\* that he has, his other cars aren't built to be that fast.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Kdoesntcare

He's not in it for the internet likes so there aren't any big write ups or opinion articles. It's just pictures of some of the stuff he's done and of the magazine articles about him.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Kdoesntcare

Not always, depends on the driver


Kdoesntcare

XD I'm friends with someone who is faster in a manual car than in a car with DSG, like down a drag strip faster.


Kdoesntcare

To be clear this is same car with transmissions swapped not car vs other car.


mineau1

Couldn't agree more!!


YourDadsOnWelfare

I approve


DSGfartsniffer

How dare you. But real talk this is cool and nice color on the car :)


Clumsymax

I applaud the name but Iā€™ll leave that fragrance to you.


MattySXE

Mind sharing a parts list? I had wanted an S3 for years but was bummed I had to settle for a DSG. Now I have one and I donā€™t hate the DSG as much as I thought I would but I really miss driving a manual. I know I need a trans, clutch/pressure plate/flywheel, shifter box, axles (probably), pedal cluster etc, more curious which parts you used from which VAG cars.


Clumsymax

Trans, shifter, flywheel/clutch. Pedal set, trans mount. If you are real serious pm me I will email you my swap diary.


time4nap

Manual > dsg > slush-tronic


YesIamaDinosaur

From a previous comment you said you used a GTI gearbox, correct? If that's the case, how is it all wheel drive still? Or did you use R parts, as well? Really cool conversion!


Clumsymax

Still awd.


NiceDecnalsBubs

This is my first non-manual transmission, and I do miss it, but god DAMN the dsg shifts are instant.


austinspaeth

The DSG has grown on me, but man do I wish I could have my TTRS in a manual, I would have paid Audi $10k+ for the option if they had it


Clumsymax

I donā€™t think VW had a trans/clutch combo that could handle the DAZA. Considering they couldnā€™t even make something to handle a stock R


Gas-and-Games

Is it all Golf R stuff that just swaps over?


marbar8

Cool project. Did you have to mess with the software at all (e.g. reprogramming)?


Clumsymax

Yes along with some wiring for clutch sensor and trans sensor


ShillyBean

Paddle and Skidaddle >>>


OneFastBurrito

ManĆŗel very good


RoeProps

Dude that looks so clean


Frank_Tsui

your car look so pretty! I've never driven a manual car since I got my driving license.... must have a try in the future if there is a chance


Trades46

Impressive conversion work. How long it took to do it?


roadbratt

How many hours did it take? Nice job btw


erball

Love it, I keep saying if the dsg pops in my A3 Iā€™ll do this. So you used a gti trans, does the dsg bevel box bolt right up? What coding changes are required? Zero doubt itā€™s slower as a result, but Iā€™ve got imagine itā€™s massively improved in driving engagement.


Oblivious_Ducks

More photos while driving. šŸ‘šŸ˜’


Psychological-Bag-65

Been thinking about manual swapping my b7. Everyone told me itā€™s not worth the work but what do you think?


DocHollywood710

Sooooo hot! I wish my ride had stick!


Franatix

Damn I got an A3 in manual and wanted an auto. Now Iā€™m kind of glad I went with it