08/09/2026
Power is the last part of the job.
This 8P RS3 has been through quite a bit of work with us over the last year, with the aim of getting everything right mechanically before we started asking more from it.
This time it was finally onto the dyno.
Baseline: 348bhp / 473Nm
Finished: 395bhp / 588Nm
A gain of 47bhp and 115Nm, but the peak figures don't really show the biggest improvement. The torque curve is a completely different shape, with a lot more available below 3000rpm and through the midrange.
The MED9.1.2 ECU was RSA patched and then calibrated in house on our dyno specifically for the car. The DSG was tuned alongside it, with revised shift behaviour and shift points, changes to the launch strategy and additional clutch clamping pressure where the extra torque requires it.
Hardware wise it's running a Wagner Evo 2 intercooler, 034 intake and Milltek cat back.
There's actually more left in it, but intake temperature was becoming the limiting factor. The radiator and A/C condenser are blocked enough to restrict airflow through the cooling package, so the intercooler isn't getting the airflow it needs during repeated dyno runs.
Rather than chase a bigger number while temperatures continue to rise, that's where we left it.
It's also worth putting that 348bhp baseline into context.
Before reaching this point we've carried out walnut blasting, ultrasonic injector cleaning and testing, plugs, coils, servicing and transfer case repairs on the car.
It's also had a complete upper and lower timing chain set, oil cooler and oil filter housing work, along with repairs to the Haldex system.
On this visit we fitted a new auxiliary radiator, replaced the electric water pump bracket and repaired the changeover valve connector before carrying out the ECU and DSG tuning.
So while the dyno graph shows another 47bhp, the difference compared with how the car originally came to us is considerably bigger than that.
Get the car healthy first, then tune it properly.
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