Audi RS3 8Y Intake System Fitting Guide

Audi RS3 8Y Intake System Fitting Guide

 

Applies to: Audi RS3 8Y 2.5 TFSI (2021+)

Difficulty: Easy

Time: About 1–1.5 hours

 

Before you start

Check that the kit matches your car. Details vary by market. North American 8Y cars have a different breather line and need a specific kit. Rest-of-world cars have the DNWA engine with a particulate filter (OPF). The Eventuri kit, for example, includes a breather adapter for the OPF (DNWA) engine.

Right-hand-drive cars can also differ. Some kits (do88, for example) only fit RHD cars when used with the OE turbo inlet pipe or do88's own hose kit.

Work on a cold engine, and lay out all the kit parts before you start.

 

Tools needed

A socket set with Torx bits, hose clamp pliers, a jubilee clip driver, and a trim clip removal tool. Most of the Torx work is T25/T27. A little silicone spray or soapy water helps the couplers slide on. 

 

Removing the stock intake

  1. Remove the engine cover. Pull it off firmly but carefully, starting from the lower right-hand corner.
  2. Disconnect the hose from the airbox. Release its spring clamp with hose clamp pliers, then pull the hose off.
  3. Unclip the breather hose. Use a trim tool to unclip it from the airbox by pulling toward the front of the car, then slide the metal clip up and off the airbox.
  4. Remove the airbox. Loosen the jubilee clip on the intake hose and disconnect it. The airbox sits on three rubber bushings, so tilt the back upward and pull it firmly off its mounts.
  5. Keep the rubber mounts. Some kits reuse them. 
  6. Free the intake pipe. Squeeze the clip to remove the vacuum line. Then remove the hidden bolt on the underside of the pipe with a T27 Torx.
  7. Remove the pipe. Release the spring clamp at the turbo elbow and lift the pipe out.

 

Fitting the new intake

  1. Fit the silicone reducer onto the turbo elbow and clamp it. Make sure it's pushed fully home and sits evenly all the way around.
  2. Install the new intake pipe into the reducer. Bolt the supplied bracket into the original bolt hole from step 6, but don't fully tighten it yet.
  3. Reconnect the vacuum line and hose. If clearance is tight, loosen the clamp at the other end of the hose and rotate the hose.
  4. Assemble the heat shield or airbox following your kit's diagram.
  5. Install the airbox. Guide the original air feed through the front cut-out, then press the rubber mounts firmly onto the original mounting posts. On some kits the stock bracket needs work. For example, do88 notes that the plastic OE airbox bracket must be modified on 8Y models.
  6. Fit the coupler, filter and trumpet (if your kit has one). Leave the clamps loose so you can adjust the position.
  7. Tighten everything. Once the pipe and filter are aligned and nothing touches, tighten all clamps and bracket bolts. Keep the clamps even, and don't overtighten on carbon parts.
  8. Refit the breather clip and lid. Push the breather clip back through its hole on the airbox, then fit the lid and engine cover.

 

After fitting

  • Check for leaks and warning lights. Start the car and let it idle while you check for a check-engine light, whistles or hissing, which usually mean a coupler isn't seated.
  • Recheck the clamps. Go over them again after the first couple of drives, because silicone settles when it's heat-cycled.
  • Check hose clearance. Make sure no clamp tails or hoses rub against carbon parts.
  • Consider your tune. If you're tuned, ask your tuner whether they want a revised file for the new intake.

 

What to expect

Gains depend on the kit. Eventuri claims 15–20 hp and 13–18 lb-ft on a stock-turbo RS3, with flow rising from 530 CFM (stock) to 840 CFM. The bigger gains come on upgraded-turbo builds.

 

Popular Audi RS3 8Y intakes:

 

Worth Pairing With: Turbo Inlets

The stock turbo inlet elbow is a known bottleneck on the 8Y. Once you've fitted a high-flow intake, an upgraded inlet is the natural next step, especially if you're planning a bigger turbo later.

 

Eventuri Carbon Turbo Inlet (RS3 8Y): A carbon elbow that grows the inlet from the stock 72mm to 103mm and the outlet from 56.4mm to 74mm. A silicone coupler with a built-in thermal spacer keeps the carbon from touching the turbo. It's available for LHD and RHD, and North American cars get their own version because of the different breather line. It's designed to pair with Eventuri's 8Y intake.

 

do88 Turbo Inlet Hose: A 4.5" (114mm) performance hose that works with do88's BeastFlow intake. It uses CNC adapters in two sizes: 56.3mm for the stock turbo, and 62.8mm for TTE 600, 625 V2 and 700 turbos.

 

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