About to be a DS3 Owner!

[Massi93]

Hi All,

Just joined, have looked through the forum quite a bit before as i've always hoped to get a DS3 when i finally get round to taking my driving test.

I did just that last week and passed first time, 2 days later i'm at a dealership 100 miles from my home signing the documents to agree payment for my first car!

Super excited to take delivery late this week/early next week.

Can anyone point me towards any useful threads going over any general good to know info or mods etc? I'm definitely going to be a pro-active owner, installing my own parts and doing servicing etc when sensible/possible.

Oh, and it's a 2014 DSport Plus THP 155 in Shark Metallic Grey with Black roof.
Don't have any pictures yet as i was caught in the moment at the dealers but i'll take pictures the moment i have the car in my possession under decent weather!

I would also be likely to make videos etc of any installs or scenic drives i do in the future so i'll be sure to post up links if anyone shows interest

[BeefMasta]

Welcome to the club Congrats on passing your test!

Regarding good to know info, you didn't mention the mileage but if your car is on 30k+ miles then a walnut blast is recommended for this engine. Info here.

The best bang for buck mod for the THP is a remap from Jamie at SP Tuning, which will take it up to around 200BHP. As you've just passed that's probably one to put on the back burner for a year or two so the insurance company doesn't bend you over.

Enjoy the car and don't forget to post some pics when you get it

[Funky]

Welcome to the club and forum. Excellent choice of colour and I look forward to seeing your pics when you post them.

[Chris_Blue]

Welcome to the Club. Have had 2 THPs (150 and 155) and modded both to a degree
Have a shark grey metallic same as yours, black roof atm, different engine tho

[Massi93]

Welcome to the club Congrats on passing your test!

Regarding good to know info, you didn't mention the mileage but if your car is on 30k+ miles then a walnut blast is recommended for this engine. Info here.

The best bang for buck mod for the THP is a remap from Jamie at SP Tuning, which will take it up to around 200BHP. As you've just passed that's probably one to put on the back burner for a year or two so the insurance company doesn't bend you over.

Enjoy the car and don't forget to post some pics when you get it

Hi all!

Thanks for the warm welcome.

The mileage is actually sitting right below 30k, would you say it would be a good idea to open up the inlet manifold at some point soon to see what state it's in?

Also a re-map is definitely something i'll be looking at down the line, and surprisingly on an ins quote it barely put the price up (probably as i'm 25 now so classed as "less risk") so only added about £40. But still, as a new driver starting off with a THP, i will definitely leave that until i hold my experience under my feet lol.

I paid the dealer today, so hoping to get the call tomorrow to book in the delivery date (fingers crossed for Friday! )
Now i just need to do a little adventuring on google maps and find a scenic location to drive to for some pictures on delivery day!

[DeeKayEcks]

Big welcome Massi. Saw you joined Discord too, that's great.

Look forward to seeing your car and as I say with everyone new here, your first mod should be a club sticker from the shop!

[Wrighty boy]

Welcome ! My previous DS3 was a 64 plate DSport + 155. Didn’t need to tweak it as it was already an awesome engine.

[Massi93]

Found out today that i'll be taking delivery Wednesday evening/Thursday morning (traffic dependant). Feels like a long time away but i'm sure with the bank holiday weekend and a busy Tuesday coming up, Wednesday will come around quick enough! Going to order my sticker from the shop right now

[Massi93]

Well, i would have bought a sticker, but i can't register an account as it tells me 'incorrect CAPTCHA' but there was no captcha box on the page for me to enter...

[BeefMasta]

Well, i would have bought a sticker, but i can't register an account as it tells me 'incorrect CAPTCHA' but there was no captcha box on the page for me to enter...

I think you can checkout without an account. I will raise this with admin when I see them today but this is unlikely to be fixed until after the weekend.

[Massi93]

Hi All!

I've been slacking on getting this post up, sorry!

Took delivery Thursday 30th August, and although i'm not out of the woods with several ongoing issues and disputes with the dealer i bought it from, i am loving the car.

Already spent a sum of money on bits and bobs (mostly just essentials and stuff that is handy to have like a jump pack and tyre inflator etc)

Also ordered my stickers last night so will post up picture once i've got them on (dash tribal sticker and DS3 Club front sticker for windscreen)

I haven't gotten to taking some good pictures yet, but here are 2 i took last Saturday. If i'd taken the pictures just 30 mins before the lighting would have been better and i'd have caught more of the wonderful sunset, but there's always another day!

Things done so far:
DS Valve Caps
Chrome Wheel Nut covers
Door Latch Metal Cap/cover.

Things on the way:
Drivers side door cubby cup-holder from Diamond Performance
White W5W bulbs for the interior and License plate

Things coming up:
Tribal Roof decal (thinking anthracite colour so its nice and subtle on the black roof)
Performance panel air filter (K&N/Pipercross etc)
Shark Fin roof aerial
Carbon effect Coolant bottle cover from Diamond Performance

Future Mods once i've enjoyed the car how it is:
Remap
Custom cat-back exhaust
MTC Motorsport Intake
GFB DV
Alloy boost pipes
Maybe do full silicone hose replacement if i'm feeling fancy.

I don't know whether it's because i'm still in the honeymoon period, but i'm feeling like i'm going to be keeping this car for a couple of years so i'm gonna need a good amount of mods to keep me busy!

[Chris_Blue]

good work so far

[Funky]

Nice work. I'm sure you're gonna enjoy your DS3 for years. I know I still am after 2 years of owning mine.

[Massi93]

Thanks!

Maybe a random question, but does anyone know why there would be a rubbery squeaking sound when i'm shifting into 1st and 2nd gear? It seems a little harder to get it in to 1, 2 and 6 than the other gears which practically slip right in. I've discussed it with the dealer but so far only spoken to salesman and they've had no clue on the workings of a car, just the specs.Could it be a linkage or bushing of some sort?

I'm hopefully getting it MOT'd and checked over on Thursday so i'm planning on going in and listing off the stuff i've come across since owning it that i want to be assured (as it turns out they didn't do anything before delivering it to me) I also think it needs an alignment, but don't know whether this is covered in an MOT? The wheel has to be kept a couple degrees rotated to the right in order to go in a straight line, and it pulls a little in both directions when under full throttle acceleration (not drastically, but more than i would expect?)

[Massi93]

Don't know if anyone will see this post but hey, why not.

6 months on and still loving the car. Still many more things i want to do to it. Next priority is looking to be a Walnut Blast as i'm on 32k miles and really feeling the hesitancy and lumpy acceleration at times. I have a feeling those valves are filthy.

After my last post there was quite the saga to get the car to where it should have been when it was delivered to me. Definitely learnt some lessons for future car purchases! I had to drive it to Newport to be MOT'd and serviced. When it was delivered the coolant was below minimum (but it didn't overheat when driving normally so wasn't super low) the oil was overfilled, the tracking was indeed off, the shifter linkage wasn't greased up (hence the squeeking) and all 4 discs and pads needed replacing. Thankfully all of this was sorted at no cost to myself other than the mileage.

I did then find out a few months later when i replaced all 4 tyres (something i new i'd be doing when buying the car) that the tracking was still crap, but my local garage sorted it first time and it drives straight and true now.

Mods wise, i've installed the MTC Motorsports intake (sounds brilliant) and i've also installed a RaceChip RS plug-in remap, which really brought the THP to life. Before anyone says anything, it came with a years warranty on the engine and i know it's never going to be as good as a proper remap which i may look at doing some time later this year, but for 200 quid a '24' HP and '60nm' Torque increase is definitely noticeable and great bang for your buck.

I've also done some small things like Orange LED strips in the footwells and under the seats, a tribal dashboard sticker from the club store, some upgraded coax speakers in the rear and component ones yet to be installed in the fronts.

Saving those pennies for the Walnut Blast, hoping for as good an improvement as i've read on these forums! Then custom cat-back exhaust planned for late June/Early July. I'm already getting the itch for trading up to something faster like a Megane RS250, but i'm keeping that itch at bay with mods for now so gotta keep them coming in!