December '08 Featured AZ'er: Adam@SPP's 2007 A3 Sportback

User Name: Adam@SPP (AKA: remembertofocus)
Real Name: Adam Paul Woodhams
Location: San Jose, CA USA
Year of Vehicle: 2007
Model of Vehicle: A3 Sportback
Engine of Vehicle: 2.0T

Color of Vehicle: Lava Grey

 

Modding, it's in our blood. Sometimes it's in our genes. It's the act of taking one thing that works perfectly fine (for the normal person), or looks perfectly good (again, for those boring normal people), and making it better. It's an art form which we showcase each and every month with our Featured AZ'er. Like many of our past spotlighted AZ'ers, Adam is the epitome of a hardcore modder. This is his third modified VAG car in as many years. When we first met him three years ago he was on his way to having one unique B6 A4. After an extremely gnarly run-in with a very large boulder (from which he thanks the safety of his Audi to him being healthy and still modding today) he moved on to a Mk4 GTI. After he'd done all he wanted to do with the Volkswagen (which can be seen in the December 2008 issue of Eurotuner) he couldn't resist the urge to come back to Audi. Adam's new personal masterwork is what we'll be discussing here today.

 

Now due to Adam's many influences, mostly the Euro and Dubber scene, he tends to have a slightly different taste than even your average Audi enthusiast. But, he certainly makes no excuses or apologies about it. It's very apparent that he mods his cars for himself and no one else. Adam does what he likes, and pushes the envelope as far he possibly can. The most obvious example of this has got to be the wheels. It's certainly one of the most unique setups to grace any A3 that we've seen. We're looking at nineteen inch custom-made DPE ST-7's. These suckers are nine inches wide up front and ten inches out back! They're wrapped in super-stretched rubber, a nod to Adam's Dubber influences. It's almost as if to not distract from the main attraction, which is the wheel itself. They're a chrome step-lip, with the 14-spoke centers brushed aluminum and sprayed with a matte clear-coat. They're simply stunning, and the brake upgrades sitting behind them certainly don't hurt things either. The brushed aluminum grille trim and side mirrors round out the look.

The customization continues on into both the cockpit and under the hood as well. Here we can find some big changes like a pair of Sparco race seats as well as little touches like brushed aluminum pedals, a modified shifter, and a boost gauge so that Adam can see what the engine upgrades are putting out. The majority of the engine enhancements come by way of Neuspeed such as an intake, downpipe, full catback exhaust, and their 2.0T software upgrade. As with his previous couple of cars, there isn't much on this car that hasn't been touched. And of course, Adam's not done with it either. As most of us know, a hardcore modder is hardly ever "done" with their car. It's either keep on fine-tuning, changing, and tinkering, or move on to another project car. Luckily he has a very supportive and understanding group of loved ones, which is a good thing because when it's in your blood there is no rehab or drug that you can take to counter the addiction. Like a lot of great art, most normal people will just never get it.

 

• Forge diverter valve/spacer
• Neuspeed chip
• Neuspeed intake
• Neuspeed downpipe/high-flow cat
• Neuspeed stainless thru catback exhaust

• Newsouth steering column pod and Spectrum boost-gauge
• Brushed aluminum pedals
• Neuspeed short shifter with custom short shaft
• Sparco race seats/sliders

A: Eric at Supreme Power. Robb and Bruce at BRRacing. All my buddies along the way...and lastly, bookmark and pass it around: www.focused-fotos.com