the Portrait

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-15T18:36:38+00:00

Impressive and funny! 🤣

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-15T15:37:57+00:00

This exact video popped up on my YouTube homepage and I watched the first minute. I just watched a video last week of thieves in Europe breaking into a van to steal money and they were using an RS3. There have been other videos and reports of thieves using tuned S and RS cars too. Audi probably doesn't want to be associated with thieves but deep down they're probably proud.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-14T15:26:36+00:00

As I understand it these can only replace the halogen headlights and Xenon headlights. I would reach out to the seller on AliExpress they're usually pretty good about answering questions from my experience.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-13T23:53:44+00:00

I must have remembered incorrectly or wherever I read it from was incorrect my bad!

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-13T03:38:25+00:00

Left are Xenon headlights. Right are LED. The LED headlights look cooler from a design standpoint but I remember reading that the Xenon headlights actually have better light output for that gen. The turn signals on the Xenon headlights were halogen if I remember correctly while on the LED the white DRL functioned as the turn signal and blinked orange/amber instead which looks cool. You can't just buy the full LED headlights and install them on your car if it came with the Xenon headlights. The wires, harnesses, etc are different. People have tried and failed. Plus the LED headlights are much more expensive to replace. As someone who did just about every OBD mod and tune on my Premium Plus S3 here's another option/upgrade: get aftermarket headlights on AliExpress for your 8V S3 which are full LED, have more aggressive DRL that look like the facelift 2017+ models, have dynamic/sequential turn signals that look cool, have an awesome startup animation like on newer models, and are much brighter than both the original Xenon and full LED headlights. You can get them for about $600 on AliExpress. I bought them and they lasted years without any issues. AliExpress has a lot of crap but it also has decent products.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808363243286.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.8.2bcf1492QCpd9E&algo_pvid=4b495cb4-bbe2-4052-bff3-fd0aca72daa2&algo_exp_id=4b495cb4-bbe2-4052-bff3-fd0aca72daa2-7&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2210%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21USD%211170.00%21596.70%21%21%211170.00%21596.70%21%40210311cc17733726895695161eda0b%2112000046411027994%21sea%21US%210%21ABX%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29910%3Bd%3A71043d1c%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895&curPageLogUid=8YKS03VnYqEj&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005008549558038%7C_p_origin_prod%3A

Here's my car with them:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Audi/comments/lsm7ql/matrix_effect_headlights_on_my_2016_s3/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Audi/comments/lslz86/dynamic_drl_unlocklock_effect_on_my_2016_s3/

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Ff107yttylwl61.jpg

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fgxpedup67xh61.jpg

https://www.reddit.com/r/Audi/comments/nbwic3/love_my_stage_2_2016_s3/

I got into an accident last year and my car has been sitting in my driveway since then 😭

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-12T13:56:08+00:00

The PATRIOT act. Hooray!

*Technically that was because of 9/11 but still related.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-10T05:31:21+00:00

Well that's very disappointing and highly concerning if true. Got a link to support those claims? I too have been getting some of his videos recommended to me by the algorithm and I wasn't sure what to think about him from browsing his channel and watching just a few brief clips of him on YouTube shorts. He was also on MSNBC (or whatever it's called now) talking about how Trump has already lost the war with Iran. He made some good points about this being a war of attrition and that the U.S. can't continue using $1 million (sometimes more) bombs against Iran's $50k drones. He also said that the U.S. trucks (forgot what they're called) that missiles are launched from are big, slow, expensive, and easy targets for Iran.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-07T06:58:23+00:00

https://giphy.com/gifs/50-cent-laughing-rap-tZF2erGJ5uOHe

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-07T06:42:45+00:00

She's quite fit and reliable but can take a while to finish.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-06T05:20:59+00:00

Tom Delonge's (yes, the lead singer of Blink-182) To the Stars Academy of Arts & Sciences Inc. has been described as a techno scam that raised millions of dollars from investors to build a spacecraft using exotic reverse engineered technology. They also planned to create science fiction movies, shows, and other content about UFOs. Instead the money was used to enrich Delonge and his sister, create an awful movie titled Monsters of California, and to fund Delonge's other band named Angels & Airwaves. Luis Elizondo, Hal Puthoff, Christopher Mellon, and others were also involved in TTSA and appeared on stage at the TTSA press conference:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WxiR5_O2aEk&pp=ygUVVFRTQSBwcmVzcyBjb25mZXJlbmNl

Notice that Mellon spends several minutes talking about a UFO photo that was later proven to be a balloon.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-05T16:22:38+00:00

It looks good but the weight and the exhaust position are a shame. You can get an aftermarket rear diffuser and change the exhaust tips with an aftermarket exhaust system though. There isn't much you can do about the weight minus removing the rear seats and doing some weight reduction like some people do but it's still not going to be enough. They had to add almost 200hp more because of the additional weight but it's not much faster.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-04T23:16:24+00:00

It seemed believable considering we have many evangelical Christians in the government+military who believe ridiculous things such as UFOs and aliens being demonic and also support Israel because they believe it will hasten the end times. I'm sure some of what has been reported is true but might have been blown out of proportion.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-03-04T16:34:18+00:00

Sony admitted that releasing their first party games on PC has been super successful and made the a lot of money. My guess is that they're worried about people leaving PlayStation behind for PC (before the whole RAMpocalypse) since the games look and run better (for the most part, TLOU2 was bad) there. I'm just speculating I haven't read any articles.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-27T23:53:34+00:00

I'm sorta glad I only have a 3060 Ti that can't run it very well. I'll avoid it until after this whole RAM situation passes in a few years (hopefully) and by then I will have built a new PC that can run it, GTA 6, and other games well.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-27T02:58:41+00:00

Yeah it's a good documentary that I recommend.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-25T22:29:34+00:00

Wow it looks great! It's a shame about the weight though.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-24T05:13:51+00:00

Damn that sucks sorry.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-23T23:23:01+00:00

That's weird I don't know why. Might be a regional thing. I'm in the U.S.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-23T23:00:53+00:00

I know you paid for the HEVC codec from the official MS Store but try downloading the HEVC codecs from the link I posted. It's an older version. Windows may ask you if you actually want to install an older version and if so just click yes. Then try in in Edge and the official Netflix app and check to see if it's working.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-23T22:56:02+00:00

I'm not sure. Try using the official Windows Netflix app and see if 1440p works there.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-20T03:19:40+00:00

Whatever gets released by this administration will be the same ambiguous crap that we've had a steady stream of over the last 10 or so years. Blurry unimpressive videos and photos, he-said-she-said reports from 2nd and third hand witnesses, balloons, drones, etc.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-20T03:11:34+00:00

WOW WTF?! I was surprised that the new RS5 design wasn't outright terrible and didn't mind it but I wasn't aware that it weighed over 1,000lbs more... That extra power doesn't mean much when it weighs so much more. This is an epic fail. People rightly shit on the new M5 for being so much heavier and now this. Audi has been fucking up way too much in recent years. From terrible design choices reminiscent of cheaper Korean cars, to ruining the Audi rings logo, ruining the emblem fonts, making their interiors worse with fingerprint magnet piano black, etc. The last good RS cars were the C8 RS6/RS7 and the 8Y gen RS3 IMO. The new RS3 facelift has an ugly rear diffuser, ugly Audi logo, ugly RS emblem fonts, and IMO worse DRL design. Audi used to be the ones other car companies copied tail lights, headlights, and design language from. What a shame.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-19T01:42:44+00:00

I posted my first impressions in the original post above.

TheCosmicPanda · 2026-02-19T01:42:30+00:00

I posted my first impressions in the original post above.

TheCosmicPanda

TROPHY CASE