Audi Q2 Tuning

"Thanks for reading my Q2 tuning guide."

A similar size to the A3, the A2 sits in the small SUV crossover range. Whilst not a proper SUV the additional height and space add practical value to this car for families and weekend breaks.

Petrol engines offered

• 1.0 TFSI 999 cc I3 turbo 114 hp; 116 PS @ 5500 rpm 200 N⋅m (148 lbf⋅ft) @ 2000–3500 rpm 6-spd. manual (standard)
  7-spd. S tronic DSG (optional) 118 mph
• 1.4 TFSI COD 1395 cc I4 turbo 148 hp; 150 PS @ 5000–6000 rpm 250 N⋅m (184 lbf⋅ft) @ 1500–3500 rpm 6-spd. manual (standard)
  7-spd. S tronic DSG (optional) 128 mph
• 1.5 TFSI COD Evo 1496 cc (from 2019 replaces the 1.4TFSi) I4 turbo 150 hp; 152 PS @ 5000–6000 rpm 250 N⋅m (184 lbf⋅ft) @ 1500–3500 rpm 6-spd. manual (standard) 7-spd. S tronic DSG (optional) 128 mph
• 2.0 TFSI 1984 cc I4 turbo 188 hp; 190 PS @ 4200–6000 rpm 320 N⋅m (236 lbf⋅ft) @ 1450–4150 rpm 7-spd. S tronic DSG 219 km/h
  136 mph

Diesel engines

• 1.6 TDI 1598 cc  114 hp; 116 PS @ 3250–4000 rpm 250 N⋅m (184 lbf⋅ft) @ 1500–3200 rpm 6-spd. manual (standard) or 7-spd. S tronic DSG (optional) 118 mph
• 2.0 TDI 1968 cc  148 hp; 150 PS @ 3500–4000 rpm 340 N⋅m (251 lbf⋅ft) @ 1750–3000 rpm 6-spd. manual (standard) or 7-spd. S tronic DSG (optional) 128 mph
• 2.0 TDI 1968cc 188 hp; 190 PS @ 3500–4000 rpm 400 N⋅m (295 lbf⋅ft) @ 1900–3300 rpm 7-spd. S tronic DSG 135 mph

The light weight and range of engines offer a great reward to the tuner as relatively minor power increases create noticeable driving improvements.

We take a peek at Q2 tuning and outline the greatest modifications. Audi Q2s make awesome project cars and with carefully chosen tuning enhancements you can definitely increase your driving experience.

A popular car for tuning up is the Q2 and our members have some interesting projects on the go. Sit down first and research Q2 tuning to avoid making the usual disastrous errors we often hear about.

Handling modifications are the thing most do first for the Q2. We would go to a maximum drop of 35mm on most models. You risk rubbing on the arches if you go lower than this.

Turning our attention to the Q2's engine we need to get a bit more power out of the top end.

Audi offered the 1.0 TFsi which in our opinion is a little underpowered and best avoided.

The 1.4 TFSI with COD tech, which is actually a really nice engine, and, due to it's light weight feels far more powerful than it should. The later 1.5 TFSi is to be offered on the Q2 as this replaces the 1.4  TFSi (June 2019 was roughtly when this changed.)

The 1.5 TFSI COD is a nice rev happy engine and offers just a little more of everything and sounds a bit more grown up at high revs compared to the 1.4.

I personally have the 1.4 TFSI COD engine and it works really really well, the fuel economy is in another league and the power comes on when you need it. The 1.5 doesn't feel much faster but sounds a little more throaty at high rpm and gives slightly better fuel economy.

The 2.0 TFSi is plenty of power for this chassis and makes a good basis for a track day car, but don't overlook the smaller 1.4 or 1.5 as they are suprisingly good and make the 2.0 a hard choice to make.

On the diesel front we have the 1.6 TDI and the 2.0 TDI with all manor of eco friendly mods and tweaks. Both engines suit the Q2 well and offer good gains when tuned and modified.

The best power gains come from larger engine sizes. The more you start with the bigger the return on investment so engine swaps are good value mods for small engined cars.

Tuning modifications.

These are the modified mods are usually fitted by our members, decide how far you want to push your car before you begin.

Getting the best sports upgrades for your planned usage of the car is essential. Stage 3 motor sport parts just won't work well on the road hard to control in slow traffic.

Modifying to STAGE 1:

Panel air filter, Sports exhaust, Alloy wheels, Lighter flywheel, Suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm), Remap.

Modifying to Stage 2:

high flow fuel injector, fuel pump upgrades, Fast road cam, Power/Sport clutch, Ported and polished head.

Modifying to Stage 3:

Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Sports gearbox, Competition cam, Engine balancing, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).

Peak power is all well and good but for a driveable and fun car you need a long power band and perhaps extending the rev range.

In this article we shall give a little insight into the world to the best upgrades for your car, but we'd encourage you to spend some time on the site looking into the details of each type of performance part.

The intake and exhaust flow play a large part in your cars power band, but be careful here, getting this wrong can upset the idle and make the car hard to drive in traffic.

You'd need to follow a cam upgrade with other mods and finish with a remap to fully release the power gain.When pushing up the power you will need to uprate to the fuelling. More power needs more fuel.

Frequently power losses, and erratic idling after sports kits are done can usually be traced to timing or fuelling issues.

Uprating the injectors is another beneficial modification and will deliver sufficient fuel. Uprate the fuel pump to cope with the extra fuel requirements of your tuned Q2s uprated injectors.

A good fast road upgraded clutch will help to keep that power going where it should. Never make false economies or assume your standard clutch to cope.

The dual mass flywheels on diesels are very useful and we would caution against going to a single mass unit on these engines. The petrol engines are not as fussy and if a lighter single mass flywheel matches you driving style then go for it.

But please compare the many options out there and chat with other owners so you know what you are letting yourself in for.

Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

Breathing mods are usually next up. Contrary to popular belief there is generally very little power gain to be had by fitting an induction kit, they only work well and are recommended after you increase the engines power to the point where the standard air intake box cannot cope!

Derestricting the airflow into the engine is the primary part of car tuners so get a freer flowing air filter if you find that the car is running lean only if you find the car is running lean.

Induction kits can sound great but due to the warm air in the engine bay they will not really increase power and more often than not rob you of power on most cars.

Do not go with the widest exhaust you can buy this will reduce the exhaust flow rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.0 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Diesel exhausts do not need to be improved, the OEM exhausts flow really well and can handle quite large power gains.

Airflow through the head can be dramatically increased with some professional polishing and ported. These should match and be setup to take into account any other engine mods.

Turbo engines are just begging to be flashed.

You will see large power gains on most modern turbochaged cars including diesels making a remap one of the most cost effective and large modifications for your money.

The petrol yields power upgrades in the order of 20-30bhp when mapped, and the diesels are a little more. The pro with the diesel engine is you'll also get better fuel economy, which is sadly not the case on the petrol engines, unless you drive very carefully.

We've also seen some tuners experimenting with twin charging conversions and making some very high power figures.

The most phenomenal power gains for NASP engines usually involve the addition of bigger turbos and we are seeing some interesting twin scroll and larger turbo options around for the Q2 engines. Clutch and fuel weaknesses show up when putting on bigger forced induction.

It is easier to map a supercharger because the boost is proportional to engine speed on a linear curve. To cope with forced induction you will usually need to decrease the engines compression ratio .

Alloy wheel upgrades.

As alloy wheels are lighter they improve performance and they will help to cool the brake disks. The drawback to large alloy wheels on your Q2 is that you're altering your final drive ratio so this will have a negative effect on performance.

For this reason we would advise sticking to a maximum wheel size of 17 inches, although we know some of our members have fitted larger wheels with no problems.

The Q2 actually looks really nice on 16's with a set of chunky off road style tyres, but we accept that this look is not for everyone.

For more information on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly
forum where you can discuss Q2 options in more detail with our Q2 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Audi tuning
articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below. We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which mods work best for them on each model of car. Comments are used to improve the accuracy of these articles which are continually updated.

This article was written by Waynne Smith on TorqueCars, and I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Audi. You can leave a response below or join TorqueCars forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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