MENUTuning the Audi SQ5
"Tuning guide to the best Audi SQ5 modifications."
The SQ5 was the first Audi S model vehicle to feature a diesel engine!
The SQ5 is a awesome project car to play with. The key to SQ5 tuning is choosing the right mods - a lot of money can be wasted if you do it wrong.
Handling/Suspension upgrades
Improving the handling for people first priority in your SQ5 tuning project.
Fully adjustable suspension allows you to fine tune the handling of you SQ5 often benefitting your drive.
We would go to a maximum drop of 23mm - 43 mm. on most models. You risk grounding out if you go lower than this.
Top end power should be your overall aim on the SQ5 with a nice fat peak torque band.
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.
Engine tuning mods.
These mods tuning parts are usually fitted by our members, decide how far you want to go before you begin.
- Petrol: 2,995 cc (2.995 L;) V6 supercharged
(349 hp) at 5,500–6,500 346.65 lbft at 4,000-4,500 - Diesel: 2,967 cc (2.967 L) V6 twin turbo common rail (CGQB)
(309 hp) at 3,900–4,500 479.42 lbft at 1,450–2,800
Getting the best uprated parts for your planned usage of the car is a time and money saver. Stage 3 competition upgrades just don't work well on the road and will make the car undrivable.
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How to tune your car
- Improve the handling
Focus on Suspension improvements, such as coilovers and make sure the bushings are in good order and that the alignment is correct. Then focus on improving the brakes, with a big disk brake conversion kit and fast road brake pads.
- Remove restrictions
Focus on the intake and exhaust with filters being the common point of restriction in a tuned car. Intercoolers may also become restrictive on turbo engines so this may also need to be uprated.
- Burn more fuel & air
Increase the fuelling so it matches the air coming into the engine. The ratio is important so you need to improve the fuel pump and injectors, so the head mods, big valve conversions, fast road camshafts and forced induction upgrades extra supply of air is adequately met.
- Test and replace any weak parts
Weak areas are commonly the clutch, the turbocharger and pistons and crankshaft in a highly tuned engine. Makes sure these components will cope with your power aspirations.
- The Tune or Remap
A cars ECU controls the fuel, timing, spark and even the turbo in some cases, so to fully extract your gains you should remap the car last and this will fully release the power. Some cars are easy to map, and others require piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's but this is the most vital step of your tuning project.
Modifying to Stage 1:
Panel air filter, Alloy wheels, Remap, Lighter flywheel, Suspension upgrade (drop 23mm - 43 mm.), Sports exhaust.
Modifying to Stage 2:
fuel pump upgrades, Power/Sport clutch, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injector, Ported and polished head.
Modifying to Stage 3:
Sports gearbox, Engine balancing, Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Competition cam, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger).
You should keep as much low end power as possible and aim to achieve a wide power band across the rev range rather than a narrow top end power spike.
The whole aim of our guides is to give a brief overview of modifying performance parts and point you in the right direction, our forum is where you can ask for more detailed advice and tips on your car tuning project, the best tuning modifications and all aspects of modding cars.A fast road cam will be one of the best NASP power mods you can do with a single part fitted to your engine.
It maximises the intake and exhaust durations and increases the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a performance chip. TorqueCars would caution you not to go with a motor sports profile cam as this upsets the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.
When pushing up the power you will need to ramp up to the fuelling. More power needs more fuel.
If you find you have flat spots and power surges after your tuning parts you should check the fuelling and try a higher octane fuel as well. Upgrading the injectors is another beneficial modification and will deliver sufficient fuel.
If you are increasing your fuelling with bigger injectors you will also need to get a bigger fuel pump to supply it.
Intake and Exhaust Tuning.
The next area for modification is the intake and exhaust. Contrary to popular belief there is generally very little if any power gain reached by fitting an induction kit, they only become beneficial and are recommended after you increase the engines power to the point where the standard air intake box cannot cope!
Maximum power gains come from a full induction kit with a cold air feed on heavily tuned engines, this can be sited within an air box but a panel filter should suffice for most applications. TorqueCars suggest you use a panel air filter as these are easy to clean and maintain and generally perform better than paper ones.
Do not go with the widest exhaust you can buy this will slow the exhaust rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.
Getting a professionally flowed (ported and polished) head with larger valves can fully maximise your power gains. Your clutch can seriously let you down as the power goes up if it starts to weaken and the standard clutches are only ever good for power gains of up to 45%. Fit a power clutch to avoid power loss through the transmission. The best mods in our opinion for your SQ5 are Remapping or piggy back ecu, fast road cam and air intake and exhaust.
Turbo engines are just pleading to be remapped. You will see big power gains on most modern turbo engined cars including diesels making a remap one of the most cost effective and big modifications for your money.Despite the large cost involved adding forced induction to a NASP engine will give large power gains. Turbos are usually harder to add than a supercharger. With a turbo the power curve is related exponentially to the engine speed making it harder to map.
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 engine compression ratio .
Alloy wheel upgrades.
Due to the fact that alloy wheels are lighter they improve performance and they can help to cool the brake disks. Don't forget that your choice of rubber greatly affects your cars grip and handling. It is not worth compromising performance with cheap tyres when you can buy directional tread pattern performance tires.Please note that although they can look cool on the SQ5 large alloy wheels will actually decrease your performance. The larger you go the lower your acceleration will be - this to the change in your effective final drive ratio.
Although some people have fitted larger wheels without issues we would restrict ourselves to a 20 inch rim size as the maximum.
For more information on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss SQ5 options in more detail with our SQ5 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.
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