Guide to 2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI BiTDi tuning and performance parts

"VAG V6 diesel EA897 Tuning"

This is a 6 cylinder diesel engine in V configuration. They were released around 2005 and have been revised over the years as emissions regs and market conditions required.

The 2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI BiTDi  are solid engines and offer phenomenal amounts of torque and pretty good fuel economy.

The EA897 2.7 is essentially the 3.0 with a reduced stroke. The EA897 is a six-cylinder diesel engine and was made from 2007 to 2016.

Few could see the point of owning a petrol when a diesel engine can move a car this well and still offer good fuel economy. It has been extensively revised over the years.

We examine EA897 tuning and report on the greatest modifications for your 2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI & BiTDi . VAG EA897s great bases for a tuning project and with the right motorsport mods you can substantially enhance your driving enjoyment.

We rely on our visitors to pass on tips and tell us about their projects and what worked on their car, and this article is the culmination of the feedback we have received. First let us look at the history and specs of this engine and then consider which tuning modifications work best on it.

History of the EA897 Engine

We've tried to include production years and engine codes to help identify your unit. If we've missed anything else PLEASE let us know and we can add it.

2.7 V6 TDI CR 120-140kW

• 161 bhp  
  Audi A4 (BSG: 11/05-06/08, CAM: 11/07-05/08, CGK: 06/08->)
  Audi A5 (CAM: 09/07-05/08, CGK: 05/08->)
  Audi A6 (BSG: 01/05-10/08, CAN: 10/08->)
• 177 bhp@3,300-4,250 rpm; 280 lbft@1,400-3,300 rpm
  Audi A4 (BPP: 01/06-03/09)
  Audi A6 (BPP: 11/04-10/08)
• 188 bhp  
  Audi A4 (CAM: 11/07-05/08, CGK: 06/08->)
  Audi A5 (CAM: 07/07-05/08, CGK: 05/08->)
  Audi A6 (CAN: 10/08->)

3.0 V6 24v TDI CR 150–195 kW

• 201 bhp@3,500 rpm ; 332 lbft@1,400 rpm
  Audi B7 A4-tuning.php">A4 (BKN: 11/04-03/09)
• 208 bhp
  Audi Q7 (BUN: 03/06-11/07)
  Volkswagen Touareg (BUN: 04/06-11/07, CAS: 11/07->)
• 215 bhp@3,250-4,750 rpm ; 369 lbft@1,250-3,000 rpm
  Audi A6-tuning.php">A6#C7, Audi A7 (2014+)
• 221 bhp@4,200 rpm ; 369 lbft@2,000 rpm –
  Audi C6 A6 (BMK: 04/04-05/06)
  Volkswagen Phaeton (BMK: 05/04-05/07)
  Volkswagen Touareg (BKS: 11/04-05/08, CATA: 02/09->),TDI 225-6 (BSP: 02/06->)
• 221 bhp@4,500 rpm ; 406 lbft@1,500 rpm – 2,500 rpm
  Volkswagen Amarok (DDXC: 10/16->)
• 229 bhp@4,000 rpm ; 369 lbft@1,750 rpm, 332 lbft between 1,400-3,250 rpm
  Audi B7 A4 (ASB: 01/06-03/09)
  Audi C6 A6 (ASB: 05/06-10/08)
  Audi D3 A8 (ASB: 01/04->)
  Audi Q7 (BUG: 03/06-05/08)
  Volkswagen Phaeton (CARA: 06/07-11/08)
• 236 bhp@4,000 rpm ; 369 lbft@1,500–3,000 rpm
  Audi B7 A4 (CAP: 11/07-05/08)
  Audi B8 A4 (CCW: 04/08-7/11, CCL: 11/09-7/11>
  Audi Q5 (CCW: 11/08->)
  Audi Q7 (CASA: 11/07-05/10, CCMA: 11/08->)
  Porsche Cayenne (2009->),
  Audi A5 (CAP: 06/07-05/08, CCW: 03/08->)
  Audi C6 A6 (CDY: 10/08->)
  Volkswagen Phaeton (CARA: 03/07-06/07, CEXA: 06/08-05/10)
  Volkswagen Touareg (CASA/CASB/CASC: 11/07-)
• 241 bhp@4,000-4,500 rpm; 406 lbft@1,450-3,250 rpm
  Audi A4#B8, Audi A5 (2011+)
  Audi A6#C7, Audi A7 (2010-2014)
  Volkswagen Touareg (2011+)
• 268 bhp@3,500-4,250 rpm; 428 lbft@1,250-3,250 rpm
  Audi A6#C7, Audi A7 (2014+)

3.0 V6 24v BiTDI CR 230 kW

• 308 bhp@3,900 - 4,500 rpm; 479 lbft@1,450 - 2,800 rpm, Audi A6, Audi A7, Audi SQ5 TDI (CVUA: pre-2014)
• 315 bhp@3,900 - 4,500 rpm; 479 lbft@1,450 - 2,800 rpm, Audi A6, Audi A7 (CVUB: 06/2014->)
• 322 bhp@4,000 - 4,500 rpm; 479 lbft@1,450 - 2,800 rpm, Audi A6, Audi A7 (CVUC: 06/2016->)
• 345 bhp@3,850 - 4,500 rpm; 516 lbft@2,500 - 3,100 rpm, Audi S6, Audi S7 (CVU: 05/2019->)

What are the most effective 2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI BiTDi tuning mods

Just because a modifications is popular with EA897 owners it doesn't mean you should fit it, instead we'll ultimate modifications that will give your EA897 the biggest power gain return for your cash.

The camshaft profile plays a big part in the engines power output so camshaft upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake & exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen camshaft profile, so large engines power gains are on offer for camshaft upgrades.

Fast road camshafts usually push up the bhp and torque through the rev range, you could sacrifice a little low down torque but the higher rpm power will be lifted.

Motorsport and race camshafts, push up the higher rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

On a daily driver you need to match your bhp range to your usage of the car.

You will never find a Competition camshaft is a pleasure to live with when driving in heavy traffic.

Different EA897 engines respond better to different camshaft durations than others.

Swapping heads and cranks seems to be a popular and relatively easy way to bump up your cylinder capacity.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also will say much on the bhp gains you'll hit.

Extending exhaust or intake durations can alter the bhp band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

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Modifying to Stage 1:

 Intake headers, Fast road camshaft, Sports exhaust manifold, Drilled & smoothed airbox, Panel air filters, Remaps/piggy back ECU.

Modifying to Stage 2:

 Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, fuel pump upgrades, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Modifying to Stage 3:

 Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

A remap should help to to establish the full potential of all the mods you've done to your EA897.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles, but you mileage will vary depending on the mods you've done and the condition of your engine.

Pulling air into each cylinder is vital to any car tuning job.

Intake manifold carry the air during the suck phase from the filter and allow it to be fed into the engine cylinders with fuel for the squish phase.

The size of bore and shape and flow rate of the Intake manifold can make a noticeable change to fuel atomisation and engine efficiency on the 2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI BiTDi

I usually find intake are in desperate need of aftermarket tuning parts, although some OEM provide well optimised intake.

Increasing the EA897 valve size, doing a bit of EA897 port enlargement and head flowing will also raise performance, this will raise potential for raising the performance increase on other parts.

2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI BiTDi (EA897) turbo upgrades - which are best?

The more air to get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes massive power gains.

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your EA897

If your car is turbocharged, upgrades are going to net you a larger power gain and most turbo engines already contain many forged and stronger components.

There are reliable limits for every engine, with some being very over engineered and some only able to handle stock power

It is important to find these limitations and upgrade to higher quality components to handle the power.

We've seen guys spending a lots of money on turbocharger upgrades on the EA897 only to watch the engine literally blow up on it's first outing after it's been enthusiastically driven.

Bigger capacity turbo units tend to experience low end lag, and smaller turbo units spool up much more quickly but do not have the peak rpm torque gains.

• Garrett GTD2263VZ
• GTB2260VK VW CR240

In the last 10 years the choice of turbochargers is always developing and we commonly find variable vane turbochargers, permitting the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end torque.

Twin scroll turbochargers divert the exhaust gases into 2 channels and direct these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also boost the scavenging effect of the engine.

Stronger head bolts make sense when increasing the power on the EA897 blocks.

It is not unusual that there is a restriction in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on these engines when considerably more air is being sucked into the engine.

We see 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting torque at a much lower level.

Fuelling

Don't dismiss the need improve the fuelling when you are increasing the torque - it makes the car more thirsty.  We would recommend you to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The accepted safe increase is to add another 20% when buying an injector, this takes into account injector deterioration and allows some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

Quite a few VAG Group engines share injectors with the EA897 engines.

Audi A4 / Avant

• CGKB CAMB -163ps
• CGKA CAMA -190ps
• BKN -204ps
• CCWB -211ps
• ASB -232ps
• CCWA CCLA -239ps
• CAPA -240ps

Audi A4 / S4 / Avant / quattro

• CGKB CAMB -163ps
• CGKA CAMA -190ps
• BKN -204ps
• CCWB -211ps
• ASB -232ps
• CCWA CCLA -239ps
• CAPA -240ps

Audi A4 / S4 Cabriolet / quattro

• BKN -204ps
• ASB -232ps

Audi A4 allroad quattro

• CCWA -239ps

Audi A5 / S5 Cabriolet

• CGKB -163ps
• CGKA -190ps
• CCWA -239ps

Audi A5 / S5 Coupe Sport

• CGKB CAMB -163ps
• CGKA CAMA -190ps
• CCWB -211ps
• CCWA -239ps
• CAPA -240ps

Audi A6 / Avant

• CAND CANB -163ps
• CANC CANA -190ps
• CDYB BNG -211ps
• BMK -224ps
• ASB -232ps
• CDYA -239ps

Audi A6 / S6 / Avant / quattro

• CAND CANB -163ps
• CANC CANA -190ps
• CDYB BNG -211ps
• BMK -224ps
• ASB -232ps
• CDYA -239ps

Audi A6 allroad quattro

• CAND -163ps
• CANC -190ps
• CDYB BNG -211ps
• ASB -232ps
• CDYC CDYA -239ps

Audi A6L

• CANA -190ps

Audi A8

• BNG -211ps
• ASB -232ps
• BMC -320ps
• BVN -326ps
• CDSB -351ps
• CTEC -385ps

Audi A8 / S8 quattro

• BNG -211ps
• ASB -232ps
• BMC -320ps
• BVN -326ps
• CDSB -351ps
• CTEC -385ps

Audi Q5

• CCWB -211ps
• CCWA -239ps

Audi Q7

• CASB BUN -211ps
• CATA -224ps
• BUG -232ps
• CCMA -239ps
• CASA -240ps
• BTR -326ps

VW Touareg

• CASD -204ps
• CASB -211ps
• BUN -211ps
• CATA -224ps
• BKS -225ps
• CASC -239ps
• CASA -240ps
• CKDA -340ps

2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI BiTDi EA897 Exhaust

You may need to replace your exhaust if your current exhaust is creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll find the flow rate is still ok even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts can usually air flow from the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too big or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches for best results.

Common exhaust restrictions are in the emissions filters installed, so adding a freer flowing race alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots Issues & problem areas on the 2.7 V6 TDI 3.0 V6 24v TDI BiTDi

The EA897 engines are generally reliable and solid as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.

Regular oil changes are vital on the EA897, especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.

For more information on Tuning your VAG engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss EA897 tuning options in more detail with our EA897 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased VAG 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 upgrades 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, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen. 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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