My Q5 mods and lessons learned
#1
01-16-2014, 02:05 PM
My Q5 mods and lessons learned
I just wanted to share lessons learned from modding my Q5. Here is a list of my mods.
1. Stasis ECU & exhaust
2. Forgestar F14 20x9.5 wheels, Continental DWS 255/50
3. H&R sport springs
4. Ultra racing chassis braces
5. Eurocode intercooler kit
6. Phillips DVD players
7. WeatherTech Floor mats
8. InvisibleMask Clear bra kit.
1. The Stasis ECU pros: very smooth power cons: having your car in the shop for a week to have the ECU sent to Stasis, not enough bump in HP, price. Stasis Exhaust pros: lightweight, stainless steel. Cons: too loud, leaks, poor design of the middle flange connection. Stasis offered a deal, buy the exhaust and get the ECU at a discount. I bought it had the car at the dealers for over a week waiting for the ECU. Exhaust turned out to be loud, rattling, vibrating. I ended up taking it to a custom exhaust shop. This guy was great. He looked at it and identified the problem right away. It was the center flange connection. It didn’t have a actual Y split. He cut out an entire section and replaced it with a Magnaflow muffler with a internal Y. The exhaust is now fantastic. A great sound under acceleration, quite the rest of the time. Overall, nice improvement in acceleration, but was hoping for more.
2. Forgestar wheels. Pros: great looking, deep concave, lightweight, very strong, wider stance, Price. Cons: Poor Finish, color, not returnable. So I bought these wheels, initially I felt what a huge and expensive mistake. The color was not even close to what I ordered and the paint job was so bad I ended up doing a better job with a can of automotive spray paint. I ordered silver and got grey. They are not returnable so I was stuck with them. I stripped the paint, polished the faces, and painted the rest with a matte black epoxy paint. This was a lengthy and tedious job, I mean it was a total pain in the @ss. I did take the wheels to several shops but everyone wanted over $1000 to fix these things. In the end, I am satisfied with the way they turned out, but I would never do business with Forgestar again and don’t recommend anyone buying their products until they change their return policy. The tires are great. I had the DWS for my VW R32 also. They don’t have the grip of a true summer tire, but make up for it in the rain, snow, durability (50,000 miles vs 15,000 for summer tires) quietness, and ride quality. I’m a fan of these tires, but next time I’m getting the 270/40 instead (same size Stasis uses on their wheels).
3. H&R springs. Pros: Lowered stance, improved handling, price. Cons: installation, magnifies the weakness of the chassis. I installed these myself. The rears where very easy, the front was more complicated and time consuming, but this has to do with the complexity of Audi’s front suspension design. The combination of the wheels and springs gave the car a very noticeable chassis flex with cornering. This caused a decrease in ride quality and a minimal improvement in cornering.
4. Ultra Racing Chassis braces: pros; price, quality, simplicity. Cons: too much longitudinal rigidity, no rear brace offered initially, installation. Considering the suspension problems I was having I debated between sway bars and these braces. I decided on the braces and I’m glad I did. I bought what I thought was a front and rear set of braces. Actually the rear was more of a middle brace. Installation should have be easy, but the holes on the front brace didn’t line up correctly and had to be widened. The middle brace was didn’t give enough clearance for the Stasis exhaust. The result was a stiffer front end and a soft rear end. It was a improvement, but not the result I was looking for. I felt that the car was too stiff from front to back, so I remove the braces and made them into 2 point braces from the original 4 point. The other problem that developed from only having front braces without a rear was noise and vibration. The braces turned the chassis into a giant tuning fork, so that all the noise from the exhaust, suspension and road were amplified inside the cabin. I was not happy. Eventually they developed a true rear brace, last week I installed it. Very easy installation. Conclusion, the handling is amazing. The combination of springs and braces is perfect. The ride quality is vastly improved over stock. The vibration, the noise, the chassis flex all gone.
5. Eurocode intercooler kit. In my disappointment with the engine upgrades I decided to get this kit. Pros; performance, quality. Cons; price, installation. This is a fantastic kit everything is included. The instructions could be better. The install process is lengthy and complex. I am glad I did this the turbo lag is vastly improved. I noticed about the similiar bump in HP and performance as compared to the Stasis ECU& exhaust with a similar price point. Between these two upgrades the Q5 has excellent acceleration. I feel that my Q5 is faster than my old 2004 VW R32. Its not because its more powerful, but because the tranny is superfast and the stasis ECU is so linear and smooth.
6. DVD players Pros; the kids can what different movies at the same time, $1000 + cheaper than stock. Cons: wiring. Mounting. I have yet to find any great mounting brackets for these and there will always be some amount of exposed cables.
7. Mats pros: durable, weather proof, kid proof, fit, color. Cons: price, can be slippery.
8. Clear bra kit. Pros: price, quality. Cons: installation. This is a self install kit everything included with excellent instructions. I found the hood install to be difficult the rest was easy. I have a ding in the hood clear bra already and plan to have it replaced professionally.
Overall, the Q5 has turned out to be an amazing and inspiring ride for a SUV. I feel that this car is an improvement over my R32, but it took almost a year to get this far. I have more space, room for the kids, Audi quality/luxury for the wife, real Quattro not that haldex crap. This SUV has something for everyone in my family and I am thrilled with the way everything has turned out, but I don’t know if I would do it again. It was very difficult and time consuming with all the trial and error and this is why I am sharing my experience.
1. Stasis ECU & exhaust
2. Forgestar F14 20x9.5 wheels, Continental DWS 255/50
3. H&R sport springs
4. Ultra racing chassis braces
5. Eurocode intercooler kit
6. Phillips DVD players
7. WeatherTech Floor mats
8. InvisibleMask Clear bra kit.
1. The Stasis ECU pros: very smooth power cons: having your car in the shop for a week to have the ECU sent to Stasis, not enough bump in HP, price. Stasis Exhaust pros: lightweight, stainless steel. Cons: too loud, leaks, poor design of the middle flange connection. Stasis offered a deal, buy the exhaust and get the ECU at a discount. I bought it had the car at the dealers for over a week waiting for the ECU. Exhaust turned out to be loud, rattling, vibrating. I ended up taking it to a custom exhaust shop. This guy was great. He looked at it and identified the problem right away. It was the center flange connection. It didn’t have a actual Y split. He cut out an entire section and replaced it with a Magnaflow muffler with a internal Y. The exhaust is now fantastic. A great sound under acceleration, quite the rest of the time. Overall, nice improvement in acceleration, but was hoping for more.
2. Forgestar wheels. Pros: great looking, deep concave, lightweight, very strong, wider stance, Price. Cons: Poor Finish, color, not returnable. So I bought these wheels, initially I felt what a huge and expensive mistake. The color was not even close to what I ordered and the paint job was so bad I ended up doing a better job with a can of automotive spray paint. I ordered silver and got grey. They are not returnable so I was stuck with them. I stripped the paint, polished the faces, and painted the rest with a matte black epoxy paint. This was a lengthy and tedious job, I mean it was a total pain in the @ss. I did take the wheels to several shops but everyone wanted over $1000 to fix these things. In the end, I am satisfied with the way they turned out, but I would never do business with Forgestar again and don’t recommend anyone buying their products until they change their return policy. The tires are great. I had the DWS for my VW R32 also. They don’t have the grip of a true summer tire, but make up for it in the rain, snow, durability (50,000 miles vs 15,000 for summer tires) quietness, and ride quality. I’m a fan of these tires, but next time I’m getting the 270/40 instead (same size Stasis uses on their wheels).
3. H&R springs. Pros: Lowered stance, improved handling, price. Cons: installation, magnifies the weakness of the chassis. I installed these myself. The rears where very easy, the front was more complicated and time consuming, but this has to do with the complexity of Audi’s front suspension design. The combination of the wheels and springs gave the car a very noticeable chassis flex with cornering. This caused a decrease in ride quality and a minimal improvement in cornering.
4. Ultra Racing Chassis braces: pros; price, quality, simplicity. Cons: too much longitudinal rigidity, no rear brace offered initially, installation. Considering the suspension problems I was having I debated between sway bars and these braces. I decided on the braces and I’m glad I did. I bought what I thought was a front and rear set of braces. Actually the rear was more of a middle brace. Installation should have be easy, but the holes on the front brace didn’t line up correctly and had to be widened. The middle brace was didn’t give enough clearance for the Stasis exhaust. The result was a stiffer front end and a soft rear end. It was a improvement, but not the result I was looking for. I felt that the car was too stiff from front to back, so I remove the braces and made them into 2 point braces from the original 4 point. The other problem that developed from only having front braces without a rear was noise and vibration. The braces turned the chassis into a giant tuning fork, so that all the noise from the exhaust, suspension and road were amplified inside the cabin. I was not happy. Eventually they developed a true rear brace, last week I installed it. Very easy installation. Conclusion, the handling is amazing. The combination of springs and braces is perfect. The ride quality is vastly improved over stock. The vibration, the noise, the chassis flex all gone.
5. Eurocode intercooler kit. In my disappointment with the engine upgrades I decided to get this kit. Pros; performance, quality. Cons; price, installation. This is a fantastic kit everything is included. The instructions could be better. The install process is lengthy and complex. I am glad I did this the turbo lag is vastly improved. I noticed about the similiar bump in HP and performance as compared to the Stasis ECU& exhaust with a similar price point. Between these two upgrades the Q5 has excellent acceleration. I feel that my Q5 is faster than my old 2004 VW R32. Its not because its more powerful, but because the tranny is superfast and the stasis ECU is so linear and smooth.
6. DVD players Pros; the kids can what different movies at the same time, $1000 + cheaper than stock. Cons: wiring. Mounting. I have yet to find any great mounting brackets for these and there will always be some amount of exposed cables.
7. Mats pros: durable, weather proof, kid proof, fit, color. Cons: price, can be slippery.
8. Clear bra kit. Pros: price, quality. Cons: installation. This is a self install kit everything included with excellent instructions. I found the hood install to be difficult the rest was easy. I have a ding in the hood clear bra already and plan to have it replaced professionally.
Overall, the Q5 has turned out to be an amazing and inspiring ride for a SUV. I feel that this car is an improvement over my R32, but it took almost a year to get this far. I have more space, room for the kids, Audi quality/luxury for the wife, real Quattro not that haldex crap. This SUV has something for everyone in my family and I am thrilled with the way everything has turned out, but I don’t know if I would do it again. It was very difficult and time consuming with all the trial and error and this is why I am sharing my experience.
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