Started with ATW, no AEB is DBW from the factory. The vast majority (if not all) 99.5 are AEB.

I thought the 30V V6 started in 98.0? And everything before that is 12V?

 

Ahem... Look at my sig, you see the part where it says I swapped my '99.5 30v for an ATW? If there's anyone who would know stuff about this topic it's me, and countless other people who have worked on a couple of b5's. This is some incredibly basic stuff, it's not a contestable subject.

30v did indeed start in '98, halfway through the model year IIRC. The 1.8t was introduced in '97 though.

I'd also like to add that I've never heard a legitimate claim of a '99.5 being DBW, it just doesn't make sense because there were some serious changes to the dash harness and basically all electronics in '00. These mythical DBW '99.5s would need to have the electronics and harnesses out of a '00, at which point the only difference would be the single DIN radio.

 

im not saying any AEB is DBW all AEB's are DBC

they call them 1999,5 because it is a split year. some have aeb's and some have ATW's.

i've seen some 1999.5's with all kinds of weird stuff going on with them

ALSO 1997 is a split year for the 2.8 V6 early 97's were still AFC ( 2.8L 12V V6 DBC) and the other half was ATQ ( 2.8L 30V V6 DBW)

anyways i can settle this now, if Fisheye, if you're comfortable PMing me your vin from your car, i work at audi so i have access to Audi database.
i can input your vin and get your engine and code and tell you EVERYTHING about it to the last torque spec to the head gasket thickness from factory.

 

cool great you can do an engine swap because you are a weekend mechanic, cool you buy your tools from Autozone too?
since you want to throw titles around i guess the part that i didnt put in my sig to flaunt around is the part were i am a certified audi technician and i work on these cars every day, so lets talk about working on a couple of B5's because i have lost count of how many b5's b6's b7's b8's q5's q7's tt's tts's ttrs's a6's s6's rs6's a3's a8's s8's i have worked on

30V started in late build 97's 97 was a split year for 2.8's early 97's were AFC then the ATQ came in and then by 98 there were no more AFC's

and late build 1999.5's do have some DBW because some 99.5's came with ATW's.
1999.5 are a weird year, i have seen 99.5 with AEB with the fishy mirror with the big door handles, i have seen 99.5 with the small handles with the normal mirrors with the double din radios.

but for the douchbag-ness to be done with i think were we are getting our differances i noticed it says you are up in Canada, i am down here in the states, so.. as for the fact Canada and the U.S. gets A LOT of similar cars, some are different. ontop of the fact Canada does get cars that we do not get here in the U.S. all though im pretty sure its not that way anymore.

 

I'm not throwing titles around, you just were saying that DBW started in both '97 and '99.5 in successive posts, that's definitely not what an experienced Audi mechanic, or anybody who has dealt with a few B5's would say. You were the one that brought out a title, I was just saying that I've dealt in depth with the whole DBC-DBW wiring aspects, which not many people have experience with because it's not a common thing to do. You said all 30v's are DBW, I said that's impossible and presented you evidence why, ATW and AEB shouldn't be in the conversation. There's no way DBW started in '97, and maybe they sold some really early '00s as '99.5s in the US, but that's the only way to explain what you said. Again I've spent countless hours researching the electrical difference between DBW and DBC, they are similar but different enough that there would be no point of making a transitional model for a fraction of a model year. DBW ECUs need a CAN bus to function properly, it needs to communicate with the ABS unit, cluster and airbag controller. The cluster needs to communicate with the radio, the radio needs a VSS signal, if you trace the dependencies you'll see that basically every module is interconnected in some way, which is not the case in DBC cars.

Not sure why I get so worked up over stuff like this, but it seems like I'm not useful here anymore. Unless OP has some questions about a DBW swap or wiring I'm just gonna stay out, seems like some people take what I say way too personally.

 

Just to try to let the dust settle a little: EthanB5( auditek) when you are talking about years, are you talking about the model years or production dates? I think we can agree that those are two different things.

For example, my 1.8T B5 is a '98.5. I believe the manufacture date is either late '97 or really early '98. But due to its features it is called a '98.5 because of when it was introduced to the market.

Also, when you say that some '99.5 models came with ATW/DBW, that is technically an '00 model yes? And are you suggesting that it was sold in '99.5 or it was manufactured at that time?

 

from researching my audi database.. if im adding my reasearch up properly.. Canda got the AHA 30v 2.8 untill 2000 which is a DBC 30V

in the states we got the ATQ 30v 2.8 in mid 1997 which was DBW

now up north of the states it is very possible that some AHA b5's made it past the Canadian border and are now here. but in america no AHA 30V were sold.

and i apologize for this getting into a heated argument, i just dont see why what im reading from Audi or america would be incorrect... plus the amount of cars that i work on and me never seeing a AHA 30v DBC b5 in my career.

 

im talking about model years. build dates are always a year to 6 months before the year they are... and yes late 99.5's did have ATW they are not common more on the rare side.. they basically are '00model but their VIN' read that is it s 99.5.. its weird

 

Where exactly are you getting the info from? I'm just curious because it's so damn odd that it would be like that, not doubting you or anything. My copy of ETKA says AHA started during a split in the '98 model year and ATQ started in 2000, which is what I always believed. I'm glad we could at least agree about the semantics of the whole DBW '99.5 situation though.

 

Rare to the point that I bet there isn't a single one in this country that came from the factory that way. lol



My A4 has always had a ATW block which it came with from the factory, in 2003 the damaged ATW head was replaced with a built AEB head and later on I swapped on a AWM valve cover. Have a one off intake manifold that has a VR6 throttle body. My car represents all of the years of the B5 A4 1.8t. lol