2015 3.0 TDI Q7 performance upgrades
- Thread starter Verrico1183
- Start date
Huskies2710
Veteran Member
Iowa....you're not horribly far to make a trip out to Chicago. Shop would need the car for at least a day if not two.
Well, as requested, an update.
I did NOT end up doing a TCU mod. I DID, however reset the TCU's learning capability back to factory so that it can "relearn" how I drive now, and it's helped tremendously.
I have almost 250k now, fuel mileage is still IMPROVING.
My life average is now 28.8.
I did replace all the copper crush washers under the injectors and re adapt all the injectors after a cleaning.
I now love the black exhaust and did use flat black vinyl to get rid of all my chrome ?
I did NOT end up doing a TCU mod. I DID, however reset the TCU's learning capability back to factory so that it can "relearn" how I drive now, and it's helped tremendously.
I have almost 250k now, fuel mileage is still IMPROVING.
My life average is now 28.8.
I did replace all the copper crush washers under the injectors and re adapt all the injectors after a cleaning.
I now love the black exhaust and did use flat black vinyl to get rid of all my chrome ?
irshad.aj
Member
Hey DrobKGB, I'm in the process of buying a Q7 TDI and I wanted to ask what repairs/expenses you've had past the 100k mark. I've still got 27k miles of warranty on it and will do most of repair work myself after that (including a tune and DPF/EGR delete like you), anything that doesn't involve dropping the engine or transmission should be doable. I know this isn't a toyota and minor problems are expected, but in general, has it been really expensive to keep running?
EDIT: the one I'm looking at right now is a 1 owner 2014 with 92k miles, hasn't ever sat for long. Consistent 15k miles/year throughout its carfax so I think it might be a good bet for reliability (at least by Audi standards).
EDIT: the one I'm looking at right now is a 1 owner 2014 with 92k miles, hasn't ever sat for long. Consistent 15k miles/year throughout its carfax so I think it might be a good bet for reliability (at least by Audi standards).
commedeschatons
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2019
- Location
- PNW
- TDI
- 2003 ALH Wagon 5mt, 2016 VW Touareg TDI, 2014 Q5 TDI, 2011 335d Msport, 2009 Q7 TDI
GDM said their 3.0L gen2 cp3 retrofit kit will be available this month , I need to call them and check on that. IIRC they said it uses bmw cp3 r90 pump. I have half a kind to see if it could be adapted to an r110 from a cummins 
rockymtaudi
Member
Here is an update BUMP. I did not find this thread before and was desperate for an upgrade after the factory reprogramed my 2015 Q7 and made it my least favorite car I have ever owned. I mean can someone please tell me if HORIFFIC turbo lag is normal? I mean really bad, even in sport mode off the line my car is SO slow... sure after you are on the highway or getting the revs up the torque is great but the lag, seems to be getting worse and worse and MUCH worse in the summer. It is barely drivable in the summer sometimes I will redline the shift because I have to put so much pedal into it before the engine catches up to the input of fuel. Is HORIFFIC worst you have ever seen turbo lag NORMAL in a 2015 Q7 TDI???
Fast forward to me trying to do something about it and spending a lot of money on the Racechip Q7 upgrade. Pretty sure they are out of Europe (Germany and UK) and they also have a shift upgrade optional. It is an inline unit that goes on the rail injector and does not flash anything. I hope people know what I am talking about. I went for the top of the line package. I figured coming from Europe, they gotta be good so I got it for my TDI. Now, I tried and tried to figure out which Engine I had... what the listed BHP was etc.. because racechip could not tell me this??? Unfortunatly MAYBE because I got an Audi TDI which was sold in California, it was something totally incompatible with racechip. And maybe racechip is completely incompatible with the factory reflash. I don't know but racechip top of the line has like 5-6 levels of boost you can select. You can see on the unit and select from 0-5 or whatever. The higher the number the greater the boost or so the packat says. They say, go up to the max number you can before you hear pings and other horrible noises to figure out the TUNE on your vehicle.
Let me simply say that I couldn't find a setting that did not make the car buck or make a noise that made the diesel sound like a pickup. Did I notice an improvement in power or response?? Yes, I did but at the expense of the transmission wanting to break (hard shifts etc) and noise that almost certainly meant severe engine damage. When the temps changed it got worse sometimes with less power and even more horific bucking and engine and tranny noises. I think the week I left it on my car likely took 50,000 miles off the life of my engine.
I have heard good reviews about the flash upgrades mentioned here from a fellow TDI owner. So all I can say is DO NOT GO WITH RACECHIP under any circumstances.
Fast forward to me trying to do something about it and spending a lot of money on the Racechip Q7 upgrade. Pretty sure they are out of Europe (Germany and UK) and they also have a shift upgrade optional. It is an inline unit that goes on the rail injector and does not flash anything. I hope people know what I am talking about. I went for the top of the line package. I figured coming from Europe, they gotta be good so I got it for my TDI. Now, I tried and tried to figure out which Engine I had... what the listed BHP was etc.. because racechip could not tell me this??? Unfortunatly MAYBE because I got an Audi TDI which was sold in California, it was something totally incompatible with racechip. And maybe racechip is completely incompatible with the factory reflash. I don't know but racechip top of the line has like 5-6 levels of boost you can select. You can see on the unit and select from 0-5 or whatever. The higher the number the greater the boost or so the packat says. They say, go up to the max number you can before you hear pings and other horrible noises to figure out the TUNE on your vehicle.
Let me simply say that I couldn't find a setting that did not make the car buck or make a noise that made the diesel sound like a pickup. Did I notice an improvement in power or response?? Yes, I did but at the expense of the transmission wanting to break (hard shifts etc) and noise that almost certainly meant severe engine damage. When the temps changed it got worse sometimes with less power and even more horific bucking and engine and tranny noises. I think the week I left it on my car likely took 50,000 miles off the life of my engine.
I have heard good reviews about the flash upgrades mentioned here from a fellow TDI owner. So all I can say is DO NOT GO WITH RACECHIP under any circumstances.
rockymtaudi
Member
HOW do you still have a warranty on your vehicle? I have a 2015 TDI (last year made) and went all in for the total max extended warranty and it ended this year, mileage ended long time ago what kind of warranty do you have??? Also I have been told by a lawyer there is a class action on the timing chain for the V6 TDI... so that usually goes (or so I hear) about 100k and is a HUGE job $$$
irshad.aj
Member
Thanks for the update on your Racechip experience, I'll keep that in mind and probably go with Malone's tunes. As for the warranty, I was speaking of the dieselgate warranty that goes to 10 yrs/120k miles, I didn't buy an aftermarket one as I will see how reliable it remains under the emissions warranty and sell if I don't trust it outside of that.
Also about the timing chain, I've read some threads on the topic before buying and I think that's limited to the gas engines.
I did end up buying that Q7 I mentioned in my previous post, loving it so far!
rockymtaudi
Member
I got so screwed.... I mean I bought my 2015 TDI used in 2016 before any of the settlements etc... I made a mistake and did not turn in my info on time (Audi said they would give me an $8000 check to keep my Audi) and because I was an idiot who let things slide, I did not submit paperwork in time and got NOTHING, also when I bought the car USED I paid $$$$$$$ for an extended warranty on the whole thing it was like $5k and from a 3rd party company.. needless to say, that warranty expired this fall and I never had to use it.
I had NO IDEA there was a dieselgate warranty.. someone please tell me about this cause my dealer certainly won't. Is that Bumper To Bumper??? Cause I have a low mileage 2015 Q7 so that is GOOD NEWS for me. Just yesterday I was waiting for someone in idle, guy showed up and we did our transaction he had a Toureg TDI and while we were talking I smelled antifreze smell coming out of my exhaust (which is not a good sign is it) I do not smell it inside the car but smelled it outside the car... anyone know about this????
Please let me know if that warranty is powertrain or bumper to bumber either way ... WOW... I mean I paid TOP DOLLAR for my 1 year old Audi at the time and then never got the buyback or check and then the resale value went into the toilet. The 2015 TDI Q7 must be the best deal in the world for used cars if it has that warranty associated with it... I am a complete fool..
You did not respond to my other pose about the turbo lag... I mean is yours as bad as mine??? I HATE this car now but spent too much to let it go and these days ...well WHATEVER....
Interesting about the timing chain thing... funny cause the lawyer I contacted because I should have joined the class action lawsuit (TOO LATE AGAIN) told me about the timing chain class-action suit.
rockymtaudi
Member
Also... for me the only things that have gone wrong are the failure of the main fan (heating/cooling) covered under warranty ... and the rear view mirror broke off not because of any misuse or maltreatment... bad design.. just like the noise that almost every Q7 owner talks about buzzing in the drivers sun visor .... I also haven't noticed a regen since Audi flashed the chip... anyone else notice that?
irshad.aj
Member
Go to audidiesellookup.com and enter your Vin In there. If it hasn't been fixed, you can take it to any dealer and get the emissions recall performed for free. The warranty is on all emissions equipment and the engine long block, including any component monitored by the OBD system (which is pretty much everything in an Audi) as well as the OBD system itself. It lasts to the LATER of:
1. 10yrs/120k miles from original sale date
2. 4yrs/48k miles from fix being performed
As for turbo lag, I haven't owned a diesel in America before, so I don't have a point of comparison. I also bought the Q7 for my wife, keeping in mind that it'll be a really slow and heavy car compared to my daily (CTS-V). So I'm probably not a good judge of turbo lag because I came in with very low expectations to start with.
rockymtaudi
Member
I did get this prefermormed.So 10 years/ 120k miles from the original sale date sounds for me like the LATER as I have a 215 with 68k on it so that would take me to 2025 and 42k more miles which kinda sucks on the mileage but whatever. So.. I guess you can say that is a MOTOR warranty?? meaning that would not cover the transmission, would it???
The turbo lag is, so horrific, Its makes a car that should be a joy (handling, comfort, high rpm torque) into nightmare driving in traffic or local roads. I do not think it is normal. I drove someone else's BMW TDI (now maybe that is not fair) NO lag and so much faster than the Q7
irshad.aj
Member
Correct, engine and emissions equipment only. If the lag really bothers you, you should go for a tune by Malone, he has some really good reviews across forums. But you'll void the warranty so there's that.
irshad.aj
Member
@rockymtaudi I unintentionally found the cure for your turbo lag. I had a CEL with P0269, so off it went to the dealership. Injector replaced and carbon cleaning done under emissions warranty, and now the car pulls way harder down low in the rev range. If you're concerned about the performance, I think you should get carbon cleaning done. Made a huge difference to my car, even compared to before the injector went bad.
hwudoin
New member
Is the tune still going well and are you still happy?THANK YOU for reminding me to follow up!
Mark @ Malone, Owain, AARodriguez, CR Tuning in Peoria...
I simply cannot say enough about all of them. Everyone bent over completely backwards to get this running right for me and the things that messed up were ZERO fault of anyone involved. Just freak "bad luck" sort of things.
I've put more than 4,000 miles on this setup and I absolutely love it.
I'm getting close to 25mpg at 80 on the freeway (used to get 18-19ish)
I have a lifetime average above 26mpg. (used to be 22ish)
If I completely mash it, it does roll a little coal, which I kinda dig... keeps tailgaters at bayThere is definitely more turbo whistle, which I love, but zero highway drone from the exhaust. the motor sounds angrier now when I mash it, more like an F250... Love that too.
The power gains are fantastic.. I actually used the beast to pull out my 16,000lb Winnebago from the mud this weekend...
But by far the biggest gain is the daily driveability. Turbo lag has all but dissappeared, acceleration from intersections and for lane changes is MUCH smoother... overall city driving, it now responds more akin to the v8 or the supercharged 3.0... This is how it SHOULD have been programmed from the factory.
my only two initial complaints were that the exhaust will never be chrome again... which I'm actually growing to like.. and I may wrap the rest of the chrome in flat black to match.
and... I thought that the throttle was a little useless past 70%.. it didn't seem to accelerate any more after that point... flooring it was useless other than to create black smoke. However, I was towing a trailer load of gravel last weekend and I can tell you that the bottom 1/3 of the throttle is actually there if you need it. that power is apparently reserved for VERY heavy loads.
I had planned on asking Mark for a low-smoke tune that I could swap in and out of, but frankly I couldn't imagine ever wanting to modify how this thing runs right now.
She will turn over 200k next week, and I'm probably more excited than when I got her... time for another 200k!
I would like to know too.
Just turned 300k last month. Average has dropped to around 26 mpg, and power is dropping, but I know why. The turbo is beginning to give up the ghost... Bearings are screaming and a nasty leak at the waste gate.. I'm going to be replacing the turbo, installing a less restrictive intake and using Darkside Developments downpipe, swirl flap delete and EGR delete.
Literally nothing else on the vehicle is an issue and I just ceramic coated her... So here's heading to 500k....
I usually am sick of cars around 2 years in and have never kept a daily more than 4... I'm going on six now and still absolutely love this thing.
Have had ZERO need to replace ball joints, shocks, driveshafts, etc.. the entire underbody still looks like 30k, not 300k, and I live where they use more salt in the winter than McDonald's fries.
I am considering moving past the Malone tune to a larger fuel pump, injectors, MAF sensor and a custom tune.. I may go for 650 torque...
We'll see how sales go this winter.. a ball bearing turbo might just be under the tree....
dyep8ball03
Well-known member
Im about to buy a 2012 Q7 Prestige S-line. have any links for the parts you are looking at? not as easy to source as they are for an ALH lol.