Playing with an Audi SQ5 TDI

[Lucas_R]

Wow! Impressive. Thank you for sharing,very informative.

You are welcome and glad you enjoyed reading it.

[Lucas_R]

Bringing this story up to the present day, I gave the SQ5 a basic DIY service on Saturday which is something I like to do in between it’s scheduled yearly mechanic “logbook” services. It gives me peace of mind to know that the oil in the engine is fresh and it is a low cost exercise anyway. Plus with all of the isolation rules regarding this Corona virus, it gave me something to do on Saturday morning (and I had already purchased all of the items I needed several weeks ago already).

- Starting with a Liqui-Moly intake decarb (removed intercooler hose where it joins the intake manifold and sprayed in there)
- About 7L of Penrite Enviro+ 5w-30 oil (VW504/507 approved)
- Mann oil filter
- Rear brake pads
- Drained the catch can

During the week I had received my new Akebono Euro ceramic brake pads which I have been very interested to try and see how much they will reduce the brake dust. I only purchased the rear pads at this stage and will see how they compare over the next few weeks before I make the decision on buying the front pads. I used my Carista dongle and iPhone app to release the parking brake mechanism so that I could change the pads.

Part # EUR1018 (rear pads) Link: Audi Disc Brake Pad Set - Akebono EUR1018A | FCP Euro

[tyr382]

You really like your penrite and Mann filters


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[Lucas_R]

You really like your Penrite and Mann filters

Well i used to use Liqui-Moly but that became more and more expensive and harder to get, so started using the Penrite several years ago and now I use that - I like to keep the same brand of oil in the engine (call me OCD). It's a good quality synthetic oil, meets the relevant VW specs, is readily available at Supercheap/Repco etc and regularly on sale which makes it a no-brainer for me.

Taking photos of the process is more just proof that I have actually done the service for when we move this car on to a new owner in a few years time.

[tyr382]

I’m a castrol man my self but for filters with Audi, I always stick to oem or Mahle filters. Bosch is ok for an all rounder. For some reason VAG diesel filters a UFI that are not really known for there quality.

Air filters you can’t go wrong with a K&N


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[Lucas_R]

I’m a castrol man my self but for filters with Audi, I always stick to oem or Mahle filters. Bosch is ok for an all rounder. For some reason VAG diesel filters a UFI that are not really known for there quality.

Air filters you can’t go wrong with a K&N

Mann are OEM also so I don't have the slightest problem using them. The old oil filter i pulled out of my car (fitted by my mechanic late last year was a Mahle, but he had used a Hengst last year). Not sure i've ever used a Bosch filter, but for VAG cars im happy with Mann, Mahle, or Hengst - but I buy Mann because they are readily available from RunAutoParts where I get most of my parts.

I disagree with you somewhat about K&N - after experimenting heavily with different intakes for my Golf R a few years back (and i'd really only ever used K&N up until this time) that AFE (air flow engineering) air filters are better quality and fit better than K&N. They are also priced similarly but don't have quite the extensive range than K&N does.

With the SQ5, i've got a replacement K&N pod filter in the airbox because AFE dont make one and all the other options were those horrible oiled foam filters which are by far my least favourite.

[Lucas_R]

Some photos of the Spulen wheel spacers from USP Motorsports (15mm on the front and 20mm on the rear). Very good quality kit which includes the hub centric spacers and new longer bolts. SPULEN Audi Q5/SQ5 Flush Kit - WSKT-Q5F - 6928

Excuse the dirty car, we'd had a heap of rain - it got a nice bath later that day.










Bath time later that day....

[Lucas_R]

Akebono Euro Ceramic brake pads ordered and fitted. I ordered the rear pads first just to test them out and see if they were worth it. The answer is yes - especially if you are like me and enjoying having a clean car and also enjoy your car staying clean for as long as possible.

Huge difference in brake dust compared to the original pads as well as the Bremtec Euro Ceramic pads I fitted not long after buying the car. The Bremtec pads were better (less dust) than the original pads, but still very dusty and the dust was black so it was very obvious on the wheel. Turns out I should not have wasted my money on the Bremtec pads because they were not much different to the original pads.

The new Akebono Euro Ceramic pads are fantastic. Not only is there far less dust but the dust is a light grey/silver colour so its much less visible on the wheel. The Akebono pads are made in USA so the only way to get them here is to buy from someone like ECS Tuning or Amazon - I got mine from Amazon because the freight cost was cheaper than ECS Tuning.

I also considered the ATE Ceramic pads which also get good feedback, but for some reason ATE only make the rear pad for the SQ5. I wanted the same brand pad front and rear so when I saw Akebono made them my mind was made up.

An added bonus is that both the original pads and the Bremtec pads fitted previously made a harsh noise when cold and coming to a complete stop, whereas the Akebono pads no longer do this.

EUR1546 front pads
EUR1018 rear pads

[Lucas_R]

Parts incoming.......ordered a 034Motorsports rear swaybar and end links. End links are on backorder, so will just be installing the swaybar for now and end links at a later stage.

In other news, the speakers in the exhaust (yes there are speakers in the exhaust) which make the car sound much tougher than a TDI normally would have busted (pretty common on the SQ5) so will be doing a DIY repair as i don't fancy paying $2.5k for a new exhaust from Audi. The DIY repair will cost me around $150 and only a few hours work.

034Motorsport Adjustable Rear Sway Bar – Audi B8/B8.5 & C7/C7.5 – AutoInstruct

[tigger73]

Nice! I just did the same thing to the Tig and the handling is greatly improved.


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