2018 S5 Tips & Tricks

[Mrjww88]

Great write up on the TDI Tubing box. Has anyone thought about doing any exhaust mods yet?

Also on a side note. I noticed the tuning box on TDI Tuning for the s5 is around £670 but for an rs3 its £380. How does that one work out?

Edited by Mrjww88 on Friday 14th April 17:35

Edited by Mrjww88 on Friday 14th April 17:35

[IJB1959]

Mrjww88 said:

Great write up on the TDI Tubing box. Has anyone thought about doing any exhaust mods yet?

Also on a side note. I noticed the tuning box on TDI Tuning for the s5 is around £670 but for an rs3 its £380. How does that one work out?

Edited by Mrjww88 on Friday 14th April 17:35

Edited by Mrjww88 on Friday 14th April 17:35

TDI box for S5 is dual channel, RS3 is single channel. S5 TDI Tuning box should retail at £649.00.

[IJB1959]

Here is a copy of an interesting email I received from TDI tuning..........

Hi Ian

I’m going to Audi this weekend to pick up my Wife’s new S1 , we have been told by the sales team that it requires running on super unleaded all of the time to reach the quoted power from Audi. They have advised if we run normal unleaded the power from Audi will be nothing like the quoted figure. Having worked for Huddersfield Audi for 6 years previous to this job it was noted to all S and RS owners to get the maximum out of the car only super unleaded should be used. I will read the handbook once I have it and see what it states in there.

Have a good Easter weekend and I look forward to updating you on my experience of the S1 with our tuning kit fitted.


Kind Regards,

Stuart Hill - Manager
TDI Tuning Ltd
Unit 2
Kestrel Court Block C
Kestrel Road
Trafford Park
Manchester
M17 1SF
United Kingdom

Edited by IJB1959 on Saturday 15th April 12:40

[Ved]

Highly tuned turbo charged cars should be on the best fuel. All my performance cars have drank 99RON and that goes as much for GTFours, Subaru's and it'll be the case for my S4 when it arrives. I doubt 95 will hurt a modern engine but it won't run at full power for sure. Maybe a rolling road day with identical cars would be an interesting test.

[IJB1959]

Ved said:

Highly tuned turbo charged cars should be on the best fuel. All my performance cars have drank 99RON and that goes as much for GTFours, Subaru's and it'll be the case for my S4 when it arrives. I doubt 95 will hurt a modern engine but it won't run at full power for sure. Maybe a rolling road day with identical cars would be an interesting test.

Yep, makes sense doesn't it. To run an S4/S5 as the manufacturer intended then you must account for the 99RON extra fuel cost in doing so before buying one. I just filled up on 99 fuel and it ain't cheap! Tried running on standard fuel and it does reduce performance. With regard to the TDI chip I'm testing, anything less than 99 doesn't work as it should.

Edited by IJB1959 on Saturday 15th April 18:48

[TomScrut]

IJB1959 said:

Ved said:

Highly tuned turbo charged cars should be on the best fuel. All my performance cars have drank 99RON and that goes as much for GTFours, Subaru's and it'll be the case for my S4 when it arrives. I doubt 95 will hurt a modern engine but it won't run at full power for sure. Maybe a rolling road day with identical cars would be an interesting test.

Yep, makes sense doesn't it. To run an S4/S5 as the manufacturer intended then you must account for the 99RON extra fuel cost in doing so before buying one. I just filled up on 99 fuel and it ain't cheap! Tried running on standard fuel and it does reduce performance. With regard to the TDI chip I'm testing, anything less than 99 doesn't work as it should.

Edited by IJB1959 on Saturday 15th April 18:48

My issue is that the only petrol station I drive past regularly is Morrisons and they don't do the good stuff. Not to mention that it's only Tesco that do the premium fuel for a small increase in price. My Golf R has almost solely ran on Morrisons fuel but it does seem noticeably better when I do treat it. I found my S4 was more efficient with V Power, back then there was a Shell garage on my commute but it is closed at present because of a tank leak. Has been shut over 2 years!

[dufflecoat]

Running mine in Tesco 99 exclusively. Will let you know how I go.

[IJB1959]

dufflecoat said:

Running mine in Tesco 99 exclusively. Will let you know how I go.

Would be interesting to know what MPG you get with 99 against regular. If the engine runs better/more efficient on 99, then it should cover the extra cost at least and maybe more. Could be one reason why some are getting poor MPG??

[Ved]

dufflecoat said:

Running mine in Tesco 99 exclusively. Will let you know how I go.

I've ran every car for the last 10 years or so on Tesco 99 and never had an issue. Even my NA cars had a little more MPG from them so I've just stuck to it. Over the course of a year it's worth it, I believe.

[Ved]

IJB1959 said:

dufflecoat said:

Running mine in Tesco 99 exclusively. Will let you know how I go.

Would be interesting to know what MPG you get with 99 against regular. If the engine runs better/more efficient on 99, then it should cover the extra cost at least and maybe more. Could be one reason why some are getting poor MPG??

In my first Impreza STI I tended to see +10% better MPG on regular driving and probably +15% over long trips at motorway speeds so there is something in it.

[jacobyoung74]

After 2700 miles running 99 tesco I am now at 19.8. (Long term mileage was reset about 500 miles ago when it was in for work... before that It was up at around 23 because of a few long trips )

Dread to think what it would be if I used standard fuel haha!

Really keen to get a tuning box now but waiting to see a few more reviews first!

[NickA555]

IJB1959 said:

Here is a copy of an interesting email I received from TDI tuning..........

Hi Ian

I’m going to Audi this weekend to pick up my Wife’s new S1 , we have been told by the sales team that it requires running on super unleaded all of the time to reach the quoted power from Audi. They have advised if we run normal unleaded the power from Audi will be nothing like the quoted figure. Having worked for Huddersfield Audi for 6 years previous to this job it was noted to all S and RS owners to get the maximum out of the car only super unleaded should be used. I will read the handbook once I have it and see what it states in there.

Have a good Easter weekend and I look forward to updating you on my experience of the S1 with our tuning kit fitted.


Kind Regards,

Stuart Hill - Manager
TDI Tuning Ltd
Unit 2
Kestrel Court Block C
Kestrel Road
Trafford Park
Manchester
M17 1SF
United Kingdom

Edited by IJB1959 on Saturday 15th April 12:40

I'd have thought that most people would run a performance car on higher octane fuel. I've run my previous cars (And the S5) on V Power Nitro...

[silentbrown]

NickA555 said:

I'd have thought that most people would run a performance car on higher octane fuel. I've run my previous cars (And the S5) on V Power Nitro...

I'm pretty sure that the consensus with a stock supercharged S4 was that 98RON gave no measurable power improvement over 95. ECU wouldn't increase boost or advance ignition. Owners manuals make no mention of 98RON, in fact suggesting you can use 91 RON(!) with 'slight loss of power'.

If the car's mapped/chipped it's a different story as the map can adapt the timing based on knock sensor feedback.

[Darren-b]

Defo worth checking tyre pressures. Annoying we don't have pressure readings as this is a common feature now - Just Basic TPMS
I checked mine and they were 3 bar a corner! According to my door car they should be 2.6 at front and 2.3 at rear with small load. Much better! There is a reading on the sticker MAS or something. Pretty sure that is Mud and Snow values.

[dufflecoat]

Running 99RON over 95RON has increased MPG by approx 2MPG.

99RON is 5p more per litre at my local Tesco at the moment. 850 miles a month means it's £10.50 a month cheaper to run on 99.

[IJB1959]

Now having run the TDI tuning box over the Easter weekend, here's what I have found......

Everyone drives different, therefore I can only give you my personal opinion and findings regarding any fuel savings. Short of spending a fortune on fuel and racking up the miles for each setting, I have worked out a set route driving in the same manner and running on 99RON fuel on each setting.

Cost
Expensive at £649.00, but moderate driving on the default setting 4, I recon it should pay for itself in time. If you want a removable performance upgrade that does the job it is worth every penny. The S5 is a fast car, but can go a LOT faster and sound a LOT better for £649.00.

Fuel
The box will only run properly using 99RON fuel especially on any setting after 4. On setting 4 I worked out that I had saved roughly 10% in fuel, setting 5 is about 7%, setting 6 5% & 7 about the same as without. Push it hard in any of these though and your on a minus for sure.

Performance.
The box certainly makes a noticeable difference to acceleration on setting 4 (default 399bhp) with a enhanced exhaust note. Up the settings and there is a notable difference to sound and performance. Setting 6 is best IMHO with a 0-62 IRO 4.0 seconds (rough timing), with smooth and very strong acceleration and great sound with some pops and bangs included! Had a race on setting 6 with a 2017 RS3 (20mph rolling start) on an empty stretch of dual carriageway and he could not overtake, even fading back in the distance a little at about 100mph. Setting 7 is a bit too twitchy for my liking so best left on no 6. I have to say that you are getting near RS performance in mode 6, and it is an absolute blast believe me....you'll love it!!

Things to Note
Only use 99RON fuel as mentioned otherwise it will not run correctly.
When plugging in harness make sure plug labels face the same way (PM me for photos).
Engine diagram of RPM plug is not very clear, so PM me for better photo.

Conclusion
Wow....get one.

Insurance
Stays the same for me anyway,but best check first before you buy one.

I'm in no doubt that someone will pull this to pieces with all sorts of 'expert' opinion etc etc.........well I don't give a sh*t to be honest, just get one and find out for yourself to see what I'm talking about.

Just to add also, unplugged it after doing about 200 miles and checked the ECU with VCDS. Nothing, no trace at all, and no errors logged.

Edited by IJB1959 on Tuesday 18th April 17:03

[jabadwy]

Great review, i'll defn get some add on box when my car eventually arrives but might wait and see what boxes are available then.
For anyone that has a DTUK box for Golf R, it cannot be reprogrammed for S5 according to Adam @DTUK which is PITA.

[Polishdominator]

Thank you very much for update, defo I will get one

[gatdecor]

Nice review, making it very tempting indeed. Might pull the trigger next month

[TomScrut]

jabadwy said:

Great review, i'll defn get some add on box when my car eventually arrives but might wait and see what boxes are available then.
For anyone that has a DTUK box for Golf R, it cannot be reprogrammed for S5 according to Adam @DTUK which is PITA.

Single vs dual channel?