A5 170 Performance

[adz1282]

We have just bought an A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TDI 170. I have to say it is a lovely car but seems quite sluggish compared to other cars. Things of course are relative, and we have always had quite high performance cars, but the performance of the 2.0 170 engine is a bit disappointing! All I can say it thank god we didn't get the Quattro 170, as that would be even slower.

In the experience of others, would you say getting it mapped makes a significant difference? Is it worth the extra money going for the DPF and EGR delete?

[JackDM]

From what I see, the 140BHP engines after a remap are much quicker and nippier than the 170BHP engines because of their smaller turbos. Your car will feel that wee bit sluggish because of the slightly larger turbo however, a remap on a 170 engine normally brings them up to the 210BHP mark in most cases. At that, you should notice a difference when you drive the car.
You could go down the route of installing a hybrid turbo, what happens here is a larger compressor wheel is fitted and it is re-profiled to allow more airflow, therefore allowing more BHP.
If you want your turbo to spool up quicker then make sure you ask the company to make it a ball bearing turbo - the difference between a ball bearing and thrust bearing is that the ball bearing turbo normally spools up about ~300rpm quicker than the thrust bearing type.

Hope some of this helps, you'll need to ask someone else about the DPF and EGR delete though.

[rowdy-999]

Can i ask why you didn't go for a larger engine'd variant?
A Quattro in real world is much quicker off the line and point to point than a FWD.

[Gazwould]

3.0 TDI is the supreme choice .

As above a 170 turbo is slower to spool than a 140 , for ultimate drivability remap a 140 to 180 .

Egr's also rob turbo spool .

Stage 1 remap , egr and dpf out for a more powerful , more mpg and drivable car .

[rowdy-999]

Blanking my EGR gave a noticeable increase in throttle response and SOTP power. It also stops my inlet manifolds filling full of rubbish, and keeps my oil cleaner for longer.

[Gazwould]

Indeed .

Less soot for the dpf to deal with as higher temperature oxygenated combustion is taking place thus less incomplete combustion fuel molecules .

But... the egr is a prerequisite of dpf regeneration as it helps regulate both the pressure and temperature .

So you might find the dpf blocks .

[JackDM]

I'm running on a hybrid turbo and kept the EGR connection, I was considering having it blanked - but would I be correct in saying that the EGR system improves my fuel economy?
This is the only reason I kept it in - how much more gain do you actually get from performing an EGR delete? and what do you lose in economy?

[rowdy-999]

Cooler air with it blanked, will give more power and economy.
They reduce emissions, nothing to do with economy.

[Gazwould]

Advantages of blocking EGR :

Turbo spools up quicker, and at lower revs .

Prevents carbon build-up inside intake manifold, and ports .

Smoother pick up from idle and better fuel economy .

Cleaner engine oil helping to give longer engine life .

Lowers soot output - less smoke on acceleration ( non dpf )


You don't technically have to blank the egr if the egr is working then written out of the ecu software as it then stays closed .

Blanks are primarily used where the egr is faulty and is stuck open .