Raul's Q5 3.0

[rault18]

Well..I think it's time to put a place holder to share my journey.

Last year in July I sold my Forester XTi (home made) and was wondering what to get next. After 5 months I stumble upon the Q5 and decided to pull the trigger. I wanted more power but didnt want to spend all that cash so I got a '13 3.0T. Got her in november, took a month vacation to asia and came back in january where I really got to know her.

As many of us, decided I was gonna keep her stock..And as for many of us, that worked for only 1 month or so.

1st mod: DRIVER MOD - I wanted to really understand the car and see what it was capable of. I wanted to know its limitations, cornering, handling, etc.
2nd mod: Pedals - Could not deal with the stock look and feel so I got a set. Look great and was a breeze to install (except the rest pedal)
3rd mod: VAGCOM - Did everything you can do with the carista app and the dongle. Love each and all of those mods.
4th Mod: BRAKES - It was time to replace pads and rotors. Went with z23 powerstop pads and ECS slotted/drilled rotors (for looks) Very happy with both
5th mod: Interior Lightning - Did not feel like spending 130 dollars for LEDs and orderer a set off ebay. Work like a charm and very satisfied with them.
6th mod: Operation "GO Away chrome" - Because I got her used, black optics wasnt something I could get and I really didnt feel like spending all that cash on them so I wrapped the rails, trim and decided to go for the grille too (dipped). Im very satisfied with the final product. This is temp until i get my honeycomb grille
Door pockets: Always wondered why Audi didnt put something in there



Upcoming (short term):
Suspension: I want to get some springs and drop her a bit. The huge gap kills me. GOT THE PARTS BUT NOT DONE YET
Caliper paint n S-line sticker: Got the paint, not gotta get the motivation to get it done. DONE
Spacers: 15/20 is what I think ill be getting. I want the wheels to sit flush
Wheel plastidip - Testing some Anthracite color. Looks pretty sick TBH DONE
Debadge: Getting rid of that "q5" and "3.0T" DONE
Tint: Going darker. MUCH darker DONE
In-motion dvd and other vagcom that can be done with the cable (Anyone in LA want to hook a brother up?)
Interior trim: Either replace or wrap DONE

Upcoming (Near future)
Exhaust: Maybe an AWE
Wheels: Going 20 or 22. Still debating on the style I want
Grille: Want to get the honeycomb style. However, want to make sure I can re-position my parking sensors before pulling the trigger.
Tune - Come one warranty...expire already!!!!

Upcoming (Long term)
Stage 2 pulley
Coilovers
Fender Flares
Flat bottom Steering wheel





Custom EXhaust

[q5 dave]

Congrats! Need photos

you enjoying it so far?

[rault18]

Mod 1: Driver Mod



Mod 2: Pedals

[rault18]

Mod 4: Brakes -

[rault18]

Mod 6: Go Away Chrome

BEFORE:



AFTER:

[rault18]

Congrats! Need photos

you enjoying it so far?

Yep yep! Getting some right now.

Thanks Dave. TBH your car is what inspired some of the mods I have in mind. I've been lurking your posts hehe.

Loving it. Comfy, elegant, fast and roomie. Only thing I don;t like that much is the MPGs. and wish the interface (MMI) UX was a bit more modern. However, feels really solid.

[rault18]

Anthracite dipped a few things (rear badge not in photo but done as well):





While at it, I also painted my calipers and placed S line stickers on them

[rault18]

She's been debadged

[rault18]

The wood trim was not doing it for me.....but didnt want to pay a stupid amount of money for a mod that does nothing other than visual..so I got it wrapped



- - - Updated - - -

Notice a difference on the rear bumper? deleted those stupid red lights....

[Chris@EPL]

LMK when you are ready for a tune. With our cable you are able to flash at home and switch back to stock as well and install updates as well.

[SatoChan]

LMK when you are ready for a tune. With our cable you are able to flash at home and switch back to stock as well and install updates as well.

Thanks!

[rault18]

Thanks to mops for the hookup on the springs install. Shop was friendly, professional and quick. Much props!



The good:
Love the new handling
Love the new look

The kinda bad but can live with:
It's a bit bouncier when going through highly uneven roads, but that barely happens
Random clunks once in a while
Lights are a bit lower but will be coding them to reset them over the weekend.

Overall very happy with the HnR looks and performance. the driving experience definitely compensates for those little kinda bad things.

[poncho@home]

Nice work!

Funny, I also went from a Forester XT to a '13 Q5 3.0T Sline!

[userbbc]

looks like nice work with the plastidip! do you have any whole car photos of the grille and trim in sunlight?

[Silverarrow240]

The wood trim was not doing it for me.....but didnt want to pay a stupid amount of money for a mod that does nothing other than visual..so I got it wrapped



- - - Updated - - -

Notice a difference on the rear bumper? deleted those stupid red lights....

Trim looks OEM! Nice!

I like the rear fogs... Did u black them out or Lamin-x them?

[rault18]

Nice work!

Funny, I also went from a Forester XT to a '13 Q5 3.0T Sline!

That's awesome! I think I wanted to retain the space, AWD and power. How are you liking it so far?

[rault18]

looks like nice work with the plastidip! do you have any whole car photos of the grille and trim in sunlight?

The trim is actually wrap. Including the rack. The dip is holding nice on the grill. The wheels...Took the car for service and forgot to mention to not deep clean them and voila some PD is gone.. Gonna re-do them most likely tonight :)

[rault18]

Trim looks OEM! Nice!

I like the rear fogs... Did u black them out or Lamin-x them?

Thank you sir. Yes that wrap looks (and feels) very OEM. Im very satisfied with it!

For the fogs no. I wanted to go full dark. No transparency whatsoever so it's obsidian Vinyl :)

[poncho@home]

That's awesome! I think I wanted to retain the space, AWD and power. How are you liking it so far?

Loving it! I had my FXT for 7 years, stage 1, 5 spd manual and really enjoyed it. The Q5 is a big step up in every aspect. Can't wait to start modding it as well.

[rault18]

Loving it! I had my FXT for 7 years, stage 1, 5 spd manual and really enjoyed it. The Q5 is a big step up in every aspect. Can't wait to start modding it as well.

Ditto! Mine was stage 3 but definitely a nice upgrade. My only problem is that parts are much more expensive! coming from a 350 used exhaust to a 1.5k one is quite the hike! lol

[rault18]

And another update... After toying with the idea of an exhaust...I pulled the trigger.

Thanks to Bomb39 for the constant assistance and allowing me to bug him via pms
Thanks to MagnaFlow for your advise
Thanks to Scottisha for being the test mule for this custom exhaust.








Stock Exhaust


Custom exhaust exhaust


Super happy with the outcome, sound and cost wise. Sitting at under 500 bucks makes both my ears and pocket happy

[AngryQ5]

That sound deep and throaty!!!
Good job!!!

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[q5 dave]

sounds good, looks good. nice work

[rault18]

That sound deep and throaty!!!
Good job!!!

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Thank you sir! Definitely loving it and pressing the gas quite often haha

- - - Updated - - -

sounds good, looks good. nice work

Thanks Dave!!

[Raverboy888]

Nice

[ThunderDent]

So is this the MagnaFlow 19238 Axel back system made for the SQ5?

You said it was custom system. What is the difference in yours?

The sound is outstanding. And I'm looking for a way to keep the valves. The MF system and the Milltek seem to both do that where the AWE does not.

[MagnaFlow]

Thanks to MagnaFlow for your advise

You're quite welcome! The new exhaust sounds great!

[bomb39]

Just seeing this!

Congrats! Wait til it breaks in! For the cost, its amazing, especially when you get on it.

[AUDuffer]

So is this the MagnaFlow 19238 Axel back system made for the SQ5?

You said it was custom system. What is the difference in yours?

The sound is outstanding. And I'm looking for a way to keep the valves. The MF system and the Milltek seem to both do that where the AWE does not.

It's not the system. It's the two offset mufflers, tips, and the dual muffler bought separate. I'm definitely doing this soon!

[waninae39]

i did the mod for the rear lid closing module. i can now open and close it wi the remote.
simple and easy to do

send a note to '[email protected]' he does not have a site yet. he can send you the how to and video.
less than $100 and only three wires

[rault18]

Thank you sir!

[rault18]

Thank you Thunder. I like it a lot!

I replaced:

Muffles
Mid section
Tips

- - - Updated - - -

OH snap!!! that's awesome!!! I'm gonna hit him up. Thanks man!

[zender]

Thank you Thunder. I like it a lot!

I replaced:

Muffles
Mid section
Tips

- - - Updated - - -

OH snap!!! that's awesome!!! I'm gonna hit him up. Thanks man!

Out of curiosity what model number are the tips??? I assume they are also Mangaflow??


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[freesole]

Great looking car Raul. Love the exhaust tone from that video. Are you seeing much drone so far?

I'm considering an exhaust too and was about to bite the bullet on the AWE system but would like to consider the setup you have. Can you list the parts / part numbers that you used for your swap?

[rault18]

Great looking car Raul. Love the exhaust tone from that video. Are you seeing much drone so far?

I'm considering an exhaust too and was about to bite the bullet on the AWE system but would like to consider the setup you have. Can you list the parts / part numbers that you used for your swap?

Hey there,

Drone is handlable. Low RPMS is where you feel it. Cant see much on S mode, which I drive most of the time. HOWEVER, the wife says its loud so I'm trying to swap with someone for a stock exhaust :(

Parts:

tips - 35158 (x2)
center X res - 14385/11385
rear mufflers - 11235 (x2)

[ThunderDent]

Oh no man. That sucks!

Hopefully someone will pick up your system from you. The sound is great in your video.
I ran full down pipe, etc on my 2.0T Q5 before and it had drone too. The new MFs I just installed aren't bad at idle, or when you're on it, but I hear drone when I'm in 8th gear the most at the lowest RPMs. That's ok, because I generally hate, and am never in that gear.

Here's how mine turned out. AFAIK, myself and Jose are the only ones running this exhaust.

[jpsjr]

Yes, I absolutely love the sound from MF. Minimal drone at low rpm which I bearly hear/feel. So far super happy with the results of the exhaust.

Jose

[buggravy]

Yes, I absolutely love the sound from MF. Minimal drone at low rpm which I bearly hear/feel. So far super happy with the results of the exhaust.

Jose

Good to hear. Mine is currently sitting in my garage, just awaiting arrival of wheels and tires so I can get it installed. Hopefully in the next week or so. I'm also powder coating the tips like you did.

[bomb39]

Hey there,

Drone is handlable. Low RPMS is where you feel it. Cant see much on S mode, which I drive most of the time. HOWEVER, the wife says its loud so I'm trying to swap with someone for a stock exhaust :(

Parts:

tips - 35158 (x2)
center X res - 14385/11385
rear mufflers - 11235 (x2)

Bummer!
You didn't save your parts?


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[rault18]

Good news. The wife got used to it and so far, the Q5 MF exhaust is staying :)

Have the parts at a friend's house but wanted to go the easier route and sell it as a whole :)