Stage 2 3.0 Q5/SQ5 reliability?

[WA 2 FST]

Owners with 3.0 Stage 2 upgrades... if you wouldn't mind, please post your mileage on said upgrades, and if you've been able to stay away from drivetrain-related issues.

I'm seriously considering another SQ5, but unlike our '14 (wife's ride), I would drive this one and want a bump in power/performance. We have almost 30k miles on our stock SQ5 and no issues whatsoever... great vehicle!

TIA

[SQive]

I had mine done right after the 5K mile service and I'm about to pass 18K. No problems or issues with the tune. Mine dyno'd at 454 HP, so I've been quite happy with it. I bought the extended warranty on my '14 SQ, so I made sure to avoid it this time. No regrets so far, and lovin' every minute of it!

[LINDW4LL]

I know you asked about Q/SQ specifically, but of all the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of tuned (stage 1 & 2) 3.0Ts across AZ, there haven't been any common engine issues that have arisen. This power plant really is extremely reliable, and I've not heard of any ZF8 issues either.

[JayCar]

I've had my stage 2 for about 20K miles and love it. Zero issues.

[sszyma]

The biggest question is why would you not go to stage 2? Stage 2 is how the SQ5 should have been from the factory.

[turbojayc]

The biggest question is why would you not go to stage 2? Stage 2 is how the SQ5 should have been from the factory.

Agreed

[WA 2 FST]

I know you asked about Q/SQ specifically, but of all the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of tuned (stage 1 & 2) 3.0Ts across AZ, there haven't been any common engine issues that have arisen. This power plant really is extremely reliable, and I've not heard of any ZF8 issues either.

Thanks Hayden. Very true... much larger sample size than just Q/SQ platform.

[WA 2 FST]

The biggest question is why would you not go to stage 2? Stage 2 is how the SQ5 should have been from the factory.

Oh, how I could say that about every vehicle I've owned and modded the past 25 years. :) I have to admit I am surprised at how conservative Audi seems to be with the stock tuning, especially the fact that over a given rpm/load boost bleed is a big issue.

Thanks for the responses guys. Sounds like a no-brainer.

[tmoe]

I went APR stage 1 May 2013 when APR released, at 913 miles, I'm a little over 20,000 now (mostly short trips around town), as soon as stage 2 came out it went on! and I've been smiling ever since. The good news; there may be more power coming sometime soon. Just go over to the S4 forum and you'll see the majority of Audi 3.0 engines are very durable but there's always the one that needs work.

[ThunderDent]

It's not 3.0 Stage 2 related, but my APR stage 3 K04 I did on my 2.0 Q5 I put on at around 20K, and the motor blew at 67K.
It drove hard and fast and it was fun, but after it blew and warranty was void, and I took a $12K bath on the residual value, I won't be tuning any more cars.

It happens. So it's the dice you roll.

Who knows if it was carbon build up related or not, or if it was indeed tune related.
It was $600 just to take the top off the engine and it threw over 8 pages of codes. The engine was bucking like a bronco. Not worth it to even find out.

I did call APR to let them know just so they could track it. But there wasn't anything they did but say that sucks and I'm sorry.

Not against tunes, but just to put the bad side of potential issues out there for those making a decision.

Once you get the TD1, your drive train warranty is gone.
FWIW.

[doug97gxe]

It's not 3.0 Stage 2 related, but my APR stage 3 K04 I did on my 2.0 Q5 I put on at around 20K, and the motor blew at 67K.
It drove hard and fast and it was fun, but after it blew and warranty was void, and I took a $12K bath on the residual value, I won't be tuning any more cars.

It happens. So it's the dice you roll.

Who knows if it was carbon build up related or not, or if it was indeed tune related.
It was $600 just to take the top off the engine and it threw over 8 pages of codes. The engine was bucking like a bronco. Not worth it to even find out.

I did call APR to let them know just so they could track it. But there wasn't anything they did but say that sucks and I'm sorry.

Not against tunes, but just to put the bad side of potential issues out there for those making a decision.

Once you get the TD1, your drive train warranty is gone.
FWIW.

two totally different power plants not even relevant

[ThunderDent]

I agree completely, just putting out there that it's a risk anytime you do it.

Trust me, I'm itching to do it. Badly.

[SQive]

Trust me, I'm itching to do it. Badly.

You should take something for that.

[JonS4]

In the same boat as you, just coming off warranty on the Q5 3.0T and thinking of jumping in straight to Stage 2. But I do have some relevant experience. I tuned my 2011 S4 before the first oil change. Had to send them my ECU to get it done. I upgraded as fast as the updated tunes become available, first it was an updated version of Stage 1, then stage 2 and finally the V 2.0 for Stage 2. All better than the ones before it, smoother and most importantly fatter torque curves. That started over 5 years ago now albeit only 35K miles since. No issues whatsoever, it is an absolutely fabulous package and can't wait to get the Q5 tuned!

[doug97gxe]

I agree completely, just putting out there that it's a risk anytime you do it.

Trust me, I'm itching to do it. Badly.

I can't say u won't have problems but so far it's about 1 engine failure not attributed to the tune out of thousands of tuned cars.. Pretty good odds


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