2018 SQ5 Exhaust Outlets

[B_Boy]

Which is the right one for the SQ5? Audi's site shows both in exterior pictures section.



This is clearly a SQ5 (see wheels, only available on SQ5). The build visualizer shows this as well.


Not sure why the Q5 has the nice outlets


I would hate to get the SQ5 with the fake looking outlets.

[xpocky24]

This is starting to get annoying...

[PreciseD]

They are all fake lol... Exhaust is dumped under the car now....

[q5 dave]

This is starting to get annoying...

yes!

[Jimminez]

Wait, what!? The new Q5/SQ5 has fake exhaust tips?

[B_Boy]

Gosh ...I literally won't upgrade to either just because of this. I think...I'm going to go Q7.

[VroomVroom]

I've been in love with 'S' exhaust tips since I became an Audi fiend in 2006. They're the main reason (beyond cost, of course) I'm not interested in an aftermarket system, and peeking ahead at the B9 cosmetics (in general, but certainly the rear end) made it very easy for me to take the leap and buy my '16.

[phillyquattro]

These threads are becoming hilarious. I agree that the fake outlets on the Q5 look better than the fake ones on the SQ5...but I'll reserve final thought for when they release BO packages for both vehicles as perhaps that will change the appearance of both.

That Azores green looks so good. Put BO on that color and pair it with some bronze-ish wheels...uhhhhhh so sexy.

[Yoshimura]

Which is the right one for the SQ5? Audi's site shows both in exterior pictures section.

Middle pic is SQ5 and others are Q5.

Q5 "exhausts" are nicer!

[Yoshimura]

Gosh ...I literally won't upgrade to either just because of this. I think...I'm going to go Q7.

I don't plan to change mine but this would definitely be a show stopper.

[q5 dave]

Lmao, that little plastic bit will prevent you from buying it?

Let me know what you think when you see an SQ5 in person!

[itiongo]

I'm sure a few years from now, someone will make an aftermarket exhaust that goes into those fake tips.

[Mops@Nemesis]

That Azores green looks so good. Put BO on that color and pair it with some bronze-ish wheels...uhhhhhh so sexy.

Sooo good!

[Jimminez]

Is this just a nit picking situation of "I wouldn't bang a Victoria's Secret model who was naked in front of me because her second toe is larger than her bit toe?"

[audirings4]

You won't ever sway the mind of an Audi "enthusiast" but the new designs leave a lot to be desired. It's not just the fake exhaust outlets.
This forum would be talking some major smack if the direct competitor had added fake exhaust outlets to their new design but being this is an Audi it's automatically ok. Too funny. Brand loyalty can sometimes make you blind to the obvious manufacturer faux pas.

[SQive]

I know, right? They're making them cheaper. They've got much cheaper labor. They don't have to ship them overseas.
All of that adds up, yet how much of that cost reduction is passed along to the consumer?

[Yoshimura]

Is this just a nit picking situation of "I wouldn't bang a Victoria's Secret model who was naked in front of me because her second toe is larger than her bit toe?"

It is not like the exhaust is a little too large for my liking. The problem is that the exhaust is fake!!!

Personally, I will be very shy about this. Especially in cold weather when everybody behind me will see that the exhaust condensation does not come from the exhaust.

[Jimminez]

It is not like the exhaust is not a little too large for my liking. The exhaust is fake!!!!

Would you wear a fake Rolex? I will not.

No, there are no fancy exhaust tips. Still has a great exhaust sound. The current SQ5 has a fake exhaust sound already though crappy little tips that people replace anyway. Now if you want to change the way the exhaust sound, you're not paying the extra $300-600 for tips that you constantly have to clean.

My point is that it seams like people are making a mountain over a mole hill.

But if you chose to not buy what looks to be a great car because it has fake Rolex tips, that is your right. Your choices in this market with real tips is small as the new Benz GLC also has ports rather than real tips. I wouldn't be surprised if the next gen X3 does also.

[VroomVroom]

I know, right? They're making them cheaper. They've got much cheaper labor. They don't have to ship them overseas.
All of that adds up, yet how much of that cost reduction is passed along to the consumer?

Bada. Boom. Kind of a trip seeing Q5's with an MSRP of > $53k. I'm all for folks making money, but it'll be interesting to see how well they gauged the market.

Back to exhaust outlets. Interesting that we seem more divided than congress on this. :) I happen to like the looks associated with function. Exhaust tips, for me, offer a reminder that there is work being done here. For years, the 'S' tips have indicated something a wee bit special. Subtle, but special. I miss that and won't apologize for it. If you don't, rock on. It won't make me like you any less or hold back a 'thumbs-up' when I see you on the road.

[Jay007]

I saw both the new Q5 and SQ5 at our local dealer in person this past weekend. While both have some touches that are nicer than the outgoing gens, I have to say seeing the fake exhaust tips in person was completely disappointing.

Perhaps Audi is not going for a 'fake tip' look as much as they are going for a more environmentally friendly look? One thought that crossed my mind was are these electric or hybrid versions.... both were obviously not.

In any case, I'm not a fan.

[audirings4]

I noticed this recently. Seems to be a trend.

[Adplaya]

Yes! I've seen it on Lexus and Hyundai before as well.. Audi is following the wrong crowd..


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[phillyquattro]

Audi is following the right crowd actually...their customer base. We are like 0.0001% of that customer base, so uh...yea they don't really listen to us. My sales rep said that during the training event for the new Q5/SQ5 they were told that the exhaust tips were removed because customers complained about having to clean them in focus group studies. That lines up with a trend you're starting to notice across the industry. If that's true, we should all look forward to having solid plate wheels on the next gen in order to not worry about having to clean all that damn brake dust.

Seriously though, the fake exhaust tips really aren't that bad, especially with the black optics package shown in a lot of the Audi media photos. The interior black part looks like it can pop right out. If it can't, it could easily be cut out with a dremel. Run after market tips right up to, or through. The valence also looks like it's easily replaceable after crawling around under the car. Plenty of room for pipes to be run to the back and have tips.

[Mops@Nemesis]

^Right?! Ambers, LED interior, stance, rake, tips, carbon, aggressive wheels etc. Most could not care less, and are only meaningful to a very small group. I cannot imagine getting so butthurt over the tips, the entire car is spoiled on you.

And I keep reading how it was a cost cut, Audi went cheap etc. That's laughable. They certainly had good reason. We're the modding crowd... figure it out. Ok, I've gone 3 months without reacting. I'm done for a bit 😁

[Adplaya]

Lol no offense but sounds like sales talk... like you said with respect to that idea why not ceramic coat the car or add a phobic layer on top of the clear to prevent any type of cleaning at all, ever. I'm interested to see if AMG or M vehicles ever follow suit. In my opinion, highly doubt it.


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[Mops@Nemesis]

Lol no offense but sounds like sales talk... like you said with respect to that idea why not ceramic coat the car or add a phobic layer on top of the clear to prevent any type of cleaning at all, ever. I'm interested to see if AMG or M vehicles ever follow suit. In my opinion, highly doubt it.

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The Audi S division certainly does not have the same agenda as the AMG division, nor the M division. M and AMG are all about placing these designations on as many of their vehicles as possible too

Not going to take the time to search, but I feel like both Merc and Bav use plastic finishers and raw pipe for some applications. No different, other than Audi did not bore out the holes.

[Jimminez]

Ewww

[Adplaya]

The Audi S division certainly does not have the same agenda as the AMG division, nor the M division. M and AMG are all about placing these designations on as many of their vehicles as possible too

Not going to take the time to search, but I feel like both Merc and Bav use plastic finishers and raw pipe for some applications. No different, other than Audi did not bore out the holes.

See I can see M doing that but in my opinion living in a pretty populated area AMG is an extreme minority. Also yup merc definitely does bumper finishers with raw pipes flowing through but again that's a different level than turning the pipes down to the ground and passing black holes on the bumper as a faux exhaust. Saying it's a design feature isn't accurate. Sure the sound is there on the new SQ but the sound is also there for a plastic finisher on a base line merc as well, when you gun it.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not sour as I would be ecstatic to have that new virtual cockpit and a refresh on a decade old model, it's just an interesting deviation for a SPORT model


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[phillyquattro]

Lol no offense but sounds like sales talk... like you said with respect to that idea why not ceramic coat the car or add a phobic layer on top of the clear to prevent any type of cleaning at all, ever. I'm interested to see if AMG or M vehicles ever follow suit. In my opinion, highly doubt it.

If reality sounds like sales talk, guilty as charged. There isn't anything you could coat exhaust tips with that would prevent them from getting dirty. Ceramic coat them, phobic layer, sprinkle some fairy dust on there, none of it matters. You still gotta clean them. Those layers just make it easier to clean them. They do not prevent anything from getting dirty. I have my wheels on my S3 ceramic coated and my previous stock exhaust tips were also. If pain-in-the-ass were a scale of 1-10, having those items coated simply takes you down a few digits on that scale. It does not drop you to a 1 or 0 on said scale.

You're making the classic mistake of comparing Audi S models to AMG/M models. Not the same class of car. RS = AMG/M. This is why the Audi S always loses when brought against a M/AMG model in any US car review head-to-head. For years the poor S4 has had to fight the M3 and the AMG C(Insert appropriate gen number here) knowing full well it couldn't hope to match up to either of those cars because it's not even remotely in the same class. But because that's all that Audi offers in America, it gets dragged into a fight that it shouldn't ever be in and then gets pissed on because it couldn't hold it's own.

[Adplaya]

If reality sounds like sales talk, guilty as charged. There isn't anything you could coat exhaust tips with that would prevent them from getting dirty. Ceramic coat them, phobic layer, sprinkle some fairy dust on there, none of it matters. You still gotta clean them. Those layers just make it easier to clean them. They do not prevent anything from getting dirty. I have my wheels on my S3 ceramic coated and my previous stock exhaust tips were also. If pain-in-the-ass were a scale of 1-10, having those items coated simply takes you down a few digits on that scale. It does not drop you to a 1 or 0 on said scale.

You're making the classic mistake of comparing Audi S models to AMG/M models. Not the same class of car. RS = AMG/M. This is why the Audi S always loses when brought against a M/AMG model in any US car review head-to-head. For years the poor S4 has had to fight the M3 and the AMG C(Insert appropriate gen number here) knowing full well it couldn't hope to match up to either of those cars because it's not even remotely in the same class. But because that's all that Audi offers in America, it gets dragged into a fight that it shouldn't ever be in and then gets pissed on because it couldn't hold it's own.

Sorry meant coating on the paint vs the tips. I believe we're not too far away technology wise from having to just rinse cars off vs scrub.

And very insightful about the comparison. You're 10000% correct about me faulting Audi and comparing their S cars to M and AMG. I just can't help it!! I don't want Audi to degrade the one damn thing NA gets!


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[Mops@Nemesis]

That's pretty gross Martin. $120K AMG E, and you get holes bored through plastic, and raw pipes. I'm gonna rattle can some note cards black, and place over your valence openings, rendering that beast junk 😛

[Jimminez]

I ordered some tips when I bought the car and am waiting for them to arrive. Very excited.

[Mops@Nemesis]

I don't think they'll fit :/

Are your finishers SS?

[Jimminez]

Trim around is black chrome and then the inside separators are SS.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Nice! I've not spent any time around Mercs since a '99 S600 I used to drive a lot. Excited to check out your 63.

[Jimminez]

Considering bringing the 4Runner

[Jimminez]

That would be a pisser huh? ;)

[Mops@Nemesis]

I enjoy me some Yoter trucks, so nah. I was just telling Stacey I need to buy a gen4 an hour ago.

[Wilbur]

^Right?! Ambers, LED interior, stance, rake, tips, carbon, aggressive wheels etc. Most could not care less, and are only meaningful to a very small group. I cannot imagine getting so butthurt over the tips, the entire car is spoiled on you.

And I keep reading how it was a cost cut, Audi went cheap etc. That's laughable. They certainly had good reason. We're the modding crowd... figure it out. Ok, I've gone 3 months without reacting. I'm done for a bit 😁

Agreed. This is a MOD forum so what could be a better mod than making your own cool exhaust outlets? 99% of these things will be driven by housewives and 99.99% of the population won't notice that the outlets are solid. This is quite a funny thread IMO.

[buggravy]

Finally saw and sat in one today. The fake outlets weren't as bad as I thought. I mean you can't get around the fact that it's lame, but it's not as big of a distraction in person as I thought it might be. Probably even less so once they get the b/o treatment. The exhaust sound in dynamic is pretty kick ass for stock exhaust. Lots more gurgle than the previous model, and good crackles and pops even at low rpms off the gas (I didn't drive it, but sales dude said feel free to rev it a bit). Really a much more aggressive sound. I was a little disappointed with the interior, as I really liked it in pics, but it does come off a little cheaper in person.