New to me B9 - a few questions

[Jk79]

I recently bought a 2018 RS5 coupe. Traded in my heavily modded B8 S4 and wanted something I could enjoy stock (although I’m already looking out for Black Friday stage 1 deals lol). I’ve only driven the car about 400 miles but enjoying it so far.

I do my own maintenance. I’m right at 50k miles so was researching common issues and looking for DIY’s. Definitely much less out there compared to the B8 forums and the B9 S5 group isn’t too much better. But alas. Replaced the rotors and pads, added a new intake and did my first oil change. Even coming from a B8 S4 I was surprised how tight the engine compartment is packed. There isn’t even enough room to change the belts without, I’m guessing, going into service position.

I have a few issues/questions on a few things I couldn’t find answers to…

1. I have the speaker rattle coming from the rear drivers side when there is too much bass on a song. I’ve heard there was a tsb or recall at some point where they’re adding some additional padding or tightening the speaker brackets or something? Has anyone fixed this themselves? Any tips before I start messing with it?

2. The headlight washer on the drivers side seems to be leaking. Within the first few days of driving I got a low washer fluid message. Added a gallon of fluid and thought it was good to go. A few days later, message came up again. Added another gallon. Thought maybe it had a giant reservoir? Nope lol. A few days later the same message again. Now that I have been paying attention, there is definitely a small puddle on that corner on the ground after driving around. I’m guessing the hose connected to the sprayer is leaking but haven’t had time yet to pull off the wheel and pull back the fender liner to see if I can access the washer. I plan to turn off the stupid thing with vcds but still need to sort out the leak. Curious if anyone else has experienced this?

3. I noticed now that it’s cold out, when in D mode the exhaust only comes out of the drivers side muffler. Cold starts and just driving around or idling it’s clear only the one side has exhaust coming out. If I switch to S then suddenly both are open. It’s a little annoying. I guess this isn’t really an issue but people driving behind me and seeing I have dual exhaust with gases only coming from one side probably think I’m an up badger or something lol. Doesn’t appear to be an actual issue but curious if it is in fact normal?

4. Changing belts. Now that it’s cold I’m noticing a bit of belt squeal when I first start the car. Bought some belt conditioner in the hopes I can get rid of the noise on the first startup of the day until I change the belts. Guessing it’s the drive belt so was going to start there but again zero room in there to change it. Do I need to go into service position or has anyone been able to do it without pulling the front end apart?

5. Black Friday 034 stage 1? I only see 034 and APR tunes for this model. Definitely want to go with flash at home so 034 looks to be my choice?

Thanks in advance for any input!

[Jk79]

A few updates. Still looking for input if anyone is able to help.

Audi quoted me $360 to change the belts. SA said no need for service position. I would normally change belts myself but I just can’t imagine even fitting/routing with such a small gap to work with. Has anyone here replaced their belts? Any tips?

Picked up 034’s stage 1 ecu/tcu. Waiting to flash until next weekend in case I end up going the dealer service route for the belt. Planned to keep it stock when I bought the car. Made it a whole 6 weeks before buying a tune lol

[kmarei]

1. which rear speaker? side panels or rear shelf
sit on rear seat and try to figure out which one is rattling
the TSB was for the cover for the rear shelf sub which is the right side if facing back of car

2. i disabled my damn headlight washers cuz they spray all over the hood :)

3. normal behaviour. in dynamic the flap opens but there is no setting to keep them permenantly open (search forum for fuse that you can pull out to keep them open)

4. how clean is engine bay? if dirty, i would start by cleaning the engine bay, and see if that helps the squealing. keeo in mind used cars sit on dealer lots for awhile before selling, so maybe this could be dirt etc making the squealing.

5. 034 is very good, i also got the stage 2 tcu tune, much nicer, but not as smooth as stage 1 tcu. had a few unexpected jerks when in comfort and dynamic

[Jk79]

Thanks kmarei!
1. Yes rear shelf speaker on drivers side. I tried adding a little snip of a foam pad on each corner under the edge of the cover but it didn’t seem to help. The rattle goes away if I press on the cover so it definitely sounds like the exact issue listed on the tsb. If I can’t sort it out I guess I’ll see if the dealer will fix it.
2. Yeah I already disabled them. Hate the overspray all over the paint too. So dumb. Unfortunately it’s leaking on the drivers side behind the bumper and onto the splash shield and down to the ground.
3. Glad to hear. Don’t want to keep them open necessarily, just odd that in D mode exhaust only comes out of one side \o/ I guess I just assumed flaps closed meant not fully blocked just less open and quieter vs one side open and one closed.
4. Engine compartment is very clean but yeah it sat for probably 45 days on the lot before I bought it. I used some belt conditioner and it seems to have helped a bit. Still trying to decide if I should try to replace the belts anyway on my own or spend the money to have the dealership do it.
5. Yeah I’ve heard the stage 2 tcu is a little harsher or less refined? Sticking with stage 1 here I think but who knows a few months from now when the upgrade itch hits again lol

[JohnEnglish]

I have the 034 Stage 2 TCU tune and it’s very smooth. It’s just like OEM until you Floor the gas and then you get very firm shifts. You should note that 034 revised the tune due to customer feedback that it was a bit too firm for low speed every day driving. So perhaps the feed you’ve read were based on the initial tune and not the revision.

[Jk79]

Gotcha yeah maybe I was looking at pre update comments. Out of curiosity how was stage 1 tcu? Why did you go for the stage 2? Worth the extra cost?

[kmarei]

I have the 034 Stage 2 TCU tune and it’s very smooth. It’s just like OEM until you Floor the gas and then you get very firm shifts. You should note that 034 revised the tune due to customer feedback that it was a bit too firm for low speed every day driving. So perhaps the feed you’ve read were based on the initial tune and not the revision.

i was on R1.1.1
i checked again and that's the latest, i even relfashed it yesterday
its fine when i am driving fast, better than stage 1 and def better than stock
just gives a few jerks sometimes in stop and go traffic

Edit
Jerks when not driving fast
Fast=good
Slow=occasional jerky

[Dan99]

3. Mine does this as well. The single exhaust splits into 2 near the rear of the car, so whether smoke comes from one or both exhaust tips is just cosmetic. If the people behind you have an issue with it, just floor it and let them think about that instead of the exhaust smoke.

5. I had APR Stage 2 ECU and TCU on my B8.5 S4, and have 034 ECU and TCU Stage 2 on my 2019 RS5. I liked the APR tune on the S4 but went with 034 for the RS5 because APR loads up torque at the low end in the RS5 tune, yet does not provide a TCU tune to handle the additional torque and take advantage of the built-in safety protocols in the ZF. The 034 ECU tune does not load up on torque at lower engine speeds in the same way, so launches are less brutal, but the APR tune runs out of steam at higher rpms while the 034 tune keeps pulling to the extended redline.

One of the big differences in performance is the transmission. The dual clutch transmission in the B8/8.5 is very direct and response to throttle input is immediate. The ZF transmission in the RS5 is an automatic and it just does not provide the same experience. For this reason, I found the 034 TCU Stage 2 to be helpful. It does not make the transmission behave like the dual-clutch, but it helps close the gap. It also modifies the shift points to take advantage of the new power curve. In combination, these differences provide a lot more performance gain than I expected. The TCU Stage 2 tune makes the transmission shift faster and more firm under acceleration but behaves similar to stock for casual driving. APR does not have anything comparable.

Regarding the ECU tunes for the RS5, I would like to point out the some of the APR dyno figures on the RS5 tune are misleading. If you only compare peak horsepower on a 93 octane tune, APR list 498 and 034 lists 514, so it appears that 034 has a 16 hp advantage. However, the APR dyno was calibrated such that the stock engine produced 458 and the 034 dyno measured stock hp at 441, so the net gain for the APR tune is 40 hp (498 - 458 = 40) whereas the net gain for 034 is 73 hp (514 - 441 = 73). So, it appears that the APR 93 octane tune adds 40 hp while the corresponding 034 tune adds 73 hp, making the difference between the two ECU tunes 33 hp, not 16 hp.

Interestingly, the torque figures seem more in line with each other. APR lists stock torque at 469 ft lbs and 034 measured the stock torque at 467, so both have a similar baseline. The APR tune provides 556 ft lbs and the 034 has 537. As a result, APR adds 87 ft lbs while the 034 adds 70 ft lbs, giving APR a 17 ft lb advantage. The APR tune provides peak torque at about 2800 rpm and peak torque on the 034 tune occurs around 3500 rpm.

There is also a difference in the throttle map between the APR and 034 tunes. The 034 tune provides 50% power at 50% gas pedal; the APR tune gives you more throttle earlier. For example, the APR tune provides about 70% of the power at about 30% gas pedal. Some people like this difference and some say the gas pedal is too sensitive and feels more like an on-off switch. This difference falls more into personal preference, so it depends what you like. The throttle map does not provide more absolute power, it just determines how far you have to press the gas pedal to get the power level you want.

Finally, APR does not provide an option to add, remove or modify the tune at home. 034 does.

There are a number of threads that discuss the various tunes that are available. You can search the forum for more info. However, I recommend that you go to youtube and search 034motorsport. They publish content weekly and I found it very helpful.

[Jk79]

Awesome info, thanks Dan! I’d read a few threads on some of these topics and have been following the 034 page for a while.

I also came from a stage 2+ S4. I loved all the extra power and with all the mods I put together a great little racer but lost some of the refined sporty feel. Wife didn’t really like riding in my car with the tight suspension and jerky feel sometimes when I wasn’t pushing the car or the terrific pull the car had when jumping on it lol.

Trying to make sure I don’t end up with the same feel as my S4, even though I loved the car. Just looking to add some power but keep it nice and smooth/oem+

[Jk79]

Welp lol
1. Stealership said although there is a TSB, now that the car is out of warranty (by 400 miles) they can attempt the fix but would have to charge me the full time listed - 2.75 hours for a cost of almost $600. Gtfo. Going to have to fix it myself. Seems simple enough but frustrating.
2. Said they didn’t see any leaks from washer reservoir or lines so they just topped off the tank and called it a day.
4. They couldn’t reproduce the belt noise since the car was already warmed up enough and blamed the noise on the 034 intake. Said it may just be like turbo whistle or something.

So back to square one.

They did notice both front struts appear to be leaking slightly and quoted me a little over $4k to replace them. Off to a great start here lol

[kmarei]

Welp lol
1. Stealership said although there is a TSB, now that the car is out of warranty (by 400 miles) they can attempt the fix but would have to charge me the full time listed - 2.75 hours for a cost of almost $600. Gtfo. Going to have to fix it myself. Seems simple enough but frustrating.

They did notice both front struts appear to be leaking slightly and quoted me a little over $4k to replace them. Off to a great start here lol

2 things you can try for the noise
first try to drive around without the cover the drivers side rear speaker (the one over the subwoofer)
if the noise goes away, then that's your problem

the other thing you can do, is to remove the 4 torx screws that hold the sub to the rear parcel shelf
they don't surve a purpose since the sub is installed to the rear metal shelf
i did that once and put some foam strips between the sub and the rear parcel shelf

i believe those screws are meant to attach the sub to the parcel rear shelf, to prevent vibration
problem is that vibration now goes to the plastic speaker cover :)