2016 CAED - Timing Chain Surprise

**RockJGC** · 03-08-2025 01:07 PM

I decided to pull off the cam bridge on my engine to see if the screen was blown out. The car is a 2016 CAED with just under 25,000 miles. Yeah, very low miles for sure. It's obviously not my daily driver and normally only gets driven on weekends when the weather is nice.

Anyway, to my surprise I found that my car has the new style chain and it appears guides too (it looks like the longer uppermost guide, so the assumption is that it has the updated guides). I'd assume it must have the new style tensioner too, right? The cam bridge is the old style with the exhaust cam collar that only goes around 180 degrees. And at almost 25,000 miles, the screen was completely intact, but I pulled it out anyway because I know it can cause big issues when it breaks.

Does anyone know when they started putting the updated chain and tensioner in our cars?

I also know that my car had the old style rear main seal. I already changed that out for the new style when I pulled the transmission to do a clutch after the OE dual mass flywheel broke on me. I think the car had about 12,000 miles on it at the time, but it was already out of warranty due to time.

**RockJGC** · 03-08-2025 01:11 PM

See pics

**old guy** · 03-08-2025 03:06 PM

My 2013 CAEB has the new tensioner. I believe it was the first full year to receive the updated version. I may wrong, but I believe the updated chain didn't appear until 2016.

**Smac770** · 03-08-2025 04:34 PM

The extended guides were added MY14 for the updated output tune. They are for CAED/CPMB, not officially for CAEB/CPMA.
Change from the 06H to the 06K tensioner was early MY12, iirc. Can't say for sure on the chain. But MY16 should certainly have the new design.
The cam bridge change was near/after the end of production, in CY16 or so (B8 A5 and Q5 went to MY17 for NAR), with the release of the rev K.
The RMS change was also another after end of production modification.

**RockJGC** · 03-10-2025 11:42 AM

So then the question is this: Knowing that I have the upgraded tensioner, guides, and chain from the factory, how much do I need to worry about chain stretch in the future? Do these upgraded components still fail or are they pretty much not worth thinking about? I mean, within reason. The way I'm going, it's going to take another 50 years before this car hits 100,000 miles. ;)

**Theiceman** · 03-10-2025 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by RockJGC

So then the question is this: Knowing that I have the upgraded tensioner, guides, and chain from the factory, how much do I need to worry about chain stretch in the future? Do these upgraded components still fail or are they pretty much not worth thinking about? I mean, within reason. The way I'm going, it's going to take another 50 years before this car hits 100,000 miles. ;)

you will be fine, most people just monitor cam phase adaptation in VCDS. i changed mine at 8.6 or something . I wouldn't recommend going that far but id just keep an eye on it once a year or so.

**Smac770** · 03-10-2025 02:12 PM

You'll probably never need to do anything with the timing components, so long as you're not running excessively long oil change intervals (which you aren't if you're doing them annually as you should at your mileage rate). I'm approaching 150k miles on the new chain design, and I'm still not past -1° on the adaptation value (replace point is -5°).

**RockJGC** · 03-10-2025 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Smac770

You'll probably never need to do anything with the timing components, so long as you're not running excessively long oil change intervals (which you aren't if you're doing them annually as you should at your mileage rate). I'm approaching 150k miles on the new chain design, and I'm still not past -1° on the adaptation value (replace point is -5°).

Wow, that's pretty good. And yeah, I basically change my oil and filter once a year.

**quantum5** · 03-10-2025 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by Smac770

I'm approaching 150k miles on the new chain design, and I'm still not past -1° on the adaptation value (replace point is -5°).

Holy smokes. I thought I was doing pretty good at 100k miles at -2.8 with old chain/new tensioner style.

**Smac770** · 03-10-2025 08:12 PM

Well, it helps that I have a P0299 turbo, so it doesn't produce the torque it should under 3k rpm. Plus a lot of my mileage is steady cruising, not accel/decel.

**Theiceman** · 03-11-2025 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Smac770

Well, it helps that I have a P0299 turbo, so it doesn't produce the torque it should under 3k rpm. Plus a lot of my mileage is steady cruising, not accel/decel.

lol.. my engine is broke so it helps my engine last longer... only a German car owner would understand.