Thought it would be a good idea to write a review on various modifications I have done to my 2016 Audi S5 3.0 supercharged Stronic. The same mods apply to the S4 and the engine mods apply to any audi model with the same engine.
I bought the car completely stock and now done a few things so you can tell if it is worth doing to yours. Starting at the first mod to the last.
1. Front strut bar (strutco on ebay @ £125)
This first mod was the easiest, all you need is a flat head screwdriver to push up the 2 plastic pins holding the tray up over the brake fluid reservoir then use a socket set to take off the nuts on the black strut bar that comes standard, lay the new one on top and tighten the nuts back down. Shouldn't take more than 30 mins to fit.
Effect - this mod makes the steering feel slightly elastic when cornering hard, as if the wheel wants to straighten up out of the bend. Thus adds a slight amount of steering feel. Noticable but very minor. A reasonably cheap mod (can't believe I'm saying £125 is cheap!) so I would say it is worth it.
2. Rear sway bar (034 motorsport from ml performance @ approx £350)
Quite a challenge to fit unless you have access to a ramp, you will have to remove the back portion of the exhaust to get to it. I attempted myself and ended up taking to a garage to fit. Can take an hour to fit.
Effect - quite mediocre for the price to be honest. The car feels a bit more level when cornering, doesn't increase grip past what your tyres could handle anyway but does add a slight amount of stiffness in overall driving. Also doesn't add any more steering feel, I was quite disappointed with this mod after other people have raved about it. At the price of over £350 I can't recommend this.
3. Cold air intake (revo @ approx £350)
Reasonably easy to fit as the intake is specifically designed for the car B8 or B8.5. Should only take up to an hour to fit.
Effect - dramatic and a must buy in my opinion even over the other mods. Increases induction roar and also supercharger whine on WOT which sounds amazing. No louder than stock when cruising. I have tryed just the intake pipe which doesn't increase whine as well as drilling into the stock airbox which does but only slightly. Quite expensive at £350 so if your not bothered about supercharger whine then probably not worth it to you, anyone else it's a must buy.
stage 1 remap (APR map from prodigy motorsport @ £700)
In the UK I went with the 95 RON map as the only place that sells petrol that meets the standard for a more powerful remap (98 RON) is shell v power which is way overpriced to run all the time. My advice is if you have a B8 go directly to stage 2 as it will only cost £300 to £500 more and be a massive improvement over stage 1 for the cost.
Effect - a lot more power on WOT in all gears. The whole rev range gets more torque but at 4k rpm onwards is where you will feel the most improvement. The power change is decent but doesn't turn the car into a rocket. without an Stronic remap you will get around 400BHP. It's a must have mod but if it priced higher than £700 it wouldn't be worth it. You won't be blown away but is a big improvement if that makes sense. £700 (£1400 if including TCU remap which is needed) is very expensive, I honestly can't say that it is worth this sort of money even though it is great having quite a bit more power.
Stage 1 TCU remap (APR map from prodigy motorsport @ £700)
The Stronic remap is a must if going stage 1, not because it is so good but because the gearbox softwares torque limit needs raising so the gearbox can handle more power.
Effect - this remap is 1 step forward then 1 step back. This map will increase redline to 7k rpm allowing faster accelaration. The B8 platform had a 7k limit already but this was dropped to 6k in the face-lift B8.5 for some reason... Anyway, the gear changes are slightly quicker if the gearbox knows what you want to do. For example if flooring it to redline in 2nd the gearbox thinks you want 3rd next so it changes quicker. In manual mode it is no quicker and when the gearbox has to think of what to do it is no quicker. The biggest drawback for me is in drive the gearbox wants to go into the highest possible gear it can at all times meaning you can be doing 40mph uphill and the gearbox can choose 7th, this is even worse than the stock gearbox software. APR claim 440bhp but this is only a number and you will not feel the difference in power as it is only 40bhp higher due to the higher redline. Same as above I can barely recommend due to the price!
EBC yellow stuff front brake pads (euro car parts @ £130)
These are around double the cost of OEM grade pads. EBC do different colours for different types. On paper these are the most universal as they are designed for road use and performance use.
Effect - after 500 miles bedding these in they do increase very harsh braking clamping force but not much more than OEM, I find them unpredictable as they are all or nothing and make slow stops trickier. The OEM grade I had before stopped when really pushing nearly as good as these and also had good pedal feel braking at any speed, the EBC ones do not. To say these are double the price of OEM grade they are not worth it at all.
Transmission mount insert (ebay @ £16)
This mod on paper is supposed to tighten up any play/movement in the gearbox, especially under high torque and acceleration making shifts smoother and less clunky. Just 2 bolts off and 2 bolts in, it is that easy. You will need to Jack up the car on axle stands to get at it. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes in total.
Effect - nothing, genuinely I have found no change. Drove softly and hard, at low speeds at fast speeds. In sport and even manual and I honestly can't see any difference. All I can think is if you have a high mileage example the OEM mount will have play and wobble due to wear and tear which is when it may benefit, I would only do this mod if you have a sloppy gearbox and a first "diagnosis" mod to see if it helps seeing as though it's only £16.
What mods have you done? Did it make a difference? Worth the cost? Comment below
I bought the car completely stock and now done a few things so you can tell if it is worth doing to yours. Starting at the first mod to the last.
1. Front strut bar (strutco on ebay @ £125)
This first mod was the easiest, all you need is a flat head screwdriver to push up the 2 plastic pins holding the tray up over the brake fluid reservoir then use a socket set to take off the nuts on the black strut bar that comes standard, lay the new one on top and tighten the nuts back down. Shouldn't take more than 30 mins to fit.
Effect - this mod makes the steering feel slightly elastic when cornering hard, as if the wheel wants to straighten up out of the bend. Thus adds a slight amount of steering feel. Noticable but very minor. A reasonably cheap mod (can't believe I'm saying £125 is cheap!) so I would say it is worth it.
2. Rear sway bar (034 motorsport from ml performance @ approx £350)
Quite a challenge to fit unless you have access to a ramp, you will have to remove the back portion of the exhaust to get to it. I attempted myself and ended up taking to a garage to fit. Can take an hour to fit.
Effect - quite mediocre for the price to be honest. The car feels a bit more level when cornering, doesn't increase grip past what your tyres could handle anyway but does add a slight amount of stiffness in overall driving. Also doesn't add any more steering feel, I was quite disappointed with this mod after other people have raved about it. At the price of over £350 I can't recommend this.
3. Cold air intake (revo @ approx £350)
Reasonably easy to fit as the intake is specifically designed for the car B8 or B8.5. Should only take up to an hour to fit.
Effect - dramatic and a must buy in my opinion even over the other mods. Increases induction roar and also supercharger whine on WOT which sounds amazing. No louder than stock when cruising. I have tryed just the intake pipe which doesn't increase whine as well as drilling into the stock airbox which does but only slightly. Quite expensive at £350 so if your not bothered about supercharger whine then probably not worth it to you, anyone else it's a must buy.
stage 1 remap (APR map from prodigy motorsport @ £700)
In the UK I went with the 95 RON map as the only place that sells petrol that meets the standard for a more powerful remap (98 RON) is shell v power which is way overpriced to run all the time. My advice is if you have a B8 go directly to stage 2 as it will only cost £300 to £500 more and be a massive improvement over stage 1 for the cost.
Effect - a lot more power on WOT in all gears. The whole rev range gets more torque but at 4k rpm onwards is where you will feel the most improvement. The power change is decent but doesn't turn the car into a rocket. without an Stronic remap you will get around 400BHP. It's a must have mod but if it priced higher than £700 it wouldn't be worth it. You won't be blown away but is a big improvement if that makes sense. £700 (£1400 if including TCU remap which is needed) is very expensive, I honestly can't say that it is worth this sort of money even though it is great having quite a bit more power.
Stage 1 TCU remap (APR map from prodigy motorsport @ £700)
The Stronic remap is a must if going stage 1, not because it is so good but because the gearbox softwares torque limit needs raising so the gearbox can handle more power.
Effect - this remap is 1 step forward then 1 step back. This map will increase redline to 7k rpm allowing faster accelaration. The B8 platform had a 7k limit already but this was dropped to 6k in the face-lift B8.5 for some reason... Anyway, the gear changes are slightly quicker if the gearbox knows what you want to do. For example if flooring it to redline in 2nd the gearbox thinks you want 3rd next so it changes quicker. In manual mode it is no quicker and when the gearbox has to think of what to do it is no quicker. The biggest drawback for me is in drive the gearbox wants to go into the highest possible gear it can at all times meaning you can be doing 40mph uphill and the gearbox can choose 7th, this is even worse than the stock gearbox software. APR claim 440bhp but this is only a number and you will not feel the difference in power as it is only 40bhp higher due to the higher redline. Same as above I can barely recommend due to the price!
EBC yellow stuff front brake pads (euro car parts @ £130)
These are around double the cost of OEM grade pads. EBC do different colours for different types. On paper these are the most universal as they are designed for road use and performance use.
Effect - after 500 miles bedding these in they do increase very harsh braking clamping force but not much more than OEM, I find them unpredictable as they are all or nothing and make slow stops trickier. The OEM grade I had before stopped when really pushing nearly as good as these and also had good pedal feel braking at any speed, the EBC ones do not. To say these are double the price of OEM grade they are not worth it at all.
Transmission mount insert (ebay @ £16)
This mod on paper is supposed to tighten up any play/movement in the gearbox, especially under high torque and acceleration making shifts smoother and less clunky. Just 2 bolts off and 2 bolts in, it is that easy. You will need to Jack up the car on axle stands to get at it. Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes in total.
Effect - nothing, genuinely I have found no change. Drove softly and hard, at low speeds at fast speeds. In sport and even manual and I honestly can't see any difference. All I can think is if you have a high mileage example the OEM mount will have play and wobble due to wear and tear which is when it may benefit, I would only do this mod if you have a sloppy gearbox and a first "diagnosis" mod to see if it helps seeing as though it's only £16.
What mods have you done? Did it make a difference? Worth the cost? Comment below
