Audi AWX 130 tuning options - better get it running right first

Hi.

Got myself a 2002 A6 130 TDi with the AWX engine and 5 speed box as a new daily. Plan to get it chipped by Diesel Bob soonish to remove the flat spots and give it a bit more low down grunt and make it more driveable as its a bit sluggish up to 2k rpm.

Question is, what else can i do for reasonable cost to up the power/torque without knackering fuel consumption or the engine. Was thinking along the lines of EGR bypass or blank plate mods, de-screening the MAF, de-cat pipe, panel filter, bigger injectors etc. Don't really want to go down the route of new turbo's or fitting bigger intercoolers as too much work and expense and that will only happen if something breaks.

Any thoughts or recommendations of tried and tested mods that work and won't bugger the engine up?

Any help/comments/suggestions appreciated.

Dan.

 

Hi Dan,

Just seen this thread, after you asked a simular question in my polo thread. I'll try to help, but I'm no expert.

I'm still using 130 injectors although I think I'm nearly on the limit of what the can do. So you should be ok with these.

Most people fit the EGR replacement pipes, to prevent the inlets getting clogged. Although there are less restrictions in these pipe's, I've never seen a back to back, to see what difference they make to power. Only down side is they don't have the shut off flap. So when you switch the engine off, it rattle to a stop, almost like a stall, no to bad though.

I fitted a larger downpipe and decat on my standard setup, it made the engine rev more freely, and behave a little more like a petrol.

I shouldn't bother with a filter, I'm not sure the airbox setup on your car, but I wouldn't cut it up. As it make's the engine sound much louder, but not nice.
You might be able to use a airbox inlet off a v6 or 20vt one, could possibly be bigger.

You should be able to see 170-180bhp, with lots of torque. I believe this is about the limit for your turbo and intercooler.

You should be able to find plenty of info on the TDi club
http://www.tdiclub.com/

 

Cheers for the input

Diesel Bob offers three remaps, first one giving around 160-165bhp and maybe 8ish mpg more (economy chip), second gives 170-175bhp and maybe 4ish mpg more and the last gives up to 195bhp! and the same or slightly less mpg (power chip). I was thinking of going for the middle one, as increased mpg would be nice and more interested in all-round performance rather than just top end clout.

Next job on the list is to remove and clean the EGR - have seen an article where someone gutted it, and am waiting for a response from a Co. in Scotland on a replacement pipe. Also spoke to someone who'd fitted a decat pipe and said it made a good difference, but their car also had a full stainless system already fitted, and as mines in good condition don't want to go replacing the whole lot yet.

Been reading up on the MAF descreening and unsure about that one as there's mixed results and unless i can get hold of a spare MAF don't fancy ruining mine!

Not planning on going mad, just want to improve driveability and low down torque as its a bit naff below 2k rpm.

 

I think take the 195bhp one with a pinch of salt!
Generally no cost effective gains on anything apart from remaps, then turbos, then injectors.
The benefit of the A6 is the turbo, egr, inlet is easier to access than on a Golf.

Save your money, then maybe one day buy a turbo off a PD170 A4/A6 and fit that as its bolt on and good for 200ish bhp.

May be best saving pennies for the inevitable clutch, esp on the 5 speed.

 

I was surprised at the 195 too as not come across any that claim more than 175ish!

Think a good clean out and perhaps block off the EGR will suffice, together with a remap and leave it at that for the time being - already seems to run a little better after spraying a can full of EGR system cleaner through the inlet system and sticking a bottle of injection system cleaner in the tank. Like you say, at least if the turbo needs to be removed and cleaned its easy to get at

Save the pennies for a clutch for the A6 and the bits i need for the Mk1 One project is enough at the moment!

 

don't bother with the descreening the MAF

EGR yes do it, what I done was actually take off the inlet and clean that up at the same time. decat'ing will help slighty but not much. Exhuast in a good state will help
decent air flow track helps - is the passat, sorry A6 the version with air passing though the front lock carrier (front end) with the small intercooler - fitting a TT style grill on the other side of the wheel arch helps the intercooler pass the air though it

my 130 (2002 plate) is in the 160 mark with very little done to it - Sambos seen the RR print out!

turbo shouldn't be pushed too much over the 170 as it has a thinner shaft than the 150 turbo

 

Air flow comes from behind the front grille and is directed down through the filter, don't think there is much improvement to be made there. Have read elsewhere about putting vents into the wheel liner to help airflow through the intercooler, although needs to be screened to prevent the intercooler being damaged by bits thrown up by the wheel (sure its behind the bumper, lower passenger side). Going to have a look at that sometime and suss out where the airflow comes from and if i can do any 'drilling' to get more through

Is it best to just block-off the EGR or remove it completely and fit a bypass pipe? Seen some advertised, but none for my particular engine.

 

Dan i have some EGR Blanks if you want them pm me you address and i'll post them to you

De-cat definatley and bigger intercooler.

 

Fitted the blanking plates today, cheers Brooky Makes a wierd low pitched whining-type sound now, like a Police siren a long distance away Not quite sure where thats coming from, perhaps the air passing over the hole in the EGR valve thats now been blanked?

Removed the inlet manifold and pipework back to the intercooler together with the EGR valve and spent AGES cleaning it all up - what a crap job that was

Next job when i get chance is to remove the intercooler and clean that up together with the rest of the pipework. Looks like the bumper will have to come off to do that though [:^(]

I'm sure there's a boost leak in there somewhere which on the quick drive i had earlier seems to have improved slightly - been getting LOTS of black smoke under load at low revs, then the fluctuating power loss under load, where it accelerates, hesitates for half a second, accelerates again, hesitates for half a second and so on, presumably when the boost dies due to the leak, then builds again and then loses it again. Could also hear a loud hissing sound under load which i think gives the game away.....

Also plan on trying to get some sort of catch tank system in there to stop all the oil build up in the intake system once it all been cleaned.

We'll see how the drive to work goes tomorrow to see if theres been any improvement.

 

It's a nasty job all that fine soot - yuck...

bumper off the remove get to the cooler, should be 15-20min job to take the skin off

various places it can leak from with the boost , doesn't help all the pipe are designed to leak up until they get on boost- normally wearing away the tabs on the clip. get some cable ties holding the pipes / connectors togeather until you find the right one (might be easier with the bumper skin off !)

 

Cheers Chris - hoping to pop over to Sambo's this week sometime to use his home made boost leak detector . Much less smoke today and seemed a bit nippier too and also not quite as loud hissing sounds coming from the front end, although could still hear something. Noticed some of the ridges on the pipes to hold the clips in place looked a little worn - there's definately movement in some of the joins but i just don't know how much is acceptable. Hopefully the test will highlight any problems.

Looking for a suitable boost gauge to fit to keep an eye on things, although no idea where i'm going to fit it!

 

Bit of an update. Definately been running better since it was cleaned up and the blank plates fitted, with much less smoke under load. Still had what sounded like an air leak at the front, somewhere close to the intercooler area, so popped over to Sambo's at the weekend to have a look. Lots of fun removing the bumper without knowing how it was fitted on, but got there eventually. Soon became obvious what was wrong:





Bummer[:^(] As a temporary fix, got some chemical metal type putty stuff and filled the hole and put plenty round it to hold it in place, and refitted it for the time being. Think i'll need to find a new one, as not sure how long the repair will last and don't want to risk overboosting the turbo due to the leak.

Could fit an aftermarket intercooler as plenty of space at the front, but would need to re-pipe it all and not sure if i can be bothered with the hassle.

Checked the fault codes, which came up with the following:





Cleared those, and will re-check at the weekend when i see Sambo again. The AFM one might be due to having unplugged it and possibly run the engine last weekend, but had the engine coolant temp sensor one before, so think the sensor needs changing as the performance does tend to drop off a little one the cars been driven for a while.

Any idea where this sensor is/part no. etc?

 

i recommend de screening the maf.

also, get the inlet manifold off, laugh at how much crap is in there, then cry at the thought of having to clean it

 

Hmm, heard various thoughts/opinions on the MAF so not convinced yet as worried it'll get damaged and more money to fork out! I think its covered in oil, so will be cleaning it soon though. Have you done one, and what sort of results did you get?

Did the manifold last weekend together with the EGR valve and some pipework - took all afternoon and was probably one of the crappest, dirtiest, fiddliest jobs i've had to do on a car, apart from scraping underseal off the underside of my Jetta - nasty job

 

taking the screen off maf isn't going to make thaqt much difference
changing the air filter - easing that flow will help more

the stock intercooler is pretty good for 180Bhp I hear with wheel arch flap mod, which is on my list, if i keep the car!

 

yup, i took a flap out the arch liner when i had a pd130 a4. worked nicely too

as for the maf, it gained an extra 5-6 bhp of airflow on my 1.8t, gtech confirmed an increase in torque right upto the redline (an extra 5lbft on the downward slope in the torque plot for my 20vt again)

 

I bought an aluminium vent from B&Q on saturday to install in the arch liner, so will fit that when i get chance, although if i replace the intercooler with a bigger, front mount one, i suppose i won't have to bother!

I wasn't planning on modding this car much, or spending too much time or money on it, but its not quite working out like that at the moment!

I can see the turbo going next (knowing my luck with this car), so perhaps a bigger intercooler would go well with the 170 turbo it'd get replaced by

 

If you know someone at VW/Audi, might be worth looking at what they can do regarding the mapping? In the case of the Passat, it had reduced torque when fitted with the 5 speed box instead of the 6 speed, 20lbft or so, worth seeing if you can it upgraded.

 

as with any remap, its all about the torque plot.

get something with a big spike in the torque output and youre asking for problems

 

In relation to above code 17664 (engine coolant temp sensor) which seems to be a common problem, which sensor is it that needs changing and where is it? Is it located in the coolant flange, side of head, or elsewhere?

Been on the ECP website and found two sensors, one is a 'Engine Temp Sensor' at 14.39 and the other is a 'Temperature Transmittor, housing colour green' at 24.62.

Don't want to take it back to the specialist where it had the cambelt done to ask, as not had the bill yet (month and a half later) and hoping he's lost my address!!! And also don't want to go buying the wrong sensors!

Going to replace the air filter and clean the MAF before that gets replaced too.

Bloody car!!!