03LSXeatr

Hey all! New to the forum and new to Audi in general. I've been looking into buying some bolt-ons for my C7 A6 and was hoping for some reviews from anyone who has modified their car. I'm trying to decide whether I want to stick with basic bolt-ons such as downpipe, intercooler and a tune or whether I should add the Darkside Developments turbo into the mix. I'm not really concerned about the money side of it, but the car is my daily driver so I'm primarily interested in keeping normal driving as stock as possible until you put your foot in it. Should I try and work with Darkside to get the tune done or should I go with Malone? I'm located on the East Coast of the US.

They suggested that if I wanted to go over 400bhp(which i wasn't particularly interested in) that I would also need an upgraded fuel pump. Are there any drivetrain concerns to making that kind of power? Notable clutch slip in the trans or anything like that? Any other noteworthy supporting mods that should be done? Like I said before, I'm pretty new to the platform but I believe that this is an 8 speed dual clutch trans.

Thanks in advance for the help! Sorry for being a newb!

Some previous cars that I've had are a 2003 Mustang Cobra that made 850whp and a 2009 Nissan GTR that made 950whp and I did all the work on the Mustang. I intend to do all the basic work on this car but may take it to a local performance shop that did the work on my GTR if I decide to upgrade the A6's turbo.

1stGOAT

Love my Malone Stg2 tune. Try just loading that before you start doing things that modify car in a way that will affect you ability to pass emissions. It provides a big upgrade in power and you can load it yourself which is a real plus. Been running mine for 2+ years now. Mostly the next level of power includes removing some of the exhaust bottlenecks including DPF, AdBlue, EGR and Intake Swirl Flap. Next level after that is go larger turbo. If you don't care about emissions or live in a state where it is not an issue this creates a beast of a motor. The cool difference about building a turbo diesel is the massive torque you get. This translates to having massive pulling power at very low rpms which means you have power available that is usable in an rpm range that is much more usable on a daily basis than a built forced induction gas engine, with the exception being those that also add nitrous to spool the turbo. My car pulls very nicely at just 1000 rpm! With this tune, it is faster than my 4.2 V8 gas A8 under 70.

03LSXeatr

Thanks for the info Goat! I just ordered a Stage 2 tune. I'll probably run with this option for a little while to satisfy the itch. Really looking forward to the extra passing power! This is my first diesel and I live in Maryland so I'm not 100% sure about the emissions requirements for it yet. Maybe I'll just wait until my first emissions inspection comes up and see how that goes. IIRC, when the notice comes in for the inspection, I just have to send it back stating that this is a diesel car and then after that I'm good to go. Better safe than sorry until I get the process figured out I suppose.

03LSXeatr

Follow-up question, does Malone's tuning device allow for data logging within the device or do you need a separate device for data logging. Darkside mentioned a second device but I don't see any such mention with Malone. I'd like to bounce a few revisions with Malone to make sure that the car is safe like I have with my previous cars but they have all had integrated data logging capability such as Ecutec, Cobb, and nGuage.

VAG-Com mentioned by Darkside: https://www.darksidedevelopments.co....stic-tool.html

1stGOAT

Ross-Tech.com for vagcom cable/software is what I use for logging. Malone device is not a diagnostic tool, just used for file transfer. Initially you download your stock tune and send to Malone. Then they send you the proper stage 2 file for your car and you just upload it to car.

natefank

I have an upgraded turbo on my A6 TDi currently. I went with a Bobby Signh Racing turbo. I currently have right around 400BHP on stock fuel pump. You can add a metering valve to the fuel pump and squeeze some more out of it. I daily drive my car 60 miles a day. If you do a turbo upgrade i would suggest a TCU tune, I had some minor slippage in reverse going up a hill so I got the TCU tune. I drive my car hard every day and havent had an issue. There are some supporting mods you need to do for the turbo upgrade. Need to install and intercooler, DPF delete, secondary cat delete, 2700bar fuel pressure sensor, 4bar sensor, and make a custom intake. the stock intake where it meets the turbo is really restrictive.

NurburgringTDI

can I ask where you sourced your turbo upgrade? I love Darkside but their fear is really spendy.
How is the drivability?
Thanks

NurburgringTDI

Gear is really spendy. Stupid phone

IlirianR

I am having trouble finding a delete kit for the 2015 A8 TDI. Can you lead me in the right direction??

1stGOAT

Not sure you can buy off he shelf but here is a possible custom source for dpf replacement
https://www.supersprint.com/ww-en/au...-hp-2010-.aspx
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co....nd-exhausts-1/