Audi A5 3.0 TDI - Sleeper Project
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Darren91
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DAB+ added today in form of a ‘Mr12Volt’ DAB module.
I usually go OE for retrofits but the MMI 2G era of DAB is only standard and doesn’t contain all the juicy stations like Radio X or Heart 80s
The A5 coupe has the DAB antenna prebuilt into the rear glass so utilised this instead of an aftermarket stick on antenna. Bought a second hand amplifier and changed it over located behind the C-pillar trim
Easy easy install, 15 mins max including running the fakra wire to the controller (will tidy the infotainment stack wiring some other time, recovering from the flu so not feeling as enthusiastic
).
Works 100% and behaves just like OE and integrates as if it were factory installed!
I usually go OE for retrofits but the MMI 2G era of DAB is only standard and doesn’t contain all the juicy stations like Radio X or Heart 80s
The A5 coupe has the DAB antenna prebuilt into the rear glass so utilised this instead of an aftermarket stick on antenna. Bought a second hand amplifier and changed it over located behind the C-pillar trim
Easy easy install, 15 mins max including running the fakra wire to the controller (will tidy the infotainment stack wiring some other time, recovering from the flu so not feeling as enthusiastic
).Works 100% and behaves just like OE and integrates as if it were factory installed!
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Darren91
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Long post - The ghost of Christmas past
3 days before I was due to drive to Germany I got the dreaded limp mode and low and behold it was P0087 - Fuel Rail Pressure too Low. My CP4 was about to blow up it seems! No time like the present to swap to the CP3 as planned.
What a journey I’ve had with this car since the last update. What was meant to be a “conversion kit” for the CP3 R90 pump was anything but … lesson learned not to trust well known companies and always always do further research.
Anyway - 5 months later after starting this conversion project we are now back on the road.
The first issue started when I received said “kit” from a well known diesel tuning company and we realised the pump didn’t fit into the pump bracket, ok no problem, I’ll get one second hand …. NOPE. I sourced one from a breaker in Lithuania along with OE metal fuel lines as we offered the originals up to the new pump and surprise surprise, they didn’t fit.
Got the bracket many weeks later and I had lost interest in the car in this time and let it sit for 2/3 months idle.
Roll on a bit of time - The new CP3 pump is deeper than the old CP4, so when we got the fuel pipes on there was a coolant hose going into the egr cooler (located in the V) which was now kinked by the diesel line … here we go again
The egr cooler now has to be removed - with a mixture of pipes from various v6 engines, an inline thermostat from a MK6 DSG gearbox, the egr cooler was removed. The swirl flap motors were removed to accommodate this (they were mapped out anyway). The egr cooler on the gen 2 v6 has one of its water entries coming directly off the block so in order to seal the system again it had to be plugged. In a rash but “if it works, it works way” so the corner edge was chopped off and a metal line inserted to allow the flow of coolant into the rest of the system.
While this was going on I was advised by my #1 mechanic () about replacing various seals and gaskets while down that length.
So while the engine was basically bare in the V now it got -
new oil filter housing gaskets,
new oil filter housing o-rings,
new PCV gasket and o-rings,
new thermostat,
new water pump,
6x heater plugs,
6x injector washers,
new pump drive belt,
new auxiliary drive belt,
inlet gaskets and probably a lot more I’ve missed.
Somewhere during this journey I also carried out a complete interior swap from cream/light grey to black. After months of scouring Facebook marketplace I found a complete interior in Monaghan so I went down one Saturday morning and collected it. Had it swapped out in 2 afternoons!
Carpet, 4x seats, headliner, a/b/c pillars, sunvisors, door cards, interior mirror, interior lights, armrest, foot rest, seatbelts, rear parcel shelf all came home with me. Had it completely done in 2 full days of graft, wasn’t too bad really, just required a lot of patience and noting what screws and clips went where and a bit of common sense. Frustratingly half the dashboard itself is still a light grey, but in hindsight compared to what it was, I can live with this.
Roll on getting the engine built up again, I had regained the interest I had lost and ended up buying a Airtec performance intercooler .. got it fitted and sits quite nicely in behind the bumper - black and no logo so adds to the discreet look I’m aiming for. Quite an upgrade from the standard one!
Still needs the tune adjusted for the larger pump although I have currently done 900 miles since the rebuild - when it’s done I should be seeing around 330bhp and 800nm torque. The stock turbo is now the limiting factor so I may go hybrid sometime next year but now it’s just nice to drive and plenty of power on tap. A hybrid with the CP3, intercooler and all the emission-delete stuff should see 420bhp and 860nm
I have also fitted some facelift stalks, got them cheap so on they went!
Have a few more bits and pieces coming so will continue to update the thread as and when these happen.
Big shoutout as always to @pobmk4 for his patience and knowledge, @Woodcutter for the GAT Engine Flush (https://gat-lb.com/product/engine-flush/) and Bosch NSR ABS sensor
Happy now I have a good reliable base to work on, no more fear of the CP4 exploding and taking out the entire fuel system. Once the tune is ready and applied, thats it ready for a Nürburgring trip in March 2024.
Forgot to add - I now have the standard exhaust back on the car and sold the Jetex - it sounded immense and so good under load but it was too droney and would drive you insane on a long journey. Thankfully the figures above with hybrid etc are with the standard rear section.
3 days before I was due to drive to Germany I got the dreaded limp mode and low and behold it was P0087 - Fuel Rail Pressure too Low. My CP4 was about to blow up it seems! No time like the present to swap to the CP3 as planned.
What a journey I’ve had with this car since the last update. What was meant to be a “conversion kit” for the CP3 R90 pump was anything but … lesson learned not to trust well known companies and always always do further research.
Anyway - 5 months later after starting this conversion project we are now back on the road.
The first issue started when I received said “kit” from a well known diesel tuning company and we realised the pump didn’t fit into the pump bracket, ok no problem, I’ll get one second hand …. NOPE. I sourced one from a breaker in Lithuania along with OE metal fuel lines as we offered the originals up to the new pump and surprise surprise, they didn’t fit.
Got the bracket many weeks later and I had lost interest in the car in this time and let it sit for 2/3 months idle.
Roll on a bit of time - The new CP3 pump is deeper than the old CP4, so when we got the fuel pipes on there was a coolant hose going into the egr cooler (located in the V) which was now kinked by the diesel line … here we go again
The egr cooler now has to be removed - with a mixture of pipes from various v6 engines, an inline thermostat from a MK6 DSG gearbox, the egr cooler was removed. The swirl flap motors were removed to accommodate this (they were mapped out anyway). The egr cooler on the gen 2 v6 has one of its water entries coming directly off the block so in order to seal the system again it had to be plugged. In a rash but “if it works, it works way” so the corner edge was chopped off and a metal line inserted to allow the flow of coolant into the rest of the system.While this was going on I was advised by my #1 mechanic (
) about replacing various seals and gaskets while down that length.So while the engine was basically bare in the V now it got -
new oil filter housing gaskets,
new oil filter housing o-rings,
new PCV gasket and o-rings,
new thermostat,
new water pump,
6x heater plugs,
6x injector washers,
new pump drive belt,
new auxiliary drive belt,
inlet gaskets and probably a lot more I’ve missed.
Somewhere during this journey I also carried out a complete interior swap from cream/light grey to black. After months of scouring Facebook marketplace I found a complete interior in Monaghan so I went down one Saturday morning and collected it. Had it swapped out in 2 afternoons!
Carpet, 4x seats, headliner, a/b/c pillars, sunvisors, door cards, interior mirror, interior lights, armrest, foot rest, seatbelts, rear parcel shelf all came home with me. Had it completely done in 2 full days of graft, wasn’t too bad really, just required a lot of patience and noting what screws and clips went where and a bit of common sense. Frustratingly half the dashboard itself is still a light grey, but in hindsight compared to what it was, I can live with this.
Roll on getting the engine built up again, I had regained the interest I had lost and ended up buying a Airtec performance intercooler .. got it fitted and sits quite nicely in behind the bumper - black and no logo so adds to the discreet look I’m aiming for. Quite an upgrade from the standard one!
Still needs the tune adjusted for the larger pump although I have currently done 900 miles since the rebuild - when it’s done I should be seeing around 330bhp and 800nm torque. The stock turbo is now the limiting factor so I may go hybrid sometime next year but now it’s just nice to drive and plenty of power on tap. A hybrid with the CP3, intercooler and all the emission-delete stuff should see 420bhp and 860nm
I have also fitted some facelift stalks, got them cheap so on they went!
Have a few more bits and pieces coming so will continue to update the thread as and when these happen.
Big shoutout as always to @pobmk4 for his patience and knowledge, @Woodcutter for the GAT Engine Flush (https://gat-lb.com/product/engine-flush/) and Bosch NSR ABS sensor
Happy now I have a good reliable base to work on, no more fear of the CP4 exploding and taking out the entire fuel system. Once the tune is ready and applied, thats it ready for a Nürburgring trip in March 2024.
Forgot to add - I now have the standard exhaust back on the car and sold the Jetex - it sounded immense and so good under load but it was too droney and would drive you insane on a long journey. Thankfully the figures above with hybrid etc are with the standard rear section.
Last edited:
Darren91
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With the A5 being now 15 years old and the MMI 2G being even older, it was clunky and didn’t really offer any sort of external infotainment.
Ok it had Audi Music Interface which allowed usb and streaming but it wasn’t reliable with modern smartphones.
Mr12Volt offered a CarPlay box for MMI 2G and being pleased with their DAB unit I also had fitted, I decided to give it a go
So today I pulled the dash apart yet again and get stuck in. Mostly plug and play which was nice but with MMI 2G having its own control head and gateway it added more bypass looms which I had to squeeze into the back of the cd changer.
Couple of hours messing about with cable routing and result as expected. Happy now to have wireless CarPlay, usb input, mirroring, video playback, google maps, Spotify and everything else that comes with it.
Ok it had Audi Music Interface which allowed usb and streaming but it wasn’t reliable with modern smartphones.
Mr12Volt offered a CarPlay box for MMI 2G and being pleased with their DAB unit I also had fitted, I decided to give it a go
So today I pulled the dash apart yet again and get stuck in. Mostly plug and play which was nice but with MMI 2G having its own control head and gateway it added more bypass looms which I had to squeeze into the back of the cd changer.
Couple of hours messing about with cable routing and result as expected. Happy now to have wireless CarPlay, usb input, mirroring, video playback, google maps, Spotify and everything else that comes with it.
collyirwin11
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Dido…. The S4 system is 10 light years ahead of the mk4 golf I was previously running, but that’s a great touch!
Darren91
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Since the last update there hasn't been much changed or went wrong with the A5. It just seems to munch up the miles and with relative ease too.
Some minor changes:
I finally got to Germany after the hassle last year with the fuel pump on the verge of exploding. Nürburgring as planned, raining/snow/sleet/sun this time though, especially on the Sunday! The track was temporarily closed a few times. Got 2 laps in which I was more than happy with. More confident this time and that led to having a bit of fun with a M4, very heavy car though and you can feel that in the corners, but solid and planted all the same.
Bought some fancy photos from Racetracker too. The itch is definitely there now and already made my mind up to go next year, for the third year on the trot.
I also made the decision this year to take some extra time in Germany and visit the car factories/museums and make it into one epic road trip, and that it was! As near as makes no difference 2800 miles in just 8 days, and over that mileage managed an average of 46.3mpg and considering the majority of that was done at 100+ mph on the autobahns and some minor city stop/start driving and lugging around 1.7t I don't think that was too bad!
My journey was
Ballymoney - Cairnryan - St Albans - Folkestone Eurotunnel - Dusseldorf - Nürburgring - Dusseldorf - Stuttgart (Porsche & Mercedes) - Munich (BMW) - Ingolstadt (Audi Forum & factory tour) - Dusseldorf - Calais Eurotunnel - Stafford - Cairnryan - Ballymoney
Home on Sunday, cleaned Monday!
Wouldn't hesitate doing something like that again in this car, it just demolishes the miles with ease and is a great tourer.
Have a couple of things to do though, needs a replacement passenger door lock as this failed when away (doesn't open from the outside) and an engine mount has gone soft as there is a bit of a mild vibration at idle
Some minor changes:
- Had the tune tweaked to run properly with the CP3 pump by Avon Tuning. Comparisons were taken from the vehicle which originally ran this pump (a very early VW Phaeton of all cars!) against my own CP4 equipped vehicle. File tweaked, all the deletes done, alot of to'ing & fro'ing, loads of road data logs and testing and in the end up, power upped to an estimated 330bhp and 800nm as expected. Limiting factor now is the stock turbo, I plan to go for some sort of hybrid this year.
- Tyres changed to 245/40/18 Michelin CrossClimate2
- Had some squeaky/knocky rear shocks so new shocks all round, Bilstein B4 (OE equivalent), Eibach Pro-Kit springs, front and rear top mounts and front drop links. Had to change 2 rear suspension arms due to seized adjustment, so those were replaced and off it went to Ivan Kerr Tyres @RubberLover for an alignment afterwards.
- New starter motor - resistance was building up in the original one when the engine was warm which caused slow starting. Thanks to @pobmk4 for this (and everything else ) for spending what felt like 10hours getting that replaced. Not something you do everyday!
I finally got to Germany after the hassle last year with the fuel pump on the verge of exploding. Nürburgring as planned, raining/snow/sleet/sun this time though, especially on the Sunday! The track was temporarily closed a few times. Got 2 laps in which I was more than happy with. More confident this time and that led to having a bit of fun with a M4, very heavy car though and you can feel that in the corners, but solid and planted all the same.
Bought some fancy photos from Racetracker too. The itch is definitely there now and already made my mind up to go next year, for the third year on the trot.
I also made the decision this year to take some extra time in Germany and visit the car factories/museums and make it into one epic road trip, and that it was! As near as makes no difference 2800 miles in just 8 days, and over that mileage managed an average of 46.3mpg and considering the majority of that was done at 100+ mph on the autobahns and some minor city stop/start driving and lugging around 1.7t I don't think that was too bad!
My journey was
Ballymoney - Cairnryan - St Albans - Folkestone Eurotunnel - Dusseldorf - Nürburgring - Dusseldorf - Stuttgart (Porsche & Mercedes) - Munich (BMW) - Ingolstadt (Audi Forum & factory tour) - Dusseldorf - Calais Eurotunnel - Stafford - Cairnryan - Ballymoney
Home on Sunday, cleaned Monday!
Wouldn't hesitate doing something like that again in this car, it just demolishes the miles with ease and is a great tourer.
Have a couple of things to do though, needs a replacement passenger door lock as this failed when away (doesn't open from the outside) and an engine mount has gone soft as there is a bit of a mild vibration at idle
How do you find the Mr12Volt now you have a in a few months? Thinking of getting one for my '09 A6. Signed up to their emails in the hope there would be a sale on at some point or a wee discount code to be had but no joy on that front so far!