I have had my stage 2 tune for about a year now, so I thought I'd share my impressions of how it performs. First, a little background on the progression of mods I did over the past few years... My Q7 is the s-line version rated at 333hp from the factory. I only drove it for about 2 months in stock form. I did an APR stage 1 tune and shortly after that, I installed a different intake and exhaust. I drove it for about a year with this setup and really enjoyed the overall performance. There was a very noticeable difference in power especially higher in the rpm range. Low end power was improved as well, just not as noticeable as the power gains at higher revs. It was still lacking just a bit of low end grunt since it's so heavy (and because I was used to driving a twin turbo V8 Cayenne before getting the Q7). I decided to go ahead and do the stage 2 tune to get some more torque out of that little 3 liter V6! I installed a CTS Turbo 180mm crank pulley rather than putting a smaller pulley on the supercharger. I opted to do this for a few reasons. In theory, a lighter weight crank pulley will give you slightly more power just because you are reducing the rotating mass. Also, there is more belt contact area on a larger crank pulley vs doing the smaller supercharger pulley to help prevent belt slippage (not that I've ever heard of this being an issue with this engine). Lastly, the 180mm crank pulley will spin the supercharger a bit faster than the APR smaller supercharger pulley (11.1% faster vs 9.5% faster). This will allow the engine to reach peak boost faster and help at higher altitudes when I'm out in Colorado on vacations. The stage 2 tune gave very noticeable gains at lower rpms vs the stage 1 tune, but didn't feel like it pulled that much harder at the top end than the stage 1 tune did. You get an immediate surge of torque as soon as you touch the throttle, then the power starts to flatten out a bit as the rpms increase. I really like the immediate torque the stage 2 tune provides and there is plenty of power at any speed or rpm now. I do tow on occasion and there is no issue passing everyone going uphill pulling a big ass trailer! I always love the surprised looks on people's faces when they see a Q7 pulling a large trailer!
IMG_20190525_135742.jpg
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Jake@JHM
Bookmarks