Anyway, I was always interested in the 3.0 TDIs. Previous to this, had a B7 A4 that was totaled in 2016, and a 2003 Allroad (needed TLC). So after buying my house in 2018, I found a good opportunity to purchase a low mile and reliable car. I debated between this and a Golf TDI, but went with the A6 because the aesthetics, comfort, extra room, and Audi. The car in question was a 2016 A6 TDI Prestige in Tornado Gray, with ~30500 miles on it. Car was loaded except for B&O, night vision, and massaging seats.
All I had were pics to go off and what I could discuss with the staff. They gave me the rundown on the car and were easy to work with. So I pulled the trigger…. And then waited. I had to wait ~2 more weeks to get the car after purchasing it, since I was on travel and the dealer had issues with shippers.
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Absolutely loved the car from the start. The mod bug was starting to itch, but before that, I needed to get through Maryland’s State Safety Inspection. This inspection is pretty thorough, and I wound up failing due to a small chip in the windshield that had been filled. I never noticed until it was pointed it out. Thankfully the dealer I just purchased from completed this free to me. All in the nick of time, as my temp tags were running out and I was about to depart on a 2+ week vacation overseas.
First thing was to have ceramic tint applied. 30% all around, and 50% on the windshield. Just having that extra coverage does wonders in summer! The car cools down so quickly compared to without! Plus looks good and offers a bit more security. If I put the rear shades up, you really cannot see what I have in the back at all.
Late summer 2018, I noticed the tires (Toyo Proxes 4X Plus) were starting to squirm under heavier rain and wet mornings on some turns. Then I got a flat in one of them taking someone home from a wedding, so screw it—time to upgrade!
Swapped the Toyos for Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires. They grip so much better. Enough so I lost about 2-3 mpg doing that alone! However, totally worth it for the drivability increase, especially since I normally drive spiritedly. Not super worried about having a dedicated winter tire, since Maryland winters vary considerably, and I have the option to telework in bad weather. Winter 2019 got cold (~0 F at the coldest), but not much in the way of snow. 2020 wasn’t winter at all.
Winter 2019 came and went (along with destroy 2 wheels and tires on one of Maryland’s terrible potholes). Front one actually cracked to the valve stem, and the rear one was no longer round. Got those replaced and was good a few days later. This pothole is not as bad as the one I actually hit.
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A bit before the pothole, I purchased a set of S8 calipers (F&R) from a member on here and was told they would all be direct bolt-on, including the rears. (Narrator: They weren’t)
I sat on the brakes for a while, about June last year, I found Brake Performance finally offered S6 front discs. Sign me up! I had Brake Performance on my B7 for a time, so I trusted them. So I bought a F&R set with ceramic pads. Also got stainless lines from USP Motorsports. My rears were shot so I was excited to upgrade to the 356 mm rears!
Finally time to install…
Nope! The S8 rear calipers do not fit. (The parking brake motor connector and brake line need to face the same direction; here they were opposite. Also, the S8 rear knuckle must be different, as they would not accommodate a 356mm disc anyway).
I had to scramble and got a set of OE sized coated discs from Advance Auto. Installed them with the original calipers and brake perf pads.
Fitted stainless lines all around.
S8 fronts were a direct fit, and easily installed. I did reuse the clips from the old pads (razor bladed them off and stuck on new). Bleeding was significantly easier than 18Zs!
Quite beefy under those 20” wheels!
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Was looking into DPF Deletes for a while with Rawtek, Buzzken, and Darkside Developments. Rawtek’s kit is not direct bolt-on for the A6, and according to them, required some cutting and welding. Buzzken’s does fit, but I was not a fan of the 409 stainless they use (same as typical car exhaust) for their price.
Darkside offered a relatively inexpensive DPF delete in 316 stainless that was direct fit. So I ordered that and the EGR Blockoff kit. I think I got in 2-3 days after purchasing. The delete pipe was almost too nice to use! But about as soon as it arrived, I sent off to Jet-Hot to be ceramic coated. 15 days later, it came out beautiful! I chose the “Graphite” color, and it is good to 2500 F (1370 C). I’ve yet to see the EGTs get past 1200 F or so (650 C), but this is potentially future proofing.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Time for install! I opted to have the DPF Delete, EGR Blockoff, and tune performed at RAI Motorsport in MD. I have been going to them for years and I trust them with my cars. RAI is also a Malone Dealer, so it was convenient to have one-stop shopping.
Install was not as smooth as I was hoping. Darkside included virtually no instructions, so I was going between them and RAI to make sure all is in the proper place. For example, the EGR Blockoff goes inline with the EGR pipe/tube, and is not two separate blockoff plates.
The DPF delete… oh the delete pipe. The Stock DPF was easily removed. Here’s a comparison between the stock DPF and the delete pipe:
Immediately noticed one of the exhaust gaskets did not match, so that had to be purchased.
Then after mounting to the turbo, the delete pipe didn’t quite line up to the rest of the exhaust. Similarly, if mounting the to exhaust first—didn’t line up with the turbo. Plus the delete pipe only has 4 bungs vs the 6 on the stock pipe.
After a few days of back and forth, we got it figured out. The stock exhaust clamps underneath had to be loosened to allow that pipe the flexibility to rotate slightly, which then allowed it to perfectly mate. We also got Darkside’s notes on the delete pipe page, where two (2) of the six (6) sensors had to be removed/deleted. Great, installed!
For the tune, Malone took a bit to get back for tuning. They were not initially responsive to sending them my car’s stock file initially. After I had initially contacted them back in Feb 2019, it appeared the process was changed, and after resubmitting via the updated process, a tune was turned around a few hours later. Done!
I opted for Stage 2 with Deletes (DPF, AdBlue, EGR). After 9 months of driving on it, here are my impressions of the deletes and tune:
Non-driving:
• The delete pipe is gorgeous and leaves so much more room in the engine bay!
• Temperatures are a lot cooler! Physically in the engine bay, it’s very noticeable. Ceramic coating doing its job. And on the EGT sensor, temperatures both rise and fall quickly, an indication the ceramic is doing its job, and the restriction is allowing the exhaust to cool itself down quickly.
o Lost an EGT sensor (I think it was the DPF Temp sensor), but thankfully have the other.
• Noise is hard to say. I think it is quieter on idle but maybe slightly noisier when I’m on the pedal. Definitely not something I notice when I have music on.
• If I come to a stop, I sometimes get a diesel smell coming through the vents. Not much, and not that bad. Otherwise, it’s a matter of being up or downwind. If you keep the DPF, this will not be an issue. I may go high-flow DPF in the future.
Driving:
• NO SMOKE!!
• Bit more soot on the tailpipes.
• That laggy and hesitative feeling the TDI would have at lower speeds is gone. No more waiting for any kind of spooling or anything. The car moves as soon as my foot is on the throttle. Does not feel like it takes an effort.
• Definitely moves through lower speeds easier than before. I get more output for less throttle input than I did before.
• Haven’t gone WOT to see if it’s faster, but on a slight passing maneuver, I went from 70 mph to 95 mph before I knew it.
• Not 100% sure but I seem to be able to boost slightly higher. I managed 26 psi, whereas before I hit 23 psi.
• Revving in park/neutral is faster to 2500 rpm, but is still capped there.
• Starting the car cold feels the same. Restarting (stop/start) it feels like it turns over quicker than before.
• Warming up (coolant temp) takes longer. Deleting the EGR means none of that warm exhaust going into the intake. Plus the DPF was a huge heatsink, so less mass to warm everything up. Not a big deal since I don’t idle to warm up, and driving only takes slightly longer. Combined with the heated seats and steering wheel, I really don’t notice much.
• Improved mileage! I have driven about ~7000 miles (give or take) over the last 9 months. Where my normal commute to work was ~30 mpg, I now am usually seeing 32+ mpg. My last trip down that way for a badging appointment netted me 37 mpg. I rarely use ACC on my way to work. My commute home used to be ~32 mpg, and now I’m seeing closer to 38 mpg, so dramatic increase there. I use ACC more here, but there’s more traffic than on my way in. My previous max was 41.x mpg babying the hell out of it, and the new max is 44.5 mpg with less babying.
NOTE: All the above mpg on the DIS. I do other driving not shown there, which pulls me way down. Gas station calculations usually put me just above 30 mpg total per tank.
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Since then, I haven’t done much. Did my 55k service, replaced both engine mounts because passenger was leaking. Replaced another tire because a bubble (Stupid Maryland potholes!)
Future plans: I plan to lay for a bit. I have some house projects to work on (did floors over the winter; got a few shelving/closet projects going on right now; kitchen remodel isn’t too far in the future).
I may look into a TCU tune for the TDI—not sure if one exists, and if so, what can be done with the 8HP55. Otherwise, I will probably go for a Wagner Intercooler next. After that, debating on, a new rail sensor and CP4 update to increase rail pressure and flow, and get a remap. Shouldn’t take much to max out the current turbo. After that, probably new turbo and such. I’ll update this once I get some more.
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Originally Posted by bahiaeternal
Are you referring to the 034 ones? Surprisingly to me, with the S-Line Sport Package, the body roll isn't as bad as I would have expected. I'm sure cleaning up the drivetrain slop will help a bit. Thankfully this isn't my B7, which (being a Tip) would shake so much I had to put it in N at stops. 
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