SMac770

MY24 should be the last year of the B9. MY25 A5/Q5 should be the B10 (A4 being PPE e-tron going forward). Not sure what the timeline for the S and RS models will turn out to be. With the PPE Q6 e-tron coming out this year too (the matching Macan version just recently introduced), I wonder if the B10 will be "late" in the year. Normally the SOP is May-July, but maybe it gets an Oct-Nov one this year.

stash64

I'm surprised I've not seen anything on these Audi updates in the car mags or on YouTube. I see lots of videos for new Mazda models... I'm watching one on the new CX-70 right now. I hope Audi keeps the Allroad in the line-up. It will be 2 or 3 years before I replace the Q5, but I would go with an Allroad (A4 or A6) if I was looking now.

stash64

Well darn it, I'm not done yet. I thought I could hear a slight metalic rattle when the car was idling and now I hear what I think is the same rattle when I close a door. Just hoping I don't have to pull off the bumper again. I doubt it is the grill but I did not re-install the foam piece that supports the wire routing and sits between the grill and the bumper beam. It could be the CTS charge pipe because it utilizes only a single attachment point to the frame whereas the OE plastic charge pipe attaches in 3 places. And I doubt it is the intercooler as it was solid after I modified the bracket attachment. I need to have one of my neighbor friends come by and open/close a door for me so that I can rule out parts by placing some pressure on them. My suspicion is this hose that goes from metal near the wheel well to rubber and back to metal near the intercooler. Not sure of it's purpose but I should have looked at it closer. It is very easy to move and could be vibrating against the intercooler or the bumper beam now. I did move it a little bit near the bumper beam after I mounted the intercooler.

SMac770

That's the A/C refrigerant line, same as the other line near the horn, with those very heavy duty crimped transitions between metal and rubber.

https://www.ilcats.ru/audi/?function...40&language=en
Curious, the diagram doesn't explain why one would have (32), which you appear to have, between the condenser and (6). But it shows you should have (32), as 1A4 (flex fuel) + 1VG (4-cyl) is one of the combos. When looking at (6), there's two different ones, one for KK1 (R134a) and one for KK3 (R1234yf).

stash64

Thanks... that's helpful. I never made out that the line was going to the condenser. Perhaps the different ends depend on the options package. Mine is a Premium Plus. Speaking of the condenser, that thing takes a beating. The fins are so fine and fragile that I am amazed my A/C still works well. Anything that gets thru the grill, just pancakes those fins. I would estimate about 50% or more of the surface is "pancaked". I purchased one of those fin repair tools but I did not even bother trying to straighten them out again. Instead, I just vacuumed up all the bugs and debris.

My neighbor wasn't around but I think I ruled out the grill, which would probably be the most difficult fix. I put a heavy foldable worktable up against the grill in a couple places and shut the door with no change to the rattle. It has a springboard sound to it. I will post back once I figure out the culprit. Here is a case where it might have been better to do just one mod at a time. My idea to take off the bumper cover just once for 3 mods may have backfired.

stash64

I think I solved the rattle and I think it was the A/C line that I suspected. It was a quick and easy fix too because I was able to get good access to it by just removing the left fog grill. I did not see any rub points where it ran past the intercooler to the A/C condenser but the metal tube that runs vertically near the wheel well liner was up against the plastic reinforcement structure of the liner. There was a rubber donut (about 1.5" long) on the metal tube that was sitting below the plastic reinforcement. I think the rubber piece is there to maintain separation between the line and the hard plastic. After sliding the rubber donut up on the line a couple inches, no more rattle when closing the doors.


(Just realized that the previous photo I posted shows this area even better)

Lastly, I forgot to mention that there was oil in the intercooler and the hose between the intercooler and the charge pipe. Not a lot, but I would guess about 4 to 5 ounces in total.

SMac770

Oil in the intake path from turbo to throttle valve is normal. It's from the fine oil separator (PCV), which dumps to the IM at idle but to the turbo inlet when boosted.

stash64

Yeah, I did know that and was not surprised to see the oil. I really wanted to add one (maybe two) oil catch cans to work with the stock PCV. I purchased most of the parts needed and tried to work out location and mounting of the oil catch cans, especially the location between the PCV and the turbo inlet, but was not happy with the results and set aside that idea for now. I even had the ECS adapters to connect up the PCV to the turbo inlet but ended up returning them. Finally, I never did figure out how to connect to the side of the PCV that dumps into the intake directly. I did replace the PCV just a couple months ago.
It's disappointing to me, that with the advent of direct injection, manufacturers think it is still OK to dump oil into any part of the intake system. I know that the Audi PCV does have some oil separation capability but I think they can do better. I suppose oil catch cans are not an option because they don't want to add another service/inspection point.

stash64

I went for the first long drive since installing the Airtec intercooler and CTS charge pipe. All worked fine and I did not hear anything obnoxious in terms of the intake airflow. In fact, I think it sounds a little better. It was a little bit of a deeper/throatier sound when accelerating which could be partly due to better airflow in the intercooler and partly due to less restriction in the charge pipe. I did also notice a very slight pulsing sound when off the accelerator and slowing down. I wonder if the pulsing is what is smoothed out by the muffler on the stock charge pipe. Anyway, I am happy I made these changes, along with the new grill. No noticeable difference in performance but maybe that will come with the warmer summertime temperatures and certainly with a stage 1 tune, if I go that route.

stash64

Update on CTS Charge Pipe:
Don't know why, but now I am getting an unusual intake noise that is somewhat obnoxious. It is hard to describe but very obvious and is something between a whine and a moan while accelerating and it is not pleasant from the inside of the car. I did not notice this sound the first couple times I drove the Q5 after changing out the intercooler and charge pipe, but it may be because I was taking it easy on the accelerator while trying to listen for intake noise. I do also have turbo muffler delete but I know that is not the main cause of the unpleasant sound because I made that swap several months before the intercooler and charge pipe swap.
I will give it a little more time but I am glad I hung on to the stock charge pipe with resonator. It may be going back in. I guess Audi engineers had good reason to design in the resonator on the charge pipe. I was planning on a single stage tune this Spring/Summer, so I may wait to see how that works out before swapping the stock charge pipe back in. I'm guessing a tune would result in even more noise but maybe not.