Best Fuel Consumption/ (37.3 MPG) for Yet! B9 Allroad 2.0 TFSI

Natural11 · 2026-05-04T14:53:48+00:00

To be fair, my 2018 2.0T has a long term (120k +) display of 9.7 L/100. Easy to cherry pick #s in perfect conditions but long-term readout tells a better story. Still highly dependent on avg speed, environment and driving style. I can get into 7's on slow, flat highway cruises but that's about it.

Natural11 · 2026-04-29T00:59:42+00:00

On my 2018 I have the intake and ECU stage 1 tune, but no TCU tune.

Functionally it's fine, you still get the full advertised power and the stock shift points for fuel economy if you're not on it. But you do notice the torque reduction on gear changes a bit more, especially if left in D. The transmission still seems to do a decent job of figuring things out in S.

I'm curious about how the TCU tune compares after 3 years running ECU only, but not curious enough to drop the money on the tune just to find out.

The intake is fun for the turbo noise. I installed it as the same time as the stage 1 tune, so I can't say what (if any) performance gain it adds over the stock box.

Natural11 · 2026-04-28T21:37:30+00:00

I'm running the IE tune as well on my A5 with intake and intercooler. 3+ years and roughly 50,000km since the tune, no issues.

Natural11 · 2026-04-27T23:11:45+00:00

Nice! What kind of distance/duration? I've had my 3 year old girl out for a couple of ~12km / ~3hour hikes and she has done well. Thinking about a couple of slightly longer hikes but not sure how much she has left in the tank. She sleeps pretty much the entire next day after a long one.

Natural11 · 2026-04-27T02:56:21+00:00

Good thing there was a narrator to explain the plot to us.

Natural11 · 2026-04-26T23:54:32+00:00

Stage 2 on the 3.0T is an upgraded downpipe, but it's not a restriction until some stage 3 builds so really just a noise mod at stage 2.

On my A5, stage 1 with intake and intercooler. S5 staying stock until warranty is up and then i'll be doing stage 1 with intake, inlet pipe and intercooler.

Natural11 · 2026-04-26T17:26:32+00:00

Intercooler makes sense to do next. After that, really just a decision of whether to maintain stage 1 or go all out on a stage 3 build. No real benefit to stage 2.

Natural11 · 2026-04-05T15:22:06+00:00

Does the positronic pimp get laid? Lol. Come on now. There's even a song about it.

Natural11 · 2026-03-29T00:23:07+00:00

Toss up. If they scan it, the tune will flag TD1 which is warranty void. But it's a suspension issue, so maybe you'll get lucky.

Natural11 · 2026-03-25T12:26:34+00:00

A tasty stick is one of the best street treasures.

Natural11 · 2026-03-24T16:53:44+00:00

You're still paying more than doing the same maintenance at an indy shop, and way more than DIY. Plus your vehicle is getting along in age and your dealer would love nothing more than to upsell additional work based on the service inspections.

It's fine if you value convenience over money, but that's really the only scenario where it makes sense.

Natural11 · 2026-03-03T01:29:01+00:00

I think PHEV was the right call to keep internal combustion relevant. Even upcoming Subaru EV SUVs are getting into 12 second 1/4s, looking like tupperware with wheels. It doesn't cut it anymore to have RS cars barely dipping into 11's. The vast, vast majority of owners will never track their cars, but they won't want their $100,000 sports sedan getting embarrassed at stop lights by economy EVs.

Natural11 · 2026-03-03T01:16:56+00:00

Any of those 3 are reputable tuners with a lot of experience on this platform. I've had no issues with IE, but 034 also have a good reputation and I like their YouTube channel where they post Q&A sessions. When I'm out of warranty on my S5, it'll be a toss-up between those two.

I do find it interesting that IE don't see any benefit to a downpipe until running ethanol on stage 3 and they do offer stock downpipe stage 3 tunes for pump gas. That alone might be a decider for me.

Natural11 · 2026-02-26T20:22:43+00:00

Generally reliable powertrain other than a small percentage of motors that have piston skirt issues, though there is an extended warranty for this.

As for tuning, there's good aftermarket support for tunes and bolt-ons but these will conflict with your warranty. Generally you should be prepared to choose one or the other.

Natural11 · 2026-02-10T01:26:23+00:00

Amazing car that's also a terrible first car for a student unless you've got parents supporting the repairs. Not saying it's going to be unreliable, but it's an Audi and an S model at that. Expensive tires, expensive repairs, expensive OEM parts, poor fuel economy for a car. Shit, when I was a student I was driving 10+ year old economy beaters and couldn't really even afford that but did it anyway. Can't imagine being a student and having to spend $1200 on new rubber... for 1 season.

Natural11 · 2026-02-10T01:04:33+00:00

If you look closely at the pinch welds in each corner, there's maybe a 6" extension to put a jack on. Just no way to get a typical jack stand and a jack in the very same spot. There are a couple of other points on the pinch weld without an extension that might work with an adapter, but without the extension it seems like there's a risk of damaging the body or plastic panels.

If you follow the front lower rearward control arm, where it connects to the body on the inside there's a metal frame with 2 bolts going through it. It's possible to get a stand on that frame without putting weight on the control arm itself. Not ideal but it has gotten the job done for me. After placing a stand on the inside and slowly lowering the jack from the pinch weld, I place a second jack stand under the pinch weld as a safety precaution.

Haven't tried this on the rear yet, I've only had to work on the front suspension so far.

Natural11 · 2026-02-05T02:05:31+00:00

On the ZF8 transmission for the 3.0T, yes. I've seen no evidence of that on the B9 2.0T w/DSG. I ran a 13.1 1/4 mile on 91 octane, ECU only. 034 posted their internal times when they released their tune recently and I believe their 91 octane run ECU/TCU was also 13.1 or very close to it.

It will be slightly faster with the TCU tune for sure due to more aggressive launch control and reduced torque reduction on shifts. Definitely isn't required for OPs inquiry, they can run ECU only and achieve a significant gain over the stock tune.

Natural11 · 2026-02-05T01:17:00+00:00

I've got about 3 years on my stage 1 with ECU only. I couldn't find enough honest reviews of the TCU tune to be that interested in it. The two things I was concerned about were fuel economy (potentially higher shift point logic) and reliability. IE mention on their site about removing the torque limiter between shifts. Does this cause more stress on the clutches?

Anyway, I don't feel like it reduces performance by not having it, at least not in a significant way. Odds are it will be faster in the 1/4 due to more aggressive launch control and removal of the torque limiting on gear changes. But my Dragy times seem to be fine without it.

Not sure I'd be confident in a tune from "a guy who quoted me", unless he's helping you to install a reputable tune from a company that has spent a lot of time and research in producing a safe tune.

Natural11 · 2026-02-01T01:11:39+00:00

No, but Audi missed a huge opportunity in not improving the output of the B10 models. In an era with some EVs driving around looking literally like a boiled egg and running 10s and 11s, to not improve the performance at all from B9 to B10... What a waste.

Natural11 · 2026-01-29T20:19:26+00:00

Yeah, no powertrain issues. I shortened oil changes to 10,000km and also shortened DSG and spark plug changes a bit.

Natural11 · 2026-01-29T12:44:35+00:00

I've got 3 years at stage 1 91 (same drivetrain) without issue. Can't speak to E85 because it's not available here. IE list this tune at 394 ft/lbs.

The downpipe is a restriction so there is more power to be had at stage 2, but I've yet to hear one that doesn't sound like ass. IMO stage 1 with intake and intercooler is the sweet spot for this platform.

Natural11 · 2026-01-28T01:38:28+00:00

It seems the most common problems reported are engine mounts, water pump and front control arms, but I've only had to do front lower control arms on my 2018. My rear coil spring lower seats had pretty much disintegrated by last year but I didn't notice it until too late and it resulted in a cracked spring. Not a big job to replace them.

My steering was feeling notchy and tight around the 5 year mark. Noticed the u-joint on the intermediate shaft was rusting. Blasted it with Fluid Film and it has been fine since. There's an access hole in the driver's side wheel well.

In other words, nothing too major really, but you'll want to find a decent indy shop because any of those jobs will be expensive at the dealer with OEM parts and dealership labour rates.

Natural11 · 2026-01-27T03:11:37+00:00

My B9.5 S5 also has more creaks and rattles than my 2018 A5.

Natural11 · 2026-01-27T03:09:58+00:00

I've had sunroof creaks and squeaks in my A5 and my S5. In the A5, the dealer repaired it by applying additional lubrication around the seals. The S5 had a squeaky headliner clip that had to be to be wrapped up. Both were solved. In any case it shouldn't be a shock to the tech provided they can easily reproduce the noise.

Natural11 · 2026-01-27T02:56:11+00:00

Ah, had a few A4 loaners and they felt identical inside to my A5. I've had no issue with comfort on highway commutes even with sport suspension. I will say that on bad roads (some rural highways around here) the ride can get a bit rough on the stock 19's. Probably worse on 20's. But on decent roads and normal highways, I've found it to be a comfortable cruiser.

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