dreadlocks

honestly I originally wanted a Touareg TDI Exec and make it expedition worthy, but when the dice landed they had all evaporated due to dieselgate.. by the time I could give my golf back and get my truck there were literally none on the market anymore.

So I started looking at the Q7 seriously, and decided it would actually be a better choice for me since I could get one w/Air Suspension and the fabled Touareg TDI w/Diff Locks and Air Suspension was a serious ****ing unicorn in the first place, and had not even been made recently.. The extra room and 3rd row pretty much sealed it, my 2 boys are 7 years apart so that back row will get used for a good long while and the dogs appreciate the room and aircon vents.. that 2nd sunroof vent does a great job of keeping dog stink back there.

The only issue is I am in uncharted territory because the typical Q7 is a mom car that just goes to soccer games and grocery stores.. but then again I kinda like it, because I love my Q7 for being unique and I get as many comments on it as I did my RS6 ..
I love having my tow vehicle also be a fun toy, daily driver, highway cruiser, backroad explorer.. it suites me quite well, a few clicks of air suspension and it'll go from fast twisty fun on the pavement to fun on the trail/snow.. driving aggressively in the city, or just kick back and put in a long hard day on the road with it on autopilot.. never had one vehicle that crushed everything I throw at it.. If you think an S4 w/snow tires is a ton of fun when its snowing, wait til you do it in a lifted Q7 with all terrains :-D

IMO The Q7 is the pinnacle of Torsen Quattro, with its Rally origins its been begging for decades to get back into the dirt and mud and outta the darn Nuremberg... unfortunately it looks like its all down hill from here with Haldex and 4cyl being forced on us in the sake of economy numbers.

and yeh i'm a net ops dev right now, making all the internet magic happen behind the scenes with basically a bunch of duct tape and zip ties.

cuatrokoop

Been there, done that on my '07 3.6. Someone ordered mine with 20's from the factory, which while it looked good, the tires were crap and rode like crap. One of the first things I did was buy a set of 18" wheels from another Q7 and fit them. I squeeze a 235 Pirelli Scorpion on there, steering response/feel is significantly better. Most of the impact harshness is gone, but it still rides harder than my old '07 4.2 with AAS on factory 19's. My '13 TDI came to me with Nokian WR's on it. They are super noisy but the ride is actually as good as my '07. Not sure if it is just due to the curb weight increase (both are roughly the same trim/option level) of ~300lbs or if they changed the spring rate a bit, or if it is just all in the tire.

AMGM5S8

I solved the problem with curbing the rims by installing 295/45/20 tires

machish

I skimmed the forums before curious about antenna mounting, and found this topic, but no firm recommendations:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...io-q7-2937822/

In my older cars I just stuck a mag-mount on the roof, routed the cable by the door frame, and didn't have to drill any holes. But I also never had a sunroof before, either, and that thread says the roof is aluminum. I also haven't pursued it seriously either, because my job and life have become busier, leaving no time for Search & Rescue (which is the only time I used the radio).

I bought 18" snow tires a month ago (I got strange looks for buying snow tires in June, but I wanted a good price on them). It looks like Tire Rack has the most affordable rims, despite the delivery charges.

I must be one of the few people who don't like the looks of low-profile tires. I'm glad I ended up buying a Premium Plus with 19" rims.

dreadlocks

sorry OP, were derailing this train..

@machish thanks for that, I never even bothered searching cuz I kinda assumed nobody ever tried before

Ive got a Kenwood D710G, its got a remote headunit.. I'm thinking that I'll fix it to a ProClip and have it block most of the MMI Head Unit and the other ProClip that goes next to the Navi for putting a microphone mount and my trailer brake controller ****.. main radio will go in spare tire area, and I'm thinking of hiding a speaker in the foot wells

The Aluminum is giving me a bit of anxiety, what are the chances a brand new step bit would cause some deformation? will it hold up to a 40in antenna bashing off stuff? I'm probably just going to mount it to the roof rack.. I hate exposed wiring tho, its just an OCD thing after hand building over 30k PCs in my day.

I'd like to join the local S&R teams here soon, yeah life is crazy and time is very valuable, but if i can randomly get away from it all and focus on something really important I'd like to do it.. If the my job is cool enough they will kinda sponsor it and just let me go on missions without me loosing income.

My trailer has a home made GMRS repeater I just installed in it along with a 2m Radio for APRS.. the idea being to track my vehicles/party in realtime from a display in the camper, also have a good long range voice, and an emergency calling capability from the middle of BFE w/no cell signal.. Ive got 6 handhelds all programmed in for GMRS use, now to put a mobile radio in the Q and a APRS Tracker on my son's bike.. then radio up the other toys we'll bring along, such as Canoe/Dirt Bikes/Jeep/Westfallia/etc..

p3tuh

Everything I read about the air suspension makes me kinda regret not waiting out for one with it. Everything else on my q7 was perfect except for missing a tow package and AAS. I guess I'll just have to airbag it like all the cool kids

@dreadlocks, no worries at all. Seems like more owners will begin to get interested in this platform as more tinkerer's / car guys start to get their hands on them and mod them to their liking. I'm from the tuner world and I can't wait to start tinkering with the sc and fuel. I don't see any build thread on this sub forum, I would love to see the progress you make on our expedition build.

machish

I just stuck with a 3/8 antenna, whose length is much more manageable. My friend had a long antenna, drove along a dirt road, and some oscillation caused it to whip back and make a pinhole in the rear windshield of his Subaru Impreza. The pinhole soon became a spider web and the entire window was trashed within just a few minutes. That made me very glad I had a short antenna.

And yes, it means mounting on a roof rack is probably a good idea.

Back to original topic: Since I looked at 19" rims a couple of months ago, TireRack now has free shipping (saving over $100), but the prices are now a bit higher. It's only $30 cheaper now than in June for a set of 4 rims ($730 vs $708 including tax).

cuatrokoop

I have the rear suspension off my 4.2 still, it may end up in the 3.0TDI. I put some serious tongue weight on that 4.2 when I hauled dirt in a 10k rated dump trailer (mostly full, guessing over 8k lbs), and it didn't care. Heck, other than having to use more throttle to jockey the trailer around my back yard to fill in low spots, the whole thing really didn't care than it had that much weight on it. I also put it in pretty deep water during a couple floods (my street floods, it is designed as a catch basin).

arU4ic

Yep, I on all my Q7, ditched the 20 and/or 21s for 19s - everything is better, quality, noise comfort, etc.

p3tuh

Thanks @all, I'll pick up this set of 18"s from another Q7. Worst case scenario, I can have some snow tires for going up to the slopes.