DissenTTS

Backstory:

My wife and I bought the car new in 2013. We traded in a 2011 TT, and upgraded to the TTS Prestige. It was quite a difference in handling and power and we were pretty happy with it. At the time we also had a Q7, and we really shared the two cars. I work mostly from a home office so I don't need a DD, plus my other toy is a BMW K1600, which is what I've spent most of my time and money on until now.

Fast forward to 2017: The TTS has less the 15000 miles after almost 4 years. It's still a new car to us. My wife buys her dream car, and I realize the TTS is really mine now. I'm done building out my bike, so my thoughts turn to building the TTS. I do a lot of research and come up with some ideas and a very loose plan.




As Bought.

DissenTTS

First, I added the Neuspeed P-Flo Air Intake Kit to support an APR Stage I ECU upgrade.

I think a few adjustments need to be made to the ECU upgrade. First, the launch control is set to a very low RPM and I kinda roll on instead of launch. Right now the RPMs bounce to 3k, then settle at 2k. I talk to a tech at another shop and he advised they take a look at the settings.

I also had the TCU upgrade. The gears selection puts the engine in a much better power band, and downshifts much faster. I used to drive in manual mode half the time just to keep the RPMs, now I don't have to. This was also supposed to eliminate the rev limiter, however it's still there at around 7k. I believe that's another setting that needs to be changed.

APR's website says I took it from a stock 265 CHP to as high as 328 CHP. That's the cheapest and easiest CHP you'll ever get. The 80/20 rule dictates that I just got 80% of my gain with 20% of my dollars. To get more CHP from here, it gets tougher and more expensive.




Bone Stock



Neuspeed P-Flo Air Intake Kit

DissenTTS

I decided to next do the springs, and that was done just yesterday. I decided to go with the MSS Streets fully adjustable kit. I could have gone cheaper but I really like the idea of the adjustable kit, and I found nothing but great reviews.

The before and after pics show a small difference, IMO. After the 3 mile drive home, the front was 15mm lower and the rear 10mm. This with the adjustment in the lowest position. The kit is supposed to the lower the car up to 30mm front and rear. So, I'll measure the height after the springs settle in a bit. Plus the TTS may already be a bit lower than the TT. I know I've read something to that effect, but I'm not certain whether that's the case.

I did notice that the rough bumps were smoothed out a bit, so that's nice. Plus I intentionally hit one dip on my street that typically causes the right rear tire to scrape. It seemed to react about the same way as before.

I need to hit some twisted roads and really push it.

Before



After

DissenTTS

For engine performance, I'm considering doing the APR Stage I+ tune. This requires a high pressure fuel pump upgrade. There are a few options on how to upgrade the HPFP. I can buy one outright for around $1000. Kinda expensive, but probably the easiest way to go. For about half that I can upgrade the internal components. That seems a little risky to do on my own. But I'm considering giving it a go.

Any recommendations are welcome.

The APR Stage I+ shows some mid-range increase in torque and HP, in the 4k to 5k range. But no overall HP gain at around 7k. The midrange increase actually seems like a great benefit. After all, how often do I spin it up to 7k? The answer is not often. But how often do I give it rolling punch that puts me in the 4-5k range. Maybe every time I get behind the wheel. Ha.

DissenTTS

And to finish my thoughts, some other project considerations down the line are:

Rear Sway Bar
Brake Rotors/Pads
Paint Brake Calipers Red
Steel Braided Brake Lines
Ignition Coils
Internal LED light kit
down pipe with Stage II ECU

Comments Welcome.

DissenTTS

I brought it up to Mount Hamilton to give it some exercise. What fun. This thing is like a 300CHP+ go cart. The ride is really smoother than the stock springs. And it really keeps the rubber in contact with these questionable tight twisty roads. Very nice.

A6S4

I'm enjoying reading about your ongoing evolution of the TTS. And I experienced the same positive results with the MSS sport springs that you have. I just hit 70k miles and am told that I have a very minor leak on the left front shock -- something that goes with lowering the car as with the MSS springs. But still, well worth the upgrade!

Being in your area and enjoying your car as you do, you should check out the TT-West group of TT owners. They do an annual trip and this year's fall adventure is from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe. They are a great group of people. TT West 2017 ? Death Valley, Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe

You are welcome...!

DissenTTS

Thanks for that.

Bummer on the shock. 70k lifetime miles on the car? or 70k lowered miles?

Some more brown boxes are showing up on the doorstep. Man, I love brown boxes. One of them had a sway bar, and another had an HPFP kit. Fun, fun, fun. Waiting on EBC brake components and the time to install.

A6S4

51k on the lowered stance with the MSS. 70k lifetime on the car.

DissenTTS

Installed the Neuspeed Rear Sway Bar. It looks so pretty down there along with the MSS Springs. Too bad it can't be seen from the road. That's OK though because I am definitely keeping the sights and sounds low key.

The AutoTech HPFP kit along with a Cam Follower replacement was installed yesterday by the performance shop. We had planned the APR Stage 1+ upgrade (from Stage 1 now) but their "computer was down". Hopefully, we'll get it done within the week.