Introducing the Oakes Performance Solutions 3.0 TDI Engine and Transmission Tunes.

These are the most reliable tunes that achieve much better fuel economy and offer amazing performance including software solutions for the Adblue, EGR, and DPF systems along with our Hardware that is made in the USA.

We have perfected these tunes from years of refinement on our in house shop cars that include a 2012 Audi Q7 CATA TDI, a 2014 Audi Q5 CPNB TDI, a 2015 Audi A8 CPNA TDI, a 2013 Porsche Cayenne CNRB Diesel, and a 2015 VW Touareg CNRB TDI.

The 3.0 TDI V6 vehicles that we support with tuning are:

• 2009-2012 Audi Q7 with the CATA engines and 6 or 8 speed Aisin transmissions
• 2011-2012 VW Touareg TDIs with the CATA engines and 8 speed Aisin transmissions
• 2013-2015 Audi Q7, VW Touaregs, and Porsche Cayenne Diesel TDIs with the CNRB engines and 8 speed Aisin transmissions
• 2014-2016 Audi Q5, A6, A7, and A8 TDIs with the CPNB/CPNA engines and ZF8 transmissions

All of our ECU/Engine and TCU/Transmission tunes are downloaded via the vehicle’s OBD2 Port with our proprietary tuning cable. The requirements to download our tunes are:

1. Oakes Performance Solutions proprietary tuning cable.

   Our tuning cable is proprietary to our firmware with the Custom Code Flashing Application so no other companies’ tuning cable works with the flashing application. We are asked regularly if a VCDS from Ross-Tech, an Alienware cable, or any other company’s tuner box can be used and unfortunately they are not compatible. Due to the fact that we have an entire drawer of different tuning cables from other companies that James has personally used to download tunes for different vehicles over the years, we decided to offer the option to buy the cable or rent it. Most TDI customers decide to buy the tuning cable since it can be used to download tunes on multiple vehicles and for Data Logging values at an insanely high resolution rate of up to 200 data points per second. A low percentage of customers will rent the tuning cable so that the tunes can be downloaded and then they ship the tuning cable back since they are not going to be using it again.

2. Windows based computer with a USB port and ideally Windows 10

   Other versions of Windows such as Vista, 7, and 11 have been successfully used. However Apple computers like MacBooks and certain Chromebook are not compatible with the Custom Code Flashing Application. All third-party spam, spyware, and/or firewalls will need to be disabled while downloading the Custom Code flashing application, installing the flashing application along with all the respective drivers to the computer, and while downloading the tunes.

3. Stable internet connection via an ethernet cable connection or over WiFi.

   Hardwired ethernet connection is ideal but we understand that a lot of laptops and tablets are not offered with ethernet connection ports. So most of our customers use WiFi to download their tunes. Worst case we have had customers use a WiFi Mobile Hotspot from their phone but this is never recommended due to the inconsistent internet signal and slow data transfer rates for the large files especially the ECU files.

4. Hood open with a battery charger or jumper cables to another running vehicle connected to the battery jump points to keep the battery voltage high enough while downloading the tunes.

   Most customers use a stand up style battery charger that is commercially available from places like Harbor Freight or Midtronics. Another effective and simple solution is to hook up Jumper Cables to another running vehicle the entire time while downloading the tunes. Typically the VWs/Audis need at least 12.6 volts and around 20 amps as the Porsche Cayennes need at least 14 volts with around 30 amps. We do not recommend using a battery jump box because they don’t provide a consistent stable supply of voltage to the battery.

5. The Hazard Lights need to be Flashing while downloading the tunes.

   The Hazard Lights flashing keeps the computers awake while downloading the tunes. This step is even required by the OEMs like VW, Audi, and Porsche.

Below is a Private YouTube video that is only available from our website below and is also emailed with extremely detailed typed instructions to our customers after purchasing tunes as a visual guide for the process of downloading our tunes to familiarize customers.

All of the below exhaust options are direct bolt in upgrades that come with all the necessary gaskets and hardware that fit perfectly every time. Our exhausts ship out on Tuesdays and Saturdays after orders are confirmed from our Michigan location. These Exhausts are made in the USA so our customers don’t have to pay surprise tariffs and Customs fees with shipping time getting extended to clear all the procedural steps required unlike our competitors that ship from Canada or the United Kingdom/England.

The only required sensor in the exhausts that we sell which must be transferred over from the stock exhaust is the oxygen sensor!

Exhausts for the Bigger SUVs including the 2009-2017 VW Touareg, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne:

Bare Minimum Lower Two Exhaust Pipes:

These two pipes swap out the two most problematic filters under the SUV and are our most commonly sold pipes.

Optional – Upper Pipe with Flex Joint:

This pipe is mostly for replacing the upper pipe when the flex joint fails but also allows a little more flow.

Performance – All Three Pipes:

Bundle of all three above pipes together with a package discount.

Below is a YouTube video we made to showcase our Bigger SUV exhausts:

Exhaust for the Audi Q5 and Sedans including the A6, A7, and A8 TDIs:

Bare Minimum – Upper 3.0 inch pipe:

This exhaust pipe swaps out the problematic filter from the exhaust and is the only necessary exhaust change with bung plugs included for the ports that are not commonly used.

Below is a YouTube video we made to showcase our Audi Q5 and Sedans exhaust:

The top two plates are for a 2009-2012 CATA engine and the bottom two plates are for a 2013-2017 CNRB, CPNB, or CPNA engine. The left side plates are for the exhaust side and the right side plates are for the intake side.

We offer these plates for customers to test if they have an exhaust leak for the EGR between the turbocharger and the intake system. Some of our customers will test for longer periods of time vs others because we have seen leaks from the following locations:

1. The welds on the EGR pipe at the two bolt hole flange by the turbocharger can fail causing a massive exhaust leak to the point that the engine stalls under heavy load. A clogged DPF would only compound this problem by causing excessive exhaust pressure.

2. The accordion exhaust pipe (part number 059131521F or revised 059131521K) between the turbo and the cooler on the back of the driver’s side cylinder head for the CATA engines has a bad tendency to leak at the movement joints and that pipe is extremely expensive to replace currently at over $1,000 USD if a dealership or parts supplier can even get one.

3. The EGR valve inside the mechanism can stick open intermittently at times or even permanently open causing the intake charge system boost to leak into the exhaust resulting in terrible performance, poor fuel economy, and shuttering or chugging while driving on the highway.

4. Rarely we have seen intake manifolds result in cracks, holes, and minor explosions from too much exhaust pressure being forced through the EGR into the intake because the DPF is clogged. The pressure has to go somewhere and the intake system has plastic manifolds as an intentional point of failure. Below is an intake manifold that exploded while the owner was accelerating hard onto a fast 80 mph speed limit highway.

We find that fully removing the EGR is not necessary because our customers can simply download a tune that “adjusts” the EGR system and unplug the three electrical connectors for the exhaust listed below in the EGR/Exhaust Gas Recirculation Concerns Expandable Tab.

Maintenance Requirements for these 3.0 TDI V6s:

These are our maintenance requirements for these 3.0 TDI V6 engine equipped vehicles that are stock or tuned. We get a ton of new and older TDI owners that message us asking about what maintenance that we suggest so we put together the above video since this 2013 Audi Q7 TDI was purchased early into 2026. It is a perfect candidate for what our customers would see when buying these vehicles used with higher mileage. If the maintenance history is not known or you just want to start off with the best possible basic starting point then I recommend performing the servicing that we did in this video because these things have resolved quite a bit of issues. The basic servicing that we performed included the following:

Engine Oil and Filter change, Replacing the following filters (fuel, engine air, and cabin/pollen), and flushing the brake fluid.

Otherwise the following maintenance intervals listed below are a good reference for what we recommend. If the vehicle is already past these mileage recommendations then we strongly suggest that these items are checked, replaced, or serviced. As we add to this list then we will go back and make suggested changes. Along with that we will be releasing more videos on the different maintenance servicing and repairs. The mileage listed below the suggested maintenance and repairs repeats.

• 3-10K miles – Change the engine oil and filter.
• 10-20K miles – Replace the fuel filter and cabin/pollen air filter.
• Every year or two years: flush the brake fluid.
• 40-50K miles – Change the transmission fluid and filter, front and rear differential fluids, transfer case fluid (Bigger SUV) or center differential (Q5/Sedans), coolant, and power steering fluid if the vehicle has hydraulic steering assist like the bigger SUVs.
• 40-60K miles – Replace the engine air filter.
• 75-80K miles – Replace the serpentine belt, tensioner, and rollers. Should also check/replace the crankshaft pulley or harmonic balancer plus bolts if there are a lot of cracks in the rubber or rust is present because it can separate or break off.

• 100-150K –

  1. Clean out the oil and carbon buildup from the intercoolers, MAP sensor, ASV valve (looks like a throttle body), intake manifolds, swirl flap/s, cylinder head intake ports plus valves, and EGR if still installed and working.
  2. Usually this is about the time that there are leaks of oil and coolant from the valley of the engine on the later 2013-2017 (CNRB, CPNB, CPNA) engines as well so that is a great time to fix the leaks too while in there already.
  3. Reseal the fuel injectors on the later 2013-2017 engines by replacing the tapered copper washers, big and small o-rings, and hold down bolts.
• 140-200K miles – Replace the DPF with a new one or aftermarket off road pipe if allowed where the vehicle is registered. Usually the DPF is required to be manually regenerated at the 140K miles service and then at every service afterwards until it is too filled with ash and soot. Eventually it will cause a check engine light, glow plug light, and DPF warning on the dash when it is failing.
• 200-400K miles – Service/replace the timing chains, tensioners, and guide rails when the cold start rattling noise goes longer than four seconds, the intake camshaft phase position measuring value blocks readings is worse than -7 degrees, and/or a P0016 fault code for incorrect correlation between camshaft to crankshaft is stored resulting in a CEL/Check Engine Light and/or Glow Plug light.