Audi RS6 Avant C8Stage 1 to Stage 4 tuning guide

What we'd do

On a C8 RS6 we would do Stage 1 with a gearbox tune and stop there. Software alone takes the 591 hp car to a claimed 668–753 hp, and on our fuel the figures that count are the 91 and 93 US rows: 034Motorsport claims 730 hp on 91 (about our 95) and 743 hp on 93 (our 98), IE 668 and 690 hp, Unitronic 700 hp on its 95 file. That is already more than a two-tonne wagon can use on an Israeli road.

Our pick is 034's engine and gearbox bundle: $950 for the engine file and $550 for the gearbox file, $1,500 together, plus $180 for its flashing kit if no dealer does it for you. 034 says its engine file gives full torque with the stock gearbox software, so the gearbox file is about shift quality and torque handling rather than a must. APR's file, which needs no gearbox tune, is the alternative from $950. Check the year first: 2022-on cars have a locked bootloader, and 034's $145 unlock harness only works with its own gearbox tune.

After the software, cooling. The turbos sit inside the V, and an Israeli summer is when the factory intercoolers run out. CSF's twin set is $3,895 (sold out when we checked). With the bundle and flashing kit that is about $5,575 in list prices before shipping, tax and fitting. An intake is the next step if you want more: IE's carbon intake is $2,199.99 and claims 60–70 hp, on a tuned car, mostly from its own Stage 2 test.

Skip Stage 2. Unitronic's 819 hp needs its downpipes on top of the intake and intercoolers, and on a European car the particulate filter sits in that pipework, so this is the part that fails the test. Skip Stage 3 too: a pair of TTE1020 turbos is $8,192.99 and Unitronic's software €3,125, and Unitronic says the factory gearbox computer limits torque, so you also need its Stage 3 gearbox file. The weak point to budget for is the warranty, not the engine: owners say any remap shows up when the dealer reads the computer.

Tuning it in Israel

New price in Israel

Not sold new any more; the importer's site (audi.co.il) lists no RS6. The C8 launched here at ₪1,023,000 for the 600 PS RS6 Avant (auto.co.il, 16 September 2020), and the 630 PS performance from about ₪1.1 million (icar, 22 March 2023). We found no dated source for used prices.

Parts from abroad

At the Bank of Israel representative rate of 26 October 2026 ($1 = ₪3.078), CSF's twin intercooler set ($3,895) is ₪11,989 and IE's carbon intake ($2,199.99) ₪6,772. Above $75 both carry 18% VAT plus purchase tax, about 40.66% combined on car parts (our import guide): ₪11,989 × 1.4066 = about ₪16,863 for the intercoolers (₪4,875 of it tax) and ₪6,772 × 1.4066 = about ₪9,525 for the intake. All before shipping, which is taxed too. Downpipes and exhaust parts also need an approval before they can be imported.

Fuel

Read the 91 and 93 US rows: 034 claims 730 hp on 91 and 743 hp on 93, IE 668 hp on 95 RON and 690 hp on 98, Unitronic 700 hp on its 95 file and 753 hp on its 98 Stage 1+. Ignore 034's E40 and E85 figures (830 and 817 hp), IE's 903 hp Stage 3 on 104 octane and MTM's 1,001 PS on 102: none of those fuels is sold at Israeli stations. If 98 isn't on all your routes, run the 95 file (95 vs 98 after a tune).

Regulation 380 and the test

The Road Safety Authority reads Regulation 380 as covering engine software, so record the tune like any other change (how approval works). The Ministry's list names a special exhaust and special wheels outright: downpipes, midpipes and cat-backs need a part with a lab prototype certificate, fitted by a licensed installer and recorded in the licence. European C8s have a particulate filter; a delete or a pipe without a catalyst fails the annual test, and passing the test doesn't make an unapproved change legal.

Where to get it done

APR's dealer list names PIT-STOP in Holon. Unitronic lists Max Tuning (Petah Tikva), Speed Doron Shimshi (Shoham) and High Boost Performance (Nazareth). Top RPM in Holon is on Integrated Engineering's and Milltek's lists, and ABT lists Component 1991 (Ramat Gan). These are the brands' own lists, checked October 2026; we have no link with any of them. More in tuning in Israel.

Prices and rules checked 2026-11-01.

Also useful: tuning shops in Israel, the import tax calculator and the annual test checklist.

What owners ask

Will a remap void the warranty, and can the dealer tell?

When C8 owners asked who was tuning the car in 2020, one reported a UK remap with dyno figures of 720 bhp and 1,000 Nm, and said the shop would remove it before dealer visits. Others replied that any map ends warranty cover for related work, and that the computer keeps a record of changed parameters even after the file is taken off. An earlier RS6 thread said the same of plug-in boxes. If the car is under warranty, assume the dealer will find it.

Sources: RS246: Anyone chipped yet? (C8, 2020), RS246: RS6 Upgrade (C7, 2017)

Does the C8 need a gearbox tune with Stage 1?

Not for the power. 034 says its engine file gives full torque with the stock ZF gearbox software. The reason to add one is how the car feels: an owner who moved from a C7 RS6 Performance found the C8 Performance's throttle and gearbox mapping duller, and thought an engine and gearbox map was the answer. 034's gearbox file is $550 and changes torque management and shifts. At Stage 3 it stops being optional: Unitronic's gearbox file raises the torque limit to 1,300 Nm.

Sources: RS246: Regret buying C8 RS6 (2024), 034Motorsport: C8 RS6/RS7 ECU and TCU

What does a Stage 1 remap actually feel like?

The owner with the UK remap later said the car ran 740 bhp and 1,000 Nm and called it a clear improvement everywhere. Replies were about cost, not power: on a car still under warranty, one owner called it a big risk, and another said that after the C7's problems he wouldn't run one without a warranty or money set aside. In the same 2024 thread on C8 regrets, one owner had two alternators fail, at about 19,000 and 38,000 miles, on a car he otherwise loved.

Sources: RS246: What would you change on your stock C8? (2020), RS246: Regret buying C8 RS6 (2024)

Does the C8 have a petrol particulate filter?

European cars do. Before deliveries began, owners checked Audi's parts catalogue and found the filter listed for the C8, and one called it a given on a new car. That is why Stage 2 is hard here: catalysed downpipes still need approval, and a filter delete fails the test. Litchfield's Stage 2 is built around a filter-back Milltek or Akrapovič exhaust that keeps it, at 730 PS. If you want sound, a filter-back exhaust is the part to look at.

Sources: RS246: C8 RS6 OPF / PPF? (2019)

My aftermarket exhaust valve opens and closes on its own. Who fixes it?

A C8 owner had one valve on a new Milltek system flapping open and shut at idle a few months after fitting. Milltek told him warranty claims go first to the dealer who sold the part. Other owners suggested checking the connector and scanning for fault codes. Our point for Israel: buy an exhaust through a dealer here who will handle the claim, because sending a full system back abroad means shipping and tax twice.

Sources: RS246: Milltek Problem (2020)