XYZ Racing Tarmac Rally Coilovers — Audi Q5 8R 4WD (Cancellation Kit for Electronic Damping) 2008-2017

The 8R Q5’s factory electronic damping was tuned for showroom comfort, not stage timing – and once you start using a 4WD SUV in anger on closed tarmac, the OEM CDC dampers reveal their ceiling. This XYZ Racing Tarmac Rally kit ships with the cancellation harness needed to lock out the original electronic control unit cleanly, so the car stops fighting itself every time the suspension loads up.

For sealed-stage work in a two-tonne quattro SUV, the priorities are body control over crested kerbs, traction through compressed corner exits, and a damper that survives repeat-hit kerb strikes without fade. That is what this coilover is built around – settings drawn straight from XYZ Racing’s own tarmac rally programme.

What this coilover does for your 2008-2017 Audi Q5 8R

On a high-CoG quattro platform like the 8R Q5, weight transfer is the enemy of stage pace – the nose dives, the outside rear unloads, and the Haldex starts shuffling torque to wheels that have already lost grip. The Tarmac Rally damping curve is set up to absorb the initial hit from broken tarmac and patched repairs, then control rebound tightly so the contact patch settles before the next input. You will feel the car stay flatter under heavy trail-braking into a tightening hairpin, and you will feel the traction return on corner exit because the rear axle is not pogo-ing off camber changes. The cancellation kit is the part most owners get wrong – without it, the original ECU throws fault codes and the car runs in limp safety mode.

About the Tarmac Rally coilover

XYZ Racing builds the Tarmac Rally specifically for sealed-stage competition where the surface is fast but rarely smooth – think pavement rally, hillclimb, and closed-road events with patched repairs, manhole covers, and compression dips. The valving is set to absorb the impact of uneven pavement and big single-hit bumps, suppressing body shock so the chassis stops hunting and the tyre stays loaded. Every setting in this kit comes directly from XYZ’s own tarmac rally racing experience, not a generic street-comfort baseline scaled up. The result is a damper that gives you vehicle stability and predictable handling on a surface that punishes anything less than purpose-engineered hardware. For the Q5 specifically, the kit includes the electronic damping cancellation harness, which is the only way to run an aftermarket coilover on the 8R without the dash lighting up.

Fitment for the Audi Q5 (2008-2017)

This kit fits the 8R-chassis Audi Q5 4WD models from 2008 through 2017, supplied with the cancellation kit required to defeat the factory electronic damping control. Chassis code AU45-C – confirm your car is the quattro variant with electronically adjustable dampers from the factory before ordering, as the non-CDC Q5 takes a different part number.

What buyers also search for

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• Pavement rally damping for the 2008-2017 Audi Q5

Spring rates, ride height, damping settings and top-mount options are all selectable – configure yours below.