How do you guys feel about MK7 stage 2 Unitronic?

[Frognutz]

I'm currently at stage one and I enjoy it a lot but im looking for a little more power and was considering stage 2 with supporting mods. im choosing unitronic bc thats what was installed previous to me buying the vehicle and on top of that im looking for a more conservative tune. Im mainly asking if anyone has had problems from stage 2 uni, this is my daily car, I want more fun but I cant blow it up.

im hoping with proper supporting mods, it should stay as reliable as it was at stage 1 ( I dont push the car too hard and rarely hit red line if ever)

 

[carbon_gecko]

I have a 2016 vw mk7 golf 1.8t with the is20 unitronic stage 2 and all supporting mods, I have had absolutely no issues with the engine, the basic tiptronic transmission is the issue. In drive it rarely shifts above 2k which is a limit for sure. In sport it responds perfectly and using the paddle shifters makes it feel like a driving experience.

 

[tigeo]

My buddy's daughter has the Uni st2 on her GTI and tracks it. No issues.

 

[Daks]

I had it, I liked it.

 

[CaptainRatty]

Had it, did not like it. Thought that the ECU tune was weak and the DSG tune on the DQ250 was horrible. 6th gear at 47 MPH is not a place I wanted to be.

 

[tigeo]

Had it, did not like it. Thought that the ECU tune was weak and the DSG tune on the DQ250 was horrible. 6th gear at 47 MPH is not a place I wanted to be.

It's funny how the subjectiveness of tuning is so variable. My buddies daughter that tracks her Uni St2 GTI had an instructor, Porsche driver and races w2w, drive it at Summit and told her she couldn't believe how fast it was

 

[geokilla]

Had it, did not like it. Thought that the ECU tune was weak and the DSG tune on the DQ250 was horrible. 6th gear at 47 MPH is not a place I wanted to be.

Sounds like a great DSG tune for my kind of driving. Maybe it's time to switch from IE to Unitronic since IE refuses to fix their DSG tune for the DQ250.

 

[Frognutz]

Sounds like a great DSG tune for my kind of driving. Maybe it's time to switch from IE to Unitronic since IE refuses to fix their DSG tune for the DQ250.

right now I have uni dsg stage 1 and I enjoy it. I feel that it slightly extends the time for low gears (123) and makes low speed driving smoother. I cant really speak on shift speeds, as I dont notice much of a difference. Supposedly the clutch pressures are increased and can handle more HP from the engine.

 

[TimCv1]

It's funny how the subjectiveness of tuning is so variable. My buddies daughter that tracks her Uni St2 GTI had an instructor, Porsche driver and races w2w, drive it at Summit and told her she couldn't believe how fast it was

I have a stage 1 and can't believe how fast it is, particularly at highway speeds and up. I also like how it basically (a la what I understand Ruf's tuning philosophy to be) drives like a more-powerful n/a car at higher rpms rather than just torque (it matches my old departed 944 in this regard - basically just move that thing's power/torque curves up substantially - I'd say the car I've driven this most matches was a 928S manual actually). This was a real surprise after I got the tune, and from what I understand different than (say) APR's approach.

 

[Diggs24]

Sounds like a great DSG tune for my kind of driving. Maybe it's time to switch from IE to Unitronic since IE refuses to fix their DSG tune for the DQ250.

Even better, tune it yourself and pick your own shift points. It's amazing.

 

[geokilla]

Even better, tune it yourself and pick your own shift points. It's amazing.

You mean manual mode? Or Unitronic's DSG tune? Because IE's shift table sucks on both upshifts and downshifts. They think the transmission not downshifting at 1500RPM under half throttle is acceptable.

 

[EpicTech]

I can chime in here. I bought my car new and tuned stage 2 Uni with only their DP, and an intake at 1300-ish miles. I never once had a issue with the that specific tune. I added a turbo inlet elbow and exhaust a little later on. Not sure what people claim about Uni being conservative because I was gapping all kinds of challengers. This was on a stock clutch. I then added an ACT stage 2 clutch and Mishimoto full intercooler kit and was then gapping Mustangs, Challengers, Nissan Z cars, all kinds of stuff. I went some 100k miles enjoying the tune's power/performance before going to an IS38 and trying Unitronics tune for that upgrade. I did talk with Unitronic about their IS38 file, because I was smelling fuel all the time, and their answer was that their IS38 tune would need special calibration to work with all my other mods and correct the fuel issue I was seeing. After some 2000 miles of thinking it would be ok, I gave up and switched to OS. The stage 2 Uni is quite good in my experience, and friends of mine that also have that tune. They also have never had an issue.

*I believe you can do like me and my friends, and get the supporting mods like turbo inlet elbow, a GOOD intercooler solution, intake, and enjoy the stage 2 Uni just like we have. Do keep in mind of the $ investment and in my opinion will hit a power cap/ceiling with the stage 2, but it will still be a very quick car. If you switch to OS, you open the door for future improvements and will have a tuning solution that can progress as you upgrade your car. If you know you will never upgrade again after this Uni stage 2, then I say send it. Just think about what you might want in the future. I made 333hp/389tq on Uni stage 2 and enjoyed it for a long time.

Best of luck to ya.

 

[tigeo]

Some like the more stock-like D mode, some don't. Very hard to do this and make everyone happy unless you do what Diggs said and do it yourself. I found that using a pedal tuner (BMS) sorted out the D mode issues...previously almost always used S under 40mph then bumped it to D b/c it's annoying to high-RPM it around town, now D almost always.

 

[Diggs24]

I mean pick when it shifts in any mode. All of that is customizable.

 

[tigeo]

I mean pick when it shifts in any mode. All of that is customizable.

I get it. Not interested in DIY tuning at this point.