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Unitronic Stage 1+ ECU/TCU stage 1 combo review

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Noize1

Ready to race!
Location
Nashville
I just picked up a Unitronic 1+ ECU/TCU combo and UniConnect+ from my local shop, European Motorworks in Nashville. Jerry is the owner, and super knowledgable on our platform. Got the system home, and after a quick Windows 10 driver signature enforcement disable, I was able flash them both in my garage.

I connected a trickle charger to my battery since these VW batteries are super fussy, and the ECU flash took probably 20 minutes, and DSG flash took about 5 minutes.

Drama free flashing process, start up and drive right after. Let the car warm up through normal driving awhile before giving it the beans. My car is otherwise completely stock.

Pulling out of the garage and shifting to D, I immediately noticed the DSG flash, as it says D1, D2, D3, etc, instead of D. Programming is better than stock, S mode still too spicy at holding crazy-high RPM for me, which is no biggie, as D is great.

Post warmup I got on it, and the tune is really subtle, which I like. There's not that instant smashing torque hit of overspun turbo that you feel in so many VW tunes. The best way to describe it is OEM++, a solid ~60hp or so bump per their dyno gains on site.

To that end, it's sublime. Nary a hint of drivability quirks or anything that seemed over-stressed. I feel that it would reliably run 120k plus miles and be reliable for years. The best praise I can bestow on it, would be this: If a stranger drove it, he/she would feel it was really quick, but that VW had programmed the ECU.

I think this tune is the sweet spot for these cars: Reliable, great drivability, and lots more control over parameters than an external tuning box.

Will keep the thread updated as I continue driving. Already I can feel the pull for a good downpipe and intercooler to kick this up to Stage 2.

PS: Exceptional customer service from Unitronic directly.
 
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L

lostru

Ready to race!
Location
Central Arkansas
I have the +1 and have for 20K. I can't say enough good things about it. Its as close to a stock feel as far as power coming on as you can get. Feels like it came off the showroom tuned.
 
N

Noize1

Ready to race!
Location
Nashville
Hey guys. Hadn't seen this bumped. I'll post some updates for you.

I would say the best Unitronic setup is the Stage 1+ ECU and Stage 2 TCU (DSG tune).
They set the stage 1 TCU to disable downshifts with the "button", which means when you press the throttle greater than wide open in all gears except second. This is beyond pointless and I don't get it in the least.

When I asked if that could be changed, John's reply was that "I just don't think you would like it that way.", which is nonsense, because when I switched to stage 2, voila, second gear has the lockout too. I think it is their built in psychological incentive to upgrade, and if you go with Stage 2 TCU in the first place, you don't have to pay that upgrade fee, and instead get access to all the lower tunes.

Another reason I switched is they are a pretty big company and getting anything custom is very difficult for them. In live in TN, PA, and a handful of other states, they require 100% OBD2 readiness to pass emissions. If you are Unitronic Stage 2, they disable the back O2, and it will not pass.

That means that I would have to flash my car back to stock or stage 1 every year, let it set all sensors ready, test, pass, and reflash it to the tuned ROM. This wouldn't be too terrible if there wasn't a bug with Uniconnect+ and Windows 10, which requires me special reboot my laptop and disable signed driver enforcement every. single. time. I want to use Uniconnect+.

To top it all off, I think stacking with a JB4 is a very hack way to tune a car. Why not just setup the tune correctly in the first place? Enter Accessport custom tuning. My car makes a peak of 25psi now, but makes substantially more area under the curve from 2000-4000, and even a little better up top as well. And it has a legal GESI catted downpipe that allows OBD2 readiness and hasn't coded
once.

Edit: I have high revving issues with the Unitronic S2 TCU that are still not rectified either on the Unitronic S2 ECU tune or my AP tune. I just wish the car would upshift at 6600-6700 instead of 7000-7100 as it likes to do sometimes. When Cobb releases their DSG tune, I'll jump for sure.

To sum up: Save money, go AP.
 
anotero

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
Noize said:
Hey guys. Hadn't seen this bumped. I'll post some updates for you.

I would say the best Unitronic setup is the Stage 1+ ECU and Stage 2 TCU (DSG tune).
They set the stage 1 TCU to disable downshifts with the "button", which means when you press the throttle greater than wide open in all gears except second. This is beyond pointless and I don't get it in the least.

When I asked if that could be changed, John's reply was that "I just don't think you would like it that way.", which is nonsense, because when I switched to stage 2, voila, second gear has the lockout too. I think it is their built in psychological incentive to upgrade, and if you go with Stage 2 TCU in the first place, you don't have to pay that upgrade fee, and instead get access to all the lower tunes.

Another reason I switched is they are a pretty big company and getting anything custom is very difficult for them. In live in TN, PA, and a handful of other states, they require 100% OBD2 readiness to pass emissions. If you are Unitronic Stage 2, they disable the back O2, and it will not pass.

That means that I would have to flash my car back to stock or stage 1 every year, let it set all sensors ready, test, pass, and reflash it to the tuned ROM. This wouldn't be too terrible if there wasn't a bug with Uniconnect+ and Windows 10, which requires me special reboot my laptop and disable signed driver enforcement every. single. time. I want to use Uniconnect+.

To top it all off, I think stacking with a JB4 is a very hack way to tune a car. Why not just setup the tune correctly in the first place? Enter Accessport custom tuning. My car makes a peak of 25psi now, but makes substantially more area under the curve from 2000-4000, and even a little better up top as well. And it has a legal GESI catted downpipe that allows OBD2 readiness and hasn't coded
once.

Edit: I have high revving issues with the Unitronic S2 TCU that are still not rectified either on the Unitronic S2 ECU tune or my AP tune. I just wish the car would upshift at 6600-6700 instead of 7000-7100 as it likes to do sometimes. When Cobb releases their DSG tune, I'll jump for sure.

To sum up: Save money, go AP.
Click to expand...

How was the Uni st1 ECU and Uni st2 TCU combo? How's the compatibility?
 
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