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APR Presents the MK7 Golf R ECU Upgrade!

Aussie R

Ready to race!
Location
Australia
I am having V2.5 loaded into my Australian Stg2 Golf R. What is the upgrade
in terms of TQ and HP and drivability due to this APR software update?
The email my dealer received from APR doesn't say anything about the improvements.

Rafal, You should contact Mullerhaus. They have it running on Jonathon's car and seem very happy with it. Other than that have a look at the thread on VWROC which has dyno on it.

From what I have seen and heard it's slightly more power but mainly improved power/torque in mid range. Addresses the previous issue with Turbo overspool.

I belive that power is roughly 400hp/400lbs but few mention they were 420/420 which would be very strong.
 

Rafal

Ready to race!
Rafal, You should contact Mullerhaus. They have it running on Jonathon's car and seem very happy with it. Other than that have a look at the thread on VWROC which has dyno on it.

From what I have seen and heard it's slightly more power but mainly improved power/torque in mid range. Addresses the previous issue with Turbo overspool.

I belive that power is roughly 400hp/400lbs but few mention they were 420/420 which would be very strong.
It's done! Feels good, especially with my RaceChip throttle response module, torque is much more linear from idle, not such a big surge after 2500RPM and much stronger mid range around 3500-4500RPM. Even less lag down low than before. I don't know why everybody doesn't install the throttle unit to fix up the stock throttle lag.
 

R.J.

New member
Location
NY
2017 Golf R

Does the stage one still come in different torque curves? I'd like to hang onto the stock clutch for now and upgrade it later along with a possible stage two later on.

Being a manual, is the heel/ toe revmatching option come standard with the tune?

How does the tune affect the different drive modes if at all?

Sorry, just got the car yesterday.
 

Arin@APR

GOLFMK7 Official Sponsor
Location
Auburn, Al
Car(s)
B8 S4, MK7 GSW TDI
Yes, we offer high and low torque for stage 1. High, medium and low torque for stage 2. The graphs are switchable on our website so you can see each.

Heel / Toe, we enable left foot braking so it will not cut throttle with the brake pressed.

Drive modes: all retain their individual characteristics.
 

MiamiBourne

Go Kart Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2016 6MT Golf R Oryx
Arin, is APR doing any working on launch control for manual cars or even no-lift shifting?

I asked them this a few weeks ago and they said maybe, but there is no time table on it.

I'm not hopeful on APR, but I'm sure another tuner will bring this. Until then I'll wait for another tuner to bring this to the market.

6 speed owners...they have forgotten about us :(:mad:

Lol.
 

Aussie R

Ready to race!
Location
Australia
http://www.vwgolf.net.au/showthread.php?31541-MK7-Golf-R-Stage-1-amp-2-Dyno-Race-results

Check out first post in thread. Has the latest v2.5 stage 2 file (stock IC) in hot 36c conditions.

This isn't my car but I was impressed to see 15-20AWKW gained by adding DP and new file. Since many previously said either losses or minimal gains in previous APR stage 2 file this is massive improvement. If you're not a dyno person can see trap speeds 2-3mph higher and .25 of second faster.

It's got me back on board and will be switching back tomorrow to this file. Looking forward to the extra 10-15WKW coming my way.

Good work APR for working hard to release a completely new massively improved tune.
 

Aussie R

Ready to race!
Location
Australia
Happy to say I'm back with APR. Stage 2 tune and upgraded spark plugs installed today.

The tune has done everything I hoped, has the fantastic response. Boost almost immediate with no surge/flutter sound. The car is so smooth on idle can barely tell it's on.

I haven't had chance to drive really hard but on couple times I did it's brutally fast.
 

joe944

New member
Location
Bay Area, CA
I asked them this a few weeks ago and they said maybe, but there is no time table on it.

I'm not hopeful on APR, but I'm sure another tuner will bring this. Until then I'll wait for another tuner to bring this to the market.

6 speed owners...they have forgotten about us :(:mad:

Lol.

+1

I'm hanging onto my jb1 until a tuner comes out with these features.
 

sixspeedz

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
New Jersey
I went from previous Stage 1 (v1.1) to this new one.

The most noticeable change is in the low RPM range. For instance, I almost stalled a couple of times leaving the tuner because there was less boost in the low rpms = more gas to get into 1st from a stop.
However, the delivery is much more linear when reaching higher rpms, and I can more smoothly get into 1st / 2nd without as much ... "lunging" and "lurching" when it felt like there was a ton of boost.
I find myself wanting to take it 3-4k regularly when accelerating rather than having a swift lurch at ~3k rpm where it's all of the sudden fast (very noticeable in v1.1, and non-existant in v2.2)

From what I heard, the more "tameness" in the low rpms was to prevent overboosting and starving the turbo. The top-end didn't change.

I just updated from a file installed in Jan 2016 to the newest 2.3 (not sure what version was on there before as it was the previous owner, but I think it was as far back as 1.1).

It certainly smoothed out 1st gear launches and made the acceleration much more linear as you get going. It might have felt a bit more fun before just bombing around town from the easy boost on low RPM (or it could be me getting used to the car still), but I imagine this update is better for longevity of the turbo as mentioned and if overall gains are the same of better then its hard to complain!
 

Emm W

New member
Location
Sweden
Stage 1 - version 2.3
Stage 2 - version 2.5

Available now at your dealer. Go get it!

Arin, I recently had the APR ECU Stage 1 Low Torque v.2.3 tune installed on my Golf R 2016 (ROW), and am very impressed with the performance increase (I also got the Racing Line High-Flow Turbo Inlet Pipe, Turbo Inlet Elbow and Turbo Muffler Delete)! I was going to have the ECU High Torque tune along with the TCU v.2.1.1 tune installed as well; however, the car "bricked" during the last step 6 in the download process, and the dealer had to replace the whole mechatronic unit in order to get the car working again (since they didn't have that expensive direct-to-TCU cable that could otherwise have worked around the issue, as I understand it).

I would really like to have the ECU High Torque/TCU combo, but now I'm concerned that the same thing will happen if we try again, and since these mechatronic units apparently cost appr. USD 2,500, I don't think the dealer is too keen on trying again...

Can you please look into why this happened and possibly come up with some solution that will guarantee that this "bricking" thing doesn't occur if we try this again? Or do I just have to accept the fact that the TCU tune cannot be installed on my car? Let me know if you need any further information from me about this -- thanks,

/Mark (Sweden)
 

A3SBQ

Ready to race!
Location
Norway
Same thing happened to a friend of mine with his Golf R.
Try contacting the Norwegian APR dealer. He has the cable and programming unit to save the mechatronic if such happens during flash. If you live near the border and can drive to Oslo he will probably help you out. Good luck.
 

CDN_MKV

Wakka Wakka
Location
Vancouver, BC
Car(s)
07 UG GTI
@Arin

I live in Vancouver, BC. I purchased a bunch of stuff for my R in the US ending up with slightly better pricing than that offered here in CAD. Of the items purchased in the US are APR CF intake, CF intake pipe and downpipe (among other non-APR goodies).

I also purchased your intercooler, but locally because with all the other stuff I purchased I couldn't fit it all in my car when go across to pick it up.

I spoke with RPI today, planning to go from stock directly to stage 2; however they say I'm not eligible for the free stage 2 upgrade because I purchased an 'out of region' downpipe? Why on earth does it matter than I bought my downpipe in the US?

I've just spent close to $4K CAD on your products and about to spend another $1K for software and you won't give me the free upgrade to stage 2?

JJ
 
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imtimmy

Ready to race!
Location
Plano, TX
Had APR tuner do stage 1 programming today with 122 miles on the clock. The car wasn't pulling as well as I thought it would on drive home, however it was nearly 100 degrees and humid earlier this afternoon in DFW, TX. I let the car sit a few hours and with sunset headed out for burgers just a lil bit ago. Wow! The car is definitely tuned and more like what I was hoping for. Temperature has dropped to 85 degrees and pulling way better with much more responsiveness.
 
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