Unitronic stage 2+/DSG stage 2 review

dre1615 said:

Sorry to hear about your issues and overall disappointment. Certainly not to kick you while you're down, but this is exactly what I was afraid of when deciding on my IS38 tune. I'm currently Uni Stage 2, really enjoy it and don't regret my decision here. But I was afraid I would be underwhelmed with their IS38 tune. So I made the decision to jump to Eurodyne. IS38 is getting installed today and should have it tuned up today or tomorrow. I'll let you know my impressions. Good luck with whichever way you decide to go!

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jb99875 said:

Yeah I feel like the ECU tunes is just enough, but the real underwhelming feeling comes from the TCU tune. Only benefit is the clamping pressure. Will probably be going GIAC. Vag Tech really hypes them up, so they're next on my list.

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dre1615 said:

I do feel like the mapping in their TCU tunes are better and will say that alone improved the driving experience. It's so hard to tell with all of these tuners in regards to clamping pressures, etc. I really think most of them are blowing smoke up our a$$ on this subject. No one posts actual data, they just claim clamping pressures have been updated to better take advantage of the power. My DSG isn't slipping (yet, knock on wood), but I'm not convinced we're actually getting what we think we are with the TCU tunes.

I do most of my driving in D mode, and if I want to run it out I go manual. Staying in sport mode (stock or Unitronic) never communicated with what I really wanted from the car. Transmission always seemed to have a mind of its own. In D mode I can modulate the throttle to hold gears or go full manual, sport is more obsolete to me. I believe shift times are the same in both modes, correct?

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jb99875 said:

Alright so anyone that has read my post knows I've gone back and fourth way to much when deciding a tune for the IS38. As the title suggest I went Uni simply for the cost since I had their stage 2. I'll start with their DSG tune.

Overall the DSG stage 2 tune does make the car feel better, it makes the low speeds (under 10mph) a lot more bearable, the extended shift points are nice. There seems to be a noticeable difference in the shift times(barely).

Drive Mode: 1st and 2nd gear are pretty on point but after that I feel drive mode is still very lacking. It still feels like its trying to shift as early as possible to the point where it sound like the IS38 is bogging down. I feel like I have to push the pedal about 50-60% to get it to shift back down and I had it go down 2 gear instead of one which scared the crap out of me. Overall drive mode is still very disappointing.

Sport Mode: Same as drive mode 1st and 2 seem perfect shift points. 3rd gear is a different story, even barely hitting the gas and letting go it will hold 3rd gear till a bit past 40mph, which is longer than stock DSG. some people may like that but I find it very annoying, it feels like the car needs to shift but wont. Once you're finally in 4th the shift point is nice into 5th. from 5th to 6th there doesn't seem to be a set shift point. I've had it shift around 65mph sometimes it refuses up until 77mph which is again annoying.

Overall Unitronic DSG stage 2 is okay at best. It did get rid of some of the quirks I hated about the DSG but also seem to make other worse or left them unaddressed. for the 300 miles I have driven so far, I still find myself using the paddle shift mode more than anything.


Unitronic Stage 2+ ECU tune. Overall I'm a bit happier with their ECU tune than their DSG tune. First impressions were its very consistent power deliverly/steady.

The power increase is noticeable, you can definitely tell its holding power till about 6500 RPM, All gears seem like one continuous pull. Its a very smooth touring/stock feel (extremely linear) compared to the punchy feeling of stage 2 IS20. There is no noticeable torque increase. It feels very conservative compare to IS20 stage 2, like there is untapped power left in the IS38. I did know this going with Unitronic so I wasn't surprised. I am currently getting an overboost EPC which I went in 5/22 and there was no unitronic support (due to some car event) I'm waiting till Friday to troubleshoot.

Overall, I feel very neutral about recent upgrades. DSG stage 2 4/10, ECU stage 2+ 7/10. I'm leaning toward dumping Unitronic (Unitronic offers a hassle free, no questions asked 15-day Satisfaction Guarantee on its Performance Software ) after the whole overboost issue is cleared up.

Thank you for anyone who took time to read the post and if I didn't answer question you may have just let me know.

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John@Unitronic said:

Thanks for your feedback. If you haven't already, please email me at john [at] getunitronic [dot] com with your full name, VIN, and as much detail as you can provide and I'd be happy to assist. If anyone else needs support, please do the same and we're here to support you!

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jb99875 said:

Its hard for me to agree that it improved the driving experience. I was expecting a night and day difference like I've seen with some forum members. I felt like I put $600 band aids on the TCU. In my opinion, this is only my opinion, other than increase in clamping pressure Uni stage 2 TCU is not worth it.

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signkutter said:

I was about to pull the trigger on the UNIstage 2 ECU/TCU combo. I have a 2016 GTI DSG SE. Would you say that the TCU tune is a waste of cash? Should i just go with the ECU tune?

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jb99875 said:

I wont say its a waste, it does increase clamping pressure and does smooth out the driving some what just not as much as i would like. I have werid pet peeves that others may not. Stage 2 Uni ECU was great i pulled on countless cars and never had an issue. I'm not a fan of mismatching software ex. APR TCU, Uni ECU but that's me. But i guess if it comes down to it i wouldn't purchase it again. They have a 15 day money back so if you dont like it just have them revert it.

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Isj said:

are you running a colder spark plug like the RS7 beru or ngk plugs?

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jb99875 said:

Has anyone run into anything like this?

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