APR DSG tune

[reemizzle]

I'm stage 2 with tcu tune APR on my mk7 and trust me it's a big difference in shifts. The tcu tune will help your tranny keep up with the new power also the longevity of it essentially as well. The gear shifts are way more smooth and crisp. There's also no more of that weird lag/or hesitated shifts(I don't know how else to explain it, but I freaking hated the stock doing this) when your slowing down or taking off. Try to find a member near you that has it done to see the difference in it. You'll want it after driving with it on especially tuned. Also I thought APR had a refund period of some sort so you can try it and see if you like it or not (don't quote me on this as I tuned mined and never looked back loving all the tunes)

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Having stage 2 right now, the DSG tune has been next on the list ever since.


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[Mk7user]

Use sport mode or manual if you want to hold gear.

This. +1000000

 

[deanmarr]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I booked an appt. Thursday to get the DSG tune. Until then its manual mode all the time, which is not a bad thing.

 

[Axles of Evil]

I can weigh in...

From personal experience!

I have the ECU and TCU Unitronic Stage 1 tunes, and as mentioned in other threads, the most significant upgrade to my car was not even the extra 100 HP...it was the TCU tune.

I was always on edge driving the car due to the crappy gear timing, and going slow in traffic or the parking lot....holy crap Bucky. TCU fixed that believe it or not.

To put it mildy...VW screwed us big time with crappy econobox-esque transmission programming in this GTI. Look, if I wanted econobox programming I would have bought an econobox. The GTI and R are supposed to be (quasi) "sports cars" and I think should act like such. Not so with the factory programming.

Whats wrong?

The OEM DSG program ALWAYS wants to put the car in the highest gear possible and the lowest speed possible....you know, to save gas. 6th gear at 40MPH....are they kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Total crap. We did not buy this car for it to behave this way.

I feel that I should not have to row the manual mode to get it to perform. Now, in D it works very very well, what a difference!


So, I fixed this situation with a TCU tune. I did not know what to expect, but the shitty way it drove off the lot, I knew I had to do something and the possibility was there to see if the TCU tune could.

It did.


Now, the car is ALWAYS in the right gear, slow or fast, tame or wild. No exceptions, its almost like it knows where it needs to be for the optimum drive-ability. I feel like I should send VW a F&*^#g bill for the upgrade seeing they could not give me this in the first place.

This car NEEDS a TCU upgrade to fix the shitty mess VW provided to us. And yes it is THAT GOOD. My advice for anyone who feels like the DSG is not working well for them, or you are longing for something better, or the Omni-present condition of it seems clunky (especially at parking lot speeds), get it fixed with a DSG tune.

I was of the mindset for $ 600.00 I was willing to try anything to fix this vehicular mess. It worked, and worked wonderfully to the point where the car is now a real joy to drive. Cant say enough good things about it.

 

[deanmarr]

Thanks man. You answered all of my questions. I can't wait to get this DSG fixed.

 

[gti330ex]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I booked an appt. Thursday to get the DSG tune. Until then its manual mode all the time, which is not a bad thing.

Nice, let us know how you like it.

From personal experience!

I have the ECU and TCU Unitronic Stage 1 tunes, and as mentioned in other threads, the most significant upgrade to my car was not even the extra 100 HP...it was the TCU tune.

I was always on edge driving the car due to the crappy gear timing, and going slow....holy crap bucky. TCU fixed that believe it or not.

To put it mildy...VW screwed us big time with crappy econobox-esque transmission programming in this GTI. Look, if I wanted econobox programming I would have bought an econobox. The GTI and R are supposed to be (quasi) "sports cars" and I think should act like such. Not so with the factory programming.

Whats wrong?

The OEM DSG program ALWAYS wants to put the car in the highest gear possible and the lowest speed possible....you know, to save gas. 6th gear at 40MPH....are they kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Total crap. We did not buy this car for it to behave this way.

So, I fixed this situation with a TCU tune. I did not know what to expect, but the shitty way it drove off the lot, I knew I had to do something and the possibility was there to see if the TCU tune could.

It did.


Now, the car is ALWAYS in the right gear, slow or fast, tame or wild. No exceptions, its almost like it knows where it needs to be for the optimum driveability. I feel like I should send VW a F&*^#g bill for the upgrade seeing they could not give me this in the first place.

This car NEEDS a TCU upgrade to fix the shitty mess VW provided to us. And yes it is THAT GOOD. My advice for anyone who feels like the DSG is not working well for them, or you are longing for something better, or the Omni-present condition of it seems clunky (especially at parking lot speeds), get it fixed with a DSG tune.

I was of the mindset for $ 600.00 I was willing to try anything to fix this vehicular mess. It worked, and worked wonderfully to the point where the car is now a real joy to drive. Cant say enough good things about it.

Let me get this straight, so even when your car was new - off of dealer's lot, you had a problem with DSG's shifting points?

 

[rip steakface]

Use sport mode or manual if you want to hold gear.

this this this...

i went with the DSG after 30 years of manuals because i WANTED the econobox option. if i want to drive it enthusiastically i'm certainly NOT going to have it in D, i will be shifting manually. any time i'm in D (S is pointless for me) i'm not too concerned about holding gears or ripping through traffic, and i'm perfectly happy puttering along getting the best fuel economy possible, especially when a quick tug/tugs of the left paddle drops a gear or two and overrides the auto mode if i need a quick burst. for me D does exactly what i think it should right from the factory.

i have NEVER had the car unexpectedly shift for me while in manual, never had it intrude in any way when i want to be in control. to me the beauty is the car's ability to be both an econobox AND a hot hatch with the dsg depending on my mood/needs. you can do this to a point with a manual (at the loss of some engagement, obviously) but not to the extent of the dsg, where i can let it take over for the most part.

not too many cars for under $30k that can deliver on that

 

[Isj]

From personal experience!

I have the ECU and TCU Unitronic Stage 1 tunes, and as mentioned in other threads, the most significant upgrade to my car was not even the extra 100 HP...it was the TCU tune.

I was always on edge driving the car due to the crappy gear timing, and going slow in traffic or the parking lot....holy crap Bucky. TCU fixed that believe it or not.

To put it mildy...VW screwed us big time with crappy econobox-esque transmission programming in this GTI. Look, if I wanted econobox programming I would have bought an econobox. The GTI and R are supposed to be (quasi) "sports cars" and I think should act like such. Not so with the factory programming.

Whats wrong?

The OEM DSG program ALWAYS wants to put the car in the highest gear possible and the lowest speed possible....you know, to save gas. 6th gear at 40MPH....are they kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Total crap. We did not buy this car for it to behave this way.

I feel that I should not have to row the manual mode to get it to perform. Now, in D it works very very well, what a difference!


So, I fixed this situation with a TCU tune. I did not know what to expect, but the shitty way it drove off the lot, I knew I had to do something and the possibility was there to see if the TCU tune could.

It did.


Now, the car is ALWAYS in the right gear, slow or fast, tame or wild. No exceptions, its almost like it knows where it needs to be for the optimum drive-ability. I feel like I should send VW a F&*^#g bill for the upgrade seeing they could not give me this in the first place.

This car NEEDS a TCU upgrade to fix the shitty mess VW provided to us. And yes it is THAT GOOD. My advice for anyone who feels like the DSG is not working well for them, or you are longing for something better, or the Omni-present condition of it seems clunky (especially at parking lot speeds), get it fixed with a DSG tune.

I was of the mindset for $ 600.00 I was willing to try anything to fix this vehicular mess. It worked, and worked wonderfully to the point where the car is now a real joy to drive. Cant say enough good things about it.

so a DSG tune will fix the bucking issue when cruising at around 9mph (in traffic for example)?

I've had this issue since day one and always wondered if a DSG tune would fix it. Ive brought my car in to the dealer twice for this issue but was told it was normal.

 

[RedShft]

this this this...

i went with the DSG after 30 years of manuals because i WANTED the econobox option. if i want to drive it enthusiastically i'm certainly NOT going to have it in D, i will be shifting manually. any time i'm in D (S is pointless for me) i'm not too concerned about holding gears or ripping through traffic, and i'm perfectly happy puttering along getting the best fuel economy possible, especially when a quick tug/tugs of the left paddle drops a gear or two and overrides the auto mode if i need a quick burst. for me D does exactly what i think it should right from the factory.

i have NEVER had the car unexpectedly shift for me while in manual, never had it intrude in any way when i want to be in control. to me the beauty is the car's ability to be both an econobox AND a hot hatch with the dsg depending on my mood/needs. you can do this to a point with a manual (at the loss of some engagement, obviously) but not to the extent of the dsg, where i can let it take over for the most part.

not too many cars for under $30k that can deliver on that

I'm with you. I must be in the minority that doesn't mind D mode. It does what it is supposed to do. If I don't want it, then I go in to manual mode. But I do hate the kickdown switch and auto-upshift. Sport mode is probably the most annoying drive mode for me.

 

[dlau9]

I'm with you. I must be in the minority that doesn't mind D mode. It does what it is supposed to do. If I don't want it, then I go in to manual mode. But I do hate the kickdown switch and auto-upshift. Sport mode is probably the most annoying drive mode for me.

I hate D mode in city driving it shifts up way too fast and hunts for top gear way to often. I'll be 40-45 MPH in 6th all the time. Car bucks like nuts when in bumper to bumper because it can't predict the change from slowing down to accelerating.

I personally use Manual mode and shift with the actual shifter over the paddles (I don't like using both hands to hold 9 & 3 position the entire drive).

I wonder how much the APR TCU improves this.

 

[rip steakface]

I hate D mode in city driving it shifts up way too fast and hunts for top gear way to often. I'll be 40-45 MPH in 6th all the time. Car bucks like nuts when in bumper to bumper because it can't predict the change from slowing down to accelerating.

I personally use Manual mode and shift with the actual shifter over the paddles (I don't like using both hands to hold 9 & 3 position the entire drive).

I wonder how much the APR TCU improves this.

guess i've been lucky. my dsg has been super smooth in city driving and stop/go traffic in D since i got it 30k+ miles ago

i will agree with another poster about the shift direction on the shifter. vw (and many others) seem to use the counterintuitive direction for up/down shifts. sequential gearboxes are typically back to upshift and forward to downshift. mazda autos work this way as well.

 

[deanmarr]

I will let you know Thursday.

 

[dlau9]

guess i've been lucky. my dsg has been super smooth in city driving and stop/go traffic in D since i got it 30k+ miles ago

i will agree with another poster about the shift direction on the shifter. vw (and many others) seem to use the counterintuitive direction for up/down shifts. sequential gearboxes are typically back to upshift and forward to downshift. mazda autos work this way as well.

I think its my right foot control. I'm used to manual so I expect the car to do exactly what I'm thinking and not play a guessing game with me.

For example when I left off the gas it tends to upshift which is stupid because I like to coast when I drive manual. Another is when I slow down while coasting it will put the clutches into a neutral state and if I gas too quickly the DSG has to think and quickly pop into gear while it just went ino neutral and that becomes jerky as hell.

Manual mode is the only way for me to stop this guessing game fully.

 

[Axles of Evil]

I hate D mode in city driving it shifts up way too fast and hunts for top gear way to often. I'll be 40-45 MPH in 6th all the time. Car bucks like nuts when in bumper to bumper because it can't predict the change from slowing down to accelerating.

I personally use Manual mode and shift with the actual shifter over the paddles (I don't like using both hands to hold 9 & 3 position the entire drive).

I wonder how much the APR TCU improves this.

A LOT!

 

[Axles of Evil]

Its a fine balance

I hate D mode in city driving it shifts up way too fast and hunts for top gear way to often. I'll be 40-45 MPH in 6th all the time. Car bucks like nuts when in bumper to bumper because it can't predict the change from slowing down to accelerating.

I personally use Manual mode and shift with the actual shifter over the paddles (I don't like using both hands to hold 9 & 3 position the entire drive).

I wonder how much the APR TCU improves this.

I have always thought that the engine tune with its extra torque at the lower end of the spectrum, coupled with a behaving TCU tune will (and has) work wonders in fixing the temperament of slow speed driving. With my setup, I just uploaded the ECU then the TCU and it has really changed the overall characteristics of the car. It is true what is being said that the engine tune compliments the gearbox and vice versa. The two should be done together.

The slow speed driving jerkiness and other manifestations of non-sense has for the most part gone. Can you make it do it.....probably if you let off and slam on then let off the throttle again, but you have to try, it requires effort. For me, its just now very smooth and the Bucky jerky thing is a thing of the past. I have also adapted to having a smoother throttle response due to the tune, which could have had some input to this.

I think the mechanism for getting rid of the jerky thing is mainly attributed to gear selections made by the new programming. The TCU manages 1st and 2nd crawling speed gear changes different than the OEM tune, and combines these two gears to effectively get rid of the bucking problem. It really seems to me that is what is happening, because mine no longer has this issue.

All i know now is I thank the Lord that it was money well spent.