APR Stage 1 vs Unitronic Stage 1+

[Raegar]

There was something missing that Cobb didn't have access to yet. Can't remember but I read it on another thread. I consider Cobb to be more bleeding edge at the moment. Higher risk higher reward.

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They don't have TCU tune yet, but from what is floating around, they're working on it. And they've got a unique traction control system that tuners utilize

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[demi9od]

They don't have TCU tune yet, but from what is floating around, they're working on it. And they've got a unique traction control system that tuners utilize

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No, something else in regards to ECU tuning.

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[dood.]

No, something else in regards to ECU tuning.

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Is this what you're talking about? I don't think the port injection point would apply to a stock car, who knows what a bunch of other things means. Copied this from the VTT turbo thread:

Cobb does not have control of the port injection via the DME, and a bunch of other things it doesn't have. I spoke directly with Cobb recently. They have a lot of stuff coming, but currently it's limited. This is why we went with UM

link to post: http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showpost.php?p=517903&postcount=158

 

[demi9od]

Is this what you're talking about? I don't think the port injection point would apply to a stock car, who knows what a bunch of other things means. Copied this from the VTT turbo thread:

Cobb does not have control of the port injection via the DME, and a bunch of other things it doesn't have. I spoke directly with Cobb recently. They have a lot of stuff coming, but currently it's limited. This is why we went with UM

link to post: http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showpost.php?p=517903&postcount=158

Yep, that was it. Thanks.

 

[Hans]

I've had my Stage 1+ for about 6k miles now and love it. Of course saying love it means nothing when discussing comparisons, because I could very well have loved the other tunes as well.

But as far as power and how its delivered I think its great and as it is my daily/only car, I chose Uni knowing full well it was more conservative than others. Torque is managed well I think, and while wheel spin is there, I can imagine how much more there'd be with APR. That, combined with their TCU tune is excellent combination as most people would tell you. I loved the DSG tune the moment I drove it back to the parking lot from the tent at Waterfest =)

The problem with car mods (especially if you're the kind that loves power - who doesnt right) is that whatever tune you choose, you'll want more! More may mean switching boats to other company entirely, getting IS38 - hybrids - or boss kits, COBB pro tunes, etc etc.

This

 

[pieguy]

Is this what you're talking about? I don't think the port injection point would apply to a stock car, who knows what a bunch of other things means. Copied this from the VTT turbo thread:

Cobb does not have control of the port injection via the DME, and a bunch of other things it doesn't have. I spoke directly with Cobb recently. They have a lot of stuff coming, but currently it's limited. This is why we went with UM

link to post: http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showpost.php?p=517903&postcount=158

I think this is why VTT chose the UM route at least initially because if you go full e85, you will need port injection once you're past 350whp using stock direct injection.

 

[SLHammer]

Those of you who have been running Unitronic stage 1 or 1+ for a while now... Any issues? I have 5k miles and I want to do it, im just concerned about reliability/ blowing turbo or worse.

30K miles and no issues anywhere. The tune makes the car and I put on different tires since stock sucked. Best of luck to all!

 

[SLHammer]

My APR stage 1 car has beat several Unitronic stage 2 cars...no comparison stage 1 to stage 1

That's great if it makes you feel good. As most are stating in this thread they want reliability over ultimate performance. Maybe you just saw a comparison thread and decided to jump in before reading the thread.

 

[GTI Jake]

That's great if it makes you feel good. As most are stating in this thread they want reliability over ultimate performance. Maybe you just saw a comparison thread and decided to jump in before reading the thread.

This is a really old tread

My car turned 90k miles last week, and it’s been APR tuned since before its first oil change.

Zero issues to date. APR does more R&D than all other tuners combined, so it’s an extremely safe tune and doesn’t have to sacrifice performance to do so. I wouldn’t call APR “ultimate performance” but it’s definitely the best OTS tune available for the platform IMO

 

[Visceral]

I've got 60k miles on the odo with 40k of it Uni 1+. Very happy and zero issues. I really think you can't go wrong with either one (APR vs Uni) but everyone has an opinion so there you go. From my recollection, I believe APR tune is more punchy and probably would be described as having more character while the Uni is a very smooth tune which fits my driving style anyway... Best of luck.

 

[Diggs24]

So, it's less visceral?

 

[Ridebjj]

I went 10k miles on Uni Stage 1 no problem, then skipped past 1+ to Stage 2 4k miles ago. That also has been fine.

APR is probably the higher performing option, but you're tied to a 3rd party anytime you want to change it which is something I'm fundamentally against. I happily give up the small % difference in power for the freedom. But, that's just me.

 

[shortyb]

So, it's less visceral?

Bwaha, saw what ya did there.

 

[ZuMBLe]

Bwaha, saw what ya did there.

Damn.. took me 3 looks at least. That.. is well played.

 

[PLF8593]

I had Uni S1+ ECU/TCU on my car for a month and every single time I got it up to factory speed limiter the engine threw a "soft" EPC (no EPC light on dash, but engine/trans undoubtedly behaving in EPC mode). Bone stock hardware, running shell 93. It also pulled timing a lot. So I downgraded to S1 (91 octane / Low output) and still ran 93 and saw much less timing pull, however it still threw that "soft" EPC at/around factory speed limiter. I guess the software doesn't overwrite governor, and it seems to not play well with the factory speed limiter in the ECU. I also felt that Uni's TCU tune was a waste of money, it drove 90% stock. Only real differences were WOT shift points and gear display in D/S on MFD lol...

I had no "reliability" issues aside from the above mentioned "soft epcs." But my car was a piece of shit to begin with (always got bad gas mileage, like 29mpg going 60 on the highway) so YMMV.

Going forward, I won't pay a "big name company" like APR/Uni for a tune. I suggest buying the OTS tunes from the Cobb tuners, because they're small businesses doing good work. I'm going EQT with my Alltrack.