APR or Boost Dynamics Tune?

[cospringsalltrack]

Possibly getting a tune on friday for an IS20 upgraded Alltrack w/ DSG. I want a plug and play, I don't care about tweaking any settings or anything. this is my wife's DD and I don't need to get sketchy with any tunes that risk long term durability.

APR- They seem to be a pretty safe bet. mass produced so it seems good for everyone, at the same time, all engines are slightly different and an individual tune can be beneficial (how beneficial i'm not sure). i also live above 6000' elevation so considering that when tuning may help.

Boost Dynamic Tuning- local indy Euro shop does a bunch with BDT and says they work well. There seems to be very little on the web about these guy(s) except for their own facebook page.

I'm torn between just going with what seems to be the safe route (APR) or trying something the local guy says works well.

APR- Claims of ~120 HP and 120 TQ gains over stock. about $750

BDT - Claims of about 50-60 HP, 60-70 Tq and running 16-18 psi for about $585.

I don't mind paying the extra $200 for the APR if that's the better route. I also don't want to spend money when its not needed....

Who's used or heard anything about Boost Dynamic?

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Sounds like the boost dynamic tune is for stock turbo 1.8’s, those numbers are too low for an IS20 tune.

I’ve also never heard of boost dynamic, or bdt.

I would suggest APR. though since you’re in Colorado, there may be merit in talking to the Boost Dynamics people. If they’re a local tuner, they know how to tune at elevation. That’s important, since your APR tune is a one size fits all tune.

 

[Keehs360]

Possibly getting a tune on friday for an IS20 upgraded Alltrack w/ DSG. I want a plug and play, I don't care about tweaking any settings or anything. this is my wife's DD and I don't need to get sketchy with any tunes that risk long term durability.

APR- They seem to be a pretty safe bet. mass produced so it seems good for everyone, at the same time, all engines are slightly different and an individual tune can be beneficial (how beneficial i'm not sure). i also live above 6000' elevation so considering that when tuning may help.

Boost Dynamic Tuning- local indy Euro shop does a bunch with BDT and says they work well. There seems to be very little on the web about these guy(s) except for their own facebook page.

I'm torn between just going with what seems to be the safe route (APR) or trying something the local guy says works well.

APR- Claims of ~120 HP and 120 TQ gains over stock. about $750

BDT - Claims of about 50-60 HP, 60-70 Tq and running 16-18 psi for about $585.

I don't mind paying the extra $200 for the APR if that's the better route. I also don't want to spend money when its not needed....

Who's used or heard anything about Boost Dynamic?

I'm near Denver. I'm running apr's low tq 91 octane stage 1 and their dsg tune. I dyno'd the other day at PFI. 280whp and 320wtq on my 2020 gti. i have also been monitoring knock for about 5-10 miles after every fill up of shell premium. the tune is good at our elevation for sure.

at best i see as high as 24psi peak with the tune settling at about 20 psi at redline. and at worse when things are super heat soaked i see a spike of 21 psi with the tune settling at 17 psi at redline. my brother at sea level with this same exact tune would see as high as 26 psi with the tune settling at redline at about 21 psi. our elevation doesn't like turbo's but it seems like apr's tune "adjusts" enough during the relearn phase

 

[cospringsalltrack]

Sounds like the boost dynamic tune is for stock turbo 1.8’s, those numbers are too low for an IS20 tune.

I’ve also never heard of boost dynamic, or bdt.

I would suggest APR.

I agree about the numbers. I looked on their site and they're saying stage 1 is- no mods required. stage 2 is CAI and remove cat (i'm not removing the cat). I guess i pull the numbers from a GTI tune?

 

[cospringsalltrack]

I'm near Denver. I'm running apr's low tq 91 octane stage 1 and their dsg tune. I dyno'd the other day at PFI. 280whp and 320wtq on my 2020 gti. i have also been monitoring knock for about 5-10 miles after every fill up of shell premium. the tune is good at our elevation for sure.

at best i see as high as 24psi peak with the tune settling at about 20 psi at redline. and at worse when things are super heat soaked i see a spike of 21 psi with the tune settling at 17 psi at redline. my brother at sea level with this same exact tune would see as high as 26 psi with the tune settling at redline at about 21 psi. our elevation doesn't like turbo's but it seems like apr's tune "adjusts" enough during the relearn phase

Are you stock other than the tunes? those are good numbers considering our elevation.

Are you happy with the tune overall?

 

[Keehs360]

Are you stock other than the tunes? those are good numbers considering our elevation.

Are you happy with the tune overall?

i have the injen evolution intake and muffler delete. but yeah other than that im stock.

regardless of which decision you take, it's a bit of an initial investment. if you're ever in my neck of the woods PM me? I'll let you take the gti out so you can drive it a bit. it could help your decision.

i am very happy with the tune. and especially happy with the dsg tune. I like that D is a tiny bit more aggressive while S feel super special and crazy.

 

[cospringsalltrack]

i have the injen evolution intake and muffler delete. but yeah other than that im stock.

regardless of which decision you take, it's a bit of an initial investment. if you're ever in my neck of the woods PM me? I'll let you take the gti out so you can drive it a bit. it could help your decision.

i am very happy with the tune. and especially happy with the dsg tune. I like that D is a tiny bit more aggressive while S feel super special and crazy.

Yes, the DSG tune is getting done at the same time. from what everyone says, its absolutely a good tune to do, so why not. did you notice any reduced turbo lag from stand still with the two tunes? the lag is awful right now.

 

[Keehs360]

Yes, the DSG tune is getting done at the same time. from what everyone says, its absolutely a good tune to do, so why not. did you notice any reduced turbo lag from stand still with the two tunes? the lag is awful right now.

I’m gonna be real with u. I bought it with 6 miles. New. On the second day I had the muffler deletes and about three days after than I installed the intake. It took months to get to 1k miles. I drive maybe 100-400 miles a month. At 1k miles I had the oil changed and immediately had the shop flash the apr stage 1 and dsg. I have no idea what the car really felt like stock. I do remember lag not being an issue since the is20 is pretty tiny as is, at least compared to the gt25 in my old srt4. Now that was lag LOL.

the tune should allow for a faster onset of boost. But I don’t think you should expect any faster than 200-400 rpm or so.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

I agree about the numbers. I looked on their site and they're saying stage 1 is- no mods required. stage 2 is CAI and remove cat (i'm not removing the cat). I guess i pull the numbers from a GTI tune?

Are you talking about APR’s site?

If you look at the ECU tune drop downs when comparing the power gains, there are options for “1.8 Stage 3 IS20” and “1.8 Stage 3 IS20DP” and the “DP” files require an aftermarket high flow down pipe, though not necessarily a catless one. The plain “Stage 3 IS20” file works on the OEM DP, but you’re getting way less power due to how restrictive the 1.8’s DP is in comparison to the IS38’s factory DP.

 

[cospringsalltrack]

Are you talking about APR’s site?

If you look at the ECU tune drop downs when comparing the power gains, there are options for “1.8 Stage 3 IS20” and “1.8 Stage 3 IS20DP” and the “DP” files require an aftermarket high flow down pipe, though not necessarily a catless one. The plain “Stage 3 IS20” file works on the OEM DP, but you’re getting way less power due to how restrictive the 1.8’s DP is in comparison to the IS38’s factory DP.

on their dyno sheet they're only claiming a gain of 10 HP if you upgrade the DP. And i'm thinking there's gotta be a gain on the regular is20 tune and then adding a DP at a later point. may not be the full 10hp, but it has to be something

 

[jimlloyd40]

Neither get EQT.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

on their dyno sheet they're only claiming a gain of 10 HP if you upgrade the DP. And i'm thinking there's gotta be a gain on the regular is20 tune and then adding a DP at a later point. may not be the full 10hp, but it has to be something

Yeah, peak numbers don’t tell the whole story. This is particularly true with stage 2 tunes, I.e. Aftermarket DP tunes. The engine/turbo breathes better at all RPMs, putting less strain on the turbo for the same net effect. The real story is the “area under the curve,” which you gain plenty of real estate on a aftermarket DP. It’s not the same difference from Stage 1 to 2 as stock to stage 1, and it’s definitely even less so when you’re upgrading the turbo but keeping the stock DP. So I see what you’re saying and I say more power to you. Do it up man!

 

[cospringsalltrack]

Yeah, peak numbers don’t tell the whole story. This is particularly true with stage 2 tunes, I.e. Aftermarket DP tunes. The engine/turbo breathes better at all RPMs, putting less strain on the turbo for the same net effect. The real story is the “area under the curve,” which you gain plenty of real estate on a aftermarket DP. It’s not the same difference from Stage 1 to 2 as stock to stage 1, and it’s definitely even less so when you’re upgrading the turbo but keeping the stock DP. So I see what you’re saying and I say more power to you. Do it up man!

Interesting. growing up i've always been into NA motors and "no replacement for displacement" so a lot of this turbo stuff is foreign to me.

 

[ZuMBLe]

Possibly getting a tune on friday for an IS20 upgraded Alltrack w/ DSG. I want a plug and play, I don't care about tweaking any settings or anything. this is my wife's DD and I don't need to get sketchy with any tunes that risk long term durability.

APR- They seem to be a pretty safe bet. mass produced so it seems good for everyone, at the same time, all engines are slightly different and an individual tune can be beneficial (how beneficial i'm not sure). i also live above 6000' elevation so considering that when tuning may help.

Boost Dynamic Tuning- local indy Euro shop does a bunch with BDT and says they work well. There seems to be very little on the web about these guy(s) except for their own facebook page.

I'm torn between just going with what seems to be the safe route (APR) or trying something the local guy says works well.

APR- Claims of ~120 HP and 120 TQ gains over stock. about $750

BDT - Claims of about 50-60 HP, 60-70 Tq and running 16-18 psi for about $585.

I don't mind paying the extra $200 for the APR if that's the better route. I also don't want to spend money when its not needed....

Who's used or heard anything about Boost Dynamic?

Go APR. It was always a great option, but even better now with the sales and reduced pricing.

 

[MeltedSolid]

I also hadn't heard of Boost Dynamic Tuning, but after a google search you would need to get their stage 3 tune I think, which is $50 more than APR's. Also, idk if I trust them because they offer tunes for a mk7 GTI with a 1.8T, which doesn't exist...