Has anyone changed tunes to try alternatives?

[jimlloyd40]

2015 GTI -
Cobb Stage 1 meh.
Cobb Stage 1 + meh
Cobb Stage 2 meh but better.
EQT Stage 2 holy shit, exponentially better.
When I went with an Is38 for a stage 3 set up I very much wanted to stay with EQT but did not want to datalog so that’s not an option. Or I wanted to dyno tune which also was not an option.
I went with an APR stage 3 tune and have been very happy with it.

You could have got a remote dyno tune with EQT. That's what I did. Go to a local to you dyno shop and EQT tunes it remotely.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Was uni 1+ felt i guess ok just peppier but nothing mind blowing
then uni stage 2 and felt no difference at all
went is38 and APR stage 2+ high torque and was pretty happy with it as a daily
finally ended up with a DBV2 on a custom EQT map with the AP and i could never have been happier in my life with the custom tune

kinda wish I stuck with AP and EQT from the start but oh well

Live and learn we've all been there.

 

[Keehs360]

You could have got a remote dyno tune with EQT. That's what I did. Go to a local to you dyno shop and EQT tunes it remotely.

Nice. What did you go with? Stage1? What did you dyno?

I’m lucky enough to have blue water near me. They have a fantastic tuner. But man are they pricey. I want to eventually go is38 but detune for the sake of staying around 280whp. My current power level. I just want a little tiny bit more lag.

maybe next year?

 

[jimlloyd40]

Nice. What did you go with? Stage1? What did you dyno?

I’m lucky enough to have blue water near me. They have a fantastic tuner. But man are they pricey. I want to eventually go is38 but detune for the sake of staying around 280whp. My current power level. I just want a little tiny bit more lag.

maybe next year?

Custom dyno tune with EQT. 416 HP and 428 torque.

 

[Keehs360]

Custom dyno tune with EQT. 416 HP and 428 torque.

Nice

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

I went Uni S1 on my GTI and now APR Plus (so Stage 1 87 octane) on my Alltrack. Different power plants, and my GTI was DSG (with TCU tune as well) while my Alltrack is 6MT.

I hated both Uni’s ECU + their TCU tune. Waste of money.

I got more value out of the $1000 Stage 1 87 octane low torque tune with a warranty on a MT than I got out of 1350 (600 ECU +600 TCU + 150 UniConnect cable) for a Stage 1 High Torque 93 Octane Tune + Stage 1 DSG tune with Uni.

that should speak volumes lol

 

[Keehs360]

I went Uni S1 on my GTI and now APR Plus (so Stage 1 87 octane) on my Alltrack. Different power plants, and my GTI was DSG (with TCU tune as well) while my Alltrack is 6MT.

I hated both Uni’s ECU + their TCU tune. Waste of money.

I got more value out of the $1000 Stage 1 87 octane low torque tune with a warranty on a MT than I got out of 1350 (600 ECU +600 TCU + 150 UniConnect cable) for a Stage 1 High Torque 93 Octane Tune + Stage 1 DSG tune with Uni.

that should speak volumes lol

Apr’s tuning is very mature for sure. On the tcu side, definitely a bit immature and young according to many many people here.

on the ecu side of things. I’m happy with apr

 

[AERO]

Does anyone know if APR is still doing is38 tunes? Their website keeps changing

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Does anyone know if APR is still doing is38 tunes? Their website keeps changing

Yes. Their website IS weird and in constant transition these days. But they still do IS38 tunes. I'm not sure if they still offer aftermarket DP tunes though. You can only get an IS38 tune that's tuned for the OEM GTI DP.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

So I'd probably narrow it down between APR and Access Port for EQ3. Sounds like the majority recommend. Again, APR would be convenient living 10 minutes from a dealer that flashes APR but I suppose nothing is more convenient than flashing at your own home.

It sounds like the tunes on the Access Port, unless they're fine tuned and not off the shelf, they're rather play it safe tunes that don't push anything. APR on the other hand looks to be the more powerful off the shelf tune you can find. At least regarding their advertised numbers. I definitely don't want to be working with a tuner to go back and forth making adjustments. I kind of want to just have a tune installed, set and forget it for awhile. I know APR would be just that but I'm wondering if there are any other off the shelf tunes supported with the Access Port that compete with APR numbers. At least for stage1. Trying to stay away from Stage 2 thoughts (downpipe in Jersey is a NIGHTMARE come inspection time).

 

[Keehs360]

Yes. Their website IS weird and in constant transition these days. But they still do IS38 tunes. I'm not sure if they still offer aftermarket DP tunes though. You can only get an IS38 tune that's tuned for the OEM GTI DP.

Oh wow the gti stock dp fits the is38?! I thought it didn’t at all

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Oh wow the gti stock dp fits the is38?! I thought it didn’t at all

yeah dude they all fit it as far as I know. You can bolt the Is38 up to the 1.8’s DP

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

Side note - Anyone know why APR took their Stage 2 off the market yet left Stage 1?

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Side note - Anyone know why APR took their Stage 2 off the market yet left Stage 1?

yes. The EPA has begun going after brands that produce aftermarket Downpipes “for off-road use only,” because they know that’s just a cop-out. They know people are using these on the road. So APR, being the biggest tuner and likely biggest producer of aftermarket DPs for the American market VW tuner scene, discontinued the production of their catted DP as well as the stage 2 software for aftermarket DPs. That’s why there’s essentially no Stage 2 in their lineup anymore - they call IS20/38 upgrades on 1.8/2.0 platforms with their respective stock downpipes “Stage 3.”

 

[sterkrazzy]

Side note - Anyone know why APR took their Stage 2 off the market yet left Stage 1?

They're trying to prevent being sued. Lawyers started going after companies/tuners that are altering emissions, so APR pulled their stage 2 tunes and downpipes, and from what I've heard I think they're working on a stage 2 tune that doesn't require a downpipe.


I swore off APR after their tune ran like shit on my mk6 and I switched to Stratified. The strat tune fixed all my issues and the car ran really well, so when I got my mk7 I was sure I was going to go with cobb again. Then I started seeing all the comments about EQT so I looked into it more. I've had an EQT tune on my car for about a year now and it's given me 0 issues. The car behaves and drives like an oem car that just has a bunch more power. I've never had a tune that was this smooth and this consistent with power delivery. Every time you step on the throttle you know exactly what to expect and it's always going to do what you want. It doesn't matter what level of throttle you're giving it, it's always smooth, and when you floor it there's never any kind of hesitation, it just goes and pulls strong all the way through.