Has anyone changed tunes to try alternatives?

[Keehs360]

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

U have no idea. And will probably never know how u have just altered my car’s life. Thanks for the info

I’ll be saving up for the is38 and accessport. I’d want to detune the is38 and maintain my 280whp. I just want a little lag. Just a little.

thanks!!!!

 

[Keehs360]

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.”

Cobb is next. They’re moving toward gesi cats that are epa and carb approved.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

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.

That's nuts. Well, if they can make a Stg2 w/o a dp, I'm all for it Like, I want to make this car a hassle free fun car that when it comes to inspection, I can just drive right on through. Sure I may need to disable a Stg1 tune back to OEM, but that's no biggie. I want no hardware issues. I was literally paying to have my dp swapped back to stock, drive through, inspect, then drive back and put aftermarket back on. Such a PITA and $$$!

EQT you need to provide logs though correct? They send you a file, you run it, get new logs, send it back, they further tweak it until after a few passes back and forth it finally runs as you intend? I honestly am not sure I want to even go through that. Especially at a measly Stg1 (lol). I've heard good things about Stratified as well.

What part of APR on your mk6 didn't you like? I think stg1 and 2 ran Okay but it was awhile ago. Their K04 tune really sucked hard. Car was lifeless at lower RPM. I could barely keep up with any traffic at all. I had to like really get on it and then it sounded like I was racing everyone. Sure, it had nutty power when I really floored it, but living in Nj didn't allow me to do that often so I was mostly stuck with a very unpleasant driving experience on the daily.

 

[dunkelweizen]

EQT you need to provide logs though correct? They send you a file, you run it, get new logs, send it back, they further tweak it until after a few passes back and forth it finally runs as you intend? I honestly am not sure I want to even go through that. Especially at a measly Stg1 (lol).

No, their Stage1 OTS are just that with no need for logs. Only their custom tunes require logging. You just have to choose between 91 or 93 Octane (or E30 if that's readily available to you). And with their OTS tunes, they don't charge extra for the side options (LC, TC, burbles, etc).

The EQT OTS tune file is preloaded on the Accessport if you buy from them and comes with all the COBB stage 1 OTS tunes also - should you want to try them to feel the difference for some reason.

I'm waiting for mine to get here. Damn thing has been on the UPS truck since like 7am this morning. I'm wearing out my F5 key on the keyboard...

 

[sterkrazzy]

EQT you need to provide logs though correct? They send you a file, you run it, get new logs, send it back, they further tweak it until after a few passes back and forth it finally runs as you intend? I honestly am not sure I want to even go through that. Especially at a measly Stg1 (lol). I've heard good things about Stratified as well.

What part of APR on your mk6 didn't you like? I think stg1 and 2 ran Okay but it was awhile ago. Their K04 tune really sucked hard. Car was lifeless at lower RPM. I could barely keep up with any traffic at all. I had to like really get on it and then it sounded like I was racing everyone. Sure, it had nutty power when I really floored it, but living in Nj didn't allow me to do that often so I was mostly stuck with a very unpleasant driving experience on the daily.

There's no datalogging and revisions for EQT stage 1 and 2 tunes. They send you the tune and that's it. Install the tune, find a place to temporarily mount the cobb AP for your own peace of mind, set up 6 gauges on the display, and if after a week or 2 everything looks good put the cobb AP away and enjoy your tune.

I'll just say there was nothing good about my apr tune. It was a stage 2 tune, but whether I was trying to accelerate from a stop or just plain accelerating at any rate the power was all over the place. From a dead stop the throttle would act up and it was like I floored it for a second. All I would be trying to do was give it the smallest amount of gas so I could begin accelerating but the car would want to just launch itself. It was embarrassing in drive thrus and parking lots, and a little stressful. Then at about 2800-3000 rpms it would fall flat on its face and lose all power and once it got past that rpm range it would apply full power again. It was just a mess and I hated that car so much at that time in its life. I switched to stratified and before they even did any revisions the car was driving like it should have been from the start.

I only went stage 1 for my mk7 though. I just didn't want to be that loud and as much as a racerboi as my last car was.

 

[Justgotohm]

My APR stage 3 tune has been smooth without issue. It does retard boost to 7lbs in first which makes for a well controlled launch in my manual car.

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.

I would have been cool with that but failed to find a shop with a dyno that wanted my money.
So 416hp/428tq, is that with fueling on E85?

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

There's no datalogging and revisions for EQT stage 1 and 2 tunes. They send you the tune and that's it. Install the tune, find a place to temporarily mount the cobb AP for your own peace of mind, set up 6 gauges on the display, and if after a week or 2 everything looks good put the cobb AP away and enjoy your tune.

I'll just say there was nothing good about my apr tune. It was a stage 2 tune, but whether I was trying to accelerate from a stop or just plain accelerating at any rate the power was all over the place. From a dead stop the throttle would act up and it was like I floored it for a second. All I would be trying to do was give it the smallest amount of gas so I could begin accelerating but the car would want to just launch itself. It was embarrassing in drive thrus and parking lots, and a little stressful. Then at about 2800-3000 rpms it would fall flat on its face and lose all power and once it got past that rpm range it would apply full power again. It was just a mess and I hated that car so much at that time in its life. I switched to stratified and before they even did any revisions the car was driving like it should have been from the start.

I only went stage 1 for my mk7 though. I just didn't want to be that loud and as much as a racerboi as my last car was.

Holy crap, I thought some of this was just me. That is exactly what I experienced on a daily and it was HORRIBLE. I hated my car because of all that. My wife got pissed at me many times thinking I was intentionally jerking the car forward when I would just tap the gas while in, as you said parking lots. Then when I would deaccelerate to around 5mph but then try to accelerate again it was like the car had zero power. You could actually see the tachometer moving slowly upwards even with the pedal down. Then when it caught up, it would appropriately react. That was usually like close to 3-3.5k rpm if I recall. Yeah it made the car zero fun to drive.

 

[sterkrazzy]

Holy crap, I thought some of this was just me. That is exactly what I experienced on a daily and it was HORRIBLE. I hated my car because of all that. My wife got pissed at me many times thinking I was intentionally jerking the car forward when I would just tap the gas while in, as you said parking lots. Then when I would deaccelerate to around 5mph but then try to accelerate again it was like the car had zero power. You could actually see the tachometer moving slowly upwards even with the pedal down. Then when it caught up, it would appropriately react. That was usually like close to 3-3.5k rpm if I recall. Yeah it made the car zero fun to drive.

Yea, it was the worst and I haven't wanted to give apr any of my money since then. That feeling I had when I switched to stratified on a whim was awesome. I installed the tune and that very first time I touched the gas and just pulling out of my driveway there was an immediate and obvious difference in how the throttle behaved. It cured every problem I was having with my apr tune. I was so happy to have a car that drove like it was supposed to again.

EQT has been awesome though. I'd say it's smoother than the stratified tune I had on my mk6.

 

[Keehs360]

My APR stage 3 tune has been smooth without issue. It does retard boost to 7lbs in first which makes for a well controlled launch in my manual car.

I would have been cool with that but failed to find a shop with a dyno that wanted my money.
So 416hp/428tq, is that with fueling on E85?

Eliminating a ton of boost in first and some in second is a great idea in a fwd car with a turbo that spools too damn fast

 

[jimlloyd40]

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).

Be careful looking at the dyno numbers on the APR website. They default to flywheel HP and torque not wheel HP and torque.

 

[jimlloyd40]

My APR stage 3 tune has been smooth without issue. It does retard boost to 7lbs in first which makes for a well controlled launch in my manual car.

I would have been cool with that but failed to find a shop with a dyno that wanted my money.
So 416hp/428tq, is that with fueling on E85?

No Ethanol. 91 octane and Torco octane booster to get to 93 octane.

 

[Desslok]

Cobb is next. They’re moving toward gesi cats that are epa and carb approved.

All we have to do is buy 70K Teslas then. No problem.
Guess only rich people will get to go faster in the near nightmare future.

 

[jimlloyd40]

All we have to do is buy 70K Teslas then. No problem.
Guess only rich people will get to go faster in the near nightmare future.

The model 3 Tesla isn't that expensive and the performance model is 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. The base $35,000 model does 0-60 in 4.4 seconds.

 

[Desslok]

Nobody is getting one for $35k.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Nobody is getting one for $35k.

One of the pharmacist at the pharmacy that I deliver for has one.

And Tesla announced a battery breakthrough that will allow them to sell a car for $25,0000 in a few years.


https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/23/tesl...tery-breakthrough-for-electric-cars-13311677/