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APR Stage 1 vs Unitronic Stage 1+

MrsPhoenix

New member
Location
USA
Car(s)
2017 Golf AlltrackSE
Yes you have to go to an APR dealer.
USP Motorsports say they’ll give me the cable and tune me remotely via PC. Since I won’t be going higher than stage 1, I’ll sell the cable back to them.

Edit: typo
 
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MrsPhoenix

New member
Location
USA
Car(s)
2017 Golf AlltrackSE
Thank you 🙏🏽 kindly everyone who chimed in and gave me something to think about. I’m leaning heavily (75-80%) towards APR but feel like a lil more info is needed. Like I’ve read that some ppl stay at 87 while some go to 89 or 91. I know change would be needed if my engine started knocking due to the fuel I’d be using in that case ofc. Those of you who have or had APR stage 1, what fuel “level” (<-definitely wrong term but y’all know what I mean 😝) did you use and did it start knocking from said fuel “mix?”
 

johng.wissig

Ready to race!
Thank you 🙏🏽 kindly everyone who chimed in and gave me something to think about. I’m leaning heavily (75-80%) towards APR but feel like a lil more info is needed. Like I’ve read that some ppl stay at 87 while some go to 89 or 91. I know change would be needed if my engine started knocking due to the fuel I’d be using in that case ofc. Those of you who have or had APR stage 1, what fuel “level” (<-definitely wrong term but y’all know what I mean 😝) did you use and did it start knocking from said fuel “mix?”
I have apr stage 1 93 Oct. Low torque. I like it a lot. Have run 91 a couple of times out of times and 87once. Seemed to make maybe a little less power on 87. Otherwise ran ok. Wish I'd tuned sooner.
 

MrsPhoenix

New member
Location
USA
Car(s)
2017 Golf AlltrackSE

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
Hello everyone! Even though I’ve read all 7 pages and have been lurking since 08/2020, I still can’t decide between Apr stage 1 or Uni stage 1+. I drive in a spirited manner but don’t want to blow my engine or turbo (I race on the highway sometimes). So can you guys help me decide?

I have owned a Unitronic-tuned GTI and currently own an APR-tuned Alltrack.

Get APR and be done with it, they're a bigger/ better company making higher quality tunes. They have near-OEM R&D capabilities for testing their tunes. That's why they were able to offer the APR Plus tune. I have the APR Plus 87 Octane low-torque Stage 1 tune on my Alltrack, and it is better in every way than my Unitronic Stage 1 91 Octane/ 1+ 93 octane tunes on my previous GTI.
 

MrsPhoenix

New member
Location
USA
Car(s)
2017 Golf AlltrackSE
I have owned a Unitronic-tuned GTI and currently own an APR-tuned Alltrack.

Get APR and be done with it, they're a bigger/ better company making higher quality tunes. They have near-OEM R&D capabilities for testing their tunes. That's why they were able to offer the APR Plus tune. I have the APR Plus 87 Octane low-torque Stage 1 tune on my Alltrack, and it is better in every way than my Unitronic Stage 1 91 Octane/ 1+ 93 octane tunes on my previous GTI.
Thx! Yeah I’m leaning (80-90%) towards APR!
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
If stage 1 is the ceiling, APR all day for the reasons mentioned above. I am APR 91 octane on my 1.8 GSW and zero drama since flashed at 14k miles. Sitting at ~40k miles. I flashed for 91 when I lived in Cali as that was all you could get. I am in the northeast now and running 93 octane at each fill up. The headroom is peace of mind.

Just know that the mod bug bites hard, so at some point, like me, you might want to 'take that next step.' Thus my previous statement on APR vs Uni
 

MrsPhoenix

New member
Location
USA
Car(s)
2017 Golf AlltrackSE
If stage 1 is the ceiling, APR all day for the reasons mentioned above. I am APR 91 octane on my 1.8 GSW and zero drama since flashed at 14k miles. Sitting at ~40k miles. I flashed for 91 when I lived in Cali as that was all you could get. I am in the northeast now and running 93 octane at each fill up. The headroom is peace of mind.

Just know that the mod bug bites hard, so at some point, like me, you might want to 'take that next step.' Thus my previous statement on APR vs Uni
Good points. Thank you!
 

ZuMBLe

Autocross Champion
Location
NY
Car(s)
Alltrack 6MT
potato/potato.

With the APR changes and emisssions crack downs, id probably go Uni to futureproof the next round of mods/tune... but thats just me.
Future proof?. APR is a company based in America which is creating carb approved tunes. Unitronic is Canadian and does not have any carb approved tunes that I know of. Seems like APR stage 1 is the way to futureproof.
 

GreatFallsofGreen

Ready to race!
Location
SoCal
Car(s)
GFG 7.5, 6MT
Future proof?. APR is a company based in America which is creating carb approved tunes. Unitronic is Canadian and does not have any carb approved tunes that I know of. Seems like APR stage 1 is the way to futureproof.
“ Future proof” as in stage two. Although I do agree with you about CARB compliance, which is a reason I went with APR.

Also often sidelined is that the “silent majority” of GTI owners aren’t really chasing the most power out of our exceptionally well-rounded cars, so upgrading to stage 2 isn’t really a pressing factor, especially if you’re happy with a one car garage.
 

ZuMBLe

Autocross Champion
Location
NY
Car(s)
Alltrack 6MT
“ Future proof” as in stage two. Although I do agree with you about CARB compliance, which is a reason I went with APR.

Also often sidelined is that the “silent majority” of GTI owners aren’t really chasing the most power out of our exceptionally well-rounded cars, so upgrading to stage 2 isn’t really a pressing factor, especially if you’re happy with a one car garage.

No "stage 2" car can be legal in CARB type states.

Anything more than Stage 1 is a fun money suck hobby. Stage 1 is the way the car should have come from the factory.
 
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