APR, 5150, Unitronic or what?

[Diggs24]

pacdawgs trapping darn near 126 on his 5150 tomioka. thats pretty fast imo.

 

[railroader]

Correct, performance means different things for different people. Thus I didn't say 1/4 mile times. Drag is a completely different beast. A drag set up and tune will suffer on a race track. The only complaints or issues I have read about from 5150 are customer service issues and not tune related, unlike the other big companies. I would never consider a tune that gets the best score on a drag strip to be the best tune, except for drag racing (same applies to street tunes and track tunes, it's all depending on the end user).

I agree with you it's all relevant, I'm just saying that to say someone has the best tunes out is more opinion than anything, it all depends on how the delivery is, and everyone will have different ideas of how the delivery should be. No matter who the op goes with I'm sure he will be happy, as long as nothing goes wrong or doesn't have to wait months to get a finalized tune. Either way there are great tuners on AP and maestro.

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[Wrath And Tears]

I agree with you it's all relevant, I'm just saying that to say someone has the best tunes out is more opinion than anything, it all depends on how the delivery is, and everyone will have different ideas of how the delivery should be. No matter who the op goes with I'm sure he will be happy, as long as nothing goes wrong or doesn't have to wait months to get a finalized tune. Either way there are great tuners on AP and maestro.

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Yeah Maestro was the main other one I was thinking of, I just know lots of people end up doing their own personal tweaks down the line compared to AP tunes (or so it seems). Perhaps because there is more control / customization? I don't know.

 

[Twist1]

I agree with the whole "trapped in APR" thing. At this point as I'm going is38 I am stuck continuing on the APR rabbit hole for way less money and less performance, or dropping another 1200+ on another custom tuning solution. .

 

[GTI Jake]

I agree with the whole "trapped in APR" thing. At this point as I'm going is38 I am stuck continuing on the APR rabbit hole for way less money and less performance, or dropping another 1200+ on another custom tuning solution. .

What we need is a cost effective option for mobilizer defeating our ECU.

That way you could essentially unlock your APR tuned ECU to run in any vin coded car rather than just yours, trade your tuned ECU with the new owners stock (but also defeated) ECU.

That’s what the mk4 kids do. Want a tune? Just buy someone’s ECU that’s already tuned

 

[xxbreezewoodxx]

Interesting Good points made I was thinking between APR, Cobb or JB4 and idk if I want to be trapped . Wow never thought about that. Thanks

 

[CaptainRatty]

If I did a stratified ECU tune with an AP, could I then go get a stage 2 TCU tune from anyone else?

 

[Jose_Gti]

If I did a stratified ECU tune with an AP, could I then go get a stage 2 TCU tune from anyone else?

Yes

 

[Hoon]

If I did a stratified ECU tune with an AP, could I then go get a stage 2 TCU tune from anyone else?

Stay with Cobb for the TCU tune. APR will work buts it's a waste of money now that Cobb's is out.

Depending on how you mix/match, you will get clutch slip at higher power levels.

 

[BufLon]

If I were to start fresh Cobb AP would definitely be my tuning devices for all of the options it offers. Their OTS tunes suck, but if you can wait a few weeks or a year on tuning it to not suck then that’s money saved vs being trapped at stage 2 like me.

I'm sure this thread seems remedial/repetitive to anyone that has been in this for a while. And there is a ton of detail in all the tuning threads.

But I just bought a 15 GTI a few weeks ago to play with so this is all new to me. Posts like this are hugely helpful as I just try and figure out what all this stuff means and think about what route I might want to go.

So anyway thanks for the summary lessons learned, very interesting.

 

[Loadblaster17]

I appreciate everyone’s input and opinions. Glad some others have been able to jump in here and get some info as well.

I’m probably definitely going the AccessPort route. But you guys have given me a lot to think about...

 

[geokilla]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Unitronic. I know the OP wasn't asking about Unitronic but a lot of people mentioned Unitronic is more conservative, yet linear.

 

[BronxBomber]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Unitronic. I know the OP wasn't asking about Unitronic but a lot of people mentioned Unitronic is more conservative, yet linear.

Most people would rather have a higher performing vehicle. Unitronic is known as the weakest out of the Tuning options(not counting Cobb OTS or Neuspeed power module) If I’m going to spend the same amount of money or more, I don’t want the slowest car. Not to mention their DSG tune won’t hold much torque before clutch slip ensues. If you go any other Tuning company and pair with a Unitronic TCU Tune, you can expect slippage.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Here's a thread I started a little back about the same situation. Great info in here.
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44520

I ended up going with 5150 Cobb with his current promotion deal. If you're willing to log ED/Maestro & Cobb/Protuner are the ways to go, and they aren't any more expensive than the other options.

I had to be able to tune at home so APR was out for me, personally.

 

[TroyI]

I'll chime in with my situation in case it helps.

I daily drive my GTI and have a kid to haul high school band equipment, and I haul bicycles inside. I originally went with APR stage 1 b/c I just wanted the most power possible out of a stage 1 tune and APR seemed to fit that scenario. Of course after 6 months, I just couldn't get the "I want stage 2" bug out of my head. So, I went back and got the APR stage 2 with APR downpipe a few weeks ago. I am very happy with my decision b/c I just want to set it and forget it. Originally I went with the pops and bangs tune, but went back a week after tuning and had is taken off. I also hit the drag strip from time to time and can't wait to see what happens now that I'm Stage 2. (I was consistent 13.6's at 107 with stage 1 on 90+ degree days).