APR Plus - worth it?

[benjbark]

I figure this has to be a topic that's been discussed here before, but a search yielded nothing for me.

I'm a VW newbie here and just got my 1-year service for my 2018 Golf TSI (1.8T), which now has 9,300 miles. I was speaking with my salesman while my car was being serviced (he's got a Passat GT - very cool car) and he told me about APR Plus and its powertrain replacement warranty, which sounds very enticing to me. I've considered APR tunes in the past, but was always turned off by voiding my factory warranty.

So, is it worth it? The potential numbers they put up are really impressive (HP 170 --> 234, TQ 199 --> 273). I don't plan on doing any other mods. There's a dealership locally that is APR-certified, so I figure I could go to them for all warranty needs and let them hash things out with APR.

Obviously the concern here is finger-pointing between VW and APR and me being stuck with repair costs despite an active warranty. I'm sure there are nightmare stories and I'm sure there are success stories, so what's the consensus? Thanks!

 

[Jedimk7]

What prevented me from getting it was just try getting a hold of them on the phone or email, I could not. Now try to get a hold of them with a blown motor....all the APR dealers I talked to said it wasn't worth it, and they were authorized dealers!

Sent from my Gavin Belson black box signature edition

 

[ZuMBLe]

The APR Plus tune is the Stage 1 87 Octane tune. The extra money is basically insurance money. You're essentially paying for peace of mind. Only you can decide if it's worth it to you.

A stage 1 87 octane tune will really wake your car up and is very safe. Chances of the tune blowing your car up are very slim. You decide if you want to just do the normal tune, or pay a premium for the "insurance".

My car had stage 1 at 800 miles. I drove it stage 1 for till 13k. The car then got a IS20 turbo. I'm now at 19k and the car runs great. I'm not drag racing the car, I'm not tracking the car. I am doing some 2,3,4 pulls sometimes. =)

I figure this has to be a topic that's been discussed here before, but a search yielded nothing for me.

I'm a VW newbie here and just got my 1-year service for my 2018 Golf TSI (1.8T), which now has 9,300 miles. I was speaking with my salesman while my car was being serviced (he's got a Passat GT - very cool car) and he told me about APR Plus and its powertrain replacement warranty, which sounds very enticing to me. I've considered APR tunes in the past, but was always turned off by voiding my factory warranty.

So, is it worth it? The potential numbers they put up are really impressive (HP 170 --> 234, TQ 199 --> 273). I don't plan on doing any other mods. There's a dealership locally that is APR-certified, so I figure I could go to them for all warranty needs and let them hash things out with APR.

Obviously the concern here is finger-pointing between VW and APR and me being stuck with repair costs despite an active warranty. I'm sure there are nightmare stories and I'm sure there are success stories, so what's the consensus? Thanks!

 

[swcrow]

I didn't for two reasons

1. Unitronic dealer was around the corner from me.
2. For the APRplus price, I got ECU and TCU tune

 

[Abbott Martin]

That said: I have the 91 Low tune and love it. Relatively safe and the power band feels like a factory tune. Basically the same power as a SEAT Cupra 290.

Edit: didn’t realize this was the 1.8L


Sent by raven from Castle Black

 

[benjbark]

Thanks for the response, guys. Turns out I'm still on the fence

 

[Abbott Martin]

Thanks for the response, guys. Turns out I'm still on the fence

Just do it!


Sent by raven from Castle Black

 

[ZuMBLe]

Just do it!


Sent by raven from Castle Black

Stop pressuring him! There is nothing wrong with driving a slow car.

 

[benjbark]

Stop pressuring him! There is nothing wrong with driving a slow car.

 

[ZuMBLe]

Do you actually tow with that hitch mount? Because if you actually tow... a bit more boost really adds torque to the car. It will help you pull your load up hills etc. It's really a safety issue.

 

[benjbark]

Do you actually tow with that hitch mount? Because if you actually tow... a bit more boost really adds torque to the car. It will help you pull your load up hills etc. It's really a safety issue.

I don’t. The only thing I use it for is my hitch-mounted bike rack.

 

[ZuMBLe]

I don’t. The only thing I use it for is my hitch-mounted bike rack.

Work with me here! I'm trying to help you. Haha. How about running from zombies? Any concerns with that? You want that extra power if you need to run from zombies and bad guys during the zombie apocalypse.

 

[YamR1rider]

APR plus for me in my gti has been very well worth it, really woken up the car. Vs getting the very same lo torque st1 tune without the replacement warranty, it's only 400 dollars more which in my case when I got it having 4 years of powertrain warranty left I thought was very reasonable.

I hope I never have to make a claim, but pleased something is on place for that event. There haven't really been any horror stories I'm aware of....so that suggest that APR is either taking care of people, or more likely, people are not having problems. APR would not offer the warranty unless they were very sure that there are unlikely to be problems in that state of tune.

 

[Abbott Martin]

APR plus for me in my gti has been very well worth it, really woken up the car. Vs getting the very same lo torque st1 tune without the replacement warranty, it's only 400 dollars more which in my case when I got it having 4 years of powertrain warranty left I thought was very reasonable.



I hope I never have to make a claim, but pleased something is on place for that event. There haven't really been any horror stories I'm aware of....so that suggest that APR is either taking care of people, or more likely, people are not having problems. APR would not offer the warranty unless they were very sure that there are unlikely to be problems in that state of tune.

Yup. It feels like a safe power level. My car came tuned the w/the regular 93. Had it not been I would have gone with APR Plus or JB4.
Had APR low 93 on another Mk7 so knew what it was like. Feels very linear, almost like a naturally aspirated engine.

High output on my fully stock GTI felt like it wanted to rip the darn car apart...the power was useless at low speeds. IMO 380 ft/lb is overkill for FWD without a bunch of supporting mods.

Went and got 91 Low (same tune as APR Plus) within 4 days. It’s only like 5 HP less than 93 and gives some leeway for bad gas or if I am traveling through states that primarily offer 91 (such as IL and GA). Also the station near my home sells 92 for some odd reason which saves a few bucks on fill ups.
It would nice if APR offered program switching on the Mk7s.



Sent by raven from Castle Black

 

[MonkeyMD]

I don't plan on doing any other mods.

Me .either.

Started with APR stg1 tune.

Then obd11 and a whole bunch of programming changes.
Clutch stop.

You know, just some small things.

Then some Audi wheels that I got a great deal on.

But that's it, I'm done.

Oh those Dinan coilovers are half off. Alright, that's it.

Well I don't want any rubbing with those 245 and want better turn in, so some 034 camber mounts.

4th set of tires in 75k miles because you have to have high performance rubber.

Oh Damn...someone just posted Stoptech brakes massively discounted. Alright, last mod, some ST40 355mm BBK.

This time I'm really done.

But not really, EQT or DBV2 and intercooler is in the future.

And I am really conservative when it comes to modding.


That being said, probably would have been hard to do the tune if I had a 70k warranty or whatever it is vs 36k.
But I have now had the tune for 72k miles, since 3k miles on a 1.8t and its been trouble free.