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APR TCU tune...worth it?

edge04

Ready to race!
Location
midwest
Going to get their ECU stage 1 upgrade and wondering if I should also do the TCU tune, what do most people here do? Car will see the road track. Spend the money or not worth it until stage 2 or higher? Thanks
 

plagueis

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Jacksonville Beach
Car(s)
19' Golf R
Going to get their ECU stage 1 upgrade and wondering if I should also do the TCU tune, what do most people here do? Car will see the road track. Spend the money or not worth it until stage 2 or higher? Thanks



Totally worth it, gear shifting is smooth.

I went straight to Stage 2 TCU, Intercooler Boost hoses, turbo muffler delete, Intake, and catch can. My R is loving it :)

You'll love your vehicle even more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

edge04

Ready to race!
Location
midwest
guess that's why I am asking. seems most people do it when going stage 2 or higher or additional mods. my plan is stage 1 only. I will never go stage 2
 

plagueis

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Jacksonville Beach
Car(s)
19' Golf R
I had Stage 1 for maybe a week, did that and TCU first with all the mods above, following week stage 2 prolly should've been more specific, my mk7 gti I did the same thing it's worth it. There's always a 30days money back guarantee too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

PLF8593

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Philly
Car(s)
19 Alltrack 6MT
anyone just running the APR stage 1 w/o the TCU upgrade that wishes they did the TCU or is it just fine?



I have a manual so i cant comment from personal experience, but most people say the TCU tune is so much better than the stock tune that, given a situation where they'd have to choose between ECU or TCU tune, they'd leave the engine stock and tune the trans.
 

AxMan

Drag Race Newbie
Location
CT
Car(s)
Audi S5
Do both at the same time. I have Unitronic stage 2 ECU and TCU and it's awesome.
 

A3SBQ

Ready to race!
Location
Norway
I've tried both combinations.
APR stage 1 high torque file will give clutch slipper.
 

MK7Joe

Ready to race!
Location
WT
i say yes. in my case when i tuned ED stage 1.5 i notice the car was cutting out in first gear and second. that completely went away with the tcu tune. it was like the stock tcu was limiting torque output
 

xChrisx718

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Brooklyn, NY
I didn't do my TCU tune until I was at stage 2. At first it takes some getting used to. I have the APR TCU tune and at low speeds (Street speeds) it shifts very early. Like 35-40 mph it's in 4th gear. That's to save fuel. But when your hard on the gas it shifts at higher rpm's. Like I said it takes some getting used to. But I've had it for quite sometime now. And it's well worth the money. My car is now apr stage 2+ pushing 400whp and I couldn't be happier with it.
 

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
Location
Florida
anyone just running the APR stage 1 w/o the TCU upgrade that wishes they did the TCU or is it just fine?

Some have slipping, some don't. Since you only want Stage 1, I recommend going with JB4. If you burn your clutches you can remove the JB4 and still get your trans fixed under warranty.
 

ExcelerateRep1

Go Kart Champion
Location
Branford, CT
Going to get their ECU stage 1 upgrade and wondering if I should also do the TCU tune, what do most people here do? Car will see the road track. Spend the money or not worth it until stage 2 or higher? Thanks

Most of our customers that flash stage 1 only end up coming back for the TCU upgrade. The end result usually goes like this... "why didn't I do this at the same time" Well I appreciate both the ECU and TCU upgrade in their own respect. I like to see what each does on its own. You get used to the power of the stage 1 and find yourself finding the limitations you weren't expecting from the factory software.

The APR TCU upgrade is definitely a must have if you run APR ECU software. If you have any questions, be sure to let me know. :cool:

Thanks,

Greg
 

bmc333

Ready to race!
Location
NoVA
On the stage 1 tune for the Golf R, absolutely worth it and frankly, should be mandatory or sold as a package deal in my mind. The responsiveness in changing gears and ability to put more power down is a HUGE benefit. If you care about such things, the ability to customize shift points (up/down) along with 3 diff rev limits for launch control is pretty damn nice also. I had the TCU program on my KO4 GTI from the day the program was released and never had a single issue, only good times.
 

Crud_muffin

Ready to race!
Location
US
Car(s)
e-Golf
anyone just running the APR stage 1 w/o the TCU upgrade that wishes they did the TCU or is it just fine?
I have a GTI DSG and had the APR Stage 1 91 High ECU tune for about 3 weeks without the TCU. I read mixed reviews so I held out. I would basically say it can work without it but isn't truly up to the task.

In my experience, when in 'D' and upshifting during normal city dirving, momentum would drop abruptly between gears and it mostly upshifted to below 2000 RPM. Immediately after the APR TCU tune I noticed 'D' mode shifts were smooth and shift points consistently stayed above 2k in moderate to heavy acceleration. And the biggest improvement after the TCU tune was how it responds now to throttle input - it stays in the same lower gear for an extended time when giving it juice, whereas before it would force an upshift WHILE getting on it (that probably annoyed me the most, felt like I surrendered all the new power over to the stock DSG MasterLord, haha).

You get used to the power of the stage 1 and find yourself finding the limitations you weren't expecting from the factory software.
Yes. I wouldn't say I bought into that statement at first, but hey, it happened to me.

On the stage 1 tune for the Golf R, absolutely worth it and frankly, should be mandatory or sold as a package deal in my mind.
I have exactly the same sentiment for the GTI. The matched shift points alone makes it a winner.

On a related note, and a rant of mine, the modern pre-ignition phenomena in DI turbocharged cars, LSPI, is worth putting on your tuning safety checklist. When an ECU tune unleashes power for a time in the LSPI zone (technically 1500-2000 RPM; most dangerous in high gears at highway speeds) it becomes all the more important to watch shift points and lugging, far more than the average "good" driver does. The sense of having plenty of power in low RPMs is a false sense of security. I found overall that the APR TCU tune matches the additional power quite well and is much better at adjusting to road inclines. You might consider a TCU tune as protecting your investment.

Happy motoring!!
 
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PLF8593

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Philly
Car(s)
19 Alltrack 6MT
I have a GTI DSG and had the APR Stage 1 91 High ECU tune for about 3 weeks without the TCU. I read mixed reviews so I held out. I would basically say it can work without it but isn't truly up to the task.

In my experience, when in 'D' and upshifting during normal city dirving, momentum would drop abruptly between gears and it mostly upshifted to below 2000 RPM. Immediately after the APR TCU tune I noticed 'D' mode shifts were smooth and shift points consistently stayed above 2k in moderate to heavy acceleration. And the biggest improvement after the TCU tune was how it responds now to throttle input - it stays in the same lower gear for an extended time when giving it juice, whereas before it would force an upshift WHILE getting on it (that probably annoyed me the most, felt like I surrendered all the new power over to the stock DSG MasterLord, haha).


Yes. I wouldn't say I bought into that statement at first, but hey, it happened to me.


I have exactly the same sentiment for the GTI. The matched shift points alone makes it a winner.

On a related note, and a rant of mine, the modern pre-ignition phenomena in DI turbocharged cars, LSPI, is worth putting on your tuning safety checklist. When an ECU tune unleashes power for a time in the LSPI zone (technically 1500-2000 RPM; most dangerous in high gears at highway speeds) it becomes all the more important to watch shift points and lugging, far more than the average "good" driver does. The sense of having plenty of power in low RPMs is a false sense of security. I found overall that the APR TCU tune matches the additional power quite well and is much better at adjusting to road inclines. You might consider a TCU tune as protecting your investment.

Happy motoring!!


This. This is good material.
 
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