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Looking for advice on my 17 sportwagen

Jeremywarner59

New member
Location
Lake placid ny
Car(s)
Mk7 sportwagen
Hey guys hows it going? I've got a 2017 fwd sport wagen 1.8 with auto trans and i am looking to do a tune, or jb4 and possibly a dp but I've read that cels are often a problem and that's no good here in ny for inspections and I'm not necessarily looking at a stage 2 either ideally I want it to be a fun daily that I can get inspected without having to worry about swapping parts and all. Also I have a fidelity extended warranty so I'm not crazy concerned about it being detectable but splicing into wires and stuff like the jb4 calls for is not exactly what I'm looking for.


What would you guys suggest? So far apr stage 1 but that cant be set up to run a dp and no cel can it? Maybe a unitronic tune as well but the idea of a neuspeed module is nice but offers no expandability. Any help would be great guys
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Welcome to the forum. Your best bet is the JB4. It can be removed for warranty work. The other tunes you mentioned all flash the ECU and for warranty purposes can be detected even if they are removed. Once you flash the ECU it will show how many times it has been flashed.
 

Jeremywarner59

New member
Location
Lake placid ny
Car(s)
Mk7 sportwagen
Welcome to the forum. Your best bet is the JB4. It can be removed for warranty work. The other tunes you mentioned all flash the ECU and for warranty purposes can be detected even if they are removed. Once you flash the ECU it will show how many times it has been flashed.
How difficult is the install, and removal of the jb4, and does the tapping of other wires ever cause any other problems?
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
How difficult is the install, and removal of the jb4, and does the tapping of other wires ever cause any other problems?

I haven't personally installed one but others say it's easy. I would imagine tapping of wires would only be a problem if you did it wrong. There is a huge thread on the JB4 in the forum. You should read it.
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
Welcome to the forum. Your best bet is the JB4. It can be removed for warranty work. The other tunes you mentioned all flash the ECU and for warranty purposes can be detected even if they are removed. Once you flash the ECU it will show how many times it has been flashed.

he is concerned about his aftermarket extended Warranty, not his factory warranty. How would an aftermarket warranty company verify your car is tuned? I doubt they have access to read the flash counter on the ECU like VW does. So, if you ask me a real ECU tune is a better option for him than a JB4 because JB4 is just much more crude. All it can do is make power, it can’t affect throttle response/mapping (you need ANOTHER plug-in module from BMS called a pedal tuner for that effect). A real ECU tune will address all the above and more, and without lying to the engine about what’s going on inside the combustion chamber (which is how JB4 works).
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
he is concerned about his aftermarket extended Warranty, not his factory warranty. How would an aftermarket warranty company verify your car is tuned? I doubt they have access to read the flash counter on the ECU like VW does. So, if you ask me a real ECU tune is a better option for him than a JB4 because JB4 is just much more crude. All it can do is make power, it can’t affect throttle response/mapping (you need ANOTHER plug-in module from BMS called a pedal tuner for that effect). A real ECU tune will address all the above and more, and without lying to the engine about what’s going on inside the combustion chamber (which is how JB4 works).

Yeah I don't know what ability or effort an aftermarket warranty company would put into checking for a tune. I've just read that lots of people are very happy with the JB4. I'm not advocating for it. I'm partial to remote dyno tunes.
 

Jeremywarner59

New member
Location
Lake placid ny
Car(s)
Mk7 sportwagen
Thanks guys, I like the fact that with the jb4 I can switch back to map 0 and go right back to stock settings with no problems as well, Ideally I'd like a jb4 with a gti down pipe and have an exhaust made at a local shop that should be a good way to spend 1400 or so and will leave enough money for b6s and eibach or h&r springs
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
Thanks guys, I like the fact that with the jb4 I can switch back to map 0 and go right back to stock settings with no problems as well, Ideally I'd like a jb4 with a gti down pipe and have an exhaust made at a local shop that should be a good way to spend 1400 or so and will leave enough money for b6s and eibach or h&r springs

you can do that with EQT, Uni, Eurodyne, and possibly United Motorsport (?). You can “flash back to stock” for whatever reason you may need to. But for how much you’re already willing to spend on your car, I would suggest paying another ~$300 for a tune. I’ve ran piggybacks and tunes on 3 MK7s and I am out on piggybacks. Tunes are superior in just about every way, with respect to engine performance.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
you can do that with EQT, Uni, Eurodyne, and possibly United Motorsport (?). You can “flash back to stock” for whatever reason you may need to. But for how much you’re already willing to spend on your car, I would suggest paying another ~$300 for a tune. I’ve ran piggybacks and tunes on 3 MK7s and I am out on piggybacks. Tunes are superior in just about every way, with respect to engine performance.

I think he needs to find out if his extended warranty company has the ability or cares to read the ECU flash counter like the dealer before he tunes via flashing the ECU.
 

Jeremywarner59

New member
Location
Lake placid ny
Car(s)
Mk7 sportwagen
I think he needs to find out if his extended warranty company has the ability or cares to read the ECU flash counter like the dealer before he tunes via flashing the ECU.
Well jim, I can take my car to many mom and pop small garages and I dont think they'd have any idea as to what they are looking for. I'm also trying to find a legitimate tuning shop that is fidelity approved to do all of my work.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Well jim, I can take my car to many mom and pop small garages and I dont think they'd have any idea as to what they are looking for. I'm also trying to find a legitimate tuning shop that is fidelity approved to do all of my work.

Good luck finding that.
 

ZuMBLe

Autocross Champion
Location
NY
Car(s)
Alltrack 6MT
Why so hung up on a DP? Just get APR Stage 1 and be done with it. If you decide to do JB4, go to the JB4 thread and you'll get sorted out. Do you have any ethanol stations by you?
 
Last edited:

TwinDad

Autocross Newbie
Location
Fort Lee, NJ
The jb4 is great if you take the time to work out a map 6. It is beyond other piggybacks in what it can do, plus the app with the gauges is great. You can switch maps in a matter of seconds. As far as it being inferior and needing a pedal tuner VS a flash, that is not necessarily true. Even a flash doesn't increase the throttle response the way a pedal tuner does and lots of flash tuned guys use one as well. I had a jb4 for years and went to a custom tune flash. Is the flash better, yes and no. I felt the jb4 was better for adapting to seasonal changes. Of course you have to make your own map 6 files for this. It also responded better to the use of a few gallons of e85 mixed in. Also a separate map 6 is needed. When using ethanol, it is faster than an ots flash tune.
BMS did a lot of work and software revisions to make it very smooth and responsive to put it way above other piggybacks. If you are a set it and forget it guy though, just flash it and be happy. I would skip APR though. They kind of eliminated anything for downpipes. So you may be OK now, but once you start going faster, you always want more. I started with just a jb1 and now I'm getting ready to put mpi on the car. I also just bought another jb4 because I missed th app so much and who knows, there might be a little more room in the custom tune with some ethanol for when I need it. Lol
 
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