Should I Just KISS; and Go With...

[Gptuners]

Their burble tune is "Popcorn".

 

[CDLehner]

I’m back, and having the same hand-wringing “crisis”…albeit for different reasons.

Just hit 73k, and I’m about to wrest the car away from the bank! I thought about a new note…but for what? Not sold on the 8s yet; and while AWD on an R would be awesome…not to the tune, of an additional $15k.

So…a tune (FINALLY), and complete detail it is! (to put some “new”, back in my aging 7)

Still looking for low-futz factor. Any votes for Unitronic? I do like, the price…the fact that you can do it yourself; and the path to Stage 2.

First tune, for ANY car. I need affirmation, lol.

 

[CaptainRatty]

I’m back, and having the same hand-wringing “crisis”…albeit for different reasons.

Just hit 73k, and I’m about to wrest the car away from the bank! I thought about a new note…but for what? Not sold on the 8s yet; and while AWD on an R would be awesome…not to the tune, of an additional $15k.

So…a tune (FINALLY), and complete detail it is! (to put some “new”, back in my aging 7)

Still looking for low-futz factor. Any votes for Unitronic? I do like, the price…the fact that you can do it yourself; and the path to Stage 2.

First tune, for ANY car. I need affirmation, lol.

Hell to the no for Unitronic. I don’t mean to put a company on blast, but for me, Unitronic stage 2 ECU & DSG was an expensive mistake. The ECU tune has no balls and drivability was overall underwhelming. The DSG tune races to get to 6th gear at 47MPH and way too low of an RPM.

I switched to EQT and I’ve been trouble free and much happier ever since.

 

[NBMK7GTI]

The fact that APR dialed back the juice on their version 2 tune is all the proof you need.

First of all, they did the research to figure out that they were running too hard. (I believe they invested in in cylinder pressure sensors) and they decided to dial back the boost a little. They didn't "neuter" their tunes (as I remember someone on this site saying) for any reason other than they had the data to support making a safer tuning choice.

And I also believe they probably sell more than 10x the tunes as anyone else. Just yesterday I had my GLI flashed stage 2 and I was talking to the owner of the shop about this and he said that the vast majority of customers don't even know there is anyone other than APR out there.

You can be satisfied with your custom pro tune from EQT/Stratified/Panda/Sneeky whatever and not have to sh*t on APR. Its actual possible to believe that they both provide a quality product. It doesn't have to be this "mine is the greatest and everything else is garbage" mentality.

I don’t exactly have a horse in the race here bc I don’t think op can go wrong with either besides resale value of Cobb. Weren’t earlier apr files for is20s rated for like upper 300s on the tq? Now it shows 340. I think besides their own research they saw turbos popping left and right and dialed it back substantially. Early Eurodyne was the same way.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Another vote for EQT.

 

[Keehs360]

Yes APR has tons of pictures and videos of independent sensors hooked up on the car independently monitoring EGT, IAT, A/R, shaft speed, ect.

That’s one of the main reasons I stuck with them, because literally no other tuner monitors the most important thing for longevity on a track driven car EGT.

I never wanted to admit that here. But I too have noticed their staggering resources vs other tuners.

I don’t think any other vag tuner imported an mk8 s3, mk8 GTI.

I don’t think any other tuner was out there on day zero solving the ecu

I don’t think any other tuner is putting together an actual turbo swap for the mk7 and 7.5 that will be carb certified through and through

takes money and resources to be able to move your weight around like that.

not baggin on the Cobb tuners. Such as eqt sneaky and the rest. But comparing and grouping all of them against an international entity like apr seems abusive, considering apr’s influence and ability.

this is also why I chose apr. it was clear that they knew the power plants they support more intimately. That gave me piece of mind. I know I can abuse this on track with a few gallons of 100 octane and the GTI won’t drag timing down too harshly.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I never wanted to admit that here. But I too have noticed their staggering resources vs other tuners.

I don’t think any other vag tuner imported an mk8 s3, mk8 GTI.

I don’t think any other tuner was out there on day zero solving the ecu

I don’t think any other tuner is putting together an actual turbo swap for the mk7 and 7.5 that will be carb certified through and through

takes money and resources to be able to move your weight around like that.

not baggin on the Cobb tuners. Such as eqt sneaky and the rest. But comparing and grouping all of them against an international entity like apr seems abusive, considering apr’s influence and ability.

this is also why I chose apr. it was clear that they knew the power plants they support more intimately. That gave me piece of mind. I know I can abuse this on track with a few gallons of 100 octane and the GTI won’t drag timing down too harshly.

But you can't get a custom tune for a hybrid turbo with APR can you?

 

[Keehs360]

But you can't get a custom tune for a hybrid turbo with APR can you?

They offer that one borg Warner upgrade, and the is38. But that’s it I believe.

they’re also producing a carb certified turbo swap.

but as far as custom tuning? No. To my knowledge.

 

[jimlloyd40]

They offer that one borg Warner upgrade, and the is38. But that’s it I believe.

they’re also producing a carb certified turbo swap.

but as far as custom tuning? No. To my knowledge.

You just can't beat the Access Port for custom tuning.

 

[Keehs360]

You just can't beat the Access Port for custom tuning.

If custom is what your after, I agree.

the access port is a great device too. I’ve owned one for each Subaru I ever owned LOL

 

[jimlloyd40]

If custom is what your after, I agree.

the access port is a great device too. I’ve owned one for each Subaru I ever owned LOL

Because I have a hybrid turbo custom is the only way to go IMO. Actually custom is the best for any turbo for overall smoothness while reaching the maximum potential. An OTS tune is fine but not nearly as precise as custom.

 

[Keehs360]

Because I have a hybrid turbo custom is the only way to go IMO. Actually custom is the best for any turbo for overall smoothness while reaching the maximum potential. An OTS tune is fine but not nearly as precise as custom.

An ots will never be precise. That’s for sure.

I’m ok with giving up like 5-10hp for a tune that was built by an extremely knowledgeable group. Plus, the tune being conservative is definitely something I was after too.

I had to reflash to gm stage 1 every time I tracked my ion redline. That involved putting the appropriate pulley on the super charger too. And I did this every time I was heading to the track. Even with the dual pass end plate and flipped laminova cores and larger heat exchanger and larger radiator with upgraded shroud and fans. The temps were scary as shit.

since then, I learned not to go too aggressive with the tune. It’s nice to lap more than 2 times before having to cool things down. It’s down right fun.