Axles of Evil
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- Location
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Unitronic Stage 1+ with TCU Stage 1 Upgrade
What I did today....
This is a basic impression review of the Unitronic VW GTI software for the 2016 GTI that I just got in the mail today.
Got the Unitronic Stage 1+ ECU tune along with the Stage 1 TCU tune, purchased as a combo deal from ShopDAP. Also bought the UniConnect Cable as well so that I could flash the car at home without taking it anywhere.
Starting with the first thing that came to mind on the first drive out is:
"This should have come from the factory this way. At least for the transmission software".
Compared to the stock DSG software, the Unitronic Stage 1 DSG software really evens out and SMOOTH'S out the entire driving experience. What I mean is that you DSG owners know that the car likes to select 6th gear at low speeds, and that it does not appear to be in exactly the right gear when accelerating even gently, out of turns and corners. The clunk of putting it in reverse, and drive is no more. The shift selects are now very smooth, more akin to a regular auto trans. The car now appears to be in exactly the correct gear for all manner of driving. The gear display is also shown in the dash MSG
The improvement for all modes (D, S, manual) of operation gear changes is far, far, far, far ahead of the OEM DSG programming. In normal driving (D)...it appears to always be in the correct gear making for smooth transitions and smooth acceleration. The gears now change down correctly and sequentially when slowing down, which is so much better and logical than the OEM DSG software. The OEM DSG always struggles to be in the lowest gear possible which makes for a crappy drive experience, and the anticipation of having to depress the accelerator at the most inappropriate time in order to get it to drive properly at slower speeds, and especially turning corners is thankfully no longer present. I felt like I was having to fight with the car to drive it smoothly before this.
I cannot say enough good things about the DSG upgrade here, it literally changes the dynamics of the whole driving experience. This car really should have this DSG tune from the factory. The clunky "lets save gas" mentality of the OEM tune makes no sense now after this experience. This is a GTI....it is not really meant to be treated like an econobox car, and the OEM DSG tune I realize now by comparison literally wrecks the GTI experience. Not kidding.
Unitronic's DSG Stage 1 tune is really that good, an absolute vast improvement even if you don't do the engine tune. For anyone wanting a smoother drive train experience under any condition, i.e., normal around town pottering, or highway craziness, this product really delivers. I would state its the best upgrade I have done to date hands down.
Now for the ECU tune.
I purchased the Unitronic Stage 1+ for 93 octane. When you purchase the +, you can also de-tune down to just Stage 1 for 87 octane, or back to stock (using the Uni cable). I did not want to go any higher for tuning because I don't want the chore of changing down pipes, inter-coolers etc....I just wanted the "feel" or "perception" of more available power for the driving experience to be....more comfortable.
The Stage 1+ tune can be as mild as a kitty cat under normal city driving, but although it is faily transparent, you can actually feel that it has more power and torque at the lower rpms (1500-3000 even light pedal), but put your foot in it ......and then observe the shock you will be in
.
This is the part where the big smile comes on!
The tune really allows the car to pull a whole lot better, in fact cleaner and smoother (no hesitation) and really makes the car more responsive. It does work very well in conjunction with the DSG tune to make for a perfect combination of shift changes coupled to engine power points, therefore I would recommend if you tune the engine, you really should do the DSG tune as well. (However, and again, even the DSG tune by itself will make for a rewarding experience).
They have done a fantastic job with this product, and I would highly recommend it.
Finally, I am not a racer, not by any stretch, and given the opportunity to take something on for a street race, I would decline. I only wanted to improve the drive-ability of the car, to add more capable power so that it can be "felt", basically to feel like the car is always more capable when it can be, even though I mostly wont want to get into it, and to also upgrade the crappy shift points of the existing DSG OEM software which was noticable the first day I drove it off the lot when new.
In short... I AM WELL PLEASED for the investment and for the vast improvement it has made to my car.
Bravo Unitronic!
BTW, I am a regular customer and not affiliated with ShopDAP or Unitronic in any way, shape or form. Just one hell of a satisfied customer!
What I did today....
This is a basic impression review of the Unitronic VW GTI software for the 2016 GTI that I just got in the mail today.
Got the Unitronic Stage 1+ ECU tune along with the Stage 1 TCU tune, purchased as a combo deal from ShopDAP. Also bought the UniConnect Cable as well so that I could flash the car at home without taking it anywhere.
Starting with the first thing that came to mind on the first drive out is:
"This should have come from the factory this way. At least for the transmission software".
Compared to the stock DSG software, the Unitronic Stage 1 DSG software really evens out and SMOOTH'S out the entire driving experience. What I mean is that you DSG owners know that the car likes to select 6th gear at low speeds, and that it does not appear to be in exactly the right gear when accelerating even gently, out of turns and corners. The clunk of putting it in reverse, and drive is no more. The shift selects are now very smooth, more akin to a regular auto trans. The car now appears to be in exactly the correct gear for all manner of driving. The gear display is also shown in the dash MSG
The improvement for all modes (D, S, manual) of operation gear changes is far, far, far, far ahead of the OEM DSG programming. In normal driving (D)...it appears to always be in the correct gear making for smooth transitions and smooth acceleration. The gears now change down correctly and sequentially when slowing down, which is so much better and logical than the OEM DSG software. The OEM DSG always struggles to be in the lowest gear possible which makes for a crappy drive experience, and the anticipation of having to depress the accelerator at the most inappropriate time in order to get it to drive properly at slower speeds, and especially turning corners is thankfully no longer present. I felt like I was having to fight with the car to drive it smoothly before this.
I cannot say enough good things about the DSG upgrade here, it literally changes the dynamics of the whole driving experience. This car really should have this DSG tune from the factory. The clunky "lets save gas" mentality of the OEM tune makes no sense now after this experience. This is a GTI....it is not really meant to be treated like an econobox car, and the OEM DSG tune I realize now by comparison literally wrecks the GTI experience. Not kidding.
Unitronic's DSG Stage 1 tune is really that good, an absolute vast improvement even if you don't do the engine tune. For anyone wanting a smoother drive train experience under any condition, i.e., normal around town pottering, or highway craziness, this product really delivers. I would state its the best upgrade I have done to date hands down.
Now for the ECU tune.
I purchased the Unitronic Stage 1+ for 93 octane. When you purchase the +, you can also de-tune down to just Stage 1 for 87 octane, or back to stock (using the Uni cable). I did not want to go any higher for tuning because I don't want the chore of changing down pipes, inter-coolers etc....I just wanted the "feel" or "perception" of more available power for the driving experience to be....more comfortable.
The Stage 1+ tune can be as mild as a kitty cat under normal city driving, but although it is faily transparent, you can actually feel that it has more power and torque at the lower rpms (1500-3000 even light pedal), but put your foot in it ......and then observe the shock you will be in
.This is the part where the big smile comes on!
The tune really allows the car to pull a whole lot better, in fact cleaner and smoother (no hesitation) and really makes the car more responsive. It does work very well in conjunction with the DSG tune to make for a perfect combination of shift changes coupled to engine power points, therefore I would recommend if you tune the engine, you really should do the DSG tune as well. (However, and again, even the DSG tune by itself will make for a rewarding experience).
They have done a fantastic job with this product, and I would highly recommend it.
Finally, I am not a racer, not by any stretch, and given the opportunity to take something on for a street race, I would decline. I only wanted to improve the drive-ability of the car, to add more capable power so that it can be "felt", basically to feel like the car is always more capable when it can be, even though I mostly wont want to get into it, and to also upgrade the crappy shift points of the existing DSG OEM software which was noticable the first day I drove it off the lot when new.
In short... I AM WELL PLEASED for the investment and for the vast improvement it has made to my car.
Bravo Unitronic!
BTW, I am a regular customer and not affiliated with ShopDAP or Unitronic in any way, shape or form. Just one hell of a satisfied customer!
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