APR plus tune and HPDE’s

Cochise · Oct 18, 2018

I guess my main question is, if for some reason something breaks at a track event, I will get it towed home. There, I will make sure all of my track goodies are out of the car and uninstalled (tires, harnesses, etc), and then I take it to my local shop to get it fixed under warranty, is there a way for them to find out. Can they plug into the computer and see that it’s been driven crazy hard for extended periods of time.

Rule out posting anything on social media, a forum, a YouTube video, etc. I wouldn’t do any of that. Can they plug into my car and say.... waaaait a second!

Know what I mean?

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Cliff · Oct 18, 2018

Cochise said:
My question is... how would they know? How would APR/warranty company know if it was used for track events or if something broke during a track event?

I don't know how much diagnostic history is kept by the system, but they would probably wonder why your motor was running constantly at 5-6k rpm before dying..

I've put 38 track days on my car with 33 of them taking place after installing APR's stage 1 high torque tune. The car has been solid. I had one misfire on track last February but it cleared itself as soon as I restarted the car. I ran my car for a 5 events completely stock as sort of a shakedown cruise. When nothing failed, I figured I did not need to be overly concerned about manufacturing defects or similar things that would trigger a warranty concern.

R Golf · Oct 19, 2018

I think the HPDE events would be much less of an issue with manufacturer's warranty than an APR install. Having said that, I got an APR Hi torque upgrade with very few miles on my new R. I have many HPDE days and 35K miles with my APR Stage 1 hi Torque with zero problems. I was willing very early on to forego whatever warranty issues to have the extra fun and performance. Luckily it has been completely bulletproof. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

If you want the warranty, do a JB4 upgrade, or as someone else suggested forget the R and upgrade the crap out of the GTI.

BronxBomber · Oct 19, 2018

R Golf said:
I think the HPDE events would be much less of an issue with manufacturer's warranty than an APR install. Having said that, I got an APR Hi torque upgrade with very few miles on my new R. I have many HPDE days and 35K miles with my APR Stage 1 hi Torque with zero problems. I was willing very early on to forego whatever warranty issues to have the extra fun and performance. Luckily it has been completely bulletproof. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

If you want the warranty, do a JB4 upgrade, or as someone else suggested forget the R and upgrade the crap out of the GTI.

This. If you’re thinking about going APR+ to get an extra boost in performance but still keeping some sort of warranty. Go JB4. Way cheaper than APR+ and adjustable as well as having multiple maps and does not affect your flash counter as it’s a piggyback. If you’re worried about warranty that’s what I’d do. Then again, I’ll d rather have my car perform the way I want it than keep it neutered just to keep my warranty in tact. To each his own.

Cochise · Oct 19, 2018

Cliff said:
I don't know how much diagnostic history is kept by the system, but they would probably wonder why your motor was running constantly at 5-6k rpm before dying..

I've put 38 track days on my car with 33 of them taking place after installing APR's stage 1 high torque tune. The car has been solid. I had one misfire on track last February but it cleared itself as soon as I restarted the car. I ran my car for a 5 events completely stock as sort of a shakedown cruise. When nothing failed, I figured I did not need to be overly concerned about manufacturing defects or similar things that would trigger a warranty concern.

Cliff! How’s it going bud?! Glad to see you’re still enjoying that R. We met last year at The ridge motor sports park in Washington.

Thanks for the info. It just seems crazy to me to lose that 72K mike warranty if I don’t have to. That’s A LOT of miles.

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Cochise · Oct 19, 2018

To answer others....

The GTI has about everything done to it that one can do. Minus LSD, but 3-4 K for an LSD install doesn’t seem financially prudent. It’s a 2011 with DSG, and APR stg 2 with necessary hardware, suspension, tires etc.... but it’s getting long in the tooth and while the mileage is relatively low (67,000 mi), I’m just waiting for stuff to break.

I got rid of my R for the family vehicle last year, so the wife is in agreement that within the next year I can get another one as long as we stay on track with our financial goals (yay me!).

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DAS_STIG · Oct 19, 2018

Cochise said:
To answer others....

The GTI has about everything done to it that one can do. Minus LSD, but 3-4 K for an LSD install doesn’t seem financially prudent. It’s a 2011 with DSG, and APR stg 2 with necessary hardware, suspension, tires etc.... but it’s getting long in the tooth and while the mileage is relatively low (67,000 mi), I’m just waiting for stuff to break.

I got rid of my R for the family vehicle last year, so the wife is in agreement that within the next year I can get another one as long as we stay on track with our financial goals (yay me!).

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Installing a $3k upgrade (BIG UPGRADE) to a used car is not financially prudent, but spending an extra $25k to get a brand new car and beat on it is? Keep the GTI, add the LSD, use that $22k (after LSD) to pay for tires, brakes, track days, and anything that breaks.

Cochise · Oct 19, 2018

Dybz said:
Installing a $3k upgrade (BIG UPGRADE) to a used car is not financially prudent, but spending an extra $25k to get a brand new car and beat on it is? Keep the GTI, add the LSD, use that $22k (after LSD) to pay for tires, brakes, track days, and anything that breaks.

You make a sound argument, but a big reason behind my logic is piece of mind. Knowing I can use the car as a semi-daily driver and take it on trips to various tracks without having to worry about something breaking and being inconvenienced is a key part of this for me. Given my GTI’s age and use, the time where something catastrophic happens is approaching rapidly. I’m just waiting for that tensioner to go that has plagued these cars. So far nothing.

Now don’t get me wrong, while the type of driving and how I use the car will always put me at risk for something catastrophic happening, the risk is largely mitigated with a new, low mileage car, versus an old higher mileage car. I have already spent close to 2000 just in maintenance for the GTI purely due to its age (heater, fuel pump, bad O2 sensors, coil plugs). These were all unrelated to the tune and just a part of owning an older vehicle.

And also, there’s AWD. I LOVED my R, LOVED IT! I also love my GTI, and truth be told, with the stage 2 tune it gives my R a run for its money. But it will never have AWD.

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Cliff · Oct 19, 2018

Cochise said:
Cliff! How’s it going bud?! Glad to see you’re still enjoying that R. We met last year at The ridge motor sports park in Washington.

Thanks for the info. It just seems crazy to me to lose that 72K mike warranty if I don’t have to. That’s A LOT of miles.

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Yup, I remember. I'll be heading up north again next summer to do Pacific Raceways in June with the ACNW, and also hit Portland on the way up or the way back.

If you're worried about the warranty then don't tune the car. Suspension mods, proper tires, decent brake pads, and a TCU tune (if DSG) all go a long way towards lowering lap times.

DAS_STIG · Oct 19, 2018

Cochise said:
You make a sound argument, but a big reason behind my logic is piece of mind. Knowing I can use the car as a semi-daily driver and take it on trips to various tracks without having to worry about something breaking and being inconvenienced is a key part of this for me. Given my GTI’s age and use, the time where something catastrophic happens is approaching rapidly. I’m just waiting for that tensioner to go that has plagued these cars. So far nothing.

Now don’t get me wrong, while the type of driving and how I use the car will always put me at risk for something catastrophic happening, the risk is largely mitigated with a new, low mileage car, versus an old higher mileage car. I have already spent close to 2000 just in maintenance for the GTI purely due to its age (heater, fuel pump, bad O2 sensors, coil plugs). These were all unrelated to the tune and just a part of owning an older vehicle.

And also, there’s AWD. I LOVED my R, LOVED IT! I also love my GTI, and truth be told, with the stage 2 tune it gives my R a run for its money. But it will never have AWD.

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Then I will parrot what others have said elsewhere about tracking - learn to use the car first then add suspension/brake upgrades, then add power. You seem set on upgrading to the R so do it, but don't get a tune at first and you eliminate your concern about warranty coverage. The MK7 R is faster than an MK6 GTI Stg 2 in a straight line and will be a lot faster around a track. Get a handle for the car first before adding more HP and save yourself potential headaches in the process.

Swoope · Oct 19, 2018

the car is plenty fast without any mods,

but put an intercooler on the car. just smart.

beers

BronxBomber · Oct 20, 2018

swoope said:
the car is plenty fast without any mods,

but put an intercooler on the car. just smart.

beers

Compared to an RX-8, a lot of cars are.

APR plus tune and HPDE’s

Cochise

Passed Driver's Ed

Cliff

Drag Racing Champion

R Golf

Go Kart Champion

BronxBomber

Ready to race!

Cochise

Passed Driver's Ed

Cochise

Passed Driver's Ed

DAS_STIG

Banned

Cochise

Passed Driver's Ed

Cliff

Drag Racing Champion

DAS_STIG

Banned

Swoope

Ready to race!

BronxBomber

Ready to race!