APR Tune - 162TSI - worth every $$

[Wolfsburger]

Wow, smiles per gallon for sure! Did you need to upgrade anything else (intake etc) for the uptick in power or all remain stock and sufficient? And does this upgrade change the exhaust note at all

Also, given yours is a few month old car, I'm assuming warranty is voided? I would consider this route too, but throwing away the warranty is making me not dive head first into this mod.

Nothing else is required, just $1040.
The note changed a little, purely and simply because acceleration is vastly improved as is torque but in reality the sound has only changed because everything happens a hell of a lot faster and more power on offer. As far as ambient sound is concerned, there is very little but the engine sounds substantially more throaty. The torque is a VERY noticeable change, as is acceleration. I got Stage 1 installed at 2000klms. Drove it for a week whilst waiting for the service. A day before it went back to VW I got the OEM tune re installed (for free, you can get this done as many times as you like free of charge) and got the service done. No fault codes or eyebrows raised. The only issue I had was driving the car standard again for 5 days until APR could get me back in for the Stage 1 re flash. The car felt like it was full of lead and uninspiring.

I’m going to get Stage 2.5 done in the next few months, down pipe eradicates the resonator as part of stage 2 but for $100 I got the resonator deleted and I removed the snow grate from the airbox. Once I drove out from the exhaust shop there was VERY little difference in sound, however 1000klms later the car has definitely developed a much nicer and slightly louder growl and I absolutely love how it sounds now. When using launch control the blow off value makes very cool sounds, exactly like the WRC cars do and gear change sounds are much more pronounced.

In regards to warranty, it’s your call. Tuners offer the ability to re flash back to OEM if you have warranty issues however if you have a catastrophic failure I believe the EM time stamps the issue and records boost, temp and a number of other engine management parameters which could obviously cost you if discovered.

With all that said, there isn’t a hope in hell I could go back to OEM. If you research the engine and gearbox combination you will see how de-tuned the car is, quite simply to meet strict emission laws in the EU. The engine is definitely up for 300+kw, the gearbox is strong and powers vastly quicker vehicles like the Audi RS3. I’ve got mates who have them in both stock and APR configuration, the stock RS3 is a weapon, the APR stage 1 car is absolutely mental and would give my old mans Turbo S one hell of a fright! He has had the car for over 6 months and the only thing he complains about is buying rubber. It lights up in first and second gear and absolutely hammers, my other mate has kept his stock and is happy with it in standard trim.

I come from a family of drag racers, we ran 10 sec street cars over 20 years ago and I can firmly say the RS3 Stage 1 tuned car is in that league, does flat 11’s on pump fuel and low tens on E85, so I’m not guessing or talking ****, I’ve driven the car and seen it perform.

Whether to tune or not to tune is entirely personal, like everything risk versus reward however the EA888 engine is a beast of a donk, the gearbox is super strong and the car itself is magic. The dealership gave me a Golf R for a few days, it was awesome but just too small for our family. Now I have better than stock performance of a Golf R, it was an easy decision to make for me and I’m really looking forward to taking the car a bit further into stage 2, a number of guys on this forum are already there and the numbers are bloody impressive!

Tough call for some, real bloody easy for me but again, personal choice. 👍

[Wolfsburger]

Dont go to VW for service, they may reflash with some minor update back to stock, worse they log the flash and if you go back for a warranty issue, they would do their best to reject it.

It only went back to VW for the interim 2000k service. APR recommended it in case there were updates that were required. The car is now serviced every 5000klms at the APR dealership. $150 cheaper than VW per service and all correct oils and parts used and is warranty backed so no warranty void by getting serviced there.

[Wolfsburger]

Hi all,
any further feedback on Stage 1 APR after 6 months? I'm about to grab the APR 10% special before it disappears at the end of January and wanted any final info.
Also, does anyone know if this will need to be included on my Insurance?
Finally, has anyone who's done a resonator delete noticed an increase in the "drone"?
Thanks!!

Definitely no drone after resonator delete. Very little change on sound until the exhaust gets some carbon. Zero drone on freeway, none anywhere. I was disappointed initially but now it’s settled I absolutely love the sound. Nice little farts on hard gearchange and a deeper growl both inside and out. It’s not a big change but definitely a good one, for $100 it will do nicely until I get the downpipe and turbo inlet pipe delete.

[Wolfsburger]

It only went back to VW for the interim 2000k service. APR recommended it in case there were updates that were required. The car is now serviced every 5000klms at the APR dealership. $150 cheaper than VW per service and all correct oils and parts used and is warranty backed so no warranty void by getting serviced there.

Besides, they can’t log the flash if it’s already been returned to OEM prior to handing them the keys. 👍

[INASNT]

Nothing else is required, just $1040.
The note changed a little, purely and simply because acceleration is vastly improved as is torque but in reality the sound has only changed because everything happens a hell of a lot faster and more power on offer. As far as ambient sound is concerned, there is very little but the engine sounds substantially more throaty. The torque is a VERY noticeable change, as is acceleration. I got Stage 1 installed at 2000klms. Drove it for a week whilst waiting for the service. A day before it went back to VW I got the OEM tune re installed (for free, you can get this done as many times as you like free of charge) and got the service done. No fault codes or eyebrows raised. The only issue I had was driving the car standard again for 5 days until APR could get me back in for the Stage 1 re flash. The car felt like it was full of lead and uninspiring.

I’m going to get Stage 2.5 done in the next few months, down pipe eradicates the resonator as part of stage 2 but for $100 I got the resonator deleted and I removed the snow grate from the airbox. Once I drove out from the exhaust shop there was VERY little difference in sound, however 1000klms later the car has definitely developed a much nicer and slightly louder growl and I absolutely love how it sounds now. When using launch control the blow off value makes very cool sounds, exactly like the WRC cars do and gear change sounds are much more pronounced.

In regards to warranty, it’s your call. Tuners offer the ability to re flash back to OEM if you have warranty issues however if you have a catastrophic failure I believe the EM time stamps the issue and records boost, temp and a number of other engine management parameters which could obviously cost you if discovered.

With all that said, there isn’t a hope in hell I could go back to OEM. If you research the engine and gearbox combination you will see how de-tuned the car is, quite simply to meet strict emission laws in the EU. The engine is definitely up for 300+kw, the gearbox is strong and powers vastly quicker vehicles like the Audi RS3. I’ve got mates who have them in both stock and APR configuration, the stock RS3 is a weapon, the APR stage 1 car is absolutely mental and would give my old mans Turbo S one hell of a fright! He has had the car for over 6 months and the only thing he complains about is buying rubber. It lights up in first and second gear and absolutely hammers, my other mate has kept his stock and is happy with it in standard trim.

I come from a family of drag racers, we ran 10 sec street cars over 20 years ago and I can firmly say the RS3 Stage 1 tuned car is in that league, does flat 11’s on pump fuel and low tens on E85, so I’m not guessing or talking ****, I’ve driven the car and seen it perform.

Whether to tune or not to tune is entirely personal, like everything risk versus reward however the EA888 engine is a beast of a donk, the gearbox is super strong and the car itself is magic. The dealership gave me a Golf R for a few days, it was awesome but just too small for our family. Now I have better than stock performance of a Golf R, it was an easy decision to make for me and I’m really looking forward to taking the car a bit further into stage 2, a number of guys on this forum are already there and the numbers are bloody impressive!

Tough call for some, real bloody easy for me but again, personal choice. ��

Question is if the internals of our gearbox is the same as the RS3....

[OZROD]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Cost quoted was about $100 more than the $1040, but still fine.
Does anyone in Sydney have any thoughts about using VolksMuller? There's one in Dural (not too far) and one a bit further out in Annangrove (seems to be in the middle of nowhere) - does anyone have preference?

[Wolfsburger]

Question is if the internals of our gearbox is the same as the RS3....

Valid question. With guys already running a lot more HP and torque than my ride only time will tell. Not quite sure the OEM would mass produce a gearbox and state what it is and then designate what internals go where or what platform they are headed to, then again maybe they do. With 2.5 tonnes towing capacity one would think they would ensure durability and strength but the first rule of anything is never assume anything.

[Wolfsburger]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Cost quoted was about $100 more than the $1040, but still fine.
Does anyone in Sydney have any thoughts about using VolksMuller? There's one in Dural (not too far) and one a bit further out in Annangrove (seems to be in the middle of nowhere) - does anyone have preference?

I don’t have a preference for installer but maybe others here might have, other than one that’s closest to you geographically. It’s handy to be close especially if your sticking with VW servicing. I doubt many do for obvious reasons of apprentice’s and workmanship, but each to their own. Your tuner should be able to offer very competitive servicing that won’t void your warranty.

[Ozsko]

Besides, they can’t log the flash if it’s already been returned to OEM prior to handing them the keys. 

There have been reports from VW service techs that this is not true. There was a thread on this some months ago and the reports were from independent sources. I had a VW tech tell me that they could see where a tune had been removed and others have corroborated that statement.

[Wolfsburger]

Interested to see the power and torque curves if you can get it on a dyno, to compare to my etuners motorsport tune.

Too much variation in dyno’s, ambient air temps, brands and operators, heat soak, fuel, the list goes on. We dyno race engines a hell of a lot and the variation is quite significant, even on dyno of the same era two doors down. The only way to compare is everyone on the same dyno. Even better someone organise a Tig race meet at the strip. I’d be in that!