Tuners ~~ Cost of TDI Power Enhancements

2015vwgolfdiesel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Location
Oklahoma
TDI
2015 VW Golf S DSG Silver
For those who wish to do some tuning from mild to wide, what is the range on prices?

And for an example, what might be results (HP and Torque) on my 2015 Golf TDi DSG?

Thanks in advance for any info:)
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
plan on $350-400 depending on what you get, The tune will not change the price, the materials will, like a loader, or a 3 bar MAP etc..
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
350-400 may be of the older tunes, the current prices have climbed with inflation.

I don't think you can get an ECU tune a '15 for under $5-600.

Also, ECU tunes only really work if you drive the car and utilize the peak numbers, 90% of the time you can accomplish the same feeling buy just pressing more on the go pedal.

What you may enjoy is a TCU tune, cost is about the same but you use the DSG and its shifting way more than peak HP numbers.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
^^^ This.
Your your nozzles a few sizes and up your boost by 3-4PSI will do the same thing as a tune and wont really effect your mileage any. Not sure what your ECU's Map will let you get away with in more boost but its cheep and will benefit from other mods like head work.
 

gmo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Location
Co Durham , north east uk
TDI
modded pd130 asz vw bora .. 04
it cost me about 2 grand (uk)to get a pd130 to 210bhp and 360lbs, that inc clutch .. after that your into gtb's bigger nozzles and head work.. after 260 ish the bang for buck isnt worth it imo

using old bit with new hybrid i hope to get 240bhp and 380lbs
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
is that in pounds or USD? If it is, 2600 aint that bad. i have an easy 2K into my engine alone and its stock internals. but its an old AHU
 

gmo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Location
Co Durham , north east uk
TDI
modded pd130 asz vw bora .. 04
is that in pounds or USD? If it is, 2600 aint that bad. i have an easy 2K into my engine alone and its stock internals. but its an old AHU
pounds mate , gt1756 hybrid, decat. fmic mapping and clutch..
see if you can pick up set of second hand pd130 injectors and your laughing
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
Nice. Maybe some head work and a cam. If the injectors are out of this world, you could always go water meth injection for some extra power.
 

15TDIreg

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2017
Location
Austin
TDI
2015 Touareg TDI Lux and 2014 Passat TDI Sel
On my old Jetta i paid to have it done and parts, labor and tune spent 2100 with a Malone tune. My current Touareg cost 1300 or so all in but i did the labor myself. My American diesel trucks cost about 2000 each to delete which includes Tuner and hard parts but labor is done by me. All well worth it in the end my friend from an efficiency, power and longevity stand point.
 

gmo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Location
Co Durham , north east uk
TDI
modded pd130 asz vw bora .. 04
Nice. Maybe some head work and a cam. If the injectors are out of this world, you could always go water meth injection for some extra power.
very tempted with w/m i must say mate. ive read cams give little in way of gains and can cause valves to meet piston.. that cant be good lol
 

gmo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Location
Co Durham , north east uk
TDI
modded pd130 asz vw bora .. 04
Nice. Maybe some head work and a cam. If the injectors are out of this world, you could always go water meth injection for some extra power.
very tempted with w/m i must say mate. ive read cams give little in way of gains and can cause valves to meet piston.. that cant be good lol
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Interesting conversation, but most of it is irrelevant to the OP. I'm not aware of larger injectors for the EA288 engine. Regardless, there's plenty of fuel available through electronic adjustment. Turbo upgrades don't exist yet, at least not in this market, for the EA288. A turbo upgrade would be complex because of the EGR setup and the air-to water intercooler.

Because of this, most folks who want more power get at tune. Rocketchip wasn't mentioned here, but Jeff has a great tune for the EA288. Projected power is 180HP/300 torque. The big benefits in my opinion are much better accelerator response on tip-in, much more like a tuned rotary pump TDI. And the car pulls much better in 6th at lower highway speeds (60 and up). Fuel economy is largely unchanged, unless you use the power all the time.
 

gmo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Location
Co Durham , north east uk
TDI
modded pd130 asz vw bora .. 04
Interesting conversation, but most of it is irrelevant to the OP. I'm not aware of larger injectors for the EA288 engine. Regardless, there's plenty of fuel available through electronic adjustment. Turbo upgrades don't exist yet, at least not in this market, for the EA288. A turbo upgrade would be complex because of the EGR setup and the air-to water intercooler.

Because of this, most folks who want more power get at tune. Rocketchip wasn't mentioned here, but Jeff has a great tune for the EA288. Projected power is 180HP/300 torque. The big benefits in my opinion are much better accelerator response on tip-in, much more like a tuned rotary pump TDI. And the car pulls much better in 6th at lower highway speeds (60 and up). Fuel economy is largely unchanged, unless you use the power all the time.
would it not be possible to get the turbo reworked with a bigger billet compressor wheel?
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
would it not be possible to get the turbo reworked with a bigger billet compressor wheel?
No doubt, others have had some sucess with CR190 turbos, but the effort is much more than plug and play, and have heard of some issues with tuning not being able to play nicely.
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
You'll want to be familiar with VCDS and data logging if swapping turbos on such a new car. Voltage sweeps, actuator, boost and injection logging etc. Best to be familiar with all aspects of the vehicle when doing these heavier modifications. The older VCDS cables won't work either, the frame rate is very low, you'll need the newer V2 variant. With just a tune on these they go from around ~130-135 -> ~162-167 and ~230 -> 300 on our dyno.

A VNT17 with a front mount and PP520s fully maxed will do 145/285.

I'd run it stock with a tune for awhile and see how you like it, personally find it to be plenty of power.
 

adamss24

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2005
Location
Great Britain
TDI
audi a4 2.5 tdi 98 quatrro 6speed
would it not be possible to get the turbo reworked with a bigger billet compressor wheel?
The OEM bv43a from the 170Bhp CR does comes from factory with a shiny billet compressor wheel however it looses a few blades in turbine side ! This is great for high revs spool however the low revs response suffers badly ! The bv43 turbos are not reliable past 200-220 Bhp and getting a larger compressor just begs for problems ! I always go for larger OEM turbos if possible, I have a bv43a in my seat exeo 2.0 tdi CR...it was 118 Bhp, new gtb2260vklr on tubular manifold awaits fitting !
 

gmo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Location
Co Durham , north east uk
TDI
modded pd130 asz vw bora .. 04
The OEM bv43a from the 170Bhp CR does comes from factory with a shiny billet compressor wheel however it looses a few blades in turbine side ! This is great for high revs spool however the low revs response suffers badly ! The bv43 turbos are not reliable past 200-220 Bhp and getting a larger compressor just begs for problems ! I always go for larger OEM turbos if possible, I have a bv43a in my seat exeo 2.0 tdi CR...it was 118 Bhp, new gtb2260vklr on tubular manifold awaits fitting !
in ideal world i think we all would mate but often cost is a very limiting factor for a lot of folk like myself who try to make do with best we can get on with what we can afford,or getting devorced lol usually a decant hybid,

not perfect but theyve been doing a decant enough job for years now.. i do agree the bv turbo are ****e , i thought it had a garret
 

keaton

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Location
Mesa AZ, 85202
TDI
TDI-less ATM
Interesting conversation, but most of it is irrelevant to the OP. I'm not aware of larger injectors for the EA288 engine. Regardless, there's plenty of fuel available through electronic adjustment. Turbo upgrades don't exist yet, at least not in this market, for the EA288. A turbo upgrade would be complex because of the EGR setup and the air-to water intercooler.

Because of this, most folks who want more power get at tune. Rocketchip wasn't mentioned here, but Jeff has a great tune for the EA288. Projected power is 180HP/300 torque. The big benefits in my opinion are much better accelerator response on tip-in, much more like a tuned rotary pump TDI. And the car pulls much better in 6th at lower highway speeds (60 and up). Fuel economy is largely unchanged, unless you use the power all the time.
IMO the cost/hp is still WAY to high for the EA288 tunes. $650 + DSG $500... $1,100-$1,200 for ~+30bhp :rolleyes: then again I'm comparing this to getting LSx motor tuned (auto or manual) where you get a +45whp +40wtq for $380 + headers $200
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
It's more around 30-35WHP/65-70wtq, and you only have to tune the ECU ;)


There's also slightly more LSx's produced than a single year production EA288.
 

keaton

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Location
Mesa AZ, 85202
TDI
TDI-less ATM
It's more around 30-35WHP/65-70wtq, and you only have to tune the ECU ;)
so you are saying that you don't have to tune the DSG to take advantage the the extra power? looking on your website under "requirements: DSG tune (US and Canadian cars with DSG)" now that's under the 2.0L CR TDI, stage 1 and up.
best i can tell the 2014 DSG and the 2015 DSG are the same... so why does 1 with less hp/tq require a DSG tune and the other does not.

There's also slightly more LSx's produced than a single year production EA288.
and yet there is not enough of them :mad: (or both for that matter)
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
Can never have enough LSs :p Got a local buddy with a LS3 swapped in his 944, buttery smooth power band.

so you are saying that you don't have to tune the DSG to take advantage the the extra power? looking on your website under "requirements: DSG tune (US and Canadian cars with DSG)" now that's under the 2.0L CR TDI, stage 1 and up.
best i can tell the 2014 DSG and the 2015 DSG are the same... so why does 1 with less hp/tq require a DSG tune and the other does not.
The software between an ea288 and 189 DSG is fairly different, as is the ECU software. To make the most of it with deletes dsg tuning is needed, but it's not for a normal file. MQB (2015 golf) DQ250s can't even be tuned by alientech at the moment, but we have other tools we've been using to port flash them for the last year or so.
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
IMO the cost/hp is still WAY to high for the EA288 tunes. $650 + DSG $500... $1,100-$1,200 for ~+30bhp :rolleyes: then again I'm comparing this to getting LSx motor tuned (auto or manual) where you get a +45whp +40wtq for $380 + headers $200
Then don't buy a tune. I've had something like 15 TDIs tuned and have always felt the cost of tuning was well worth it. And it transformed my GSW. It is a manual so I didn't have to have a transmission tune.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
best i can tell the 2014 DSG and the 2015 DSG are the same... so why does 1 with less hp/tq require a DSG tune and the other does not.

and yet there is not enough of them :mad: (or both for that matter)
well best I can tell 2014 and 2015 gearing is deff not the same, 2K rpms on the 15 DSG is about 75MPH and the TCU software with EPA fix of the 15 was light years ahead of the stock TCU tune of our old 12 CKRA.

Now we did have DMF shudder at 1800 RPMs with stock stage 2, with a modified stage 2 file shudder is 99% gone.

DSG tune isn't needed.
 
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