Is a Malone tune right for me?

My feeling is that if you have to ask if a tune is right for you, the answer is probably no. It's almost a shame the 15's have such a great warranty- many will make do with ho-hum performance when they could be unleashing the true potential of the engine.

Most of us have no need for the extra "potential" though. The cars drive perfectly fine as they are. This car already has the tuned power of my alh. Saving all that tune money for regular maintenance items. Which I am buying up off Craigslist from those who sold back. I have picked up 4 DSG kits and 12 liters of oil for about $250 total.

I'd say it's more of a want than a need. None of us really needs a car with over 80 hp, we just want more power. I agree that they are already fine for most folks in stock trim. That's why the vast majority of owners never get tuned.

Tuning these cars makes a significant improvement, especially in higher gears at highway speeds. Sixth gear is so tall the engine really needs help accelerating if you don't downshift, and the additional torque and HP from the tune makes the car feel less flat-footed. But I agree with turbobrick, if you're concerned about the tune and warranty then you probably shouldn't get one.

I might wait a year, give the chip tuners time to catch up. (I'm assuming these 2015s are re-tuned cars, I really don't know)

BobnOH said:

I might wait a year, give the chip tuners time to catch up. (I'm assuming these 2015s are re-tuned cars, I really don't know)

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Catch up with what? These cars have been out for nearly 4 years. The current tune in the car doesn't really matter.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Catch up with what? These cars have been out for nearly 4 years. The current tune in the car doesn't really matter.

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^^^Exactly^^^

I use Rocket Chip for the tunes. Some of the stuff others supply for tunes is "lacking" to say the least. Dangerous would be a better descriptor.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Catch up with what? These cars have been out for nearly 4 years. The current tune in the car doesn't really matter.

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Sorry, I thought these were cars sent back to VW for "the fix".
Haven't really followed any of that.

Just re-flashed. And I doubt any tuner would use the current "fix" flash as a baseline for a tune.

We do. Have no intention of reverting a federally mandated update and it didn't make a huge difference other than dsg tuning. DPF/DEF systems aren't so bad when they work and even on a 300WHP+ 335D I only saw 15WHP from installing a full turbo back. Definitely agree on the danger side of things after dyno testing someone's tune when a customer came in, wasn't even able to do a run in 4th gear without hitting egt limiters before 4K and the shop was 80F. We'll drop something on the website someday that'll give consumers an idea of what they're actually buying. A lot of hours going into that from some dedicated staff, the log viewer was just a drop in the bucket

What's all the talk about the 15s warranty? I just got a fixed 14 JSW and want to add a Malone tune but not sure if it's worth risking my warranty which is good until 2024 ( 10 years from original in service date). Thanks

Being stock all these years, but learning more about tuning, I'm sold on the Dynamic EGR, and probably the Stage 1 as well for both "my" cars. Once I get them where I want to condition wise, I'm going for it.
cascadegerman is only several miles away

Op, I think if you choose to do a tune sooner than later, Owain can say better, the DSG tuning might be safer and yield good results.

eddieleephd said:

Op, I think if you choose to do a tune sooner than later, Owain can say better, the DSG tuning might be safer and yield good results.

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The OP posted a year and a half ago almost. Probaly already made a decision by now.

Lightflyer1 said:

The OP posted a year and a half ago almost. Probaly already made a decision by now.

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Yeah, I didn't catch this was did up until after

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Drclaw said:

What's all the talk about the 15s warranty? I just got a fixed 14 JSW and want to add a Malone tune but not sure if it's worth risking my warranty which is good until 2024 ( 10 years from original in service date). Thanks

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Same thing for any car. If you value the warranty leave it alone until it expires. If they find out they will more than likely refuse any warranty repairs they can get away with. Especially now after dieselgate. There have already been a few instances of this happening reported here. Your car though do what you want. I bought my new stop sale car because of the warranty. I am not going to risk it with a tune. I have had tunes on all my previous VW's and they were great. Times have changed now though with this car.

Same boat, got a 2014 TDI but don't wanna void the warranty. The Canadian one is 10 year or 193k km... I will bust that in the next 3 years as I drive alot so after that I'd be interested in getting it done.

Check your mileages and the dates... You may only be covered by a 4/48 from the date of modification, b/c it is the GREATER of either a 10/120k from original in-service date, OR 4/48k from the emissions modification.

I just bought a 14 JSW that has 160k on it, it will be covered until over 200k miles - a staggering number for any vehicle - but for me that is probably only another year or maybe two!

If you are going to go the tuned route... Don't do anything that isn't a bolt-on solution, so you can un-bolt-it-on if you need assistance with something non-emissions-related under the warranty. Better to not have them asking questions.

Just drove a VW certified Golf Sportwagen TDI SEL with DSG. Seemed to handle fine until i put my foot in it, then i found it to be seriously lacking compared to my previous modded 03 Jetta TDI wagon.


I kinda like the idea of purchasing a 2nd ECU to load the tune on and leave the original ECU stock in case i need to take the car in for service.


Just curious, has anyone here gone the two ECU route and how is that working out for you?


I also recall when i did the EGR delete on my 03 around 40,000 miles or so, that sucker was almost 50% clogged up with gunk. The intake manifold wasn't as bad but it took me a couple cans of brake cleaner and a bag of quarters at the local self serve car wash to get that intake clean.


Is gunk buildup in the EGR cooler and intake manifold an issue with the 15 TDI and do any of the tunes from Kerma, Malone or RC decrease the amount of gunk or eliminate it all together? If purchasing a 15 TDI, I do not think i could live with the stock power but i also do not want to remove any emissions hardware.


Anyone?

brew1 said:

Just drove a VW certified Golf Sportwagen TDI SEL with DSG. Seemed to handle fine until i put my foot in it, then i found it to be seriously lacking compared to my previous modded 03 Jetta TDI wagon.

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This is a sad fact. My '02 Jetta Wagon has a bunch of mods, but nothing crazy. My '15 GSW (manual) has RC2 with all emissions intact. The Rocketchip tune made a huge difference in the two areas where I thought the new car was weakest: tip in and top gear acceleration. Jeff's estimate based on VCDS logs is with the tune the GSW makes about 180/300. So it pulls pretty hard. But the common rail cars just don't have that bump of torque on tip in that makes the ALH engines feel so good. The consequence of this is my '02 is still my daily driver and my '15 sits in the garage on a battery tender.

Regarding carbon build up, because of changes in design and EGR flow, along with ultra low sulphur diesel, people haven't seen this as an issue on VWs.

Part of it is just because it's a smoother car, vnt15s are fast though. vnt17 with aggressive fueling actually makes about the same tq down low as a ea288 if not a little less, but it feels more aggressive. Have a local cr190 that makes 330lb-ft to the wheels by 2100rpm and we limited it a bit. Makes around 190whp vs 165 from a maxed out 1749vb, and was around 170/300 with stock turbo and deletes, approx 165/285 stock hw (same tq as reasonable fueling on a 1749vb).

IndigoBlueWagon, appreciate your straightforward response. I assume that I would need to mail an ECM to Jeff or catch him at a TDI GTG if he still attends those.



Did you leave the DSG tune OEM? I did notice the TDI DSG had the drive and sport modes similar to my Audi A3. I was also surprised to see that it had paddle shifters, however, they seemed pretty tiny compared to what i'm used to...

Email or call Jeff. And you would have to send him the ECU. He has "pre-fix" stock tunes he uses as a base. He tuned my car a couple years ago (when it had 875 miles on it!) so I bet he's got something better than what I have.

My car's a manual. No DSG tune needed.

Owain, it's not about numbers, it's about how they feel to drive. My B4 with RC2 and no other mods feels responsive and quick around town, and I bet it's not making much more than 100 HP. It most certainly isn't fast by any objective measure. The primitive fueling on rotary pump cars just feels good.

for sure, weight goes a long way too. Kind of miss playing around with AAZ MK2s, good simple fun. Couple MK1 ALHs kicking around and they're a riot on VNT15s.

Couple MK1 ALHs kicking around and they're a riot on VNT15s.
Requesting the music video!

Read the thread, start to finish and the 2nd ecu swap thing was never varified. Beside the obvious removal and install, how hard would a non original reflashed ecu be to run (i.e. plug n play?).? Any benifits over flashzillla type loaded tune? As one post stated when scanned with factory VCDS (warrenty), would it read... For example... original ecu (stock VW fix) was removed for awhile?

I want mpg over hp/torque and have seen good claims for mpg improvements with kerma but cant fiind any +- with Malone tunes?

All these questions can be answered by the tuner, especially the last one. Generally the ECU should match part numbers with yours, so it would depend on if the have yours in stock. Most tuners will insert text in the header so when scanned you'll see that. Whether that affects warranty is a big maybe, it should not.

BobnOH said:

All these questions can be answered by the tuner, especially the last one. Generally the ECU should match part numbers with yours, so it would depend on if the have yours in stock. Most tuners will insert text in the header so when scanned you'll see that. Whether that affects warranty is a big maybe, it should not.

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What I have against the ECU removed to be tuned and then having to go to the dealer, for example for an airbag recall. They will reflash the ECU and you are out the money paid for the tune. Also having the car out of service waiting for the ECU to come back.



Owning a Flashzilla and using the OBD II port lets you go back to the VW tune and if they reflash, then your tuner will most likely write you a new tune.

Again, the issue being discussed isn't about getting your original ECU tuned then deleted/reverted back to factory by the dealer.

The issue is, can a 2nd ECU be matched to the car that you then get any tune you want on it. If an engine/tranny/emissions issue comes up that requires dealer service, you simply swap the tuned ECU for your factory original.

That was the point of debate. In fact, going this route means you don't need a flash loader at all. Just send in the spare ECU to get whatever tune you want, install and run it as long as you have no problems. If one does pop up, swap ECU with stock one and go to the dealer for repairs.

Granted, it may not be "honest" but then again VW isn't one to be preaching on honesty, are they?

Original post was whether or not a Malone tune was right for Jason's 2015, be we can wander, looking at various methods to tune. Flashzilla is the coolest, most expensive, multiple tunes at your finger tips. But if dealer wants to reflash, you're screwed. But tuner will likely work with you on something like that.