2011 SW 6MT owner -- school me on tunes and EGR delete

Good morning, all -- just picked up a 2011 Sportwagen with manual transmission, and am interested in tunes. I will go with a basic tune to start, and keep the emissions equipment in place for warranty purposes, then after the emissions warranty expires, I'll likely delete. As I understand it, I can buy a tune and the box ("Flashzilla," if I were to go with Malone) and tune/detune my car at will (i.e. if I need to have warranty work done and want to go back to stock).

I'm confident that I understand this part correctly, but what I don't understand is whether the basic tunes that retain the DPF eliminate or reduce EGR function, and whether doing do is detrimental to anything else. I read the tune descriptions for stage 1, stage 2, etc... and that part is unclear to me -- apologies if I simply overlooked this, but I am hoping that someone here can clarify this for me.

I know that my '98 Jetta TDI was MUCH happier with the EGR deleted, and would like to think that the '11 would be too. That said, I don't want to do anything that might hasten the clogging of the DPF either. Any reason NOT to reduce/eliminate EGR function at stage 1? Will it clog the DPF faster?

Thank you!

If you read any threads on tuning fixed TDIs here, you'll notice that most people feel that a tuned car risks voiding the emissions hardware warranty, even if you flash it back to stock before taking the car in for work. The ECU counts how many times it's been re-flashed, and the dealer can check this against their records for the car. As long as you realize that you may be denied warranty coverage, the tune helps a lot.

You should talk with the tuner you like about the EGR. These cars have both a high and low pressure EGR, and as far as I know tuners leave them operational.

Yeah, you should contact one of the guys at Malone tuning. They have a dynamic egr calibration that allows for faster warm up with gas recirculation but then reduces recirc. once the engine is up to temp.

Thanks, folks. Yes, I did see where some folks warn that the ECU can report number of flashes; thanks for bringing that up. I've been searching to see if I can find examples of anyone being denied warranty claims for that reason. It's worth considering.

I have contacted Stevenson and Malone with these very questions, and will see what they say. Thank you again!

I recall reading of a few here. But the rule of thumb is, if the warranty is important to you, leave the car alone. Otherwise do as you like. I believe VW will do just about anything to get out from under these court ordered warranties. Tuning just gives them a legitimate excuse.

I bought my '14 sportwagen specifically for the warranty... but it took so long to get some warranty parts (6 months for a new secondary cat) that I said screw it and went full malone stage 2/DCT tune/Exhaust.


The car is amazing and once I do the timing at 120k, I'll probably upgrade the fuel pump to CP3 and finish mitigating all major reasons for the warranty.

Thanks again, everyone. I appreciate the input; it's certainly giving me plenty to consider as I decide how to proceed.