New tune on the way.

Locoelectrician

Veteran Member
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Jan 10, 2015
Location
Ohio
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2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
Odd, my Malone will pull pretty darn hard at 1,800 if I hold it manual mode, that is peak torque. Again I have to be in manual mode to avoid a downshift.

I did have to get a modified stg2 tune as I had DMF shudder with the stock stg 2 tune, I notice maybe a little less pull at 1800-2100 but not enough to cry foul.

Maybe Kerma is being conservative under 2,500rpm to avoid the DMF shudder all together. But why have a diesel if you can't have great pull from down low?

jealous of the paddle shiffters, I enjoy them on our Alltrack but know the wife would never use them in her Passat to make it worth the money to install them.
Paid a lot closer attention today and I think some of my initial observations were off because I was testing in lower gears. Things happen fast and it seemed like the power wasn’t there until 2500. Today I drove exclusively in manual mode and I would say the power really starts to come in at 1600 to 1700 with a good solid rush at 1800. The more I drive it the more I like it.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
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Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
If I had more money than brains I'd invest in a DSG tune and see if it helps with that low end grunt you see in manual mode.

Rummor has it the alienware tech that malone and kerma uses has a new unit out that can do DSG thru the ODB port, I've yet to hear that its been released though.
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
Rumor has it the alienware tech that malone and kerma uses has a new unit out that can do DSG thru the ODB port, I've yet to hear that its been released though.
Yes, powergate 3+ DSG tuning isn't available yet for it and have no idea on the timeline. We have other tools that can tune MQB chassis DSGs available so not a big concern on our end, can just rent tools out as needed.
 

Locoelectrician

Veteran Member
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Jan 10, 2015
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Ohio
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2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
This may be the stupidest question I could ask, but then again, if I knew everything, I would have no reason to ever question anything.

I know our cars, and most cars, have adaptive throttle, adaptive transmissions, adaptive everything that learn our driving style and adapt as needed. Hell, the best BMW false mod was always to put the key in run, hold the gas down for 30 seconds, let off and then start the car. Computer would think all of your driving was WOT and the car would be much more responsive for about a day or two. Got tired of arguing with people that it was just an adaptation adjustment and not an actual reset of anything.

Anyways, enough rambling and on to the question.

Is it possible that the parts of the program that were not modified needed time to adapt to the parts that were? Everything I said in my initial review was true at the time, but I swear each time I drive it it gets better. I’m at about 300 miles now and I’m here to tell you, this car is now an absolute joy to drive. The EGTs seem to have settled, the boost now locks and holds at 26.4, and it just pulls like crazy.

I’m an analyst by nature and the only three possibilities I can come up with are the weather, the car adapting to the tune, or me adapting to the car. The boost and EGT numbers are without a doubt different today though so number 3 seems least likely.
 

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
The car definitely needs time to adapt. I remember being told that there are monitors that take some time to reset unless you reset them manually. So I think your experience makes sense.
 

Locoelectrician

Veteran Member
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Jan 10, 2015
Location
Ohio
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
The car definitely needs time to adapt. I remember being told that there are monitors that take some time to reset unless you reset them manually. So I think your experience makes sense.
Good to know I’m not (completely) crazy.
 

Snizzbob

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Location
New Smyrna Beach Florida
TDI
2015 Passat TDI DSG
How is the tune working out for you? Did you get the mileage on your MFI straightened out? Do you have any solid mileage numbers for us? Im on the fence about spending the money on the tune, the performance increase isn't that important for me, but I am interested in the fuel mileage increase. Please keep us informed. Thanks.
 

Locoelectrician

Veteran Member
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Jan 10, 2015
Location
Ohio
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
How is the tune working out for you? Did you get the mileage on your MFI straightened out? Do you have any solid mileage numbers for us? Im on the fence about spending the money on the tune, the performance increase isn't that important for me, but I am interested in the fuel mileage increase. Please keep us informed. Thanks.
I’m pretty happy so far and Kerma has been working with me (although I can be a pain in the ass at times) to fine tune it. I was sent a NASA approved Apollo 13 test tune to fix the MPG readings and it is much better. Not fair yet to give exacts, as the tune has quite a bit of power so my normal eco driving has been quite compromised, but on the gauge, I’m now seeing 2-3 improvement as opposed to the 15-20 I was originally seeing which seems much more realistic. I did see what seemed to me as some very strange Regen behavior but was assured the Regen strategy was unchanged (as far as temp allowances) so I guess I have to believe that.

I have some DSG shudder but I’m told to give it time to adapt. I pretty much believe this because the original tune had DSG shudder that got better as the miles went on. Reflashed last night with the MPG fix and the shudder is back so time will tell.

So far the most impressive part of this tune (and I haven’t tried anyone else’s, so I can’t compare) is that just driving around you really can’t feel anything, and say to yourself “wow, this was a waste of money”, until you start to get on it, at which time you realize the car has quite a bit more pull than it had stock. Passing is no longer a question of will I make it or will I die. The power is smooth and very constant. At about 1800 the rush hits and at first I expected it to keep building, but instead, it just stays constant until it shifts. Looking at the dyno results pretty much confirms this and makes it all make more sense.

My biggest surprise I guess was the initial disappointment. On the day I installed it, I was convinced I threw my money away. Every drive from then got better while all the pixies got aligned and the ones and zeros started to chooch. I don’t claim to understand the inner workings of the matrix, but the car adapted and improved with each mile. By the time I hit 300 miles, I was happy. The biggest issue with that was the fact that I’ve tuned plenty of diesel trucks and the improvements were instantaneous whereas this seemed to take time to settle in.

To drive my car now, you would have no clue it’s tuned, until you got on it a little. That’s not saying it runs like a 2 stroke or anything, but saying it is very well mannered. 50% throttle and below it just feels right (and much less useless than stock). Over 50 and things get exciting, yet refined. It’s still worthless under 1600, but I’m not sure anything could really fix that. Boost is stable at 27psi on a good pull and EGTs seem to stay below limits for the most part. The car is no louder than stock. Not sure what else to say but happy to answer any other questions that I can. Having the tuner in my possession was the number one selling point for me. If a change is needed, I don’t have to drive anywhere or have a device shipped to me.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
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Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
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2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
BTW its DMF shudder not DSG ;)
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
How is the tune working out for you? Did you get the mileage on your MFI straightened out? Do you have any solid mileage numbers for us? Im on the fence about spending the money on the tune, the performance increase isn't that important for me, but I am interested in the fuel mileage increase. Please keep us informed. Thanks.

With your line of thinking, save your money. It would take a very long time to make up the cost of fuel vs a tune. If you use the MFI for mileage computation, then you're doing it wrong. Fill the tank each and every time use miles and fuel used to compute your REAL MPG!


I got my tune for some extra ooomph, stops the tranny from shifting down for smaller hills etc.
 

Locoelectrician

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Ohio
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2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
Any one know when Kerma will have a tune for us with the phase 2 fix in place ?
I would reach out and ask them. They have been pretty responsive to my relentless questions.
 

Got diesel

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Joined
Oct 29, 2001
Location
Apollo Beach FL
TDI
None at this time.
I just got my Phase 2 fix done to my car and a Kerma Tune Stage1+ . The car will need some time to adapt to it. I will chime in on my results on it. My car is a 2015 Passat SE 6 speed MT (Yea).
 

Got diesel

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Oct 29, 2001
Location
Apollo Beach FL
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None at this time.
Yes, So far i'm not at all impressed and this is stage 1+, Not for $600.00. NOT at all really impressed , I will give it a few days and see if anything changes, I will send it back and go back to the stock file and live with it. Yet Why is it no tuner has had the original stock file (before vw got busted) and just mod that file and tune the car that way?
 
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Locoelectrician

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Yes, So far i'm not at all impressed and this is stage 1+, Not for $600.00. NOT at all really impressed , I will give it a few days and see if anything changes, I will send it back and go back to the stock file and live with it. Yet Why is it no tuner has had the original stock file (before vw got busted) and just mode that file and tune the car that way?
Mine took a few hundred miles to “wake up”. I can’t think of any reason why yours would be any different.
 

Got diesel

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Oct 29, 2001
Location
Apollo Beach FL
TDI
None at this time.
Car is starting to wake up ... Seems it takes a real long time to adapt. 2,3,4 pull like a train now and it spools up quick.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
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Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Personally I do not understand why someone would buy a Stage 1 tune.
Get the stage 2 tune right off, for very little more cost and nothing else to add or remove.


I'm now on my 2nd VW TDI with Stage 2 tune and quite happy.
 

Locoelectrician

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Personally I do not understand why someone would buy a Stage 1 tune.
Get the stage 2 tune right off, for very little more cost and nothing else to add or remove.


I'm now on my 2nd VW TDI with Stage 2 tune and quite happy.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the "stage" number. It's all marketing. Kermas stage 1 on paper has more than malones stage 2. Obviously the marketing works though.
 

KITEWAGON

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Seacoast, NH
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2014 Touareg Exec, 2014 JSW
I wouldn't get too hung up on the "stage" number. It's all marketing. Kermas stage 1 on paper has more than malones stage 2. Obviously the marketing works though.

Agreed. I feel like it used to be that Stage 1 could be done as a stand alone tune. Then Stage 2 would require some bolt ons like an intake and a downpipe. Then Stage 3 you need a clutch. Stage 4 and you need a new turbo. Or something like that.
 

calimustang

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May 17, 2010
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2011 JSW DSG (buyback, RIP), 2014 JSW TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2013 Jetta TDI.
they removed stage 3. just 1,2 and 4.

per the site:

CR190 Turbo. No longer available, because this turbo's performance is unsatisfactory: It is prone to boost creep (hardware limitation) especially with a large intake+exhaust upgrade, and thus does not allow much more power without risking overboost. We recommend a bigger turbo with Stage 4 instead.

https://malonetuning.com/ecu-tuning/audi-volkswagen/tdi/20l-cr-tdi-150hp
 

Locoelectrician

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Ohio
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2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
I should have been more clear. I wasn't talking about any particular tuner or even TDI's specifically. I was referencing aftermarket tune marketing or labeling as a whole.
As was I.
 

scrambld

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Belchertown, MA
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'06 Jetta...TDI/5spd :) >>>now a '15 Passat TDI/DSG
Loco, any further updates? I too have a '15 Passat TDI/DSG and I am interested in a tune w/DSG tune. Looking at Malone (used Malone in the past) and Kerma. Kerma's got some pretty impressive numbers....almost unbelievable though....? Not sure how solid those numbers really are or how thorough the DSG tune would be.
 

Locoelectrician

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Ohio
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2015 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Golf SEL Sportwagen, 2005 Jetta TDI, John Deere 355D
Unfortunately I haven’t even seen my car since I last posted. Been doing quite a bit of work travel in a company car. Should get back in it tomorrow though.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Loco, any further updates? I too have a '15 Passat TDI/DSG and I am interested in a tune w/DSG tune. Looking at Malone (used Malone in the past) and Kerma. Kerma's got some pretty impressive numbers....almost unbelievable though....? Not sure how solid those numbers really are or how thorough the DSG tune would be.

numbers are one thing what the DMF can handle without showing shudder is another. DSG tune won't remove shudder.

The peak torque band it so tight around 1800 RPM you'll never really get those peak numbers with out shudder, heince why they have an stage 1+ and 1

With that, I'm happy with our modified stg 2 (reduced torque to remove dmf shudder) from malone, no DSG tune either.

I'm amazed at how quick the stock tuning of the DSG is on our '15, shifts are so crisp and zero lag RPMs just plumit as it grabs another gear. Our Alltrack DSG seems so lethargic and slow in comparison.
 
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