APR Stage 1 Tune

Hey everyone, I'm a new member on the forums, but have had the tdi for a year now and have been reading a bunch of your posts since getting the car. Thanks for all the help you have given me. I do lots of driving (32,000) in the past year, so this car has been a great saver for me. But, I have had enough of the poor acceleration.

So, today I went to HS Tuning in Cleveland, OH and got the APR Stage 1 tune done. I gotta say, wow! What a difference! The car runs like a beauty. They should have done this from factory. It drives just like a stock car, but when you push the pedal, it really responds. I hated it when I was on the highway, and I was hesitant to try and pass someone in tighter situations, but now it's no issue. I've gotta recommend this to anyone who uses the car as a daily driver. The only issue I've had so far is a random kind of clunk sound when going from 3rd to 4th at full throttle. I tried it again when I had the opportunity and it didn't occur a 2nd time. I'll keep an eye out for it, but I'm guessing it was just a fluke and there is some more adaptation that has to happen.

Anyways, glad to finally be a member!

Here's a pic of the car with the new badge! Oh, and I justify the use of my license plate because my name is Enzo ?

One wonders if the late Mr Ferrari would approve....

Enzo, do you have the DSG transmission? I wonder if that *clunk* was related to the DSG reaching the torque limiter?

Glad to hear you enjoy it! Where do you notice the biggest difference in power?

Yeah, it's a DSG. I did a lot of reading, and after speaking to the guys locally, I decided to try the APR tune. I'm thinking I might need the HPA DSG tune, also. I'm not looking to damage the tranny, lol.

How has it affected your fuel economy? (assuming you drive the same as before)

Good luck with the tune! Its a sharp car

I've noticed about a 1-2mpg increase. I haven't really been messing around with it too much, but ive pushed it a few times, and it really didn't negatively affect the mpg much. The only issues I'm seeing with the tune is that when I do floor it, the car sometimes has that hesitation and clunk noise when it shifts. I'm assuming it is the torque limiter, and I'm planning on having the dsg tune done by next spring (gotta save up some money for it). I also have noticed random hiccups. I'll be cruising, sometimes I'll have cruise control on, and the car will hesitate. It's like a huge gust of wind came at the car. Aside from those two quirks, I'm loving it and I'd suggest it to anyone that is looking for their car to have a little kick, especially when trying to pass on the highway.

TheEnzo said:

I've noticed about a 1-2mpg increase. I haven't really been messing around with it too much, but ive pushed it a few times, and it really didn't negatively affect the mpg much. The only issues I'm seeing with the tune is that when I do floor it, the car sometimes has that hesitation and clunk noise when it shifts. I'm assuming it is the torque limiter, and I'm planning on having the dsg tune done by next spring (gotta save up some money for it). I also have noticed random hiccups. I'll be cruising, sometimes I'll have cruise control on, and the car will hesitate. It's like a huge gust of wind came at the car. Aside from those two quirks, I'm loving it and I'd suggest it to anyone that is looking for their car to have a little kick, especially when trying to pass on the highway.

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The clunking and hesitation is your DSG being confused and unhappy with the extra torque. You will be shocked how much of an improvement a DSG tune is over stock. Most people I tune with DSGs are equally as impressed with the DSG tune as they are the extra power from the ECU tune. It really is that good.

Yeah, I'll be getting that done soon. I'm just a little nervous because the dsg tune seems a bit more invasive. Do you think a HPA or Malone tune is ok with the apr tune? Or should I get both from the same company?

TheEnzo said:

Yeah, I'll be getting that done soon. I'm just a little nervous because the dsg tune seems a bit more invasive. Do you think a HPA or Malone tune is ok with the apr tune? Or should I get both from the same company?

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It's less invasive than an ECU tune. Remove airbox, unplug transmission harness, and plug in flash tool. I don't see why you would have to get both tunes from the same company. I can only speak for Malone's DSG tune, but once you get it, you won't know how you drove the car without it, especially with doing an ECU tune first.

I am extremely happy with my dsg tune. The only disassembly required was to remove the air box to get to the dsg wiring harness. The Trans shifts so much better even minus the extra power. I would recommend the dsg tune even if not doing the ecu simply for the added smoothness and the gear indicator is nice too.

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So after having the tune for a few weeks, I decided that it was time to figure out if the tune was what was causing the problems. I went back to the tuner and had him put it back to stock, and low and behold, all problems went away. So, I'm calling HPA in the morning to reserve my spot for the dsg tune module. I'll have that done and then when I have a chance to leave the car at home, I will send in the ecu for the ecu tune. Thanks everyone for responding to my posts. It has helped me to look further into the dsg tune and confirm its value for my car.

I installed a Malone Stage 2 tune on my 2012 and the DSG did not shift well. So it was get a DSG tune or change to a ECO tune. The power of the stage 2 was nice, but I really did not need it. So I now have a Malone ECO tune. NO EGR or DPF.

jet-tdi said:

I installed a Malone Stage 2 tune on my 2012 and the DSG did not shift well. So it was get a DSG tune or change to a ECO tune. The power of the stage 2 was nice, but I really did not need it. So I now have a Malone ECO tune. NO EGR or DPF.

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I'd be interested to see how the Eco tune fares.

JaredC01 said:

I'd be interested to see how the Eco tune fares.

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Me too! A decent review would be a huge help!

I don't know that there's much to review. Drives the same as stock, but gets significantly better fuel economy due to the DPF delete. Kind of like a full on Stage 2 with exhaust... but minus the Stage 2 part....

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So it's just a stock tune with a DPF / EGR delete... That's okay by me, though I still would like to know what kind of number changes he gets.

Sorry for the delay. Your correct in saying the MPG and performance is better, Due to no DPF and EGR.

Without a tune your TDI DPF builds up with soot until it regenerates. All along EGR dumping exhaust into your intake. During that time the performance is lost due to less exhaust flow and hot exhaust added to intake air.

With a ECO tune and new exhaust, the DPF and EGR are not installed, so you have no performance loss. So the overall MPG is better. The ECO tune dose not change or add any HP performance alone. It drives same as stock.

I had a stage 2 tune that did add HP performance, but I did not have a DSG trans tune and the shifting was degraded. I did not need the HP performance so I went with a ECO tune. The Stage 2 tune did get slightly better MPG if you keep your foot out of it.

Good Luck!

How much better mpg are you achieving with the Eco tune?
I would be interested in your before and after numbers if you had them

Also, how much approximately would it cost a person to delete the dpf with a after market downpipe and flash the Ecu with thee Eco tune.

Thanks!

The MPG before and after has not been technically averaged. Other than what the car reads. I just don't have time for that, plus my wife drives it most of the time. The main reason i made the modification was to assure longevity of the engine. No more regeneration cycles, where the car gets so hot you think its on fire.
I would say 2 to 3 MPG average better with the ECO tune and 3 to 4 MPG average better with the stage 2. But if your foot is in the throttle with the stage 2? you will get -10 average.
If i had a manual trans i would choose the stage 1 or 2.
I have about $1600 in my tune and exhaust doing the install myself. The RawTek exhaust is the best out there, but there are other people making good exhausts now for less money. Contact Diesel Dubs in PA. Great to work with and have several exhaust options.

Good luck
Jet-TDI

Malone sounds pretty synonymous with CR TDI tunes but it's just much more convenient for me to go apr. Does anybody else have any input on apr's stage 1?

choose what you want...but keep in mind if you dont like apr it will cost you the full amount again to change, if you plan exhaust mods then you wont want apr as they have no dpf delete files i know of

Don't go with APR. I just had mine taken off because of the problems I stated in a previous post. As soon as they took off the mod, all the problems went away. If you want to do it right without having long term problems, the tdi with dsg NEEDS a dsg tuned before the ecu gets tuned. APR tried to tell me even after having the problems that their time doesn't need any other modifications or tunes in order for their tune to work. Well, they are wrong. The tdi has too much torque for just an ecu tune. Gotta upgrade the dsg first. If you don't have the dsg, then by all means, give it a try. APR does offer a 30 day money back guarantee, which is what I was able to do. I did spend $50 for the tuners to remove the ecu, which was non-refundable. Plus, that $26 I spent on the APR chrome logo for my car. I'm going to leave that on until HPA decides on making some. By the way, my HPA dongle is on it's way to me. I will have the dsg tuned on Tuesday. Give me a few days after that, and I will review it on here. But, from what I hear, it's supposed to be great. I should have listened to myself and done the dsg tune the first time, instead of listening to my friend. I'm hoping have positive feedback, and then be able to do the HPA ecu tune come spring time, once I've saved up the money for it.

Hey @TrolleyVW, just realized on your profile you have a manual. Idk if VW still has some sort of torque limiter on the transmission, even though it's manual. You might still end up having the same problems I had. But if you have $50 to risk, it could be a good tune for the car. Aside from those 2 problems I had, the tune was fun and made a pretty significant difference. As soon as the guy put my car back to stock, and I drove away, it felt like my car was in limp mode, haha. Good luck with whatever route you choose to go, and let us know how it goes.

enzo why didnt you go to malone...they can do the ecu and the dsg and it will work flawlessly, not to mention malone has a huge rep here and plenty of happy customers and amazing dyno numbers?....I dont think id want one brand of tranny tune and another for the engine but i dont have a dsg anyway just saying

I'm doing dsg and ecu from HPA. I emailed Mark over a month ago, and he just got back to me the other day. I have nothing against the Malone tune, but I wasn't willing to wait indefinitely for his response. Plus, I'm not looking for anything crazy with the tune. I just want a little more power and a smoother dsg. I also chose HPA based off of their longer research with the dsg. HPA has been working on the dsg since it came out, where as Malone has been researching since 2009-2010?

enzo---before going with HPA you should read this thread. i know this was a while ago but you should verify that they are ready to tune your CR, i have not seen any more recent reviews. this thread had the hatchet taken to it so i am not sure if all the relevant facts remain but Elite went through hell dealing with these guys. just wanted you to have all possible info before buying. i am sure you could PM him.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=361223

good luck with whatever you decide. if nothing else the above thread is an entertaining, though depressing read.

Yeah, all the later threads talk about stage 2 with the dpf delete. I'm going to stick with stage 1 and the dsg tune.

I have heard that with the manual trans and dmf, it can withstand the torque with the tune for quite a while, of course driver-dependent to a certain extent. I love the sound of 170hp with ~280wtq but I know that people are skeptical of APR being so new to the diesel game. I am going in next Tuesday for my 10k checkup and they, the dealership who does APR tuning, said they would have to check and see if they have the "equipment" to tune my specific ecu.