APR ECU Upgrade MK6 Golf - Customer perspective

[logger]

This is probably a bit long and waffling, but I expect it may be of use to anyone else thinking of remapping a 118TSi with 7 speed DSG.

I have a 2 week old 118TSi + DGG. Last week I bought the APR Stage 1 remap.
The only reason I did not get it done straight up, was I wanted more time to:
-research the product
-ensure my new car had not post delivery warranty faults, and
-to get to know my car in Stock form so I could appreciate the changes.

Getting it burnt was quick and straight forward taking about 30 min. I had it done by my local APR Rep, Dean at Volkspower in Melbourne. (His operation is impressive and is the antithesis of my local VW service centres where I could not get within 100' of a mechanic or engineer let alone talk to one.) Initially I was going to get the APR Free Trial done, however after hearings Deans entusiasm for the product I just cut to the chase and got the full monty straight up.

Finishes up with a burn report email from APR detailing install success, date, ECU & APR program serial numbers. Personally I feel APR could do a little better in this regard. Something more substantial than an email and a receipt to acknowledge the vehicle has the tune. A certificate stating what was loaded and the expected gains would be a nice touch to certify the modifications. But this is only a minor criticism. And perhap a bumper sticker or two


How does it go? The torque increase is so very noticeable... Some examples:

On the highway at 110km, "D" with Crz control in 7th gear, come to a reasonable sized long hill, and I wonder how many gears the DSG will downchange on the way up. Will it drop back to 5th or 4th even? Nope it holds the speed (to the km) and stays in 7th the whole way. Impressive.

Again - Chuggin around town in "D", 7th gear at 60kph and about 1300rpm. Come to a hill, lightly press the accelerator, supercharger rumble becomes more noticeable and the car holds the the speed AND the gear. Again Wow!

In this situation if I revert to stock mode it will change down to 6th far more readily.

Interstingly - at this 1300rpm I am off the bottom end of the APR "Stock vs Stage 1" Dyno chart which begins at 1750rpm. This chart shows "Stock" has more TQ and HP than "Stage 1" at 1750 revs??? This does not make a lot of sense to me. One would have thought it useful for the remap chart to show gains at the rev band drivers will be in during the everyday commute at 60 kays. I can only think this is a limitation of the Dyno or the way it is charted because the gains are there at very low revs too.
There is a decent hill just near my house and I can Switch between "Stock" and "Stage 1", drive up it and the difference is marked. If I accelerate quickly to 60km in "D" and drive up in "Stock" the car will only get to and stay in 6th at ~ 1800rpm. If I do it in "Stage 1" it will quickly get to 7th gear and happily stay there at 1300rpm. I can repeat this test and keep seeing the same result. As the remap does not do anything to the DSG change points it can only be increased torque that is causing the different change points and the ability to climb the hill in the higher gear at lower revs.

When I plant it from standstill the acceleration is so smooth and noticably quicker.

The car no longer has the occasional pregnant pause when launching from standstill in a hurry. For example when wanting to zip from standstill into a gap in moving traffic. On a couple of occasions with "Stock" I had got that horrible sinking feeling when I pressed the accelerator to get going and little or nothing happened. Instinctively Pressed more and the car launched with a squeal of tyres. Doesn't do this anymore with the APR Tune. Just gets going smoothly and smartly now with no pause. Interstingly my installer stated that this benefit alone is arguably justification for the remap. I tend to agree.


I realise that without empirical data it is hard to quantify any of my above claims. It does however put a big smile on my dial when I drive it....

As others have mentioned about the APR product, Switching modes is straighforward. Just make sure it is switchable post burn, as I found out, it is possibible to inadvertently install the product without the switching functionailty being active.

So I am very happy with it and would recommend it. Shall report back once I have more hours behind the wheel. Will try to answer any questions you guys may have of an end user with regard to this remap on a new MK6.

Cheers,

Logger

[sillygogo]

Nice post, thank you for the information as I am also considering the APR upgrade. At the moment I found the car up gears too early...so after the APR it up gear to 7 even quicker? is that a good thing staying in such low rpms going up a hill?

[Tensixty6]

I take it you don't have any concerns about the 7 speed DSG being able to handle the increased power?

[logger]

...am also considering the APR upgrade. At the moment I found the car up gears too early...so after the APR it up gear to 7 even quicker? is that a good thing staying in such low rpms going up a hill?

Good/Bad I don't honestly know. Someone else can probably answer that. I suppose the point is (if I have this right) that more torque or power is required to do a given job in a taller gear. So my observations are just confirming that more torque and/or power is clearly available. Oh and that it certainly feels there is alway plenty of stick available if you need it. In what regard do you feel your car currently "ups gears too early"? Because if you perceive it is running out of steam - it won't with the remap.

I take it you don't have any concerns about the 7 speed DSG being able to handle the increased power?

Correct - I have no concerns. My feeling is that you can abuse the gearbox with or without the extra KWs and NMs.

[sillygogo]

"Upgear too early" like car driving 55km/h in D7 around 1200rpm, I can hear the engine clonking, not sure if that the right term. Sound like if you starting a manual in second instead of first.

True True the other concern was the extra power/torque for the DSG gearbox.

temping...me want 1

[Tensixty6]

Correct - I have no concerns. My feeling is that you can abuse the gearbox with or without the extra KWs and NMs.

Fair enough. I was of the understanding, right or wrong, that the 7 speed was limited by how many KW's and NM's it could safely cope with.

Pleased to see that the APR upgrade seems to have "fixed" the lag that exists in standard form. I've test driven the 118TSi twice and have to say l didn't like the initial hesitation from takeoff at all. Most annoying.

[tinto]

Nice writeup.
Flip on your immediate fuel display when cruising up a hill in 7th.
Compare that to dropping a gear, and my finding has been the dsg changes up too early to be the most efficient in all scenarios.

It seems like dropping a gear to climb a hill at higher rpm would use more fuel, but (if you are driving normally) it doesn't.
I've experienced this in a 6 spd dsg in a gt 1.4 and now a pirelli gti.

So while the torque is there, it is probably costing you more to use it in certain sedate scenarios.
This isn't an observation on the tune, but as you said it changes down less I thought I'd pipe up so you can see if it happens on the mk6.

[logger]

... driving 55km/h in D7 around 1200rpm, I can hear the engine clonking, not sure if that the right term. Sound like if you starting a manual in second instead of first...

I suspect that is just the supercharger you are hearing. It should be working quite hard at this point.

[logger]

...Flip on your immediate fuel display when cruising up a hill in 7th.
Compare that to dropping a gear, and my finding has been the dsg changes up too early to be the most efficient in all scenarios...

Makes you wonder why it does it then. Will certainly check it out and report back.

[cktsi]

Correct - I have no concerns. My feeling is that you can abuse the gearbox with or without the extra KWs and NMs.

Did you ask APR about the supposed 250Nm limit on the DSG and what did they say? I'm very interested to know.

I don't know if it's worthwhile / possible to do so, but is there some way you could time the 0-100 in standard tune and then switch over to stage 1 tune? I'd be interested in knowing the difference.

Also, from the APR video, it looked like you have to switch off the engine to select the other program, but in your posting you made it sound easier than that? So can you switch using the cruise without having to turn off the engine?

My car is unmodded and I found I can beat VE commodores and keep up with the VE calais from the lights (VE calais has more power and better power to weight ratio than standard c'dore). In my unofficial times, I reckon I was able to do 0-100 in around 7.7 seconds (clocking off at 108 km/h on the speedo to take into account the Golf is really doing 93km/h when displaying 100)

[logger]

Nice writeup.
Flip on your immediate fuel display when cruising up a hill in 7th.
Compare that to dropping a gear, and my finding has been the dsg changes up too early to be the most efficient in all scenarios.

It seems like dropping a gear to climb a hill at higher rpm would use more fuel, but (if you are driving normally) it doesn't.
I've experienced this in a 6 spd dsg in a gt 1.4 and now a pirelli gti.

So while the torque is there, it is probably costing you more to use it in certain sedate scenarios.
This isn't an observation on the tune, but as you said it changes down less I thought I'd pipe up so you can see if it happens on the mk6.

Yep, just checked and it is pretty much as you stated. FF is higher in the higher gear in this specific situation. Selecting "S" is always there as an option to prevent the DSG taking 7th I suppose. Like you say it is a counter intuitive DSG charactersitic, not an observation on the tune.

Did you ask APR about the supposed 250Nm limit on the DSG and what did they say? I'm very interested to know.

No I did not ask APR. I discussed it briefly with Volkspower and they certainly had no reservations in this area, mentioning various souped up machines (including one of their own) putting all sorts of Nm's through DSGs. Anecdotally, I have read that these things are over engineered and as I do not intend to abuse my DSG I am happy to take what I consider to be a small risk. As this is a concern for you, you will have to satisfy yourself in this regard. Digressing slightly - imagine if your current engine problems had occured with an ECU upgrade installed. It would be so easy conclude the remap as the cause, when in fact it had no link to the problem. Thankfully for all involved this has not been the case and I am sorry to hear it has happened to you, but food for thought.

I don't know if it's worthwhile / possible to do so, but is there some way you could time the 0-100 in standard tune and then switch over to stage 1 tune? I'd be interested in knowing the difference.

I am interested too. But am not busting my guts to do this just yet. Will get around to it when I am next out bush on open, flat, empty roads.

Also, from the APR video, it looked like you have to switch off the engine to select the other program, but in your posting you made it sound easier than that? So can you switch using the cruise without having to turn off the engine?

No, it is essential to turn the engine off to accomplich the switch. Just that with the MK6 you can restart the engine straight away. No longer any need switch IGN back off for 10 seconds post switch then wait for ENG light to stop flashing when IGN back on, as is the case with MK5's. So upshot is - Stop the car, turn ENG off, IGN back on , do switch with CRZ CNTRL, restart Eng. Takes about 10 seconds to accomplish I reckon.

[logger]

Some very rough measurements.

Set the speed warning to 40kmh. From standstill, in "S", stomp Accelerator while starting clock. Hang on and stop watch at first chime from speed WRNG. Consistently 0.3 sec quicker with Stage 1 tune as compare to stock. ~ 2.2 vs 2.5 seconds . Noticeably more tyre squeal and my ears fold back more in Stage 1 as well. Because I am in town I cannot test through to any higher speeds yet, but will when I get the chance.

Oh and the program switch takes ~ 20 sec from turning eng off to being up and running again, if I do it promptly. The actual bit on the CRZ control can be done in about 7 to 10 sec.

It would be a nice touch if there was a way to tell what program was active on my car without having to go through the process of switching programs and waiting for the response message. It is Easy enough to tell by driving it, but it would be nice none the less.

[dopey]

"Upgear too early" like car driving 55km/h in D7 around 1200rpm, I can hear the engine clonking, not sure if that the right term. Sound like if you starting a manual in second instead of first.

That is the engine labouring, it's basically the engine crying for help because you're putting too much strain on it. It's bad for the engine in the long term.

[blutopless2]

It would be a nice touch if there was a way to tell what program was active on my car without having to go through the process of switching programs and waiting for the response message. It is Easy enough to tell by driving it, but it would be nice none the less.

That's easy done. leave it on the apr program all the time. I have never changed mine back to stock since the day i had it done.

[logger]

It would be a nice touch if there was a way to tell what program was active on my car without having to go through the process of switching programs and waiting for the response message.

That's easy done. leave it on the apr program all the time. I have never changed mine back to stock since the day i had it done.

Yep That'd Work. Good to see some more happy APR campers out there.

While I do not envisage changing mine much either, I am really just pointing out how their switching interface could be improved with minimal effort. Two obvious scenarios for switching programs are when servicing or selling the car. Whether it be to hide the ECU upgrade or to highlight it as the case may be. APR market it as a key feature, which I must admit works very well and is eloquently integrated with the OEM controls. All APR need do, is add a single EPC light numeric cycle to the beginning of the process to indicate the current program in the exact same manner as currently happens at the end. That way the user could interrogate the ECU to see what prog is loaded and then quit back out without changing anything.