APR ECU Upgrade MK6 Golf - Customer perspective

[Ryan_R]

I drove it twice this morning in the rain though

It would seem there's a few levels of sportiness (in D mode)

<> Stock (Program One)
<> APR - you can hear the extra exhaust noise but not that much more response/power/torque
<> APR - fairly punchy
<> APR - absolutely mental acceleration

I know that my car is always in Program 2 because there's no lag when moving from a standstill.

[logger]

Pretty sure I worked out why my 98 Ron tune spontaneously stopped working without me switching anything.......

Have just finished reading this whole thread.....phew!
Your posts were very informative and as I read them I kept hoping for a favorable outcome regarding the issues you were experiencing.

Sounds like all is now good with your 118 TSI so just wanted to say that's great news and you must relieved

Thanks. Yes it is a relief to know it is the car playing up and not the tune.

Coincidetnally - Driving back from the bush last night, I noticed the tune had spontaneously quit working again. So I hooked up VCDS and sure enough the same 4 Ignition Switch fault messages had re appeared. So some time in the past couple of days this recurring IGN fault cut power to the Engine ECU, resetting the APR program to stock again. I re-selected APR Prog 2 (98 Ron) and all is back and working again.

It may be that I need to get the electrical side of the IGN switch replaced to prevent this recurring. Will also see if there is a pattern to when this fault actually occurs. Seems unlikely it faults when I am operating the the car. Would expect to see things happening as the IGN switch gets 4 x "Fault in Circuit - Intermittent" events on seperate terminals. Especially as it is taking out the Eng ECU. Could be to do with my idiosyncratic operating procedures with the Ignition switch, when the car is parked. Will investigate and report back.

[GTI mk6]

Thanks. Yes it is a relief to know it is the car playing up and not the tune.

Coincidetnally - Driving back from the bush last night, I noticed the tune had spontaneously quit working again. So I hooked up VCDS and sure enough the same 4 Ignition Switch fault messages had re appeared. So some time in the past couple of days this recurring IGN fault cut power to the Engine ECU, resetting the APR program to stock again. I re-selected APR Prog 2 (98 Ron) and all is back and working again.

It may be that I need to get the electrical side of the IGN switch replaced to prevent this recurring. Will also see if there is a pattern to when this fault actually occurs. Seems unlikely it faults when I am operating the the car. Would expect to see things happening as the IGN switch gets 4 x "Fault in Circuit - Intermittent" events on seperate terminals. Especially as it is taking out the Eng ECU. Could be to do with my idiosyncratic operating procedures with the Ignition switch, when the car is parked. Will investigate and report back.

Oh nooooooo

Really thought it was sorted this time Logger.....
If anyone can get to the bottom of this, my money's on you, fingers crossed.

I am considering APR Stage 1 tune myself....hence the main reason for reading
this thread, nothing like feedback from those who have gone before me.
Keep us posted pls

[GTI mk6]

I drove it twice this morning in the rain though

It would seem there's a few levels of sportiness (in D mode)

<> Stock (Program One)
<> APR - you can hear the extra exhaust noise but not that much more response/power/torque
<> APR - fairly punchy
<> APR - absolutely mental acceleration

I know that my car is always in Program 2 because there's no lag when moving from a standstill.

Oh, there goes that theory then

[Ryan_R]

Allow me to balance out the equation here - I have not for a second regretted spending the money on the upgrade. Sure, I wish the performance was more of a constant than a variable (or at least more predictable when ummming and uhhh'ing over whether or not to overtake someone on a two-way road, but I did the unthinkable and chose Program 1 the other day on a short trip to the petrol station before a cruise to Mt Baw Baw - and the difference is still very noticeable. Most of the time the car is in the 'punchy' range. I've recently started using Manual mode more now (now that I'm used to which way the +/- are facing), and it's yielding very nice results - more powerful than D due to holding the gears longer, but at the same time can be used in traffic without looking like a complete hoon as is usually the case with Sport mode).

So yeah - if you can budget the Stage 1 tune - just do it.

[logger]

Oh nooooooo

Really thought it was sorted this time Logger.....

Well it is more or less sorted. At the time of the previous fix I had just identified the cause of the fault. Have not gotten around to fixing it yet. So will keep you updated on how that goes.

Keep in mind that the cause of this IGN fault is not caused by the tune in any way. The behaviour I see is mirroring what is supposed to happen with APR tunes if you were to pull the battery lead. As far as I am concerned the tune is working as it is designed to do.

The issue my car has, would also generate a fault and would probably ultimately cause issues even in a car without the ECU tune. Once I fix the IGN problem I expect the un-commanded switching will go away.

[Corey_R]

Hey logger. Do you feel that the IGN fault is something that you've caused with one of your other mods (lights etc) or VCDS changes? I'm just wondering why you haven't just dropped it to the dealer already...

[logger]

I doubt it. Possibly due to how I interact with the IGN though. But again unlikely. Maybe just a faulty component.
It hasn't been to VW only because the car is in MELB and I am about to leave PERTH to fly to Brisbane.
When I return to MELB I'm going bush so again. So the reason for the delay is purely convenience.

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

[AdamD]

It would seem there's a few levels of sportiness (in D mode)

<> Stock (Program One)
<> APR - you can hear the extra exhaust noise but not that much more response/power/torque
<> APR - fairly punchy
<> APR - absolutely mental acceleration

So, a modern car with a stock ECU tune will also produce varying power depending on conditions - especially if it's turbocharged. Temperature, humidity, and many other inputs from vehicle sensors are all going to have an inpact on how the car chooses to run boost, ignition timing, and fuel mixture. Flashing with an APR (or any other) tune doesn't change this - the car still needs to run to the conditions.

[Ryan_R]

Well, we've had some warmer weather, and I've started using Manual mode a bit more, and the car (and tune) are responding brilliantly.

[Ryan_R]

Car is still running great - I ran a fault check in VCDS and nothing to speak of besides a Rain/Light sensor fault about 600kms ago (last Tuesday I'm guessing). The engine was stuttering a tad when I started it the other day (had the radio off which is how I heard it) - was probably just cold, as it was gone after sitting there for 2 minutes. I didn't realise how low the RPMs are when it idles (I think it went from 2200 down to 1100 or thereabouts).

I washed it yesterday and really want to drive it, the problem is that 1) the front will get splatterred with more bugs, and 2) I've driven all the great driving roads around my area multiple times. I might have to resort to playing Test Drive Unlimited on the PC again

[ctan]

Hi,

Need some advice on this as I am thinking of getting this done to my Mk6. I live in NSW. There are 3 dealers in NSW as advertised on the APR web site. I started by speaking to the one closest to my office about the 6 hour free trial. Unfortunately it is not free with this dealer (not sure about the others). There is a charge of $100.00 for this free trial to cover labor costs which is then credited to me if I decide to go ahead with the purchase (if made within a 2 week period). I asked if I would get the credit if I purchase it a few months later when they have their sales special with the discounts. The answer is No.

I have 2 questions :

1. Do all dealers in NSW (or other states) charge for this 6 hour trial?

2. If so, should the ECU need to be reinstalled because it is reverted to stock during a VW service for whatever reason, will there be a labor charge for this too? If not, how many times is the APR dealer prepared to do this w/o charge?

Any advice on this is much appreciated.

[Corey_R]

1. Do all dealers in NSW (or other states) charge for this 6 hour trial?

Not all of them do, however, it seems that far too many people have been taking advantage of APR's "free trial" and then going off and purchasing "cheaper alternatives" from companies that either don't offer free trials or have no convenient method (i.e. dealer network) of providing a free trial. So whilst it is at each dealers disgression, I can understand the fact they are doing this now.

In a way it's like going to a shoe store to try on a bunch of shoes, but then walking out and ordering them on the internet. This type of things is happening across so many industries these days

2. If so, should the ECU need to be reinstalled because it is reverted to stock during a VW service for whatever reason, will there be a labor charge for this too? If not, how many times is the APR dealer prepared to do this w/o charge?

You'll need to ask the specific dealer. In the past I was told that this was without charge. But it's so rare that in my 3 years of VW ownership, I haven't had this occur.

[ctan]

Thanks Corey. That really puts it in perspective. In terms of installation I should think that it is not a delicate technical challenge and all the dealers would do any equal job. Based on this I think it is best to get it done by the dealer closest to my location then.

[Corey_R]

Yes, I would agree with that assessment.

The only comment I would have about going further than your closest dealer is if you intended to have additional work done (servicing, Stage 2 or higher, handling mods such as suspension, rollbars etc) where technical expertise and experience did come into play. In that case it may be worth travelling further to the company you deem to be the "best", so that in the future when you get that additional work done, you've already got that relationship with them.