APR ECU Upgrade MK6 Golf - Customer perspective

[REXman]

That would seem to be the crux of the issue which has caused the last several pages of discussion.

Are you two serious? I said the Nissan GTR 1994 model, makes 400HP with a tune and exhaust.

Good grief gentlemen I'm loving the passion for the golfs, apparently I'm buying one also. But no the crux of the issue is not about Jap cars now

[Corey_R]

Yes, I am serious.
What do Subaru's and Nissans have to do with Volkswagens? That's my point REXman.

I mean no disrespect to you REXman. If we were having a discussion about Subaru's and Nissan's in here, I would defer to your comments, because you have the experience in that area and I don't. But this isn't Nissan or Subaru, it's Volkswagen. So instead of you deferring to people with many years experience as owners of Volkswagens, or even as operating businesses tuning Volkswagens, you're telling everyone here that "you are wrong because I have done this on Nissans and Subarus and couldn't achieve that", even though the MKV GTI's and the APR tunes have been around for 5 years now, and Audi S3's have been around for almost 4 years now, and everything you are saying is not possible, not only is possible, but has been verified time after time after time by numerous difference sources....

Please just drop it unless you have some Volkswagen related information to discuss. Nissans and Subarus are not Volkswagens. I'm not saying Volkswagens are better. I'm just saying that they're different, and therefore the methods and results can be different.

[REXman]

But I am not saying that Volkswagens are not good or they dont make good power.

What I am saying is not brand dependant. I am saying that a Nissan GTR can be expected to make a couple of seconds in the dash because it is a big engined car that responds extremely well to tuning. So going from under 300 to 400 HP with a tune and TBE on a AWD car can get the performance I am talking about.

Gaining 50HP though on a FWD will not do the same thing. That is all I am saying. I am not arguing about the tuning effects on different brands of car. Im saying that to get 0-100 in X amount of time requies X amount of kilowatts.

From the sounds of things it sounds like I am halfway right though as the Polo GTI is a car that realistically does dash in around 6.5 secs, and gets down to 5.5 secs.. at best. So a sec.. or less. Which i have been saying the whole time is heaps in car world, entire races are won by less than that.

So I guess we can both drop i now!

[Corey_R]

What I am saying is not brand dependant.

Yes it is...


And that should be enough. But to summarise:

Polo GTI went from 8.2 to 6.5 and less.
Golf GTI went from 6.9 to 5.5 and less.
S3 / R went from 5.7 to ~4.7 and had the least gains as far as number of seconds.

Don't forget that it's not just about "peak power" increases. It's about HOW the power is increased, and also very much about the torque. Saying that "Volkswagen x gains 50hp peak power" is a very narrow minded view of it. Because it also probably gains over 100Nm of torque over a wider rev range, plus 80hp lower in the rev range etc.

REXman let me say this again. You are trying to tell everyone how something will work out when IT HAS BEEN DONE FOR THE PAST 4 YEARS. Just stop arguing about it mate. Step away....
All this information is all very available if you do the research.

[G-rig]

CMON Rexman stop nagging out the ecu tunes, they give great results, better than a typical jap piggy back.

[REXman]

No probs. Im leaving it.

[AdamD]

Polo GTI went from 8.2 to 6.5 and less.
Golf GTI went from 6.9 to 5.5 and less.
S3 / R went from 5.7 to ~4.7 and had the least gains as far as number of seconds.

(Before I say anything else, just let me make clear, I'm not trying to antagonise here, just shed some light on the situation and maybe answer a lingering question of REXman's.)

The above times are from VW's quoted times, to a time that's been (regularly) achieved by owners after having a chip done.

Motor Mag has achieved 6.5 (GTI) and 5.3 (R) for stock DSG cars using their VBOX. Both these times are four tenths down on VW's claims. Both are within a second of the times being achieved by stage 1 owners. So maybe the variance here is that VW is conservative in their acceleration figures. Alternatively, maybe not all GTIs and Rs are equal, but those that are driven harder (say, by the demographic that also have a tune done) are more likely to perform better. Just a thought.

[Guy_H]

My 2 cents:

I reckon the winter / summer times are going to worth a least 1/2 a second as well - last night air temp 30 degrees & 90% humidity really suck for a turbo car.

Give us a 7 degree day with 5% humidity, there is probably even more time in it.

[Corey_R]

(Before I say anything else, just let me make clear, I'm not trying to antagonise here, just shed some light on the situation and maybe answer a lingering question of REXman's.)

The above times are from VW's quoted times, to a time that's been (regularly) achieved by owners after having a chip done.

Motor Mag has achieved 6.5 (GTI) and 5.3 (R) for stock DSG cars using their VBOX. Both these times are four tenths down on VW's claims. Both are within a second of the times being achieved by stage 1 owners. So maybe the variance here is that VW is conservative in their acceleration figures. Alternatively, maybe not all GTIs and Rs are equal, but those that are driven harder (say, by the demographic that also have a tune done) are more likely to perform better. Just a thought.

Yeah - but as Guy_H pointed out, there are other variables too. Because for every magazine that gets 4 tenths under like you mentioned, there is a magazine that gets 4 tenths over. There's always variation.

[Ryan_R]

Wheels/tyres could also have an effect - heavier wheels v lighter wheels make a considerable difference to WHP and to lap times (so a small dif in 0-100)

[elisiX]

I cannot believe how much crap goes on about fractions of seconds. Seriously, it doesnt matter.

Reminds me of reading the old PerformanceForums back in the day.

At the end of the day, having your ECU remapped provides the best single gain for minimal outlay.

It doesnt matter who you go with (there's plenty of options) - they all offer fantastic value for money.

Personally, I went with APR because its the strongest, most reliable, well known, supported product out there.

That and I can whinge directly to Guy if I need to - not that I ever have had to. His support for APR is incredible.

APR fanboi? Too right.

[elisiX]

Let me add - i've had my gripes about pricing and the differences between what it costs in the states and locally - and I do think it's a bit of a rort. However that does not change the fact that the product is fantastic. If it were me selling it, i'd sell it for what the market could afford and what the market perceived its value as. That might make it difficult for all the young guys who struggle to pay for these upgrades - but its an expensive hobby to be involved in. Like it or move onto something else - collecting insects perhaps.

[bcm]

CMON Rexman stop nagging out the ecu tunes, they give great results, better than a typical jap piggy back.

At least in subes and mitsus it's all flashes these days. Ecutek, verso etc. And unsurprisingly they give similar results.

For about 2.7k on an evo 9 you end up with a car that will do 12.4 second quarters. I'm really waiting with interest to see what fab's car will do. I'd be expecting similar performance. Just at a little more cost sadly.

[RichoR2]

Just added an APR stage one and intake this morning to my manual R. Thanks to Dean and Brett at Volkspower for great service and info, was a really enjoyable couple of hours. If they're reading this, they wont be surprised I'm on here so quickly. It took 50 metres from take off for my brain to catch up and tell my mouth to let the laugh out. I have no experience of other tuners so this is necessarily an APR plug. The docile R under 3k rpm that I drove there is gone. The upgrade has made the car a different beast in the low revs. It pulls so well my high expectations have been exceeded. And as a manual it's so much easier to drive, I can't believe how it now behaves in traffic and 50/60km zones, my life just got so much easier. Intake sounds great too. Not light and day but I can notice it. Intakes draw their fair level of banter around the forums and I'm no expert. I just know what I know from my car and for me, glad I did it. I met a great r32 driver too getting an upgrade. Took him for a post upgrade spin. Think he was happy with the experience... his back imprint is still in the passenger seat! I'm off for a drive.

[Ryan_R]

One observation I have, not sure if it's the same for others - but it would seem that every 4th time I start the car, it feels like it's running stock again. This is confirmed when I pull over to enable Program 2 again and pull away (the difference IS night and day for me). Maybe it's just the car adapting to being driven slower in traffic, which if that is the case, I'm glad I have a simple way to force it to go back to the fast and furious mode that is Stage 1.