TDI tuning questions

[onehan]

Hello people

This is going to be a stupid question but my self learning ability has hit the cap after reading a few posts here and there.
I have a 2007 Jetta Mk5 2.0TDi (probably 140hp) and I was thinking about tuning it.

I was looking up on the websites, APR, BSR and DNA tuning,
and it seemed like to me that BSR will mail me the tuning kit (+23HP and +64Nm),
APR... I don't know what it does
and DNA tuning is offering +50HP and +90Nm Torque


The thing is that I live in Adelaide, so if the tuning requires service centres my only option is APR, but I don't know what kind of upgrade I can get.


Does anyone know what kind of upgrade I can get from APR?
I think I heard from somewhere that it is recommended to change nozzle before changing chip, is it true?
What kind of performance upgrade can I expect from ECU upgrade? I think my car does around 8.6~9 sec for 0-100 km/h
And the last question, are there any stage 2, stage 3 upgrades for TDI? So far I have only seen this ECU upgrade.


Thanks all

[Guy_H]

APR Don't do the TDI upgrades, it's through Oettinger.

The Oettinger TDI flash gives you 103kw > 125kw, torque 320nm > 380nm, cost installed is $1350 including GST.



German Auto in Melrose park can do this upgrade whilst you wait - Andrew, the owner has a TDI Jetta of his own & they can look after your log book servicing for you.

[Guy_H]

P.S. - Oettinger claim a 1.2 second increase in 0-100 times (TUV certified) - we don't have any stage 2 / or 3 options (like exhaust or bigger turbo), but the APR TDI Carbonio airbox goes well with the tune.

[GoLfMan]

Look into Custom Code. They've tuned my diesel and its brilliant! PM h100vw on here for more details.

Also look into Viuzu (can't remember how to spell it)

both offer better value for money and the same ease of use. Also Custom Code DOES offer more than one stage of tuning for your diesel.

However unlike the Oettinger tune, dont come with a drivetrain warranty.

most of them get around the same results

[Buller_Scott]

hey mate,

many options for the TDI's now!

as josh said, there will be better value for money options than the oettinger tune, but then oettinger prides itself on (from what i've read) a pretty comprehensive warranty, if you're the kind of person who frets over this kind of thing.

i have a Viezu tune, it goes well and i've got an advantage of having a little handset that stores my stock, "fast road" and "track" maps - all switchable within 5 mins.

others include custom code (as josh mentioned, and he's expressed huge customer satisfaction more than once on here, lol), DNA, superchips / bluefin, revo technik, evolve technik (rebranded, but i forget from who), GIAC, etc etc.

stage 1 on a tdi will see mild horsepower, but impressive torque increases, as well as a nicer torque curve and greater driveability over stock. you wont need to do anything for this, hardware-wise.

if you're looking at stage 2 and above, you're really lining your wallet up for something like a bigger turbo, dump pipe / full exhaust (dont really need this with the stock turbo - the stocker is so small that bigger dump pipes allegedly induce boost spikes that just endanger the turbo, not help it), nozzles, front mount intercooler, etc etc.

by that time, you'd really want to have decided (like josh, myself, and another polo'er evaded motorsport) that the car is a long term keeper, and that you can justify the expense simply because when the stock turbo goes boom (and it will), a replacement stock will cost twice the price of a bigger aftermarket turbo anyway.

depends what you're after. i've only got stage 1(+), but having been on plenty of spirited drives with the VIC watercooled boys, i'd be inclined to say that in hindsight, i'd have been better off getting my better rotors / pads / fluid, semi slick tyres, and suspension mods before the tune - to have stage 2 (or more) in a car with stock everything else would only really add to straight line fun. twisty road fun will be more of a chore than a joy, as the tdi's come pretty badly damped / braked / tyred from the factory IMO.

[DkN]

^
What he said.

Although, my personal experience, having had ChippedUK / Viezu and Custom Code, would be that Custom Code has the better TDI tune.

Also, Custom Code from Gavin (h100vw) for service 2nd to none, period. You're a bit unlucky though, he's just moved up from Adelaide to Brisbane

[h100vw]

I am in Adelaide until Sunday. PM if you want my number.

Gavin

[Greg Roles]

^ hard to top THAT!

[Buller_Scott]

Although, my personal experience, having had ChippedUK / Viezu and Custom Code, would be that Custom Code has the better TDI tune.

i've never seen anyone on here or anywhere that has had BOTH tunes on a tdi (it's always two different cars running different tunes).

not at all to come across as "boo hoo why did you say that" lol - im very interested to know, what did you like about the custom code tune over the viezu? greater power? more linear? bigger shove in the back for more of the rev range?

and what greg said..... if Gav's in town and you're ready to roll, it's hard not to say yes

[GoLfMan]

Also, Custom Code from Gavin (h100vw) for service 2nd to none, period.

+1 for that. The bloke goes above and beyond!

[onehan]

Thank you very much for all of the replies. m(__)m
I was looking into viezu and custom code, and despite from you guys recommending cc, I couldn't find jetta in the option
(and also according to the pricing listed next to the type of engine, it was a lot more expensive than viezu)

What is the big adv of cc?

[Buller_Scott]

onehan, im not qualified to say this, but i think that as opposed to the TYPE / make model of car being listed on the different tuners' prospective sites, it's more about the ECU that's being used? (e.g. med17, edc 15 etc etc)

at the risk of sounding like someone who is critical of stuff, custom code's website isnt the best, but i will wager the $78 in my pocket that their ACTUAL tuning ability and data is more impressive than the list of cars on their website. so often is the case with good tuners (same goes for giac - they dont list a stage 2 tune for the polo DIESEL, and yet an american company is afaik hooking up an aussie polo tdi, which america didnt get, with a tunefor a big turbo kit).

i can only stress that a 2007 2.0 dohc PD (i might be wrong) tdi VW SHOULD SHOULD SHOULD be on the list of capabilities when it comes to remapping, for MOST of the "big" tuners out there - such as the ones mentioned above.

if you're worried, at all, you should contact the tuners that you're inclined to consider - they'll do / say their spiel in order to get you over to their side, but with the assurance that you're not being any sort of guinea pig (especially not with a 2007 car - my build of vw - in late 2011).

get on it! and PM Gav @ custom code for his number whilst he's in your town, quick!

enjoi!

[h100vw]

We can and do have tunes for the Jetta. Not a massively popular car in the UK compared to the Golf. The drive train is the same, so anything available for the Golf can be done on the Jetta.

Depending on what others mods you may do to the car, Custom-Code can write a tune to get the best from them.

Have PMd my number. Hope you can find time to speak to me tomorrow.

Gavin

[DkN]

i've never seen anyone on here or anywhere that has had BOTH tunes on a tdi (it's always two different cars running different tunes).

not at all to come across as "boo hoo why did you say that" lol - im very interested to know, what did you like about the custom code tune over the viezu? greater power? more linear? bigger shove in the back for more of the rev range?

One issue I had with Viezu was consistency - there was something odd in my ECU that prevented the DPF delete codes to work properly, as a result I had about 4 different sets of maps sent from Viezu - each one felt different, two of them peaky and sub-par, the other two were decent and fairly smooth.

However with all 4 tunes the smoke (since I had no DPF) was unbelievable, on a cold start I could belch out black smoke even if I'm accelerating normally in 3rd gear. This is something that you would not know about if you have a DPF. I talked to Viezu about this, but they denied this was a problem with the tune and didn't do anything about it. This could be partly true though, considering fuel quality here. It was a little better on BP Ultimate. With CC it's much better, I can often push past half throttle with no sign of smoke, and there would usually only be black smoke past 3/4 throttle and then only briefly.

Last issue I had was with VCDS - did a few logs with it prior to switching to CC, there was minor overboost existent (on a Track map). It's nothing significant, from memory the requested boost was about 2600 mBar and the actual boost was 2800 at worst, but usually not far off. However this does not happen with the CC tune.

Overall the Viezu tune, when you get the proper Fast Road / Track maps, are decent - mine was really a special case, my issues probably won't be encountered by most people. But, comparing to CC, CC did feel like it had quite a bit more power, though part of that is because I got the "wild" map which gives more surge (the other part though is where CC's website states the torque after stage 1 for the GT TDI is 350ft-lb, which is 474NM O_O). It also feels more refined as it gets all the small details right. CC also is more flexible e.g. choice between "mild" and "wild" (in terms of power delivery, basically linear or surge), and generally more willing to help if you have issues with the tune, especially with Gavin to back you up.

Which comes back to the point, you won't go wrong with CC + Gavin

[Buller_Scott]

hey DkN thanks very much for your very detailed reply!!!!!

i will admit that i only have ChippedUK off-the-shelf tunes (well, based on my stock map), but i have no problems in saying that i am a certified 100,000% happy customer.

i love the way you elaborate your problems with them, though - it would reconcile in my mind the fact that LOOOOOOONG before CUK / Viezu were advertising dpf delete tunes, Custom Code were working with customers as far as australia to get them sorted.

yes, yours might have been a really special case, and whilst i have been a VERY happy camper from day one, and a fellow Viezu customer (kaanage) is also happy, i think what i read from your post points to the whole "local support and correspondence = win win win".

hahahahahaha. is something wrong with the diesel drivers on watercooled? unlike the petrol boys, i feel no inclination to start posting defensively..... rather, im really happy for your awesomely detailed account of your experience!

god fcking dammit... dont let's get to a get-together and start talking about fuel economy, as opposed to dyno d7ck sizes

cheers!

p.s. go gav! get that sht running hard!