Thinking of an APR Tune

[colesy]

I went with APR on my R from CVWC Belco during a sale. They're good guys. My concern still being under warranty was what if the car needed to go back to VW on the back of a flat top truck with the tune on it. They said no worries, just swing past and they'll flash it back to stock on the spot and send it on it's way.

In my book, that's good service.

The fact the car has been tuned would still be detectable by VW, even if it was flashed back to stock.

[ffoff]

I've got a friend who blew a 2.0T on Apr stage 3 tune, got it flashed back and replaced under factory warranty, so not sure how true that statement is..

[Guy_H]

The fact the car has been tuned would still be detectable by VW, even if it was flashed back to stock.

Sorry - not true. We have tested this ourselves on many different vehicles now with the help of friendly dealerships.

We have true, 100% stock binary that can be put back into the vehicles.

[Bug_racer]

Sorry - not true. We have tested this ourselves on many different vehicles now with the help of friendly dealerships.

We have true, 100% stock binary that can be put back into the vehicles.

What happens at the dealer level isn't necessarily the same as what happens at VW head office

[Greg Roles]

As do several tuning houses Guy, but the dealers can now easily pick up the fact there is a tune applied. They just choose not to pursue it at this stage.

Given Audi are releasing their own in house tunes as part of a power package on the upmarket versions, they will likely be the first to start enforcing the data they already have, certainly what the head tech at Audi Brisbane recently showed me in real time, flagging a tune there in front of me. They certainly do their best to keep tuners in the dark as they generally don't like the tuning industry. My reception with an issue Audi was initially very frosty, but when I pointed out my insurance, and it paid for the lot, the attitude, and openness changed dramatically. Many inside truths told, was very interesting, they had a lot to tell me about the Brisbane tuning community.

The official line at Carformance is dealers can indeed now find all tunes on the current ECU's if they chose to do so, and I'm sticking to that. I'd make a lot more money saying otherwise.


But to the OP, better to go with a local dealer, and APR tunes are as good as any, as local backup if and when problems occur is the most important thing.

[Transporter]

In reality there are so many tell tale signs that the ecu is tuned (the car is faster , so it's good idea to flag it in the system when it comes for servicing) and when an expensive repair to be made later under the warranty they could easily send the ecu in question to the ecu manufacturer and they are able to detect any sw changes.

For just normal mechanic; he can use the VCDS to check the boost and he should see the boost right from the idle is different than on the stock tune.

[Guy_H]

Here is a quote from the OZaudi forum recently about the 3.0T Supercharged motor that we are doing heaps of - it's our Golden rule & our advice nation wide (and a tested system) - you APR dealer is there to back you from the initial inquiry through to any mod stage you may require.

Just replace the word "Audi" with VW or Skoda to suit.

If we (APR) cause a problem, we pay for it. If your car (Say Volkswagen) has a problem not caused by tuning, we expect the manufacturer to step up & cover it as per normal.

The Golden rules with modifying the ECU are:

1: Do not service the vehicle at Audi - use your APR dealer who is generally an independent that can do log book servicing, and will generally give you better service at a better price.

2: If you have a problem - talk to your APR dealer firstly for advice

3: If you have to take your car back to Audi for warranty, have the ECU put back to stock - Your APR dealer will generally charge you labor to do this.

[Ideo]

Here is a quote from the OZaudi forum recently about the 3.0T Supercharged motor that we are doing heaps of - it's our Golden rule & our advice nation wide (and a tested system) - you APR dealer is there to back you from the initial inquiry through to any mod stage you may require.

Just replace the word "Audi" with VW or Skoda to suit.

If we (APR) cause a problem, we pay for it. If your car (Say Volkswagen) has a problem not caused by tuning, we expect the manufacturer to step up & cover it as per normal.

Can you show me that in writing?

Considering the **** you dished out to other competitors for saying the same thing, I think it is only fair that you prove your claims.

[Milos2504]

So anyway, I'm getting an APR tune next week

[Ideo]

So anyway, I'm getting an APR tune next week

It's a good choice given your location etc.

You'll enjoy it. Any stage 1 tune transforms a car so much.

[Milos2504]

It's a good choice given your location etc.

You'll enjoy it. Any stage 1 tune transforms a car so much.

I hope so. I hope that I don't have any problems with the car afterwards. Is it common for things to break easier on the car if the car has a tune done, like coil packs for example? Is there anything else I should know about before I tune it?

[Transporter]

I hope so. I hope that I don't have any problems with the car afterwards. Is it common for things to break easier on the car if the car has a tune done, like coil packs for example? Is there anything else I should know about before I tune it?

How long do you want to keep your car, for how many thousands km?
It's normal to expect that the engine will have shortened its life and you will probably need to replace the turbocharger sooner than you normally would.
You should also service it more often, it helps especially if you use that extra power every day or you going to track days.

[Milos2504]

How long do you want to keep your car, for how many thousands km?
It's normal to expect that the engine will have shortened its life and you will probably need to replace the turbocharger sooner than you normally would.
You should also service it more often, it helps especially if you use that extra power every day or you going to track days.

Well I wasnt really planing to sell it. I just got it last year. I was thinking of changing the oil and filter by myself, maybe in between services, coz I think every 15,000km is a lot but I am not sure if that is a good idea or not. I wouldn't be taking it to the track.

[Tweeked]

I did 120,000km in my MK5 GTI with an APR stage 1 tune, services carried out by VW dealer while under warranty and no issues. Only one warranty claim made in that time which was an Aircon compressor and it was changed no problem.
I'm confident you will be fine.

My current MK6 has never been to a dealer for servicing as it is modified a little more (so I don't want it flagged as modified), and 30,000km and no problems (other than a low pressure fuel pump failure) common problem.

Your stage 1 will be a blast....

[Martin]

I was thinking of changing the oil and filter by myself, maybe in between services, coz I think every 15,000km is a lot

Yeah - I agree - I've been changing my oil every 8k~10k

I have a Nissan 350Z - the first owner changed the oil twice as often as required/specified by Nissan
The car/engine has ~250k on it and the engine is sweet as