Stage 1 Recommendation - APR vs. Bluefin vs Revo

[7smurfs]

It seems all the threads I can find on this topic are quite old from 2011.

Am looking for a more recent opinion on these tunes

What are your thoughts!

[Lucas_R]

For which car? Bluefin is generally known to be a milder tune than the others but it also $300-400 cheaper so its relative to cost. I had a Bluefin stage 1 tune on my Mk6 Golf R and it was fine - gave a dyno verified 20kw at the wheels gain (went from 166kw to 186kw). On the stage 1 tune the car ran perfectly fine, no issues at all.

Not long after that, i decided i wanted more power, so i installed an aftermarket downpipe and intake and got a stage 2 tune from Bluefin. Car was not happy, was running very rich (could smell it and see it coming out the back) and my fuel consumption was noticeably worse even with sedate city driving. Went back and forth with Bluefin (very good customer service) and tried several revisions of the tune with little to no difference. I decided to try another tuner (DNA Tuning) for their stage 2 tune and instantly the car was back to normal behavior and with a nice gain in power (once again dyno verified at 204kw). I eventually went stage 3 with DNA Tuning and power went to 211kw.

Seeing you are in Melbourne i would seriously recommend you chat to the guys at Underground Performance Underground Performance

I am now researching a tune for my wifes SQ5 and am considering Bluefin again - but with this car there are not many options available.

[maltbbe]

Try this thread: Stage 1 suggestions GTI

I've run stage 1 and 3 Bluefin tunes on my Mk5 (FSI engine); they're great value, and I'd definitely recommend Superchips as a plug-and-play option, but I imagine you'd get a smoother/higher-power tune from a dyno tuner like Underground Performance. Depends how much you're willing to spend!

[7smurfs]

Whoops totally forgot to mention, for golf R mk6

Am leaning towards superchips at the moment for the value proposition and no intention of moving past stage 1

[Reedy]

You can have my bluefin device that I had for my GTI Mk6. I loved it with no issues. $120 posted. Just needs to be reset at around $400. I think they are $800 new.


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[7smurfs]

You can have my bluefin device that I had for my GTI Mk6. I loved it with no issues. $120 posted. Just needs to be reset at around $400. I think they are $800 new.


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Thanks for the offer, however I own a golf r mk6 - so I don't believe it will be compatible

[mikk@]

The hand controllers are just a method of downloading the tune to the car and most of them can be interchanged. Worst case, you send them to Superchip to get reset and tune loaded. Get the model number off the the back and get in contact with Superchip; they'll let you know if it needs to be sent to them or not.

[Reedy]

Thanks for the offer, however I own a golf r mk6 - so I don't believe it will be compatible

I’ll get you the model number and just email Superchips to see if it will work. Resetting and the new tune is done over the internet. I’m pretty sure nothing needs to be sent to Superchips.


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[aprr32]

We have done many tunes for the SQ5 with APR and it turns a great car into an awesome torque monster.Every owner has drive away with a huge smile.

[Lucas_R]

We have done many tunes for the SQ5 with APR and it turns a great car into an awesome torque monster.Every owner has drive away with a huge smile.

Hi Pete - i was going to call you to see if you could offer a tune for the SQ5 (you serviced this car for me late last year not long after we bought it). One thing i would like to disable which i dont think APR will do is the EGR system to help stop the carbon buildup. So i am looking for a tune that will allow me to disable the EGR (yes i know its illegal but the chance of being caught is so small).

[aprr32]

Sorry, only the dodgy ones offer EGR and DPF deletes.

[brad]

OP.
Try Peter Hariopolitis of 3bar tuning
3bar | AUTOMOTIVE EUROPEAN TUNING

I'm pretty sure they have an EOFY sale at the moment. Stage 1 is ~$750. He's done a few Skodas in the FB group I follow. All happy campers.

[7smurfs]

3bar look good but unfortunately they only offer Stage 2 which has hardware requirements

[vorace]

Superchips Bluefin on sale atm, $600 for Mk6 Golf R. Thats from the Aussie distributor.

[StuDUB]

I went with the Bluefin in a mk6 GTI as i found someone on ebay selling a reset one for $525.
Great value for the gains you get and pretty hard to justify an extra 1000 bux for something like Revo with only slightly better results.

Also don't underestimate how handy it is owning the actually device rather than paying a tune shop to do it.
They also work as fault readers and you can use the same device if you decide to upgrade to stage 2. Just contact Superchips and download the new tune.

I had a small prang the other month and was wasn't 100% sure about how insurance would treat the tune, kept the box in the glove box so in under 5min back to completely stock. No dramas