APR Tune - 162TSI - worth every $$

[Colinginger]

I know there is another thread on this, but didn’t want the feedback lost in the million posts!

Just had a Stage 1 APR tune on Sat done on my 162TSI R line.. holy cow! Now I have the car to match the styling.

I race motorbikes, so any car is kinda slow.. i’m not overwhelmed with power/speed etc, but can say this tune is very impressive. The extra torque is night and day from the original, it now makes the motor actually do some work and you can feel the 4motion shifting power to the rear - where as before the power/torque was too low for the grip provided by the drivetrain.

Couple of things kind of annoyed me with the car originally, the DSG would kick down at anything more than 1/3 throttle and rev like snot but with no real forward movement - so you’d look like an idiot reving the crap and not really going anywhere. Throttle response was average and when rolling on (putting foot down) at 60-100km there wasn’t enough kick, a bit weak.

In normal mode - it now has the torque to avoid the DSG kicking down and pulls well.. a bit more torque to make normal driving easier

In sports mode - massive difference. From 2k rpm pulls and then 3k really kicks in 🙂 it now feels sporty! Far more agressive and responsive without being too much.. I still have to drive family around without giving them whiplash.

The car now feels like it should.. very happy so far and feels like a new car! Bang for buck it’s quite amazing the difference! The motor is the same from the golf GTi but the beauty is the 4motion to get that power/torque to the ground.

Fuel consumption - I will be consuming a lot more fuel from now, enjoying the drive and punching it every now and then. What’s 10 bucks of fuel for a smile on your face 😃

Downside - voids the warranty - but honestly, life it too short to worry about that. I would buy a golf R, but need the space, this is the next best thing

Go visit volksmuller if in Sydney and they’ll sort you out!

[Special agent]

That’s an awesome review for APR.
Regrettably I’m on a first name basis with the APR agent (Raz @ PAW...whoops sorry Raz) in my area. Damn, should I wait 2.5 years with stock kw or get it done, or will the boss know what I’ve done...Damn you APR...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[INASNT]

I know there is another thread on this, but didn’t want the feedback lost in the million posts!

Just had a Stage 1 APR tune on Sat done on my 162TSI R line.. holy cow! Now I have the car to match the styling.

I race motorbikes, so any car is kinda slow.. i’m not overwhelmed with power/speed etc, but can say this tune is very impressive. The extra torque is night and day from the original, it now makes the motor actually do some work and you can feel the 4motion shifting power to the rear - where as before the power/torque was too low for the grip provided by the drivetrain.

Couple of things kind of annoyed me with the car originally, the DSG would kick down at anything more than 1/3 throttle and rev like snot but with no real forward movement - so you’d look like an idiot reving the crap and not really going anywhere. Throttle response was average and when rolling on (putting foot down) at 60-100km there wasn’t enough kick, a bit weak.

In normal mode - it now has the torque to avoid the DSG kicking down and pulls well.. a bit more torque to make normal driving easier

In sports mode - massive difference. From 2k rpm pulls and then 3k really kicks in �� it now feels sporty! Far more agressive and responsive without being too much.. I still have to drive family around without giving them whiplash.

The car now feels like it should.. very happy so far and feels like a new car! Bang for buck it’s quite amazing the difference! The motor is the same from the golf GTi but the beauty is the 4motion to get that power/torque to the ground.

Fuel consumption - I will be consuming a lot more fuel from now, enjoying the drive and punching it every now and then. What’s 10 bucks of fuel for a smile on your face ��

Downside - voids the warranty - but honestly, life it too short to worry about that. I would buy a golf R, but need the space, this is the next best thing

Go visit volksmuller if in Sydney and they’ll sort you out!

Interested to see the power and torque curves if you can get it on a dyno, to compare to my etuners motorsport tune.

[Kachingg]

Here is a underground performance tune on a tig

[INASNT]

Same max power as mine just different dyno, dyno numbers. My stock was 130 vs 140, after tune 165 vs 178.

[OZROD]

Hi all,
any further feedback on Stage 1 APR after 6 months? I'm about to grab the APR 10% special before it disappears at the end of January and wanted any final info.
Also, does anyone know if this will need to be included on my Insurance?
Finally, has anyone who's done a resonator delete noticed an increase in the "drone"?
Thanks!!

[Melbourne_Tiggy]

Hi all,
any further feedback on Stage 1 APR after 6 months? I'm about to grab the APR 10% special before it disappears at the end of January and wanted any final info.
Also, does anyone know if this will need to be included on my Insurance?
Finally, has anyone who's done a resonator delete noticed an increase in the "drone"?
Thanks!!

I did start my mod journey with APR stage 1, an ECU tune is definitely bang for bucks for the 162 TSI Tig. The thing is, you will most likely get used to the power and perhaps be wanting more. If you are thinking about deleting your resonator, consider a downpipe (APR, CTS) and going straight to stage 2.

If you disclose this to your insurer there is a strong likelihood that this modification will be outside their policy coverage, perhaps call up as a general enquiry instead to get their position.

[Wolfsburger]

I too absolutely love Stage 1. Had it for a few months now. Surprised the hell out of a current model stock Golf R on the highway last week, he couldn’t pull away and I got him in 3rd and 4th. That said, if he gets stage 1 see you later lol. Roasted a Porsche GTS off two sets of lights and an STI late last night.

It’s definitely true about HP bug, Stage 1 is a big increase over standard so your not going to get bang for buck like that for stage 2 but I’m putting my pennies aside for stage 2.5 and DSG tune.

Completely transformed the car, now have Golf R power and a family friendly vehicle. All that for a grand. 👍

[GreyGoose_X]

Wow, smiles per gallon for sure! Did you need to upgrade anything else (intake etc) for the uptick in power or all remain stock and sufficient? And does this upgrade change the exhaust note at all?

Also, given yours is a few month old car, I'm assuming warranty is voided? I would consider this route too, but throwing away the warranty is making me not dive head first into this mod.

I too absolutely love Stage 1. Had it for a few months now. Surprised the hell out of a current model stock Golf R on the highway last week, he couldn’t pull away and I got him in 3rd and 4th. That said, if he gets stage 1 see you later lol. Roasted a Porsche GTS off two sets of lights and an STI late last night.

It’s definitely true about HP bug, Stage 1 is a big increase over standard so your not going to get bang for buck like that for stage 2 but I’m putting my pennies aside for stage 2.5 and DSG tune.

Completely transformed the car, now have Golf R power and a family friendly vehicle. All that for a grand. 

[INASNT]

Dont go to VW for service, they may reflash with some minor update back to stock, worse they log the flash and if you go back for a warranty issue, they would do their best to reject it.

[Wolfsburger]

Wow, smiles per gallon for sure! Did you need to upgrade anything else (intake etc) for the uptick in power or all remain stock and sufficient? And does this upgrade change the exhaust note at all

Also, given yours is a few month old car, I'm assuming warranty is voided? I would consider this route too, but throwing away the warranty is making me not dive head first into this mod.

Nothing else is required, just $1040.
The note changed a little, purely and simply because acceleration is vastly improved as is torque but in reality the sound has only changed because everything happens a hell of a lot faster and more power on offer. As far as ambient sound is concerned, there is very little but the engine sounds substantially more throaty. The torque is a VERY noticeable change, as is acceleration. I got Stage 1 installed at 2000klms. Drove it for a week whilst waiting for the service. A day before it went back to VW I got the OEM tune re installed (for free, you can get this done as many times as you like free of charge) and got the service done. No fault codes or eyebrows raised. The only issue I had was driving the car standard again for 5 days until APR could get me back in for the Stage 1 re flash. The car felt like it was full of lead and uninspiring.

I’m going to get Stage 2.5 done in the next few months, down pipe eradicates the resonator as part of stage 2 but for $100 I got the resonator deleted and I removed the snow grate from the airbox. Once I drove out from the exhaust shop there was VERY little difference in sound, however 1000klms later the car has definitely developed a much nicer and slightly louder growl and I absolutely love how it sounds now. When using launch control the blow off value makes very cool sounds, exactly like the WRC cars do and gear change sounds are much more pronounced.

In regards to warranty, it’s your call. Tuners offer the ability to re flash back to OEM if you have warranty issues however if you have a catastrophic failure I believe the EM time stamps the issue and records boost, temp and a number of other engine management parameters which could obviously cost you if discovered.

With all that said, there isn’t a hope in hell I could go back to OEM. If you research the engine and gearbox combination you will see how de-tuned the car is, quite simply to meet strict emission laws in the EU. The engine is definitely up for 300+kw, the gearbox is strong and powers vastly quicker vehicles like the Audi RS3. I’ve got mates who have them in both stock and APR configuration, the stock RS3 is a weapon, the APR stage 1 car is absolutely mental and would give my old mans Turbo S one hell of a fright! He has had the car for over 6 months and the only thing he complains about is buying rubber. It lights up in first and second gear and absolutely hammers, my other mate has kept his stock and is happy with it in standard trim.

I come from a family of drag racers, we ran 10 sec street cars over 20 years ago and I can firmly say the RS3 Stage 1 tuned car is in that league, does flat 11’s on pump fuel and low tens on E85, so I’m not guessing or talking ****, I’ve driven the car and seen it perform.

Whether to tune or not to tune is entirely personal, like everything risk versus reward however the EA888 engine is a beast of a donk, the gearbox is super strong and the car itself is magic. The dealership gave me a Golf R for a few days, it was awesome but just too small for our family. Now I have better than stock performance of a Golf R, it was an easy decision to make for me and I’m really looking forward to taking the car a bit further into stage 2, a number of guys on this forum are already there and the numbers are bloody impressive!

Tough call for some, real bloody easy for me but again, personal choice. 👍

[Wolfsburger]

Dont go to VW for service, they may reflash with some minor update back to stock, worse they log the flash and if you go back for a warranty issue, they would do their best to reject it.

It only went back to VW for the interim 2000k service. APR recommended it in case there were updates that were required. The car is now serviced every 5000klms at the APR dealership. $150 cheaper than VW per service and all correct oils and parts used and is warranty backed so no warranty void by getting serviced there.

[Wolfsburger]

Hi all,
any further feedback on Stage 1 APR after 6 months? I'm about to grab the APR 10% special before it disappears at the end of January and wanted any final info.
Also, does anyone know if this will need to be included on my Insurance?
Finally, has anyone who's done a resonator delete noticed an increase in the "drone"?
Thanks!!

Definitely no drone after resonator delete. Very little change on sound until the exhaust gets some carbon. Zero drone on freeway, none anywhere. I was disappointed initially but now it’s settled I absolutely love the sound. Nice little farts on hard gearchange and a deeper growl both inside and out. It’s not a big change but definitely a good one, for $100 it will do nicely until I get the downpipe and turbo inlet pipe delete.

[Wolfsburger]

It only went back to VW for the interim 2000k service. APR recommended it in case there were updates that were required. The car is now serviced every 5000klms at the APR dealership. $150 cheaper than VW per service and all correct oils and parts used and is warranty backed so no warranty void by getting serviced there.

Besides, they can’t log the flash if it’s already been returned to OEM prior to handing them the keys. 👍

[INASNT]

Nothing else is required, just $1040.
The note changed a little, purely and simply because acceleration is vastly improved as is torque but in reality the sound has only changed because everything happens a hell of a lot faster and more power on offer. As far as ambient sound is concerned, there is very little but the engine sounds substantially more throaty. The torque is a VERY noticeable change, as is acceleration. I got Stage 1 installed at 2000klms. Drove it for a week whilst waiting for the service. A day before it went back to VW I got the OEM tune re installed (for free, you can get this done as many times as you like free of charge) and got the service done. No fault codes or eyebrows raised. The only issue I had was driving the car standard again for 5 days until APR could get me back in for the Stage 1 re flash. The car felt like it was full of lead and uninspiring.

I’m going to get Stage 2.5 done in the next few months, down pipe eradicates the resonator as part of stage 2 but for $100 I got the resonator deleted and I removed the snow grate from the airbox. Once I drove out from the exhaust shop there was VERY little difference in sound, however 1000klms later the car has definitely developed a much nicer and slightly louder growl and I absolutely love how it sounds now. When using launch control the blow off value makes very cool sounds, exactly like the WRC cars do and gear change sounds are much more pronounced.

In regards to warranty, it’s your call. Tuners offer the ability to re flash back to OEM if you have warranty issues however if you have a catastrophic failure I believe the EM time stamps the issue and records boost, temp and a number of other engine management parameters which could obviously cost you if discovered.

With all that said, there isn’t a hope in hell I could go back to OEM. If you research the engine and gearbox combination you will see how de-tuned the car is, quite simply to meet strict emission laws in the EU. The engine is definitely up for 300+kw, the gearbox is strong and powers vastly quicker vehicles like the Audi RS3. I’ve got mates who have them in both stock and APR configuration, the stock RS3 is a weapon, the APR stage 1 car is absolutely mental and would give my old mans Turbo S one hell of a fright! He has had the car for over 6 months and the only thing he complains about is buying rubber. It lights up in first and second gear and absolutely hammers, my other mate has kept his stock and is happy with it in standard trim.

I come from a family of drag racers, we ran 10 sec street cars over 20 years ago and I can firmly say the RS3 Stage 1 tuned car is in that league, does flat 11’s on pump fuel and low tens on E85, so I’m not guessing or talking ****, I’ve driven the car and seen it perform.

Whether to tune or not to tune is entirely personal, like everything risk versus reward however the EA888 engine is a beast of a donk, the gearbox is super strong and the car itself is magic. The dealership gave me a Golf R for a few days, it was awesome but just too small for our family. Now I have better than stock performance of a Golf R, it was an easy decision to make for me and I’m really looking forward to taking the car a bit further into stage 2, a number of guys on this forum are already there and the numbers are bloody impressive!

Tough call for some, real bloody easy for me but again, personal choice. ��

Question is if the internals of our gearbox is the same as the RS3....