APR Chip Question

[Synergy]

I know these are probably stupid questions but it always makes me feel better if i just ask. I just got my chipped ECu sent back to me from APR today but i am not at home to install it untill tomorrow so while i sit here thinking about how bad i want to drive the car i figured i would ask some last min questions.

How do i activate the prgram once its installed? Do i have to do anything or is everything automatic? Can and how do i deavtivate? If i bring the car to the dealer is there anything special i should do?

I had my ECU prgramed for the 93 octane if for some reason i use a different grade beside 93 what will happen? I dont plan on doing this but i just would like to know just in case??

I appreciate the help in advanced!
Thanks!

[kailuaboy]

as its the only program it should be plug and play. with the octane it will just retard timing so it shouldn't be an issue....you will be down on power but it wont break anything

[NWS4Guy]

as its the only program it should be plug and play. with the octane it will just retard timing so it shouldn't be an issue....you will be down on power but it wont break anything

Exactly, just pop it all back in and start your engine!

[Synergy]

Awesome! I kind of figured this but just wanted to get everyones feedback to make sure!

Thanks!

[Joel@APR]

If you purchased the 93 octane file, you need to run 93 octane. PERIOD. With lower octane fuel it is absolutely possible to harm your engine despite the protection strategies in place. If 93 is not available where you live we'd be happy to reflash you with the 91 program.

[primetime]

If you purchased the 93 octane file, you need to run 93 octane. PERIOD. With lower octane fuel it is absolutely possible to harm your engine despite the protection strategies in place. If 93 is not available where you live we'd be happy to reflash you with the 91 program.

Joel, Hey man.. just getting started with vagcom.... Do you know how to convert G436 value of 1878 to psi... Am I pulling the right value to measure boost? Car made 434.17 tq at 6614 rpm.... Very impressive....

[NWS4Guy]

Glad you got VCDS working for logging! Is it possible that 1878 is 1.878 bar?

** edit, not bar, that would mean multipliying by 14.xxxx and would mean over 27 PSI, so def not bars.

[romanvn106]

also when is the new program going to come out ? beacuse i would not be able to bring it in for service

[NWS4Guy]

also when is the new program going to come out ? beacuse i would not be able to bring it in for service

If you mean the ability to swap between programs and return it to stock, the last I heard they were shooting for before Xmas.

[wwhan]

1,878 hectopascal = 27.24 pound/square inch

27.24 absolute psi -14.7 ambient psi = 12.54 psi boost

http://www.onlineconversion.com/pressure.htm

[Arin@APR]

Joel, Hey man.. just getting started with vagcom.... Do you know how to convert G436 value of 1878 to psi... Am I pulling the right value to measure boost? Car made 434.17 tq at 6614 rpm.... Very impressive....

1871 mbar - 1000 mbar (estimated) = 871 mbar.

871 mbar * .0145 = 12.632787 psi

[primetime]

Thanks guys! Forgot about having to subtract out 1 bar for ambient air.... I was coming up with over 25 and new it wasn't correct....

[rktskicar]

1871 mbar - 1000 mbar (estimated) = 871 mbar.

871 mbar * .0145 = 12.632787 psi

2nd.

Bruce

Bruce

[ibiski]

If you purchased the 93 octane file, you need to run 93 octane. PERIOD. With lower octane fuel it is absolutely possible to harm your engine despite the protection strategies in place. If 93 is not available where you live we'd be happy to reflash you with the 91 program.

On a related note: 93 is available where I live, but I recently took my car to Canada, where the best I could find was 91. If I occasionally travel to places that have no 93, what are my options?

[Joel@APR]

If you have access to Vag-Com, you can log the amount of timing retard on each cylinder while using the 91 octane to determine if it's safe. If not, you can drive conservatively while the 91 is in your tank until it is all out. However, timing is advanced at every rpm and at all loads with 93 vs 91 so this is still not ideal. It would be unwise of me to tell you it'll be okay in all circumstances but if you have to get 91 you should at least get a quality brand.

If you're ever forced to start using 91 often then I would send your ECU back to us for a reflash. There's only a 9hp difference between the two files and if you have access to 93 you'll actually gain some of that horsepower back.

[helix139]

On a related note: 93 is available where I live, but I recently took my car to Canada, where the best I could find was 91. If I occasionally travel to places that have no 93, what are my options?

Keep couple cans of 93 in the trunk ;)

[D-techniK]

This might sound dumb but how many points can an octane booster help?

[rktskicar]

On a related note: 93 is available where I live, but I recently took my car to Canada, where the best I could find was 91. If I occasionally travel to places that have no 93, what are my options?

The long term solution is obvious for APR. Have EMCS with both 91 and 93 programs. EMCS should be available in Dec. for this car.

Bruce

[30piece]

also when is the new program going to come out ? beacuse i would not be able to bring it in for service

how was the stony meet?

[romanvn106]

it was fun i got ripped by a b5 s4 with 600 hp. on the good side i took a rs4 by about a car and a half

[kailuaboy]

good to know about the octane. thank you. thank god i have 94 up in the great white north

[uberartist]

Around here (Seattle) all I seem to recall seeing is 92 octane. Or am I just remembering it wrong? Is there a setting for that with the APR chip, or do you have to choose between 91 and 93?

[NWS4Guy]

Around here (Seattle) all I seem to recall seeing is 92 octane. Or am I just remembering it wrong? Is there a setting for that with the APR chip, or do you have to choose between 91 and 93?

No, you are right only 92, you can safely use the 93 here, as all ours has 10% ethanol which combats knock.

[WhssssS401]

Since we are talking about apr chips, I have a 01 S4 that is now upgraded to a stage 2+ and now wondering what the adv. is to upgrading to stage 2 apr ecu. Also can they eliminate the rear o2 sensor cel code since I am soon putting test pipes on. Just a few questions I had.

[WhssssS401]

forgot to mention I have a stage 1 apr chip already installed just looking to upgrade

[NWS4Guy]

Since we are talking about apr chips, I have a 01 S4 that is now upgraded to a stage 2+ and now wondering what the adv. is to upgrading to stage 2 apr ecu. Also can they eliminate the rear o2 sensor cel code since I am soon putting test pipes on. Just a few questions I had.

Are you asking about the stage 2 in general or specific to your or the B8 platform? If you want to know the advantages on your platform, the APR site should compare what the differences are. For ours, it will entail adding a pulley to increase supercharger RPM, and a tune to the chip to take full advantage of these characteristics and changes.

[WhssssS401]

no I know what stage 2 is in general but i'm more asking what the difference is between the apr stage 1 ecu and the stage 2 ecu upgrade, just asked since this was about apr but I can always just call them too

[Arin@APR]

There is only 1 ECU upgrade right now. Stage 1.

[WhssssS401]

ohh ok so now I am confused lol cause on the website there is 3 drop down menus for stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 ecu upgrade for the B5 S4 2.7T ecu , Telling you the requirements/recommended hardware for each stage upgrade. So... Whats the difference??

[L0U]

The confusion lies in talking about a B5 and b8 in the same thread. As of right now only stage 1 can be bought for the b8 when it comes to a software tune.

[NWS4Guy]

ohh ok so now I am confused lol cause on the website there is 3 drop down menus for stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 ecu upgrade for the B5 S4 2.7T ecu , Telling you the requirements/recommended hardware for each stage upgrade. So... Whats the difference??

So, you are in the B8 specific forum first off. We welcome new people, but won't have a lot to contribute to what mods and such there are for your platform as much as you would in your home (B5 S4) forum.

In looking at the APR site, it looks like this is how it goes:

Stage 1 - ECU tune, no hardware required but Recommended: APR R1 Diverter Valves, APR Bi-Pipes, APR Catback Exhaust, APR Intercoolers
Stage 2 - ECU tune (free if you have stage 1 already) and required hardware: APR Downpipe Recommended: APR R1 Diverter Valves, APR Bi-Pipes, APR Catback Exhaust, APR Intercoolers
Stage 3 - ECU tune (free and included with required hardware) and required: APR Stage III Turbo Kit and APR Full Exhaust Recommended: APR R1 Diverter Valves, APR Bi-Pipes and APR Intercoolers

[WhssssS401]

haha Sorry My bad I thought I seen B5 now it makes scene why there was confusion lol. I'm just going to contact apr just easier anyway. Thanks for the clarification and sorry to confuse you guys

[tortoise]

So, you are in the B8 specific forum first off. We welcome new people, but won't have a lot to contribute to what mods and such there are for your platform as much as you would in your home (B5 S4) forum.

In looking at the APR site, it looks like this is how it goes:

Stage 1 - ECU tune, no hardware required but Recommended: APR R1 Diverter Valves, APR Bi-Pipes, APR Catback Exhaust, APR Intercoolers
Stage 2 - ECU tune (free if you have stage 1 already) and required hardware: APR Downpipe Recommended: APR R1 Diverter Valves, APR Bi-Pipes, APR Catback Exhaust, APR Intercoolers
Stage 3 - ECU tune (free and included with required hardware) and required: APR Stage III Turbo Kit and APR Full Exhaust Recommended: APR R1 Diverter Valves, APR Bi-Pipes and APR Intercoolers

wonder when APR's gonna give us their intercooler / downpipe for the B8 S4 kekekee that would be nice :)

[compguy]

Question for APR. I have access to Shell premium which is 91 octane but has zero ethanol. I also have access to Sunoco 94 octane but it contains ethanol, upto to 10 or 15%, forget which one. Which is better? I keeping hearing that ethanol is not good and is just used as an octane booster whereas no ethanol 91 could be better. What is right?

[MANNYS4]

Dumb question here but when you Reflash your ECU example 93 oct , can you still use fuel with additives like Shell or Chevron?

[helix139]

Question for APR. I have access to Shell premium which is 91 octane but has zero ethanol. I also have access to Sunoco 94 octane but it contains ethanol, upto to 10 or 15%, forget which one. Which is better? I keeping hearing that ethanol is not good and is just used as an octane booster whereas no ethanol 91 could be better. What is right?

All else equal, ethanol-free gasoline is the best and will give you the most energy per combustion event (otherwise known as torque). However, all else is NOT equal between those gasolines. The 94 starts out with a higher octane, which will allow more timing advance without detonation. This will combat some of the energy loss from having ethanol and likely can even make up for it completely, especially with a tune. 10% ethanol isn't terrible for your car, but given the choice with equal octanes I'd definitely go non-ethanol. Ethanol is naturally more resistant to premature detonation than Gasoline, but just because you see something labeled 93 with 10% ethanol doesn't mean it will be more knock resistant than standard 93, so don't count on that.

Just to give you an idea of the effect of ethanol on engine efficiency, they just switched from their summer (read: ethanol) gas mix to their standard mix here and the difference is quite noticeable. I've seen ~2mpg through a tank and a quarter of the non-summer stuff with no change in driving style or type with the same grade fuel on my 08 Bullitt Mustang. Happens every year around this time, and mileage goes back down around April, and this is Florida so I'm still making use of my AC as much as usual.

[uberartist]

No, you are right only 92, you can safely use the 93 here, as all ours has 10% ethanol which combats knock.

Looking at the most recent post by others, I'm confused about what to believe. Saying that 93 with ethanol isn't as good as pure 93, but that 92 plus ethanol works with the 93 APR tune confuses me. Can someone from APR give their opinion? For the whole area, it seems we are 92 with 10% ethanol--what program do you suggest, 91 or 93?

[L0U]

I'd use the 91 flash for now, and then with the upgrade you'll have acess to 91,93,100

[NWS4Guy]

Looking at the most recent post by others, I'm confused about what to believe. Saying that 93 with ethanol isn't as good as pure 93, but that 92 plus ethanol works with the 93 APR tune confuses me. Can someone from APR give their opinion? For the whole area, it seems we are 92 with 10% ethanol--what program do you suggest, 91 or 93?

straight 93 is much better (for power and economy) than 92 plus 10% ethanol, but ethanol helps prevent precombustion (knock) so 92 with 10% will allow more timing advance than straight 92 would, matching or surpasing what you can get out of 93 straight. The difference is that ethanol is an oxygenizer, and by burning it and releasing more O2, the ECU will cause more fuel to be delivered, because it sees more unburned O2 and thinks there is more to use and adds fuel to do so - not getting that the burning if the ethanol is what is causing it.