Apr Stage 2

[GiothomasB8S4]

What's up everyone only posted on here once when I first joined last year, but I've been lurking on here reading what all you guys had to say for the last year or so. Finally started to mod my 2014 s4 and went with the APR stage 2 today. All I can say is wow, the difference in low end power is unbelievable. I've owned tuned/forced induction cars in the past, but I've never had such a drastic change like this and to think it's going to get faster over the next day or so is very exciting. Just ordered an intake and right now I'm researching what exhaust I want, most likely the Awe track exhaust with non resonated downpipes ( yes I want it loud )

[pdqgp]

Welcome to the club. I got flashed to Stage 1 at the dealer upon delivery. Moved to Stage II about a month later. Teamed with the DSG Tune it's a pure joy as a daily driver.

[Sceanzo]

I just went stage 2 a few weeks ago. It is exactly how the car should have came. It moves that big bitch effortlessly. Upper rpms I am at felony speeds in the blink of an eye.

[GiothomasB8S4]

Welcome to the club. I got flashed to Stage 1 at the dealer upon delivery. Moved to Stage II about a month later. Teamed with the DSG Tune it's a pure joy as a daily driver.

Thanks Dude and yes, awesome daily driver for sure.

[GiothomasB8S4]

I just went stage 2 a few weeks ago. It is exactly how the car should have came. It moves that big bitch effortlessly. Upper rpms I am at felony speeds in the blink of an eye.

Haha yeah it pulls so hard up top now too. Such a big difference from stock.

[GabrielSyler]

APR 2 + AWE exhaust here also. great combination. If you like a supercharger wine get a roceuro also!!!

[Sales@DriveAuto]

Where in NY? We're running a Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Holiday Sale and I have just the combo you're looking for (AWE Track + Non-res DP's). Also have a touring edition. 10% off and free install!

[GiothomasB8S4]

APR 2 + AWE exhaust here also. great combination. If you like a supercharger wine get a roceuro also!!!

Glad to hear you like it.

[GiothomasB8S4]

Where in NY? We're running a Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Holiday Sale and I have just the combo you're looking for (AWE Track + Non-res DP's). Also have a touring edition. 10% off and free install!

I'm From Long Island

[AerotusX]

Cool, good to hear another positive review. I will joining the APR club this Friday too. I will do Stage I first and then Stage II a month later. I just wanted to feel and experience the difference between each stage.

[GiothomasB8S4]

Cool, good to hear another positive review. I will joining the APR club this Friday too. I will do Stage I first and then Stage II a month later. I just wanted to feel and experience the difference between each stage.

Nice Sounds like a good idea, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed with stage 1.

[doug97gxe]

going Stage 1 is like having a one night stand with a hot model and using a condom

[bizzy]

Glad to hear how much of a difference it makes. I'll be going stage 2 next week as well. Have you noticed any bogging after upshifts?

[GiothomasB8S4]

going Stage 1 is like having a one night stand with a hot model and using a condom

LOL I've never experienced either

[doug97gxe]

LOL I've never experienced either

you are Stage 2 .. you are rawing that model and enjoying every moment of it.. you are also about to get her pregnant and Kevin Federline her to live lavishly off her money doing nothing for the rest of your life

[GiothomasB8S4]

Glad to hear how much of a difference it makes. I'll be going stage 2 next week as well. Have you noticed any bogging after upshifts?

No I haven't experienced that, in fact it's very linear going to redline and shifting.

[GiothomasB8S4]

you are Stage 2 .. you are rawing that model and enjoying every moment of it.. you are also about to get her pregnant and Kevin Federline her to live lavishly off her money doing nothing for the rest of your life

Haha hell yeah !! Jumped in head first

[levigarrett]

None of you guys are having the 8.5 2-3 shift issues? There have been 2 separate threads here recently with guys complaining about the DSG behavior post tune on 8.5 cars. I was all set to pull the trigger until I read those posts. Now I'm leaning towards a new car in 12 months or so.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ts-B8-5-S5-DSG

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...al-Vids-inside

[pdqgp]

None of you guys are having the 8.5 2-3 shift issues? There have been 2 separate threads here recently with guys complaining about the DSG behavior post tune on 8.5 cars. I was all set to pull the trigger until I read those posts. Now I'm leaning towards a new car in 12 months or so.

Nope. Mine shifts fine from 2-3. The only "issue" I have and it could be the way I have it set to auto-upshift in manual mode is that if I miss the shift from 1-2, the 2-3 will shift early which pisses me off. Not sure why. However, if I leave it in auto and take it to redline and let it shift at 7,200 on it's own 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 is fine. It's also fine if I miss the 2 to 3 shift in manual mode the shift from 3 to 4 doesn't happen early.

Not a big deal as I rarely us manual mode in 1st. I usually use it when on the freeway or in certain conditions around town when in moderate traffic. I like the auto upshift there as I'd rather have it

I have found, especially in cooler temps now that fall is upon us, that if I drop down a gear manually and hammer it the wheels will break loose and TC flashes. Never really felt the car bog because of it, but it does kick in the TC. The only time I really don't like it to do so is from a dig when I'm in the rare instance of trying to put someone in their place from a stoplight (rare). Then I just turn off TC and modulate it to prevent wheel spin. Haven't really ever used launch control. Prolly should play with it a bit

[DBL R]

you are Stage 2 .. you are rawing that model and enjoying every moment of it.. you are also about to get her pregnant and Kevin Federline her to live lavishly off her money doing nothing for the rest of your life

Gotta get that anchor baby.

[bizzy]

No I haven't experienced that, in fact it's very linear going to redline and shifting.

None of you guys are having the 8.5 2-3 shift issues? There have been 2 separate threads here recently with guys complaining about the DSG behavior post tune on 8.5 cars. I was all set to pull the trigger until I read those posts. Now I'm leaning towards a new car in 12 months or so.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ts-B8-5-S5-DSG

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...al-Vids-inside

Glad it doesn't happen for you, but like levigarrett, I'm a bit concerned I'll have this problem. Hopefully not though, guess it happens to some people and not others.

[GiothomasB8S4]

Glad it doesn't happen for you, but like levigarrett, I'm a bit concerned I'll have this problem. Hopefully not though, guess it happens to some people and not others.

I'm 6MT, but hopefully they work out whatever is causing the DSG's to do that With an update soon.

[Sean@APR]

I'm 6MT, but hopefully they work out whatever is causing the DSG's to do that With an update soon.

We're looking into it. The DL501 guy was out for a while, but he's back now and hard at work.

[AerotusX]

Just went to Stage I 2-days ago. Agreed with most reviews here on the forum that it is AWESOME! It does make our S4 come alive. Drivability is just like stock with more power at the tap, especially at top end (>4000 rpm). No shift lag so far at all (unlike the CW piggyback I tried for a couple of months). It's a great balance between drivability, smoothness, refinement, and power gain; with proven reliability from other members. At normal driving (light acceleration), it feels like stock, until you press down on the pedal; then it pulls really hard all the way to redline and DSG shifting happens super fast.

I'm going back for Stage II in a couple weeks, so looking forward to the extra torque at the low end RPMs to make it outstanding for city driving. Can't wait for another bump in power!

[GiothomasB8S4]

Just went to Stage I 2-days ago. Agreed with most reviews here on the forum that it is AWESOME! It does make our S4 come alive. Drivability is just like stock with more power at the tap, especially at top end (>4000 rpm). No shift lag so far at all (unlike the CW piggyback I tried for a couple of months). It's a great balance between drivability, smoothness, refinement, and power gain; with proven reliability from other members. At normal driving (light acceleration), it feels like stock, until you press down on the pedal; then it pulls really hard all the way to redline and DSG shifting happens super fast.

I'm going back for Stage II in a couple weeks, so looking forward to the extra torque at the low end RPMs to make it outstanding for city driving. Can't wait for another bump in power!

Nice dude, yeah the added torque from stage 2 makes daily driving much more enjoyable.

[VenturiRS]

Apart from getting a feel for the changes by going incrementally, is there any other real benefit for going Stage 1, then Stage 2, 2+?

Is the *total* cost the same?

Signed,
Curious.

[GiothomasB8S4]

Apart from getting a feel for the changes by going incrementally, is there any other real benefit for going Stage 1, then Stage 2, 2+?

Is the *total* cost the same?

Signed,
Curious.

When you buy the pulley and go from stage 1 to stage 2 the software upgrade is free, so yeah it's the same or similar as going right to stage 2.

[jokingjimmy]

I had originally decided to wait until warranty is up, but now I am trying to talk the CFO into allowing budget for Stage 2. Why wait, right?

Oh, and with all due respect, I hate you for posting, now it makes me more anxious lol.

[colby7]

Apart from getting a feel for the changes by going incrementally, is there any other real benefit for going Stage 1, then Stage 2, 2+?

Is the *total* cost the same?

Signed,
Curious.

Your shop may charge you an hour of service for each software update if you do them separately. If you do them at the same time, you'll probably only get charged a single hour of labor.

[GiothomasB8S4]

Your shop may charge you an hour of service for each software update if you do them separately. If you do them at the same time, you'll probably only get charged a single hour of labor.

Yeah that's very true.

[GiothomasB8S4]

I had originally decided to wait until warranty is up, but now I am trying to talk the CFO into allowing budget for Stage 2. Why wait, right?

Oh, and with all due respect, I hate you for posting, now it makes me more anxious lol.

I thought About waiting for the warranty to be up myself, but after researching on here and watching a few videos....my mind was pretty made up lol.

[AerotusX]

I thought About waiting for the warranty to be up myself, but after researching on here and watching a few videos....my mind was pretty made up lol.

I was in the same boat here. I figured it'll take me 4-years to get to 50K miles until the warranty is up. However, after much research and the need for speed ; I decided to jump the gun when the Black Friday sale came out. Plus, since you can flash back to stock, the dealer will never know it was tuned; so warranty is still in place. I still have Audicare, so I will visiting the dealer periodically. I'm only at ~15K miles now and looking forward to enjoy MY BEAST for a long time. Seems our B8.5 platform is very strong and reliable, so I don't expect any issues either. Just do it!

[Usa]

Hey Gio, congrats.

I see you're from NY, any chance you're in the upstate region?

[GiothomasB8S4]

I was in the same boat here. I figured it'll take me 4-years to get to 50K miles until the warranty is up. However, after much research and the need for speed ; I decided to jump the gun when the Black Friday sale came out. Plus, since you can flash back to stock, the dealer will never know it was tuned; so warranty is still in place. I still have Audicare, so I will visiting the dealer periodically. I'm only at ~15K miles now and looking forward to enjoy MY BEAST for a long time. Seems our B8.5 platform is very strong and reliable, so I don't expect any issues either. Just do it!

Agreed, I think they're super reliable cars. Most of the time you can tell if a car is going to be a lemon within the first 5k miles. My theory was do the mods now while the car is low mileage, as opposed to putting thousands and thousands of miles on the car and then deciding to do it. Just do it !

[GiothomasB8S4]

Hey Gio, congrats.

I see you're from NY, any chance you're in the upstate region?

Thanks Dude and no, I'm from Long Island.

[rectoret]

Glad to hear how much of a difference it makes. I'll be going stage 2 next week as well. Have you noticed any bogging after upshifts?

Hi

I've experienced some similar issues when I've upgraded my B8.5 S4 from stock directly to APR Stage II (was 25.000 miles on it when upgrade), but everything went back to normal after driving some miles and installed the Air Intake.

I've experienced a lag upshifting when using full power in sport mode. The lag was variable, from 0.5 Sec to sometimes even 1 - 1.5 seconds.

Also, once I was going back to drive mode after a session of sportive driving, the engine also had some clunky moments when accelerating smoothly, similar as if the flowmetter wasn't working property. To get it back to a correct behaviour, I had to turn off the engine for a couple of minutes.

I have to say that this happened just after doing the tune, very low miles after (<1200 miles after the tune).

Everything went fine when I installed the APR Air Intake (Stage II). The car turned immediately to as stock behaviour but full of torque and power, very usable even at the location I live (Where I live is only mountain roads, 4500 feet high over sea level). Very usable and powerful at the same time. Hard to imagine better for this kind of car... The car was running so fine, I tried using Launch Control: just amazing!!!!

So, if you experience the same, after running some miles and installing Air Intake you will be amazed how great your S4 can run

[AerotusX]

Hey bizzy, I see you are in SoCal as well. Did you get your Stage II done? I'll be curious to know your experience with the Stage II. I did the Stage I last Friday and have zero bogging shift issue. It runs and shift just like stock, but happens much faster. I will be doing the Stage II pulley on the 18th, and expecting it to be even better! Which city are you in? Perhaps we can meet up and do some run comparison.

[jo2011]

Just curious what did your shop charge you for the out the door price to go to stage 2? My Audi dealer is also a APR dealer..they were talking about 3 hours of shop labor to install pulley..which of course is a significant increase in cost

[AerotusX]

During Black Friday sale, my dealer had free installation on the pulley when purchasing Stage II. This deal made me jump in, since there is no way I can manage the pulley install myself. They charge 3.5 hours at $110 /hr, so I saved $385. My out the door cost was $2181.

[Mat@1975]

Hi

I've experienced some similar issues when I've upgraded my B8.5 S4 from stock directly to APR Stage II (was 25.000 miles on it when upgrade), but everything went back to normal after driving some miles and installed the Air Intake.

I've experienced a lag upshifting when using full power in sport mode. The lag was variable, from 0.5 Sec to sometimes even 1 - 1.5 seconds.

Also, once I was going back to drive mode after a session of sportive driving, the engine also had some clunky moments when accelerating smoothly, similar as if the flowmetter wasn't working property. To get it back to a correct behaviour, I had to turn off the engine for a couple of minutes.

I have to say that this happened just after doing the tune, very low miles after (<1200 miles after the tune).

Everything went fine when I installed the APR Air Intake (Stage II). The car turned immediately to as stock behaviour but full of torque and power, very usable even at the location I live (Where I live is only mountain roads, 4500 feet high over sea level). Very usable and powerful at the same time. Hard to imagine better for this kind of car... The car was running so fine, I tried using Launch Control: just amazing!!!!

So, if you experience the same, after running some miles and installing Air Intake you will be amazed how great your S4 can run

Hello !

It seams that Stage 2 boost values require more than the stock intake flow capabilities ?

Verry interresting.

BR

Mat