APR TCU Flash Feedback

[eyelise]

I had my 2013 S7 TCU flashed a couple of weeks ago to compliment my ECU flash and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. I read a lot of great feedback but I must say I haven't had the same experience. The changes are so subtle I wonder if the flash actually took. If I am cruising at 40mph with light throttle the TCU still selects 7th gear which is totally bogus. It may hold 5th slightly longer and possibly downshift rather than holding 7th but certainly not the impressive change I was expecting. Seriously is there any way I can be sure the flash is actually functioning? APR feel free to chime in. I'd appreciate others input that have the flash.

[hubris]

I had my 2013 S7 TCU flashed a couple of weeks ago to compliment my ECU flash and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. I read a lot of great feedback but I must say I haven't had the same experience. The changes are so subtle I wonder if the flash actually took. If I am cruising at 40mph with light throttle the TCU still selects 7th gear which is totally bogus. It may hold 5th slightly longer and possibly downshift rather than holding 7th but certainly not the impressive change I was expecting. Seriously is there any way I can be sure the flash is actually functioning? APR feel free to chime in. I'd appreciate others input that have the flash.

If you see your gear selection indicated on the instrument cluster, that is a good indicator the flash took.

[hackths]

If you see your gear selection indicated on the instrument cluster, that is a good indicator the flash took.

I don't have the flash but enabled this function simply enough with a VAGCOM. You're right it's a good indicator but easily done outside the flash.

[jasonlitka]

You can check the launch control. If the flash is installed you should have different launch RPMs for 50%, 100%, and kick-down.

[dab]

I had my 2013 S7 TCU flashed a couple of weeks ago to compliment my ECU flash and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. I read a lot of great feedback but I must say I haven't had the same experience. The changes are so subtle I wonder if the flash actually took. If I am cruising at 40mph with light throttle the TCU still selects 7th gear which is totally bogus. It may hold 5th slightly longer and possibly downshift rather than holding 7th but certainly not the impressive change I was expecting. Seriously is there any way I can be sure the flash is actually functioning? APR feel free to chime in. I'd appreciate others input that have the flash.

In dynamic and sport settings? Did you change the ecu settings via the cruise control stalk? Still in stock setting possibly. I have it set at 93 octane and use d most of the time and the kickdown is unbelievable.

[mwmaroney1]

In dynamic and sport settings? Did you change the tcu settings via the cruise control stalk? Still in stock setting possibly. I have it set at 93 octane and use d most of the time and the kickdown is unbelievable.

There's tcu settings on the stalk? I was under the impression that only the ecu was changed on the cruise control?

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[bucknutt76]

Bump....

I really want to see some responses to this thread.

[yvnrg1981]

I too was a bit underwhelmed at first. Was getting ready to take it back but then I had a chance to drive a bit more aggressive. That's when you really notice the change. Especially when your using the shift levers. No more lag, the shifts pop right away and with a kick. I remember one of the reasons I choose the s7 was for the Dual Clutch but I was disappointed at the lag that I incurred with the shifting. Found out later that it was normal and that Audi limits the torque going through the clutch plates. Now after the tune, if driving around "normally" you don't really feel that much of a difference but if you get on it that's when you really feel the difference. Now I know we can't always get on it, but I just had to leave the tune after I did.

[dab]

my bad meant ecu and yes try and drive aggressive if your babying the car that is not what the tunes are about. In drive hammer the throttle to the floor at 60mph (think passing a car on a two lane highway) I have seen the traction control light briefly with both tunes on the kickdown. Put it in sport and hit it from go, second gear with the tcu tune is unbelievably different. It may better gas mileage with the tunes, but come on grandpa it's 560 hp.

[gk1]

That's the whole point, if you drive mildly it behaves as normal, if you give more aggressive throttle or use the paddles or launch control you will notice a difference.
This is greatly preferred as I would not want it holding high revs or slamming into every gear while just driving normal. That's why there is sport or manual modes... but normal drive mode does benefit from additional and quicker downshifts with enough quick throttle.
FWIW if you have been to the track and used launch control the stock 5k launch without the TCU can induce wheelspin on stock tires. The TCU upgrade with a lower 4k launch and better clutch control offers a quicker launch and better ETs.

[CR8LUCK]

I have the GIAC ECU and TCU tune and it is great. In Dynamic it feels like a rubber band stretched tight and ready to release a bunch of power.Similar in Comfort, but not as drastic.


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[MadAboutCars]

I think a too aggressive TCU tune could spoil the S6/7, but I'd definitely want D mode to hold gears for longer and S mode to downshift sooner, with a good throttle blip, like in manual mode.

[eyelise]

I think a too aggressive TCU tune could spoil the S6/7, but I'd definitely want D mode to hold gears for longer and S mode to downshift sooner, with a good throttle blip, like in manual mode.

Sorry just got back from surgery. At least now I know others confirm it is very subtle in terms of changes if not driving aggressively. If you read the description on the APR website they do mention holding 5th longer in normal Drive mode which is what I was really looking for. It really does not achieve this to a noticeable degree. I will explore some of the other changes. I had VAG-COM'd my car for the gear shift so other than launching the car still don't know if it is working LOL. I wish it showed up on my dongle APP like the ECU flashes.

[Soft]

Sorry just got back from surgery. At least now I know others confirm it is very subtle in terms of changes if not driving aggressively. If you read the description on the APR website they do mention holding 5th longer in normal Drive mode which is what I was really looking for. It really does not achieve this to a noticeable degree. I will explore some of the other changes. I had VAG-COM'd my car for the gear shift so other than launching the car still don't know if it is working LOL. I wish it showed up on my dongle APP like the ECU flashes.

"I had VAG-COM'd my car for the gear shift"
Can you please describe what this is ? :-)

[MadAboutCars]

"I had VAG-COM'd my car for the gear shift"
Can you please describe what this is ? :-)

I think he means that he used vag-com to enable the gear display in the DIS. The TCU tune also does this, but since he already had it enabled, he can't tell whether or not he has the TCU flash or is still running stock.

[MadAboutCars]

Sorry just got back from surgery. At least now I know others confirm it is very subtle in terms of changes if not driving aggressively. If you read the description on the APR website they do mention holding 5th longer in normal Drive mode which is what I was really looking for. It really does not achieve this to a noticeable degree. I will explore some of the other changes. I had VAG-COM'd my car for the gear shift so other than launching the car still don't know if it is working LOL. I wish it showed up on my dongle APP like the ECU flashes.

I hope you have a quick recovery from the surgery. This is one of the reasons I went with the Unitronic tune and the Uniconnect+ cable, which allows me to flash the tunes myself. It's also interesting that Unitronic's will have a stage 1 and 2 tune for the TCU, stage 2 obviously bring more agressive for those that want it.

There is a YouTube video of the instrument cluster of a car with the APR TCU tune. You could probably compare this to your down shift speeds and see if they are the same. Falling that you could take it back to the shop that tuned it and ask them to check it or flash it again.

[dannybear]

Does the TCU make any improvemenr to the terrible lag when you slow to an intersection/roundaboit without atopping and tey take off again. My S6 can lag for well over 1 second before responding (all under mormal driving conditions. Not hard driving)

[Sean@APR]

Does the TCU make any improvemenr to the terrible lag when you slow to an intersection/roundaboit without atopping and tey take off again. My S6 can lag for well over 1 second before responding (all under mormal driving conditions. Not hard driving)

Yes. We spent a ton of time on the "stop light changed color while I was decelerating" scenarios.

[Sean@APR]

Sorry just got back from surgery. At least now I know others confirm it is very subtle in terms of changes if not driving aggressively. If you read the description on the APR website they do mention holding 5th longer in normal Drive mode which is what I was really looking for. It really does not achieve this to a noticeable degree. I will explore some of the other changes. I had VAG-COM'd my car for the gear shift so other than launching the car still don't know if it is working LOL. I wish it showed up on my dongle APP like the ECU flashes.

TCU tuning is hugely subjective. Our goal was to keep D tame enough that wives don't mind driving the car. We also didn't want to ruin the efficiency of the car in D mode. So, most of the aggressiveness went into the S and Manual modes.

We do hold gears a little longer in D, but it's not much unless you're above 50% throttle. Again, the goal was to keep D very tame.

I'm only talking about the decisions and rationale that went into what we did. I'm not saying that we're completely correct with all of it or that everyone is going to like it. If a majority of customers don't like a particular behavior, we're open to changing it.

So, with that said, here's my template for transmission tune change requests:

1. What RPM were your at?
2. What speed were you traveling at?
3. Accelerating or Decelerating, gently or agressively?
4. How much throttle input were you giving, 0-100%
5. Transmission (S or D) and drive select (dynamic/comfort) modes in use
6. What did the transmission do?
7. What did you not like about that?
8. What do you think it should have done?


If you answer those for me, I'll pass it along to calibration and we'll see what others think and possibly make the change.

[Brooklyn]

Dragging this post back to the top, but welcome feedback from those of you who have now had the TCU tune for a few months. Still like it? Comparisons between ECU tune with factory TCU settings, and ECU/TCU combo would also be appreciated. I'm flashing back to stock soon for my 45K. When I return to reinstall the tune, I'm debating getting the TCU tune done at the same time.

[Dguth]

I have the TCU tune. In sport mode it's perfect in my opinion. Shifts are fast and holds gears aggressively. I still think they could have upped the notch a little bit in normal drive mode. Sometime I want to drive in normal but the car still seeks the highest gear very fast and seems reluctant or hesitant at times to downshift. Almost feel like there needs to be a middle mode or just up the normal shift patterns to be a little more aggressive. I know there was some post by APR that indicated they still wanted to leave the normal mode more luxury like in the event wives/children are in the car. My opinion is it still needs to be more aggressive in normal.


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[flyfishing]

anyone have another tcu tune that holds gears more in D mode?

[Brooklyn]

Dguth, appreciate the info. Exactly the kind of intel I'm looking for. How are the downshifts in S mode at low speeds, particularly from 3rd-to-2nd?

[gk1]

IMHO I think APR did the right thing leaving "D" alone for the most part. We are fortunate to have 2 modes "D" & "S" and since you have "S" and even manual mode to play around it makes sense to leave D in place.
I think they would be in a worse scenario if they mucked with D and people were not happy and had no way to get a "near normal" driving experience.
For myself key was to lower launch control to 4k max...5k launch with APR was even still too much at the dragstrip.

[Dguth]

Dguth, appreciate the info. Exactly the kind of intel I'm looking for. How are the downshifts in S mode at low speeds, particularly from 3rd-to-2nd?

In S mode it's great. Small throttle increase enacts the downshift.

I agree that D mode should be smoother than S but I don't agree with needing to press the throttle all the way to 50% in order to get a downshift. 1/4 of a press on the pedal should enact a downshift. In D mode it feels like the car is always resisting to downshift and then by the time you press the pedal far enough and it finally downshifts, it's too much. Could be the quirkiness of the DSG but with S mode being so quick/responsive, it makes me feel D mode could be more better.


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[VVG]

I find the APR TCU tune to be absolutely perfect. The change in D is subtle, but that is a desirable thing. I don't want an aggressively responsive 560hp car when I am tooling around in traffic. It is a hindrance, not a benefit. Things come alive in Sport and Manual just the way they should. I am really not sure why anyone would want a more aggressive D mode. What's the point? I can see if there was only one driving mode, but with both Sport and Manual both aggressively tuned, why push it with D?

[Pampedout6]

I have the TCU tune. In sport mode it's perfect in my opinion. Shifts are fast and holds gears aggressively. I still think they could have upped the notch a little bit in normal drive mode. Sometime I want to drive in normal but the car still seeks the highest gear very fast and seems reluctant or hesitant at times to downshift. Almost feel like there needs to be a middle mode or just up the normal shift patterns to be a little more aggressive. I know there was some post by APR that indicated they still wanted to leave the normal mode more luxury like in the event wives/children are in the car. My opinion is it still needs to be more aggressive in normal.


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+1 This.

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[Clipse3GT]

Anyone having issues with their tcu tune? Clutch slip or missed gears?