Has anyone with a GIAC tune gone to dealer after being flashed back to stock?

[drumnjuny]

Want to get a tune... Really want GIAC. But... A buddy with APR went to the dealership and had to get scanned. removed the tune beforehand and didn't get flagged TD1 when it was scanned. So now for peace of mind in thinking APR might be the way to go

Can anyone personally vouch for the GIAC tune being removable and not getting flagged TD1?

[sszyma]

Once you flash or flash back the checksum will have ultimately changed and being flagged is highly likely. Though who cares, just tune and enjoy it. Most dealers are terrible at performing work anyway.

[drumnjuny]

Once you flash or flash back the checksum will have ultimately changed and being flagged is highly likely. Though who cares, just tune and enjoy it. Most dealers are terrible at performing work anyway.

haha yeah while this is true, if something major happens you will want them to at least supply parts. or rather, I would lol.

But this was my thinking anyway, until yesterday my friend went to get his car appraised for trade in, and he happened to have APR, and when they scanned it he did not get flagged TD1.

so now choice between apr and giac has changed for me... idk

[riceboy22]

Once you flash or flash back the checksum will have ultimately changed and being flagged is highly likely. Though who cares, just tune and enjoy it. Most dealers are terrible at performing work anyway.

Just curious why you say the checksum would be different if you're flashing back to the complete stock program. APR at least has pretty confidently stated that when they flash you back to stock (not just the stock mappings) that the checksum is the same. Some of the other things the dealer can check may still indicate a tune of course, but for how VAG corporate is currently looking for tunes, you should not get flagged TD1 if you flash back to stock.

VAG could always change their process obviously, so there's no guarantees, and I fully agree you need to be prepared for the possibility of losing your power train warranty. And your service department can always flag your car as modified if they want to give you a hard time.

@drumnjuny, just do it (and let me know how it is before the GIAC sale is over)!

[mmth_ski_bum]

I have GIAC Stage 2 and have gone back to the Dealer for warranty work after flashing back to stock.

No company will guarantee that you won't get a TD1 flag, and they all flash back to your stock ECU file, checksum, and flash counter. At the end of the day, you pay to play, Audi is always developing new ways of scanning our ECUs for modifications. You can request that they do not perform a deep scan without checking with you first.

It always helps for find a "mod friendly" dealer and service advisor, too


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[drumnjuny]

I have GIAC Stage 2 and have gone back to the Dealer for warranty work after flashing back to stock.

No company will guarantee that you won't get a TD1 flag, and they all flash back to your stock ECU file, checksum, and flash counter. At the end of the day, you pay to play, Audi is always developing new ways of scanning our ECUs for modifications. You can request that they do not perform a deep scan without checking with you first.

It always helps for find a "mod friendly" dealer and service advisor, too


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nice, did you have your car "deep" scanned when you went back?

[mmth_ski_bum]

nice, did you have your car "deep" scanned when you went back?

No, it was in for a wheel speed sensor issue and a pano roof issue...nothing drivetrain related.

Other than that, all my services are done by a local independent who has been working on Audis and VWs for over 25 years...far too much turnover at most Dealers in the Service department.

It's also worth noting that there are very few cases of any 3.0T cars having drivetrain issues, there are tons of tuned S4s, S5s, A6s, A7s, Q5s, etc... I haven't heard of very many issues.

Tune really comes down to personal preference. GIAC is local her in Southern California, they are true car geeks, and their tunes seem to run a little more conservative that others while posting similar numbers. For me, there's more meat under the curve instead of near the top, which is fine since nobody is making a TCU tune to raise our redline. APR does support removing the Auto-Upshift in Manual Mode, which lets you shift at 6900 RPM, but apparently it throws a soft code if you hit the limiter before shifting.

I doubt you'll find anyone here who is unhappy with their choice of tune...do it, you won't regret it.

[SQ5LIFE]

Drum I'm with you on this bro. But after thinking about it. Im kinda just saying fuck it. Im going with GIAC at some point soon i hope. And if i get flagged then whatever. Im racking up miles so fast that ill hit 40k very soon and my warranty will expire anyways.

[drumnjuny]

Yeah i'm definitely getting tuned its just a question of holding off as long as possible hahaha. and I want GIAC, but I was just curious if anyone has flashed back to stock and gotten scanned by a dealer before. Hopefully someone has with positive results then I can rest easy lol.

[SQive]

APR does support removing the Auto-Upshift in Manual Mode, which lets you shift at 6900 RPM, but apparently it throws a soft code if you hit the limiter before shifting.

It's not APR. I disabled "automatic up-shift in manual" long before I got my tune. I've heard that others that have done the same. I have even bounced the limiter a few times with no issues other than embarrassment. There were no lights and no codes. It may just be an SQ thang. I have succeeded in shifting successfully at 6900, and when done just right, feels and sounds great!

[Jimminez@Nemesis]

It's not APR. I disabled "automatic up-shift in manual" long before I got my tune. I've heard that others that have done the same. I have even bounced the limiter a few times with no issues other than embarrassment. There were no lights and no codes. It may just be an SQ thang. I have succeeded in shifting successfully at 6900, and when done just right, feels and sounds great!

Was this done via VAG COM? Details please.

[drumnjuny]

Was this done via VAG COM? Details please.

yes doable via vag-com. i actually found it annoying lol...

[Jimminez@Nemesis]

yes doable via vag-com. i actually found it annoying lol...

and...

I'm mean I did a measly search on google but the 20 extra seconds to try again were more than I could commit to.

[MilesM]

Wait what, you can remove auto up shifting via vagcom? Steps please?

Also, as said above the tune company is irrelevant to getting flagged TD1 as they all techinicaly leave a trace. GIAC fo life

[SQive]

I read the instructions here, and had no trouble doing it with the ol' RossTech cable.
I don't remember where. I printed them out, did it, then tossed the paper.
Search for "automatic up-shift in manual" and uncheck it.

[andrios]

http://www.goapr.com/support/zf8upshift.html

There you go!

[SQive]

Yeah, that was it!

[SQ57]

Hello Gents,
AWE GIAC stage 2 pulley is OEM.
No issues here.
Cheers,
Bob

[SQ57]

GIAC has been solid, superfun and reliable(as in no issues whatsoever plus an initial awesome stage 1 flash, great from the get go, no need for newer versions). As we get 91 in NorCal here, choice was obvious.
Also GIAC said is all pretty maxed out, so there won't be newer versions, as engine is juiced out at their stage 2.
Cheers,
Bob

[riceboy22]

Can you clarify what you mean when you say the pulley is OEM? I may be going down this route in a couple of days but still gathering some info. And have you had to go back to the dealer for any service requiring them to do a scan? Thanks!

[SQ57]

Hello Gents,
I meant the belt that comes with the pulley kit is OEM. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I was a bit wary of even doing a flash, but in retrospective it's just worries, loss and waste(of otherwise underestimated engine power).
As I said before, go Nike!
And then punch it like a champ!
Cheers,
Bob