APR Stage 1 and TCU tune.

[Sceanzo]

Got them both from the summer sale.

I'll preface this by saying that this is not the first tuned Audi I had. My last car was a Stage 2 12' S4 6mt. I also have been doing a fair amount of drinking so please excuse the grammatical errors.

A lot of reviews I have read about stage 1 helping only at high rpm. I disagree. The car seems to perform well at all rpms now. The response is quicker and the part throttle midrange is a blast. I have a CTS intake and IMO it seems to whine a lot more now. It's no stage 2 but if you have to do it anyway so why not enjoy all of it?


I plan on doing a stage 2 again so I opted to go ahead and get the TCU tune as well. Now this being my first DSG I can't comment on how well it helped other versions but it feels great on a gen 2 DL501. I also have an 034 Transmission mount insert. The shifts are hard and fast. I drive in manual mode most of the time but in D or S it still feels civilized when it needs to be. The DSG snort/fart is long and loud now lol. Shifting as 7200 is miles better than the stock redline


I had auto up and down shift removed and LC set to 4k. Now I live at the beach so it's high 90s with 1 billion percent humidity. The car rockets out of the hole. Its brutal. I can't wait for winter time and my pulley install as well.

I recommend it to anyone thinking of doing an ecu or TCU tune
Go ahead and do both.

[dyl0n]

I thought the "dsg fart" was shorter / gone with the TCU tune?

[yjypm]

I thought the "dsg fart" was shorter / gone with the TCU tune?

After I flashed my EPL dsg tune I hear fart much less often.

[cjw]

A lot of reviews I have read about stage 1 helping only at high rpm. I disagree. The car seems to perform well at all rpms now. The response is quicker and the part throttle midrange is a blast.

Exactly my experience.

[phatmanscoot]

Not trying to thread jack but I was talking to a local tuner (Eurowurx in Burbank, Ca.) about the APR sale going on and how I was interested in the stage 2 tune. He was not trying to sway me out of getting the stage 2 but was raving about how the latest revision (version 5 or 6?) stage 1 is so amazing across the rpm spectrum in terms of torque and hp that I should try it first. I went to try to research more on this latest revision but couldn't find much. Are the latest numbers and graphs on the APR website, along with what you purchased a reflection of the latest revision?

[Sceanzo]

I thought the "dsg fart" was shorter / gone with the TCU tune?

After I flashed my EPL dsg tune I hear fart much less often.

Mine is much more pronounced now. Are you all driving in manual mode?

[BDP]

I got both the ECU and TCU tune last week. I would agree the gain is noticeable right off the bat. I question anyone who doesn't feel a gain on Stage 1, at least with the APR tune.

Also my DSG farts are still there.

[Sceanzo]

I thought the "dsg fart" was shorter / gone with the TCU tune?

Not trying to thread jack but I was talking to a local tuner (Eurowurx in Burbank, Ca.) about the APR sale going on and how I was interested in the stage 2 tune. He was not trying to sway me out of getting the stage 2 but was raving about how the latest revision (version 5 or 6?) stage 1 is so amazing across the rpm spectrum in terms of torque and hp that I should try it first. I went to try to research more on this latest revision but couldn't find much. Are the latest numbers and graphs on the APR website, along with what you purchased a reflection of the latest revision?

I believe they are. IIRC this is version 3.1. which means I also had his stage 1 version on my last S4. That car also had great gains from stage 1 only. But stage 2 has more in it for sure.

My car walked away from my brothers stage 1 S3 the night I got it back.

[SwankP3RF3ct10n]

After I flashed my EPL dsg tune I hear fart much less often.

Ditto. Kinda hate that. It's mostly gone unless you really get on it. WTF? lol

[yjypm]

Ditto. Kinda hate that. It's mostly gone unless you really get on it. WTF? lol

Right, it seems I need to hit a sweet spot on throttle and rev, of which I haven't mastered yet.

[SwankP3RF3ct10n]

Right, it seems I need to hit a sweet spot on throttle and rev, of which I haven't mastered yet.

I wanna say more than 60% and it should do it. The RPMs have to hit midrange for it to do it... anything less and it won't. Just seems weird to me because the shifts feel like a rocking motion to me, almost like it's a manual and you're letting out the clutch by riding it a tiny bit too much so as to not feel a jarring motion or something. That's all I can compare the new shifts at part throttle to. Well, that and a regular auto trans, which blows.

[cspcrx]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. I go in next Friday for my ECU and TCU tunes along with the pulley install.

I am going to do the same as you, auto up and down removed. I am torn on the LC rpms. I was thinking of having the lowest one be 3500 since the car will be making more HP and TQ so you do not want to over power the road. But, I also went to 265 PSS tires which gives me more traction of my 18s.

Just can not decide to do 3500 or 4000 for the first LC point. Any feedback is appreciated.

[Sceanzo]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. I go in next Friday for my ECU and TCU tunes along with the pulley install.

I am going to do the same as you, auto up and down removed. I am torn on the LC rpms. I was thinking of having the lowest one be 3500 since the car will be making more HP and TQ so you do not want to over power the road. But, I also went to 265 PSS tires which gives me more traction of my 18s.

Just can not decide to do 3500 or 4000 for the first LC point. Any feedback is appreciated.

If you have PSS like I do, set it at 4k. APR said 4k is the max you want to do on street tires. My buddy riding shot gun says the hit feels like the initial fall on a rollercoaster.

It will still auto downshift in manual mode when you come to like a stop light for example.

[chrisucf99]

I have LC set to 4K as well. I think that is the sweet spot.

[cspcrx]

OK, thanks guys!

[dyl0n]

Videos of the tachometer while it shifts would be great! There isn't enough out there

[Sceanzo]

Videos of the tachometer while it shifts would be great! There isn't enough out there

Will do when it cools down today.

[mmm def]

A lot of reviews I have read about stage 1 helping only at high rpm. I disagree. The car seems to perform well at all rpms now. The response is quicker and the part throttle midrange is a blast. .

I thought the same as well. Cool

[Acejam]

This thread makes me want to go APR Stage 1 + TCU

[pdqgp]

Did the same to my S4 the day I bought it. Only drove it stock during the test drive. Move to Stage II about 1 month later.

[dyl0n]

This thread makes me want to go APR Stage 1 + TCU

Only a few days left. Next sale will be a while. Hop on the fast train.

[Sceanzo]

This thread makes me want to go APR Stage 1 + TCU

Absolutely need to do it. I've driven this car in all 3 forms and a stage 1 is a must at minimum. Combine it with an intake and TCU

[cspcrx]

I have been untuned and stock since I purchased the car. Going straight to stage 2 I am sure it's going to feel like a different car. With what everyone says about stage 1 from stock.

[XLR8 Craig]

The look on customers cars is priceless after flashing their cars. Pretty much every DSG car comes back for the TCU flash as well after a week or two.

Flashing back to stock is pretty close to being one of the most depressing experiences any 3.0T owner can experience

[cjw]

This thread makes me want to go APR Stage 1 + TCU

Even APR's dynos show the jump from stock to Stage 2 is much higher than Stage 1 to Stage 2. I did EPL Stage 1 and it felt very strong.

[sfg57]

It's now been two weeks since Stage 1 ECU. Not a TCU tune. Not sure I want to mess with the DSG right now. I don't go to the track so I don't have before and after time sheets to share. What I can tell you is that I do feel a difference in the quickness of the car. In Sport and Manual mode the car really does love to pull. I did a WOT from 70 and it was MUCH faster than pre-stage 1. Is this the "placebo" effect? maybe some of it is but I like to equate it to moving from a PC with old technology to new. Try to use that old PC again with the slow processor and hard drive and you can't do it. Same here. The car just seems more responsive across the entire power spectrum. I can just imagine what Stage 2 people are feeling with all that low end torque. So far a great experience.

[cspcrx]

Thanks for the update. Counting the days, this Friday, stage 2. over 100hp should easily be something I can feel.

It is so damn hot here right now, and EPL is just now shipping the AMS cooler I ordered, I plan on running the 91 tune with a mix of 91&E85 until I get the cooler installed. Then I will continue to run my mix but switch to the 93 tune.

To put some perspective on the heat, 6am on my way to work car showed 92 degrees outside.

[BDP]

To put some perspective on the heat, 6am on my way to work car showed 92 degrees outside.

Mehh...it's a dry heat though.

[dyl0n]

I still want new videos!

[cspcrx]

Mehh...it's a dry heat though.

so is an oven, don't see people running to stick their head in them! LOL

Talk about DA killer. Local track is at 1082ft the DA at 6am was 3557ft.

Now yesterday afternoon at 6pm, 12 hours earlier DA same location 4766ft.

No wonder my car turns into a Honda Fit! LOL