Is APR tune worth $700 more than Unitronic?

[Short_Turn]

Hi everyone,
My local tuner carries both APR and Unitronic tunes. Really tempted to get in on the APR spring sale and asked for a quote.
The car is a 2013 S6 and I was looking at APR's stage 1 93octane file with tcu tune and Unitronic's stage 1+ 93octane file with tcu tune.
With the spring sale the APR tune is $700canadian more than the Unitronic tune and almost $1200canadian without the spring sale.

Do you guys think that APR's tune is that much better than Unitronic's to justify the price difference?

[Barritia]

Well if both are done in the same shop then you would be silly to pay that much more for APR. I’m running unitronic with APR downpipes. Been extremely happy with the tune.

[MadAboutCars]

The APR tune has a lot more features. You can change the octane setting without reflashing and there are a lot of TCU settings you can choose at flash time, like holding gears at the rev limit. IIRC the throttle pedal position, on the APR tune, also sets different RPM's for a launch.

The Unitronic tune has flash at home, which requires a cable and PC.

[pez81]

I'd include level of support too. I've had too issues (nothing major) with APR and both times support have been on the case immediately. I think APR make make a little more torque but the HP should be about the same.

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[DGVR6]

I like unitronic’s support over APR.. not many people run them on the 4.0t so theres not as much results compared to APR.
Unitronics flash at home is a great feature also.

Truthfully, I think unitronic is just as strong as APR on the S6. Not sure for the rs7.
You can always try both, Test them out then get a refund.

[GameBreaker]

You also need to consider the additional costs for each flash with APR. That is one of the main reasons I went with Unitronic.

The tune has been great so far, and they have really good customer support. The ECU tune alone was great but adding the TCU tune was a huge improvement.

Now I am just waiting for warmer weather to put on my summer wheels and get back to the track.

Either way you go will be a great addition for your car.


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[ESSMAN]

Have you looked at EPL?

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[Ze_Nardo6]

Unitronic may have decent support but their software is inferior to APR in so many respects. Uni is the bargain software for a reason

[saxon]

The APR tune has a lot more features. You can change the octane setting without reflashing and there are a lot of TCU settings you can choose at flash time, like holding gears at the rev limit. IIRC the throttle pedal position, on the APR tune, also sets different RPM's for a launch.

The Unitronic tune has flash at home, which requires a cable and PC.

Unitronic can offer everything for the tcu that Apr can (multiple launch rpm by throttle position)

Unitronic is the way to go IMO , the only thing I'd change looking back is to get the ams or Apr downpipe instead of the Unitronic ones.

If you have any questions feel free to pm me

[VVG]

Unitronic may have decent support but their software is inferior to APR in so many respects. Uni is the bargain software for a reason

How do you know this? Do you have some inside information on the tunes? That said, there is no question that APR probably has more resources available for better R&D. But the convenience factor is starting to become of paramount importance. Having to make a tuning shop appointment, travel there, then pay every time to flash and reflash when your car needs dealer service is not appealing. With my next car, likely the RS5 Sportback, I will likely be going with a piggyback from either MTM or ABT, unless APR come out with one.

[pez81]

I've never had to pay a shop to switch to stock and back and I've done it a few times

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[Ze_Nardo6]

How do you know this? Do you have some inside information on the tunes? That said, there is no question that APR probably has more resources available for better R&D. But the convenience factor is starting to become of paramount importance. Having to make a tuning shop appointment, travel there, then pay every time to flash and reflash when your car needs dealer service is not appealing. With my next car, likely the RS5 Sportback, I will likely be going with a piggyback from either MTM or ABT, unless APR come out with one.

Didn't know "insider information" was a prerequisite for looking at the performance boards. Doesn't take much to see why Uni never seems to compete in any performance categories with the other tuners. Doesn't make it a "bad" tune, it's just not the higher performing option.

We're discussing two different points here. My comment relates to performance, yours relates to proximity and convenience. If you don't have an APR dealer within a reasonable proximity, that's when Unitronic or EPL become much more attractive (EPL with the upper hand IMO).

I'm not going to go back and forth about who is better, because that changes per the individual's needs. But to answer the OP's question, since his shop carries both APR and Uni, the choice is obvious to me (as someone who's had multiple softwares on their car).

EDIT: If you have a good relationship with your APR shop, you will never pay for flashing

[cobrario]

But the convenience factor is starting to become of paramount importance. Having to make a tuning shop appointment, travel there, then pay every time to flash and reflash when your car needs dealer service is not appealing

agree with Mick- if better is faster, than APR hands down; however, if better is more convenient and less costly, then a "flash at home" option fits your personal need more aptly.

[saxon]

I've never had to pay a shop to switch to stock and back and I've done it a few times

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well your lucky, both shops (that are over an hour from me) charge $70 per flash. They dont charge for the initial flash but do charge every time after.

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agree with Mick- if better is faster, than APR hands down; however, if better is more convenient and less costly, then a "flash at home" option fits your personal need more aptly.

i would be hard pressed to say that APR is "faster" from my experience the Unitronic will trap almost identical times for a stage 1 and 2 compared to APR

[pez81]

well your lucky, both shops (that are over an hour from me) charge $70 per flash. They dont charge for the initial flash but do charge every time after.

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i would be hard pressed to say that APR is "faster" from my experience the Unitronic will trap almost identical times for a stage 1 and 2 compared to APR

I've only seen 2 uni runs that come close to APR. But they're definitely one of the better tubers for our cars

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[GameBreaker]

I'm not biased, but I can see some are. If this were an RS7 I would say hands down go with APR, however we are talking about an S6 and in those respects you would be fine going with APR, Unitronic, or EPL. Their performance isn't really that different.

I don't know if some of you guys live in the middle of nowhere, but around here flashing for $70 would be a pipe dream. The cheapest I have seen is $130 and a number of those times they are just outsourced from one location, which is highway robbery when you think about it. More likely due to living in a large city.

Not a lot of people have the Unitronic tune, so you might not hear a ton about it. As far as I know, Saxon and I are the only two who have actually gone to the track. If those are the data points you are basing everything on, please never go into analytics. Most stage 1 times are anywhere from 11.5-11.8. There are a couple outliers at 11.2-11.3 with cars running 100/104 gas and then there is the Unitronic run at 11.4 but they are trying to sell their product.

From my personal experience, I ran an 11.8 and that was one hell of a shit run. I didn't have the TCU tune yet and a poorly prepped track caused me to constantly spin the tires so there is definitely more in it. As for power I made more power on a mustang dyno than a Stage 2 APR car with Milltek catless downpipes and a roc euro intake. It wasn't a huge difference, but he also dyno'd the day before me so it could have been the weather or any number of things but it did lead me to the conclusion that the Stage 1 file for Unitronic is probably a more aggressive tune. How it fairs at Stage 2 is inconclusive, but for what you are looking for it should help.

Any tune you pick you should be happy with, just don't base your decision on assumptions.

[Short_Turn]

You guys are killing me!!!
Lucky for me the owner of the shop is a super cool guy and never charged me for the 3-4 times he flashed my mk6 R back to stock for warranty work.
Also, if I want program switching with APR it's an additional $200 which makes the price difference even more.
On my mk6 R I had both APR and Unitronic's tune. The uni tune was much smoother but APR's made more power, I'm curious if this would be the case with their S6 stage 1 tunes.

[DGVR6]

You guys are killing me!!!
Lucky for me the owner of the shop is a super cool guy and never charged me for the 3-4 times he flashed my mk6 R back to stock for warranty work.
Also, if I want program switching with APR it's an additional $200 which makes the price difference even more.
On my mk6 R I had both APR and Unitronic's tune. The uni tune was much smoother but APR's made more power, I'm curious if this would be the case with their S6 stage 1 tunes.

APR is the more proven tune in this side for the S6. If it were up to me, I’d go for the proven tune if you’re into track times.
If you want some power over stock, any one will do.

There’s not much data on Uni to conclude if it’s better than APR. From what is shown so far, they seem up to par with APR in terms of power.
Pretty sure on a roll, it’s probably a very slight difference if any. All it’ll take is the right driver to make the best out of that tune and it may pull some decent times.

OP, is asking if APR if worth the 700-1200 over unitronic. It’s worth it to some, but it’s really comes down to what you’re expecting out of the tune. From a daily stand point, the throttle modulation may be different on both tunes. Maybe one is smoother than the other. You’ll never know if that 1200 difference is worth it to you if you don’t shop around and exercise the money back guarantee. Test drive the car you want before committing.

Unitronic 15 day money back guarantee
APR 30 day

[saxon]

APR is the more proven tune in this side for the S6. If it were up to me, I’d go for the proven tune if you’re into track times.
If you want some power over stock, any one will do.

There’s not much data on Uni to conclude if it’s better than APR. From what is shown so far, they seem up to par with APR in terms of power.
Pretty sure on a roll, it’s probably a very slight difference if any. All it’ll take is the right driver to make the best out of that tune and it may pull some decent times.

OP, is asking if APR if worth the 700-1200 over unitronic. It’s worth it to some, but it’s really comes down to what you’re expecting out of the tune. From a daily stand point, the throttle modulation may be different on both tunes. Maybe one is smoother than the other. You’ll never know if that 1200 difference is worth it to you if you don’t shop around and exercise the money back guarantee. Test drive the car you want before committing.

Unitronic 15 day money back guarantee
APR 30 day

i trapped 120mph on stage 1 with 93 octane gas, from your signature it seems you trapped 121 with 100oct on apr's 93 octane tune

to me that says they are both similar in power and the track times really come down to traction ( i know i didnt have enough traction, and at that time the Unitronic LC was set wayyyy to high IMO)

[DGVR6]

i trapped 120mph on stage 1 with 93 octane gas, from your signature it seems you trapped 121 with 100oct on apr's 93 octane tune

to me that says they are both similar in power and the track times really come down to traction ( i know i didnt have enough traction, and at that time the Unitronic LC was set wayyyy to high IMO)

Pretty much identical imo, I’ve done 120 on pure shell 93 also. One thing I do like about the Uni tune is that it will adjust to fueling so given the same scenario, 100 oct on 93 map with a Uni tune it will most likely start to advance timing and go into race map territory (this is why you were experiencing -5 timing pull). There’s really no need for program switching with their tunes since it’s already set aggressive. Apr is set until you switch over maps.

A little bit of e85 will go a long way with their tunes