I'm posting my in-depth review here instead of the other thread as anyone who is interested in finding a review in that thread would have to dig through literally hundreds of off topic posts to find a single review. I thought this would be more helpful for folks who are on the fence about APR's V3.0 tune
On to the review....
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Relevant car configuration: 2011 GTI with DSG, APR K04 Turbo, APR Carbonio intake, APR downpipe, Neuspeed Throttle body and Hi-flo discharge pipes, Golf R Intercooler, AWE Hose kit, and Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires. Just disclosing as everyone's mods will make your experience different.
Installation:
Easy as could be. I purchased a 3-BAR MAP sensor from HS-Tuning and called my APR tuner who said I could drive to the dealer running the V2.0 software and 3-BAR MAP sensor and just get returned. THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED by APR (running version 2.0 software with a 3 BAR MAP sensor). The car ran a little strangely in stock mode on V2.0 and 3-bar map sensor and threw a check engine light, but I was easy on it and made the trip. Took it to my friendly APR dealer and after about 45 minutes the car was successfully re-flashed to Stock, 91, 93, 100 high-output files with stock being like the original non-test pipe flash to aid in passing inspections. The dealer in my case only had to hook the car up to a laptop via the OBD-II port to re-flash.
Still wish I could skip the stealer step and flash it myself........
Initial Impressions:
If I had to sum up the changes in 1 sentence, I would say: Huge improvement in refinement and a good increase in performance.
Problems Fixed:
I had some of the common problems that folks complained about on the APR K04 version 2.0 software. I had neutral misfires (very minor issue), surging at part throttle acceleration in the 2500-3500 range (made the car buck), and problems with fighting the traction control. All of these were fixed with version 3.0 making the car much more enjoyable to drive.
Impressions:
1st drive: Of course the fist thing I did after leaving my tuner and having set my car to 93 octane mode was floor it! WOW! Totally different experience. The old tune would accelerate until about 3200 rpm then BOOM! The turbo would fully spool and all of the torque would hit you giving you instant wheel spin. Then the traction control would kick in severely cutting the power, then power would hit again, tire spin, traction, rinse/repeat.. So I had been trained by the way the car responds in version 2.0 to floor it, then let off the throttle at mid rpms to keep it from overpowering the front tires. When I did my little test, no wheel spin, no flashing traction control lights (except briefly), no big power cut just strong, fast acceleration. It really felt like I was driving the stock car but with way more power and it was really fast.
Now I know some folks like the feel of that big torque hit you get when the turbo spools and spins the tires. IT sure makes the car feel exciting, but it doesn't make it fast, it makes hard to control and takes your concentration away from driving the car to managing traction. It also makes the car seem well kind of crude.
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Throttle Response: The other thing I noticed was the throttle response is very different in V3. I'd say that V2 had a more aggressive throttle tip in. I noticed in V2 that I would only give it a little gas to get it rolling pretty good to pull out in front of traffic. V3 you have to give it more throttle to get the same response as V2 on tip-in. However, in v3 the throttle is now very linear.
With V2 you had a strong tip in, and there wasn't much difference between say 1/4 and 1/2 throttle. Now the car responds exactly as you would expect 1/4 gives you 1/4 power, and 1/2 gives you 1/2, etc. Vs before. Though I did have to re-learn how to use the throttle. I find I no longer have to let off during hard acceleration to keep the tires from spinning, but I do have to give it more throttle than before for a quick rolling pull out in front of traffic (rolling right turn example). This makes the car significantly more predictable, and predictability builds confidence and improves your driving performance.
THANK goodness the mid throttle surging is gone, makes the car much more enjoyable to drive
I'd have to say I miss the slightly more aggressive throttle tip in of V2. Sometimes a rolling start can make the car feel slightly laggier in V3. I also notice the car dosen't always downshift into 1st at a near stop making the problem worse.
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Idle: I noticed that V3 has my car idling a 750RPM's vs V2 at 800rpms. No difference in smoothness, etc.
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Fuel Economy: It seems to me this was improved as well. Its much easier now with the re-calibrated throttle to keep the car at a constant speed and by only using as little throttle as possible. Consequently I found it easier to keep my indicated mileage on the computer to be consistently higher with V3 than V2. Frequently seeing 33.6-38mpg at 60mph in heavy freeway traffic. (V2 I'd see generally 28-33) Its also possible that APR improved the fuel efficiency slightly of the tune.
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Noise: My flock of pigeons has disappeared, hardly ever do I hear them cooing to me when I lift off the throttle. I wonder where they have gone, I miss them now. Just kidding! The car is quieter and sounds less like some ricer special now. I remember when friends would get in the car and they were like what the $$$$ is that sound?
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Misfires/Valve Float:NONE
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Performance: Yup, the throttle response and traction control change the way drive. Floor it and forget it is the way to go now! No longer do you have to try and control that front end (if you have good tires I suppose). V3 doesn't waste performance with wheel spin. I was fully able to keep up with a CTS-V in traffic and man, the car is fast (before it would pull on me)! I always liked the K04, and now its much more usable and easier to control.
A lot of peoples but dyno's can't be trusted (they weren't professionally calibrated). I have to admit the car felt slower initially to me but the proof is in the races. I'm totally able to beat cars I couldn't keep up with before. So much for the butt dyno.
Conclusions:
Jamie you did an excellent JOB. The car performs better in nearly every way, predictability, refinement, speed, fuel economy, and even quieter. Annoying part throttle surging gone and traction control games. Man, improved in almost every way and free?! It brought a big smile to my face when I could keep you with cars I couldn't touch before on the freeway. Its also nice to have a very linear throttle and to know and to take a lot of the guess work out of driving making the car much more predictable and a better speed tool. Makes me wonder what the GTX is like now on a GTI? This tune really transforms the car from feeling incomplete to a refined and serious performance machine, with no downsides. Thank you APR for improving the experience of existing customers.
On to the review....
---------
Relevant car configuration: 2011 GTI with DSG, APR K04 Turbo, APR Carbonio intake, APR downpipe, Neuspeed Throttle body and Hi-flo discharge pipes, Golf R Intercooler, AWE Hose kit, and Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires. Just disclosing as everyone's mods will make your experience different.
Installation:
Easy as could be. I purchased a 3-BAR MAP sensor from HS-Tuning and called my APR tuner who said I could drive to the dealer running the V2.0 software and 3-BAR MAP sensor and just get returned. THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED by APR (running version 2.0 software with a 3 BAR MAP sensor). The car ran a little strangely in stock mode on V2.0 and 3-bar map sensor and threw a check engine light, but I was easy on it and made the trip. Took it to my friendly APR dealer and after about 45 minutes the car was successfully re-flashed to Stock, 91, 93, 100 high-output files with stock being like the original non-test pipe flash to aid in passing inspections. The dealer in my case only had to hook the car up to a laptop via the OBD-II port to re-flash.
Still wish I could skip the stealer step and flash it myself........
Initial Impressions:
If I had to sum up the changes in 1 sentence, I would say: Huge improvement in refinement and a good increase in performance.
Problems Fixed:
I had some of the common problems that folks complained about on the APR K04 version 2.0 software. I had neutral misfires (very minor issue), surging at part throttle acceleration in the 2500-3500 range (made the car buck), and problems with fighting the traction control. All of these were fixed with version 3.0 making the car much more enjoyable to drive.
Impressions:
1st drive: Of course the fist thing I did after leaving my tuner and having set my car to 93 octane mode was floor it! WOW! Totally different experience. The old tune would accelerate until about 3200 rpm then BOOM! The turbo would fully spool and all of the torque would hit you giving you instant wheel spin. Then the traction control would kick in severely cutting the power, then power would hit again, tire spin, traction, rinse/repeat.. So I had been trained by the way the car responds in version 2.0 to floor it, then let off the throttle at mid rpms to keep it from overpowering the front tires. When I did my little test, no wheel spin, no flashing traction control lights (except briefly), no big power cut just strong, fast acceleration. It really felt like I was driving the stock car but with way more power and it was really fast.
Now I know some folks like the feel of that big torque hit you get when the turbo spools and spins the tires. IT sure makes the car feel exciting, but it doesn't make it fast, it makes hard to control and takes your concentration away from driving the car to managing traction. It also makes the car seem well kind of crude.
---
Throttle Response: The other thing I noticed was the throttle response is very different in V3. I'd say that V2 had a more aggressive throttle tip in. I noticed in V2 that I would only give it a little gas to get it rolling pretty good to pull out in front of traffic. V3 you have to give it more throttle to get the same response as V2 on tip-in. However, in v3 the throttle is now very linear.
With V2 you had a strong tip in, and there wasn't much difference between say 1/4 and 1/2 throttle. Now the car responds exactly as you would expect 1/4 gives you 1/4 power, and 1/2 gives you 1/2, etc. Vs before. Though I did have to re-learn how to use the throttle. I find I no longer have to let off during hard acceleration to keep the tires from spinning, but I do have to give it more throttle than before for a quick rolling pull out in front of traffic (rolling right turn example). This makes the car significantly more predictable, and predictability builds confidence and improves your driving performance.
THANK goodness the mid throttle surging is gone, makes the car much more enjoyable to drive
I'd have to say I miss the slightly more aggressive throttle tip in of V2. Sometimes a rolling start can make the car feel slightly laggier in V3. I also notice the car dosen't always downshift into 1st at a near stop making the problem worse.
----
Idle: I noticed that V3 has my car idling a 750RPM's vs V2 at 800rpms. No difference in smoothness, etc.
----
Fuel Economy: It seems to me this was improved as well. Its much easier now with the re-calibrated throttle to keep the car at a constant speed and by only using as little throttle as possible. Consequently I found it easier to keep my indicated mileage on the computer to be consistently higher with V3 than V2. Frequently seeing 33.6-38mpg at 60mph in heavy freeway traffic. (V2 I'd see generally 28-33) Its also possible that APR improved the fuel efficiency slightly of the tune.
----
Noise: My flock of pigeons has disappeared, hardly ever do I hear them cooing to me when I lift off the throttle. I wonder where they have gone, I miss them now. Just kidding! The car is quieter and sounds less like some ricer special now. I remember when friends would get in the car and they were like what the $$$$ is that sound?
----
Misfires/Valve Float:NONE
----
Performance: Yup, the throttle response and traction control change the way drive. Floor it and forget it is the way to go now! No longer do you have to try and control that front end (if you have good tires I suppose). V3 doesn't waste performance with wheel spin. I was fully able to keep up with a CTS-V in traffic and man, the car is fast (before it would pull on me)! I always liked the K04, and now its much more usable and easier to control.
A lot of peoples but dyno's can't be trusted (they weren't professionally calibrated). I have to admit the car felt slower initially to me but the proof is in the races. I'm totally able to beat cars I couldn't keep up with before. So much for the butt dyno.
Conclusions:
Jamie you did an excellent JOB. The car performs better in nearly every way, predictability, refinement, speed, fuel economy, and even quieter. Annoying part throttle surging gone and traction control games. Man, improved in almost every way and free?! It brought a big smile to my face when I could keep you with cars I couldn't touch before on the freeway. Its also nice to have a very linear throttle and to know and to take a lot of the guess work out of driving making the car much more predictable and a better speed tool. Makes me wonder what the GTX is like now on a GTI? This tune really transforms the car from feeling incomplete to a refined and serious performance machine, with no downsides. Thank you APR for improving the experience of existing customers.
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