bbqchipsfan
New member
When did you order/send in your form? I ordered on the 24th, got AP & submitted form on Monday, and still no tune yet
I know it says 2-5 days, but I can't wait to get my hands on it from all the positive reviews!6
Stratified Flash Tunes Released for the MK6 GTI
- Thread starter Alex@Stratified
- Start date
When did you order/send in your form? I ordered on the 24th, got AP & submitted form on Monday, and still no tune yet
I know it says 2-5 days, but I can't wait to get my hands on it from all the positive reviews!
Laimface
Ready to race!
It's a good train! being a UK car you'll probably need a load of revisions to get the wastegate duty nailed because of the differences between UK and USA cars.
My only fault is that when traction control kicks in during peak boost, it shuts the throttle and makes the turbo surge which makes an overboost limp mode. Sounds like a seagull getting fingered :lol:
I just noticed this, my car is a 6MT when i tap the throttle at idle it jumps to 1100 i have no way to modulate the throttle from a stop.
sterkrazzy
Autocross Champion
Same exact issue I had with APR. It was an amazing feeling putting Strat on my car and driving with a smooth throttle for the first time in a long time.
ksandman
Ready to race!
When did you order/send in your form? I ordered on the 24th, got AP & submitted form on Monday, and still no tune yet
I submitted my form on the 29th and got my tunes Wednesday evening. I’m sure you’ll be getting yours today or Monday. It’s on its way don’t worry [emoji51]
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bbqchipsfan
New member
THE TUNE IS IN! AND IT IS WORTH ALL THE HYPE (and more)! Detailed review below.
Background story: I purchased my GTI used ~6 months ago, it's a fully loaded 2011 with 35K miles, mint condition. It's my first manual car, so I didn't exactly know what to expect in terms of driveability & smoothness. I feel that I got the hang of manual ~3 months in, but for some reason I was rarely able to get smooth shifts. I figured it was normal & didn't think much of it, until I drove another friend's manual car - all of my upshifts & downshifts were effortless & smooth as butter.
This led me to do more research on this forum to determine what the problem was. I had a hunch that my car was already APR Stage 1 tuned by the previous owner, which was confirmed once I emailed them. I read up more on the APR tunes and realized a lot of the problems I was experiencing (Rev bouncing on initial take off, rough shifts, extremely sensitive throttle, and the car feeling pretty weak above 3.5K RPMS) were reported by many previous APR customers. It had gotten to the point where the car became unbearable and dangerous to drive, and I finally pulled the trigger on the Stratified tune.
I got the Cobb AP a few days ago and threw on the Stage 2 tune just to see how it was (I have an intake and full turboback installed already). Unlike the APR tune, where all the power was between 2K-3.5K RPMS, this power band was much more consistent throughout all the RPMS. Honestly, I kinda missed the pull of the APR tune in the lower RPMS, since thats where I do most of my driving, but the Cobb was so much smoother that I could overlook the power loss.
And then came the Stratified tune.
This tune is like the APR & Cobb tune put together, on steroids. The car pulls so strong and effortlessly throughout the entire power band, it's almost scary. The shifts are so smooth, I'm able to get smooth take-offs in first gear, downshifts are great, driving in low speeds is effortless, etc. The car feels ridiculously quick, which I didn't think was possible since I was used to driving the APR tune. It pulls stronger than APR, and actually holds that power above 3.5K RPMS. If anyone is having similar problems with their APR tune & is on the fence about switching, do it now. I understand it sucks to pay another $650, but it's worth every dime. Not to mention, unlike other flash tunes, you can sell the AP down the road and get back ~80% of your money. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
The crackles deserve their own section: I am addicted. They sound so mean and throaty. My MPG is going to be awful as I get used to them. I put a video on my IG story, if you're interested in hearing shoot me a follow within the next 24 hours: @bbqchipsfan.
PS: Middle fingers up to the APR-sponsored shop I went to, to determine whether it was a transmission problem or the tune that was the cause of my rough shifts. Essentially, the guy at the shop told me that both my transmission and the tune were fine, and that I should work on my shifting. Surprise surprise, my shifts are fine on the new tunes. :clap:
tl;dr: Crackles are life. APR is shit, Cobb is good, Stratified is great.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Background story: I purchased my GTI used ~6 months ago, it's a fully loaded 2011 with 35K miles, mint condition. It's my first manual car, so I didn't exactly know what to expect in terms of driveability & smoothness. I feel that I got the hang of manual ~3 months in, but for some reason I was rarely able to get smooth shifts. I figured it was normal & didn't think much of it, until I drove another friend's manual car - all of my upshifts & downshifts were effortless & smooth as butter.
This led me to do more research on this forum to determine what the problem was. I had a hunch that my car was already APR Stage 1 tuned by the previous owner, which was confirmed once I emailed them. I read up more on the APR tunes and realized a lot of the problems I was experiencing (Rev bouncing on initial take off, rough shifts, extremely sensitive throttle, and the car feeling pretty weak above 3.5K RPMS) were reported by many previous APR customers. It had gotten to the point where the car became unbearable and dangerous to drive, and I finally pulled the trigger on the Stratified tune.
I got the Cobb AP a few days ago and threw on the Stage 2 tune just to see how it was (I have an intake and full turboback installed already). Unlike the APR tune, where all the power was between 2K-3.5K RPMS, this power band was much more consistent throughout all the RPMS. Honestly, I kinda missed the pull of the APR tune in the lower RPMS, since thats where I do most of my driving, but the Cobb was so much smoother that I could overlook the power loss.
And then came the Stratified tune.
This tune is like the APR & Cobb tune put together, on steroids. The car pulls so strong and effortlessly throughout the entire power band, it's almost scary. The shifts are so smooth, I'm able to get smooth take-offs in first gear, downshifts are great, driving in low speeds is effortless, etc. The car feels ridiculously quick, which I didn't think was possible since I was used to driving the APR tune. It pulls stronger than APR, and actually holds that power above 3.5K RPMS. If anyone is having similar problems with their APR tune & is on the fence about switching, do it now. I understand it sucks to pay another $650, but it's worth every dime. Not to mention, unlike other flash tunes, you can sell the AP down the road and get back ~80% of your money. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
The crackles deserve their own section: I am addicted. They sound so mean and throaty. My MPG is going to be awful as I get used to them. I put a video on my IG story, if you're interested in hearing shoot me a follow within the next 24 hours: @bbqchipsfan.
PS: Middle fingers up to the APR-sponsored shop I went to, to determine whether it was a transmission problem or the tune that was the cause of my rough shifts. Essentially, the guy at the shop told me that both my transmission and the tune were fine, and that I should work on my shifting. Surprise surprise, my shifts are fine on the new tunes. :clap:
tl;dr: Crackles are life. APR is shit, Cobb is good, Stratified is great.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Last edited:
ksandman
Ready to race!
Haha that is great, I am glad you’re enjoying it. I had been COBB stage 2 for a long time and thought the only reasonable thing to do was get a k04 for the power that I wanted but I decided to get an actual tune to see what differences could be made. My car seriously moves now and I still have more adjustments to be made. I’m still shocked by the initial tune. And the crackles are epic. I think I may go for a spin now.
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UberFast
Ready to race!
Now it's time you do get a k04 and you really will be blown away. Just imagine your car now times 2 all the way to redline. My tires hate me lol.
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pdan
Ready to race!
So I’ve got a question for you stratified guys. Debating between APR and stratified, but some of the drivability issues are steering me away from APR.
I’ve currently got a downpipe but was waiting to go stage 2 until I could save up for a clutch. As I understand it the stratified tune is built based on your existing setup, so in my case I’d get the equivalent of a stage 1?? And then would I be able to get a new tune when I get a clutch to handle the extra torque?? Or can I just wait to get the “refinement” when I have a clutch?? Sorry if it’s been answered, haven’t looked through all the pages.
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I’ve currently got a downpipe but was waiting to go stage 2 until I could save up for a clutch. As I understand it the stratified tune is built based on your existing setup, so in my case I’d get the equivalent of a stage 1?? And then would I be able to get a new tune when I get a clutch to handle the extra torque?? Or can I just wait to get the “refinement” when I have a clutch?? Sorry if it’s been answered, haven’t looked through all the pages.
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sterkrazzy
Autocross Champion
I think I would just put the downpipe on and get the stage 2 equivalent tune. Start saving for a clutch and replace it when you can. If you start slipping just be careful in 4th,5th,6th gear until you replace it. I didn't even start looking at clutches until mine started to slip, then I drove around with a slipping clutch for a few months while I tried to decide.
Laimface
Ready to race!
You'll want an LSD before K04 in all honesty! The GTI front end out of a corner is disgustingly bad. Pushes towards the grass aha
UberFast
Ready to race!
Yea I see where you're coming from. I have a k04 and no lsd. As long as you have some since it won't be an issue. Torque steer is pretty bad though full throttle. It's still way more fun than stock turbo.
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Alex@Stratified
Go Kart Newbie
If you change your setup such as upgrading your clutch you would get a mod/fuel update which is half the price of the initial tune. We then rebuild the tune to the new spec of the car.
GroceryGTIer
Drag Racing Champion
I don't think torque steer in this car is anywhere nearly as bad as the ms3. It's was actually dangerous
ksandman
Ready to race!
An lsd would be nice and logical but I have no plans to track the car and I don’t get too buck wild on the back roads so I don’t think it would be a problem. I don’t really see the gti as a track car. It’s just my fun daily driver. I think without an lsd it would do fine as a street driven car but then again, I have no seat time in a k04 gti
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