GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Considering switching from APR stg 2 to equivalent competitor

R

rpandresen

Ready to race!
I know many options have come out and I can't parse through that many pages of threads. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be lazy it is just a support long list of tuners now and I trust user opinions more than company websites.

Current setup: intake, dp, upgraded clutch. MT.

What are deciding characteristics that exist between the tunes? What do prices look like? How does passing inspection work (NC if you have experience)?
 
F

FriggenT1

Banned
If you're not doing custom tuning, I'd do UM or GIAC, both will also adjust the tune if needed. Idk about the emissions factor though.
 
D

Dans GTI

Ready to race!
From my understanding APR has the most aggressive/fastest off the shelf stage 2 tune right now with the v2.4 tune they offer.

If you want even faster/smoother your best bet would be a Cobb access port and a custom tune to follow it.
 
lilonespaz

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
are you unhappy with APR? you may loose a little bit of power but i hear APR new tune has been having some drive-ability issues... So Unitronic/Cobb(Stratified) will probably be smoother and more drive-able but may not be as powerful.

With Cobb you will def want to deal with a tuner as their OTS tunes are straight garbage.
Stratified is pretty much the go to E-Tuner but if you have a local dealer you can get dyno tuned/pro tuned.


If you do go stratified route they have 2 options for tunes... a simple flash tune(think OTS) which works well as they will semi cater it to your mods as you fill out a form telling them all the mods you have and type of gas you will use etc and they also offer a complete custom tune where you will data log and send in they will adjust and you data log and send in and they will continue to adjust and get as much safe power as they can out of it.
 
lilonespaz

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
that being said i have no idea if/what is required of your emissions. With cobb though you can switch to a stock map though and then go home and reflash back to your tune whenever you want it takes about 3 minutes to switch maps. The first initial flash takes about 8-10 minutes so i do recommend hooking up a trickle charger to the battery to make sure it maintains charged as the fans will run at full blast for a few minutes.
 
Jaber

Jaber

Modero
Unless you're having issues with APR's software (and not related to hardware issue), paying to switch is going to gain nothing or very little. You might as well put that money towards K04 upgrade or big turbo. Or modify your car's suspension or tires.
 
F

FriggenT1

Banned
I understand they are making a jb1 for the GTI, the mk7 crowd is adding those to APR and other tunes and gaining morepowah.
 
R

rpandresen

Ready to race!
I'm not trying to gain more power. I am this disappointed I'm APR 2.4 that I'm considering switching. The boost dumps and loss of power under throttle make me dislike driving my car spirited. That's the entire reason I bought this car, so having lost that aspect makes it worth the cost to switch.

Can anybody expand what lilonespaz says about the differences between Cobb, Unitronic, and Stratified?
 
CHerna

CHerna

Ready to race!
rpandresen said:
I'm not trying to gain more power. I am this disappointed I'm APR 2.4 that I'm considering switching. The boost dumps and loss of power under throttle make me dislike driving my car spirited. That's the entire reason I bought this car, so having lost that aspect makes it worth the cost to switch.

Can anybody expand what lilonespaz says about the differences between Cobb, Unitronic, and Stratified?
Click to expand...

x2 for Cobb/Stratified

lilonespaz will be in here sooner or later, he can probably explain better.

Basically, he is saying a Unitronic tune will be smoother/more drive-able than your current APR tune. Unitronic is a flash tuner, similar to how your car was flashed by APR.

You can buy a Cobb AP, which will be married to your car and comes with Cobb's OTS tunes, which are very mild.
You can go an extra step and get an E-tune through Stratified. You either buy a "covers-all" tune which will cover basic mods (intake, dp, dv, etc.), or you can buy a pro-tune through them, which will be tailored to your car and mods. You let them know what your mods are, and what you're looking to get out of the tune. They will send you an initial pro-tune. You will have to do some work and data-log with the Cobb AP. You send them your data-logs, they review and make adjustments. This is a back and forth until you are happy with you tune.
 
Laimface

Laimface

Ready to race!
Bonus info: Buying a COBB from Stratified means you get their OTS map for free with a MAF calibration revision.
 
F

FriggenT1

Banned
rpandresen said:
I'm not trying to gain more power. I am this disappointed I'm APR 2.4 that I'm considering switching. The boost dumps and loss of power under throttle make me dislike driving my car spirited. That's the entire reason I bought this car, so having lost that aspect makes it worth the cost to switch.

Can anybody expand what lilonespaz says about the differences between Cobb, Unitronic, and Stratified?
Click to expand...

Just get the AP, you can adjust the tune and in the future, can get more money back from selling it.
 
lilonespaz

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
FriggenT said:
That would kill the golf R market
Click to expand...

jay745 said:
wouldn't be a bad thing. I'd rather have a gti with the same turbo as an R any day of the week. VW missed so hard by not putting real awd on the R's.
Click to expand...

Then the Golf R should have had a bigger turbo Like the IS38(Mk7R) or a slightly larger than that and the GTI with a k04.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top