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Integrated Engineering Powerlink v3

thegave

Ready to race!
Got the new Integrated Engineering flashing tool today (Powerlink v3).








It is superbly well made and pretty hefty for its size. The housing is solid billet.





The new Powerlink allows you to flash any tune that you have purchased, although the credit system is a little weird. You do get all the available octane levels for the tune you have.




The new Powerlink software lets you data-log, and will save/export your data into a CSV file for easy troubleshooting.





It also lets you scan and clear DTCs. In the name of science, I tried to induce various errors.







My thoughts



There are probably two types of people interested in this post: those new to tuning this platform and shopping for a tune, and existing IE/Powerlink users who are debating whether to upgrade for $75. Full disclosure, IE waived my upgrade fee, but the opinions herein are my own.



For new users/buyers, the bad news is that you have to buy the Powerlink v3 if you want a tune. The good news is that even with the additional cost of the Powerlink, a Stage 1 tune is only $599. This gets you an awesome tune (with all available octane levels), the ability to swap back and forth between stock and stage X, whenever you want. In fact, IE might be better off just advertising their tunes for a single price and "including" the Powerlink. By comparison, $599 at APR only gets you the single map stage 1 tune. Switchable maps is an $149 add-on and will not allow you to revert your ECU completely back to stock. The difference being, APR "stock mode" will still cause your car to be flagged as being modified. Using Powerlink to switch your tune back will not. I do it every time I have to take my car to the dealer. PLUS, you get the ability to datalog and scan/reset MILs. That would be another add-on with APR, if APR Mobile is still being supported. The ability to flash/unflash/reflash at home is also what helped me choose IE over UM.



For existing users, I came from a v1 so that's my frame of reference, I have no idea what the Powerlink v2 was like. I liked that the v1 was a standalone unit so I could switch tunes back and forth without my laptop, but it was big, clunky, and slow. The software interface was like something out of the '90s and it could only hold 3 tunes on it at any given time. The v3 lets you switch between any tune that you already have without having to upload the tune to the dongle first. The new software makes data logging super easy so you don't have to borrow someone else's VCDS. I actually have VCDS but I would prefer to use the Powerlink for logging since it is much more streamlined. I don't remember how many channels VCDS lets you log at once but the Powerlink seems to grab everything you need.







Driving impressions of the latest Stage 1 to come after the weekend.
 

Timo

Ready to race!
I'm curious to know, can the PowerLink be used on multiple cars?
Scenario 1: Let's say you want to charge people a small fee to use your cable so that they can flash their tune (like sharing a vagcom cable)

Scenario 2: you upgrade your car and IE has a tune for the new car. Do you need to buy another PowerLink cable or can you use the old one?

Scenario 3: you sell your car and no longer need the cable. Can someone else buy it and start using it just like that?

Nice review, by the way.
 

Huacha

New member
I'm curious to know, can the PowerLink be used on multiple cars?
Scenario 1: Let's say you want to charge people a small fee to use your cable so that they can flash their tune (like sharing a vagcom cable)

Scenario 2: you upgrade your car and IE has a tune for the new car. Do you need to buy another PowerLink cable or can you use the old one?

Scenario 3: you sell your car and no longer need the cable. Can someone else buy it and start using it just like that?

Nice review, by the way.

My understanding is this:

1. You can use your cable on another car, since the tunes are tied to VIN, not the cable.

2. You can use the same cable, but will need to pay full price for the tune (i.e. $449 for stage 1 for an MK6 Golf R).

3. You should be able to sell your cable and it should work.

I bought my MK6 Golf R with stage 1 already flashed and IE treated me like I was the original owner. They gave me the benefit of upgrading the V2 to V3 for 50% off and upgrading to stage 2 will only cost me $50.

Hope that helps,
Huacha
 

Huacha

New member
Just an update as I learn more.

The VINs are tied to your dongles serial number. Since it downloads the tune from IE when you go to flash, IE knows what vehicles you've flashed before. It appears that the limit is 5 VINs per dongle.
 
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