Driver Motorsport
Ready to race!
Driver Motorsport's greatest research and development undertaking was the MK6 2.0T TSI calibration. We're happy to finally share the data we have collected with the MK6 community! We became golfmk6 sponsors last night for the ability to share our testing results and to display our ongoing development for a select few features on the 2.0T TSI platform.
This long journey started in September, when we first began testing both in the United States and in European countries. We acquired the OEM Functional Frame document, the OEM a2l/hex files for the 2.0T TSI, we purchased a brand new MK6 GTI DSG, we had unlimited access to a Mustang Dynamometer located within a controlled dynocell and the ability to change any hexadecimal values within the full 2,048 KB binary inside the Bosch MED17 ECU. What does this mean? We had zero limitations to accomplish our goal. We spent months to ensure that we did not follow any popular notions by current tuners, we took an approach that ensured we had zero limitations. If we ran into an issue, instead of finding a work around we took our time to solve it. When we encountered difficult models and functions instead of removing it or altering it to make it easy, we took the OEM approach and created a proper recalibration.
What does this mean to the customer? How does all of this development time stack up and actually make a tangible improvement?
1) We retain the OEM torque model that is built into the ECU. This benefits the customer by truly being able to create a linear throttle application. This means there are no more low speed delays with throttle tip in. Your car will truly drive better than stock. Most competitors will ignore, under scale or turn off this model. The drivability of our files is an improvement over stock, no software induced misfires under any conditions and an accelerator pedal that is directly connected to the available torque of the engine without any OEM coding creating delays or reducing your driving experience for the sake of emissions.
2) The customer retains component protection in its complete form. The customer can drive his car on the track as hard and as long as they want and if EGT gets too hot or IAT increases rapidly, timing advance/load/modeled torque will be removed appropriately. Component protection simply wasn't retained; it was recalibrated for a seamless transition on/off. Competitors will either create a softer file for safety in extreme conditions, or create an aggressive file that removes these features, why not have both? We're proving it is possible with proper knowledge of the ECU.
3) We are the only company that offers a truly customizable self-flashing solution. The customer receives a Driver-Programmer and has their own individual files that are built off of the same file that originally came with your ECU. The best part? We are flashing the MED17 ECU in less than 2 minutes; this is 4x faster than the next fastest solution. A lot of work was put in to coding changes to ensure the programmer only flashes what is necessary to expedite the flashing process and ensure tuning protection was removed completely incase of an incident in the field, your programmer can and will be able to recover your ECU creating a no-risk situation if an accident were to happen during a flash. To use our programmer, there is no database and no need for an Internet connection. Your files are loaded into your handheld programmer and available to you on the fly. If you want customization, simply request it and you're request will be fulfilled in the order it was received.
4) We are the first company to ever create an E85 calibration for the 2.0T TSI. Our in-depth knowledge of the TSI fueling system and ECU architecture allows us to make an E85 calibration possible.
5) Worried about emissions? No need, simply flash your car to stock with the Driver-Programmer and all readiness will be enabled. Can’t flash the car to stock due to your uprated turbo? Request a Non-Cat Delete file and you will be supplied with a Cat Delete file and a Non-Cat Delete file for emissions testing.
6) The most important aspect, the one that everybody cares about. We make the most power in the industry. Our delta for our stock turbo software is the highest in the industry. We are creating a 43whp GAIN over the stock calibration with our Stage 1 software. How did we do it? Time, research and diligent work ethic.
Dyno Testing the 2.0T TSI Software:
All of the dyno testing was conducted on a Mustang Dyno MD500. The Mustang Dyno is a loaded and low inertia Dyno, which makes steady state tuning and road simulation tuning incredibly accurate. The Mustang Dyno is known within the industry as being a ‘heartbreaker’ Dyno that reads notoriously lower than comparable Dynos such as the Dynapak and Dynojet. Despite the ‘heartbreaker’ status of this Dyno, we consider it the perfect calibration tool for all of its load simulating/low inertia characteristics. All Dyno testing was performed in controlled conditions inside of a Dyno cell.
The vehicle used for testing was the Driver Motorsport MK6 Drivers Edition GTI equipped with a DSG transmission. The fuel used for all testing was Shell 93 octane. All published dyno charts were collected in 4th gear with the SAEcorrection applied.
Stage 1 Dyno Testing:
Hardware:
Stock Base – Carbonio Intake installed
Stage 1 – Carbonio Intake installed
The stock baseline was collected with all stock hardware with the exception of a Carbonio Stage 1 intake. The Stage 1 dyno numbers are a representation of the same configuration with only a change to Driver Motorsport software. We have accomplished the highest delta horsepower and torque gains from the stock baseline than anybody in the industry. The gains from stock are 43 wheel horsepower and 81 wheel torque. Even better than the peak gains, the amount of power gained under the curve is even greater than our peak gains. Great attention was given to the shape of the power band and to ensure we create a smooth torque and horsepower curve and the results are a smooth mountain of power with no perceived drop off as you start surpassing 5,000 RPM.
Stage 1 E47 Dyno Chart:
Hardware:
Stock Base – Carbonio Intake installed
Stage 1 – Carbonio Intake installed
The E47 calibration was created with a 50/50 mixture of pump fuel and E85. The above power figures were collected with a very safe amount of timing advance. The E47 calibration was only previously offered on Stage 2 files, our calibrator spent time to make sure everything was appropriately safe for all of the stock hardware. This file is designed to only be ran with a 50/50 mixture of pump fuel and E85, the file was written with a conservative target timing advance to allow for varying quality of E85. What does all of this mean? 100 octane horsepower for $3.00 a gallon.
Stage 2 Dyno Chart:
Hardware:
Stock Base – Carbonio Intake installed
Stage 2 – Carbonio Intake installed, USP Motorsport 3.0” Downpipe.
The above dyno was taken after the installation of a 3.0” aftermarket downpipe. This means the only modifications on the car at the time of the dyno was the Carbonio Stage 1 intake and an aftermarket downpipe. Had we installed the APR Catback exhaust and intercooler could we have netted >250whp? Absolutely. The purpose of all of our testing was to reflect what the average consumer would install on their car. Valuable data was collected for our recalibration of the OEM component protection, we got to experience >50* C IAT temperatures after our torture testing. This allowed us to calibrate our ability to scale back load/timing advance and run a richer target lambda for protection of the customer’s engine. Due to us purposely choosing not to install the intercooler for our published numbers, we will provide a Stage 2 dyno chart with the aftermarket intercooler and catback exhaust installed on the Driver Motorsport MK6 GTI using the same calibration to provide the customer an idea of their expected gains. Gains of 10whp over Stage 1 are available from 4,600 -> 6,000 RPM with just the installation of a downpipe and our Stage 2 software.
Things still on the Development Schedule:
1) Cold-Start Delete. We have this option on our in-house car, we would like to have more than a handful of Cold-Starts on the vehicle prior to making it a public option.
2) Rev-Hang Delete. We have this option for vehicles with the stock clutch installed. We are going to test this on vehicles with an aftermarket clutch that does not have a dual mass flywheel installed to ensure that the deceleration of engine speed doesn't crash too quickly coming to idle.
3) Torque By Gear. We have had this on our DSG car, we're looking for a manual transmission car to beta test this feature. We would prefer this vehicle to have good quality summer tires.
We devoted most of our development time to E47 and to ensure the Driver-Programmer works properly with our software patches. We're now focusing our attention to the aforementioned features.
This long journey started in September, when we first began testing both in the United States and in European countries. We acquired the OEM Functional Frame document, the OEM a2l/hex files for the 2.0T TSI, we purchased a brand new MK6 GTI DSG, we had unlimited access to a Mustang Dynamometer located within a controlled dynocell and the ability to change any hexadecimal values within the full 2,048 KB binary inside the Bosch MED17 ECU. What does this mean? We had zero limitations to accomplish our goal. We spent months to ensure that we did not follow any popular notions by current tuners, we took an approach that ensured we had zero limitations. If we ran into an issue, instead of finding a work around we took our time to solve it. When we encountered difficult models and functions instead of removing it or altering it to make it easy, we took the OEM approach and created a proper recalibration.
What does this mean to the customer? How does all of this development time stack up and actually make a tangible improvement?
1) We retain the OEM torque model that is built into the ECU. This benefits the customer by truly being able to create a linear throttle application. This means there are no more low speed delays with throttle tip in. Your car will truly drive better than stock. Most competitors will ignore, under scale or turn off this model. The drivability of our files is an improvement over stock, no software induced misfires under any conditions and an accelerator pedal that is directly connected to the available torque of the engine without any OEM coding creating delays or reducing your driving experience for the sake of emissions.
2) The customer retains component protection in its complete form. The customer can drive his car on the track as hard and as long as they want and if EGT gets too hot or IAT increases rapidly, timing advance/load/modeled torque will be removed appropriately. Component protection simply wasn't retained; it was recalibrated for a seamless transition on/off. Competitors will either create a softer file for safety in extreme conditions, or create an aggressive file that removes these features, why not have both? We're proving it is possible with proper knowledge of the ECU.
3) We are the only company that offers a truly customizable self-flashing solution. The customer receives a Driver-Programmer and has their own individual files that are built off of the same file that originally came with your ECU. The best part? We are flashing the MED17 ECU in less than 2 minutes; this is 4x faster than the next fastest solution. A lot of work was put in to coding changes to ensure the programmer only flashes what is necessary to expedite the flashing process and ensure tuning protection was removed completely incase of an incident in the field, your programmer can and will be able to recover your ECU creating a no-risk situation if an accident were to happen during a flash. To use our programmer, there is no database and no need for an Internet connection. Your files are loaded into your handheld programmer and available to you on the fly. If you want customization, simply request it and you're request will be fulfilled in the order it was received.
4) We are the first company to ever create an E85 calibration for the 2.0T TSI. Our in-depth knowledge of the TSI fueling system and ECU architecture allows us to make an E85 calibration possible.
5) Worried about emissions? No need, simply flash your car to stock with the Driver-Programmer and all readiness will be enabled. Can’t flash the car to stock due to your uprated turbo? Request a Non-Cat Delete file and you will be supplied with a Cat Delete file and a Non-Cat Delete file for emissions testing.
6) The most important aspect, the one that everybody cares about. We make the most power in the industry. Our delta for our stock turbo software is the highest in the industry. We are creating a 43whp GAIN over the stock calibration with our Stage 1 software. How did we do it? Time, research and diligent work ethic.
Dyno Testing the 2.0T TSI Software:
All of the dyno testing was conducted on a Mustang Dyno MD500. The Mustang Dyno is a loaded and low inertia Dyno, which makes steady state tuning and road simulation tuning incredibly accurate. The Mustang Dyno is known within the industry as being a ‘heartbreaker’ Dyno that reads notoriously lower than comparable Dynos such as the Dynapak and Dynojet. Despite the ‘heartbreaker’ status of this Dyno, we consider it the perfect calibration tool for all of its load simulating/low inertia characteristics. All Dyno testing was performed in controlled conditions inside of a Dyno cell.
The vehicle used for testing was the Driver Motorsport MK6 Drivers Edition GTI equipped with a DSG transmission. The fuel used for all testing was Shell 93 octane. All published dyno charts were collected in 4th gear with the SAEcorrection applied.
Stage 1 Dyno Testing:
Hardware:
Stock Base – Carbonio Intake installed
Stage 1 – Carbonio Intake installed
The stock baseline was collected with all stock hardware with the exception of a Carbonio Stage 1 intake. The Stage 1 dyno numbers are a representation of the same configuration with only a change to Driver Motorsport software. We have accomplished the highest delta horsepower and torque gains from the stock baseline than anybody in the industry. The gains from stock are 43 wheel horsepower and 81 wheel torque. Even better than the peak gains, the amount of power gained under the curve is even greater than our peak gains. Great attention was given to the shape of the power band and to ensure we create a smooth torque and horsepower curve and the results are a smooth mountain of power with no perceived drop off as you start surpassing 5,000 RPM.
Stage 1 E47 Dyno Chart:
Hardware:
Stock Base – Carbonio Intake installed
Stage 1 – Carbonio Intake installed
The E47 calibration was created with a 50/50 mixture of pump fuel and E85. The above power figures were collected with a very safe amount of timing advance. The E47 calibration was only previously offered on Stage 2 files, our calibrator spent time to make sure everything was appropriately safe for all of the stock hardware. This file is designed to only be ran with a 50/50 mixture of pump fuel and E85, the file was written with a conservative target timing advance to allow for varying quality of E85. What does all of this mean? 100 octane horsepower for $3.00 a gallon.
Stage 2 Dyno Chart:
Hardware:
Stock Base – Carbonio Intake installed
Stage 2 – Carbonio Intake installed, USP Motorsport 3.0” Downpipe.
The above dyno was taken after the installation of a 3.0” aftermarket downpipe. This means the only modifications on the car at the time of the dyno was the Carbonio Stage 1 intake and an aftermarket downpipe. Had we installed the APR Catback exhaust and intercooler could we have netted >250whp? Absolutely. The purpose of all of our testing was to reflect what the average consumer would install on their car. Valuable data was collected for our recalibration of the OEM component protection, we got to experience >50* C IAT temperatures after our torture testing. This allowed us to calibrate our ability to scale back load/timing advance and run a richer target lambda for protection of the customer’s engine. Due to us purposely choosing not to install the intercooler for our published numbers, we will provide a Stage 2 dyno chart with the aftermarket intercooler and catback exhaust installed on the Driver Motorsport MK6 GTI using the same calibration to provide the customer an idea of their expected gains. Gains of 10whp over Stage 1 are available from 4,600 -> 6,000 RPM with just the installation of a downpipe and our Stage 2 software.
Things still on the Development Schedule:
1) Cold-Start Delete. We have this option on our in-house car, we would like to have more than a handful of Cold-Starts on the vehicle prior to making it a public option.
2) Rev-Hang Delete. We have this option for vehicles with the stock clutch installed. We are going to test this on vehicles with an aftermarket clutch that does not have a dual mass flywheel installed to ensure that the deceleration of engine speed doesn't crash too quickly coming to idle.
3) Torque By Gear. We have had this on our DSG car, we're looking for a manual transmission car to beta test this feature. We would prefer this vehicle to have good quality summer tires.
We devoted most of our development time to E47 and to ensure the Driver-Programmer works properly with our software patches. We're now focusing our attention to the aforementioned features.