Facelift Upgrades or jump ship?

[Oreo5000]

I've had my 2017 8V (auto) for over a year now and I'm starting to get the upgrade itch (I am a nightmare.)

I have loved every minute of this car, it's probably the best I've ever had, but I'm almost at the point where it's starting to feel, dare I say it, a little boring ..maybe thats a bit strong, so lets say predictable.

The car is completely stock, so my question is, do you guys think getting a stage 1 remap done will be enough to relieve the itch and make things a little more exciting or should I save the pennies and put it towards the next car.

I'm not actually sure what I would switch to at this point to be honest, the only thing that really appeals to me is (don't hate me) the M2 Competition, but that exhaust would have to go!

 

[JM13]

I upgraded my 2018 S3 to an APR stage 1 TCU tune & an APR stage one ECU tune. Safe to say the tune completely changed the car & its dynamic. It's so much more responsive! I think both maps together cost me £900 ish. Had them on for a year and the other for 6 months and I don't regret it one bit!

 

[Oreo5000]

I upgraded my 2018 S3 to an APR stage 1 TCU tune & an APR stage one ECU tune. Safe to say the tune completely changed the car & its dynamic. It's so much more responsive! I think both maps together cost me £900 ish. Had them on for a year and the other for 6 months and I don't regret it one bit!

Thanks JM13, that's kinda what I was hoping to hear!
I was aware of Stage 1 ECU (my garage does Revo) but I didn't know about the TCU tune, can you tell me a little more?

Also did you upgrade any parts for this and how did it affect your insurance?

Thanks

 

[JM13]

Oreo,

I have always used APR on my VAG cars as I've always found them leagues ahead of revo in terms of figures and after care/support. The TCU tune is only available from APR, it transforms the gearbox by making the changes so much quicker and faster! It also holds the gears in S mode if you're in Dynamic or Individual mode. I found it also decreased the delay in pulling away from 0MPH and just made the car feel more alert and responsive. If you're automatic like me, you will notice your paddle shift times decrease too. It really compliments the ECU tune and turns the car into a right monster.

No parts needed to be upgraded or changed. Stage 1 runs on completely stock internals etc.

 

[Oreo5000]

Oreo,

I have always used APR on my VAG cars as I've always found them leagues ahead of revo in terms of figures and after care/support. The TCU tune is only available from APR, it transforms the gearbox by making the changes so much quicker and faster! It also holds the gears in S mode if you're in Dynamic or Individual mode. I found it also decreased the delay in pulling away from 0MPH and just made the car feel more alert and responsive. If you're automatic like me, you will notice your paddle shift times decrease too. It really compliments the ECU tune and turns the car into a right monster.

No parts needed to be upgraded or changed. Stage 1 runs on completely stock internals etc.

Thanks man.
It’s a shame my usual garage is Revo only.
I got a quote from the nearest APR garage and got the following, do you think this seems a bit steep?

APR stage 1 remap £761.14
APR DSG (TCU) tune is £792
Dyno Test £108

 

[Oreo5000]

Also I noticed on the Revo website, under the performance pack, it looks like they do offer a TCU tune also
https://www.onlyrevo.com/product-de.../mqb-20tsi-is38-performance-pack&engineid=308

 

[Damo S]

How much do you want to spend? You'd get a bit more bang for buck upgrading the intake (including turbo inlet pipe) and then doing a stage 2 custom tune (I used MRC), which isnt much more than the cost of a stage 1.

Like others have said it completely transforms the car. 1.5 bar instead of about 0.9 bar boost in 1st gear is absolutely ballistic and makes your head feel all funny as the blood drains from your face.

 

[Oreo5000]

How much do you want to spend? You'd get a bit more bang for buck upgrading the intake (including turbo inlet pipe) and then doing a stage 2 custom tune (I used MRC), which isnt much more than the cost of a stage 1.

Like others have said it completely transforms the car. 1.5 bar instead of about 0.9 bar boost in 1st gear is absolutely ballistic and makes your head feel all funny as the blood drains from your face.

Approx. how much would I be looking at for your suggestion?

 

[Damo S]

Intakes vary from 300 to 500 depending on your choice, and stage 2 custom tune is roughly 100 quid or so more than stage 1 at most places.

You should do at least the OEM intake mod (in teh stickies section on this site) even if you go stage 1 only. It costs about 40 quid for the performance panel filter and then a bit of plastic cutting, dead easy, and makes a bit of a difference even on a stock car. That stock airbox will be significant restriction on a stage 1 tune.
Btw, you get some really nice induction noise with an upgraded intake so its worth doing it for that alone

I paid in the order of 1200 quid at MRC for my stage 2 tune which also included supply and fit NGK racing plugs, and supply / fit upgraded airbox to turbo inlet pipe. I had already done the OEM intake mode, so when combined with the bigger turbo inlet pipe it comes close to a full intake upgrade.
That combined with the uprated intercooler I had previously fitted, and it being tuned to run on momentum 99 fuel gave good results: 390 bhp, 390 lbs foot on a hot, power sapping day where the ambient temp was 25 degrees C. It feels a bit quicker now in this colder weather.

That power increase is not as much as a complete stage 2 (exhaust and sports cat as well), since I believe they are able to push a bit more boost because of the reduced back pressure, but its still very quick and completely worth it. The extra torque is just awesome.

My local tuner does revo as well, but their stage 1 looks a bit conservative side and they wouldnt do a stage 2 unless I also fitted an upgraded exhaust and sports cat which I wasnt prepared to do at the time (too much money, plus I dont want any more exhaust noise)

My car is a manual so no gearbox tune, but then the uprated clutch capable of handling all that torque cost me 1300 quid a while back.

 

[Oreo5000]

Intakes vary from 300 to 500 depending on your choice, and stage 2 custom tune is roughly 100 quid or so more than stage 1 at most places.

You should do at least the OEM intake mod (in teh stickies section on this site) even if you go stage 1 only. It costs about 40 quid for the performance panel filter and then a bit of plastic cutting, dead easy, and makes a bit of a difference even on a stock car. That stock airbox will be significant restriction on a stage 1 tune.
Btw, you get some really nice induction noise with an upgraded intake so its worth doing it for that alone

I paid in the order of 1200 quid at MRC for my stage 2 tune which also included supply and fit NGK racing plugs, and supply / fit upgraded airbox to turbo inlet pipe. I had already done the OEM intake mode, so when combined with the bigger turbo inlet pipe it comes close to a full intake upgrade.
That combined with the uprated intercooler I had previously fitted, and it being tuned to run on momentum 99 fuel gave good results: 390 bhp, 390 lbs foot on a hot, power sapping day where the ambient temp was 25 degrees C. It feels a bit quicker now in this colder weather.

That power increase is not as much as a complete stage 2 (exhaust and sports cat as well), since I believe they are able to push a bit more boost because of the reduced back pressure, but its still very quick and completely worth it. The extra torque is just awesome.

My local tuner does revo as well, but their stage 1 looks a bit conservative side and they wouldnt do a stage 2 unless I also fitted an upgraded exhaust and sports cat which I wasnt prepared to do at the time (too much money, plus I dont want any more exhaust noise)

My car is a manual so no gearbox tune, but then the uprated clutch capable of handling all that torque cost me 1300 quid a while back.

Cheers mate.
Is this the same process for the DIY mod?
What intakes would you reccomend if I were to go the upgrade route instead? (also does this mod still need doing even with an upgrade?)

Is MRC an alternative to Revo/APR?

Thanks again

 

[Damo S]

Cheers mate.
Is this the same process for the DIY mod?
What intakes would you reccomend if I were to go the upgrade route instead? (also does this mod still need doing even with an upgrade?)

Is MRC an alternative to Revo/APR?

Thanks again

Yes that's the mod.

The racing line - R600 is a nice looking bit of kit I think. My mate has one on his golf R but they arent cheap. Have a search on the forum for intake recommendations as there are a few to choose from with varying prices. Make sure it does replace the stock turbo inlet pipe which I know the R600 does, and the Revo one can too (as an extra option).

MRC are an alternative and come very highly rated which is partly why I went with them. Their stage 2 is tuned specifically to your car based on existing mods, rather than being a preset map, which is great if you have a few mods like induction etc where you could get some more out of it over just a stage 1. I don't think the same is true of Revo although when you have all the mods they require at each stage their maps do give OK results. I don't know much about APR so cant comment.