Review: APR Stage 1 Tune

It's been about a week now since I got APR stage 1 tune, although theres a decent amount gain in power, I was sort of let down. After reading on the forums and knowing the tune basically doubles the PSI of the stock car, I was expecting a lot more oomph.

The low end torq is ready before your foot touches the pedal. As the car reaches higher rev's you'll notice a drastic decrease in power. The car literally falls flat on its face.

Purchase

I purchased the tune from a local shop called Euro Code. I read a lot about them on the forums. The morning I heard about the summer APR sale, I just jumped into my car and went to Euro Code. I was expecting a larger shop, rather than just 1 bay... The guys there were great, made the purchasing experience flawless. I got the fully loaded package, with 91/100/stock/valet modes. Since I'm in SoCal, we get to enjoy piss grade 91 octane.

Install

Although I didn't do any of the install, I've had first hand experience chipping BMW's and older VW's. Seems like its pretty much the same thing these days. ECU is located in the same place, same type of connector etc. The Tech at the shop did get his dremel to grid off the security bolts off... Total time it took for removal, flashing and installing was about 50 minutes.


Final Thoughts

I wish the car would push you back into the seats a little more especially with the torq its making. After spending $800 for it, it had me thinking maybe I should spend another $1600 and get the K04 upgrade.

EDIT: Did a dyno... http://golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20960


Here's a pictures from that day.

Hey.. I sent you a PM back.

I was let down w/ Stage 1 as well. Just like you I expected more out of it, but over a few weeks I began to appreciate it more.

I just went Stage 2 yesterday and it has easily been the best mod I've purchased for any car I've owned. The car feels amazing now. The power band feels twice as big and it sounds awesome. I am really happy with my current set up now. I just hope I can baby my clutch for a while and get my IC, RSB, rims, and save some money in time for a new clutch (if I ever need it).

The low end torq is ready before your foot touches the pedal. As the car reaches higher rev's you'll notice a drastic decrease in power. The car literally falls flat on its face.

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That's a perfect description of Stage 1.. it leaves you wanting more and it just gives up.

Stage 2 doesn't exactly have that initial jolt that Stage 1 did, but I don't feel like the car "falls flat" at all.

For now I could definitely stay content w/ Stage 2.. it's exactly what I was looking for: a nice solid/quick DD.

While Stage I is a nice bump there are certain limitations, Intake will help the upper end and getting a down pipe to go to stage II make a significant difference. Both these items should support the K04 kit so you if it's still not enough nothing lost. LA doesn't get too hot but you still might consider upgrading your intercooler setup. It helps a little with power but is mainly an upgrade to avoid heat soak. If you go K04 you will want a I/C. The K03 offers plenty of low end grunt where grip is the limiting factor. The K04 will really help with the upper end. I have all of what I mentioned and even though the top end is better than stage I I still crave for more so a K04 may be in my future.

I forgot to mention when I flashed to Stage 1 I installed my intake as well and still was disappointed.. I guess I just expected more out of it from everyone's reactions. Stage 2 definitely made me happy.

I went with GIAC Stage I for something different from my APR tuned GLI. I really like the smoothness of the GIAC, but feel both tunes would benefit from an IC because of the heat here in TX.

Red2011GTI said:

While Stage I is a nice bump there are certain limitations, Intake will help the upper end and getting a down pipe to go to stage II make a significant difference. Both these items should support the K04 kit so you if it's still not enough nothing lost. LA doesn't get too hot but you still might consider upgrading your intercooler setup. It helps a little with power but is mainly an upgrade to avoid heat soak. If you go K04 you will want a I/C. The K03 offers plenty of low end grunt where grip is the limiting factor. The K04 will really help with the upper end. I have all of what I mentioned and even though the top end is better than stage I I still crave for more so a K04 may be in my future.

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See my BSH intake review, without the intake the APR tune was weak. Once the intaked was installed, the car seems like its on crack, just so much more alive and performance.

Stage 2 definitely takes care of the dramatic drop off of power in the upper RPM range...get it ASAP if you're disappointed.

I know now i will go straight to stage 2!

One thing to consider is heat. Being summer, heat plays a huge role in power. If intake air temperature is high, power will be lower from a calibration stand point in order to protect the engine AND because there are fewer oxygen molecules per square inch.

SFvalleyGTi said:

See my BSH intake review, without the intake the APR tune was weak. Once the intaked was installed, the car seems like its on crack, just so much more alive and performance.

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OK, and here's exactly the next thing I was going to say. The factory intake on this car is really geared towards sound suppression. Most customers don't understand turbos. The noises they make are scary for some so the OEM has to really play with noise pipes and filters to make sure it's appealing to some and not scary to others. Consider this, a GTI has a noise pipe so you can hear the turbo (because you bought a GTI and MAY understand/want the noise) but the intake is mass produced so it fits all of VAg's cars. It's on the CC too. Imagine if your Grand Mother heard "WOORSHPPFPFPFPFPPF" after letting off the throttle. She'll think the car blew up! So the OEM takes a lot of steps to make sure this sound is very low and uses other gimmicks to make it louder for those buying the sport models.

A good intake will w/o a doubt wake up stage 1 and beyond software. I think ours does the best job by directing all the air at the filter and by blocking out the engine bay heat but other can work well too.

I'm glad to see this as a follow up response because it was exactly what I was going to say.

:thumbsup:

Before I got my car reflashed to stage 1 I ran my buddies Camry SE to see the performance compared to his stock vs stock. After stage 1 I ran his car again and after seeing the difference first hand it definately made the tune "worth" it for me I was very happy. Many people do over hype the reflash but my expectations were reasonable and for a stage 1 gti to be able to keep up with a GTO was plenty indication that my gti was now a "quick" car. Stage 2 is definately an improvement for me also. As now my car actually sounds like a "fast" car. the pull is alot smoother and the power seems to continue climing as you near redline as opposed to falling flat when I was stage 1. Keep driving your car maybe you'll notice things and different sweet spots for your stage 1 GTI.

Stage 1 kept you up with a Pontiac GTO?!?

An intake does quiet A LOT, A LOT, A LOT.

My car felt significantly faster after i installed the intake on my stage 2 car, seriously.

I think its pretty accurate that the top end improvement is not nearly as noticeable as low-mid range with stage 1. Stock car the car pretty much runs out of steam from 5k on as it makes nice noise but actual progress is lacking. Stage 1 is "relatively" the same. But in most cases you will be doing some ludiculous speed on public road that for me there is little point to pull harder. The low-mid range gain is very noticeable though, very helpful at highway speed as cruising at 70mph puts you around 2800-2900rpm and in stock the boost builds slowly at that point in top gear and its best to down shift to get your passing down. In stage one you can just nail the throttle and you'll be doing 90 in a flash...

Hilfloskind said:

Stage 1 kept you up with a Pontiac GTO?!?

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Yup

I just returned from Elite Motorsports here on Long Island. I went Stage 1 on my 2011 GTI DSG CSG. All I can say is that this is how the car should have come from the factory. It's a very noticeable improvement. The car is a beast.
$599 fully loaded, $85 installation fee
If you go to Elite tell Kai I sent you.
Steve
http://elitemotorsport.net/