GTI-in-progress
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- Santa Monica
Hi everyone. I have been reading the posts on here for a while, thank you for all of the helpful tips and advice.
Some background on me - I am a german car nut. My last two cars were an 2002 AMG C32 and a 2004 BMW 545i. About 3 months ago I got out of my BMW lease because I moved close to work and decided to start biking to work. It soon became apparent that my wife and I could not indefinitely share a car and so I decided to get something relatively cheap and quick. The GTI quickly became a contender.
This past Saturday I picked up a United Grey 6spd with package 2. What a little beast this car is! Being so light and nimble with such a torquey engine, I was left with a perpetual grin while driving it. That said, it left me a little wanting in the "terror" department. That is to say, that there was never a point that the car scared me with its power - something that both the C32 and the 545 had managed to do in my early days with each car. Answer: Tuning!
I researched the available ECU options and the APR solution seemed to be the most interesting choice. Having multiple programming modes was probably what made them stand apart for me. I also like that they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and that they will reflash updates at no charge. I looked on the apr website www.goapr.com and found a dealer in Canoga Park, CA, which was closest to my home in Santa Monica. I managed to make it out there early this morning and get the thing installed. I had a grand total of 61 miles on the car when I went through the procedure.
To those of you who have not been through this process, it's simple and impressive. The technician plugs into the diagnostic port of your car first and checks to make sure that there are no fault codes present. They then plug (I think) a different port and begin the programming process. As I understand it, each ECU contains code specific to the VIN number of the car. Therefore what the APR system does is actually read the program from the car and then upload a custom program back into the ECU. The process takes about 25 minutes. I chose to have 2 modes - stock and stage I 91 octane. (You use the cruise control stock to move between the two modes - very slick). My entire procedure including labor and tax was about $850. I thought this was a little pricey...for the 5 minutes before I was able to test out my new throttle.
I know I should be taking it easy during my break-in period, but I had to see what the impact was. The difference is night and day. Throttle response is significantly improved - much more responsive, and much higher torque off the line. My wheels actually squealed when I made a 6k RPM shift from 1st to 2nd. Passing on the freeway is amazing with smooth roll-on power and unbelievable throttle feel. I actually think the throttle response is now better than it was on my 545. I have no idea what this is doing to fuel economy - but coming from the BMW V8 and its 16MPG, it can't get much worse.
All-in-all I give this product a 5-star rating. It's relatively cheap, it's immediately noticeable, and it satisfies our need for instant gratification.
Next stop - exhaust. I will probably wait for the APR system to come out so that I can remap to match.
Some background on me - I am a german car nut. My last two cars were an 2002 AMG C32 and a 2004 BMW 545i. About 3 months ago I got out of my BMW lease because I moved close to work and decided to start biking to work. It soon became apparent that my wife and I could not indefinitely share a car and so I decided to get something relatively cheap and quick. The GTI quickly became a contender.
This past Saturday I picked up a United Grey 6spd with package 2. What a little beast this car is! Being so light and nimble with such a torquey engine, I was left with a perpetual grin while driving it. That said, it left me a little wanting in the "terror" department. That is to say, that there was never a point that the car scared me with its power - something that both the C32 and the 545 had managed to do in my early days with each car. Answer: Tuning!
I researched the available ECU options and the APR solution seemed to be the most interesting choice. Having multiple programming modes was probably what made them stand apart for me. I also like that they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and that they will reflash updates at no charge. I looked on the apr website www.goapr.com and found a dealer in Canoga Park, CA, which was closest to my home in Santa Monica. I managed to make it out there early this morning and get the thing installed. I had a grand total of 61 miles on the car when I went through the procedure.
To those of you who have not been through this process, it's simple and impressive. The technician plugs into the diagnostic port of your car first and checks to make sure that there are no fault codes present. They then plug (I think) a different port and begin the programming process. As I understand it, each ECU contains code specific to the VIN number of the car. Therefore what the APR system does is actually read the program from the car and then upload a custom program back into the ECU. The process takes about 25 minutes. I chose to have 2 modes - stock and stage I 91 octane. (You use the cruise control stock to move between the two modes - very slick). My entire procedure including labor and tax was about $850. I thought this was a little pricey...for the 5 minutes before I was able to test out my new throttle.
I know I should be taking it easy during my break-in period, but I had to see what the impact was. The difference is night and day. Throttle response is significantly improved - much more responsive, and much higher torque off the line. My wheels actually squealed when I made a 6k RPM shift from 1st to 2nd. Passing on the freeway is amazing with smooth roll-on power and unbelievable throttle feel. I actually think the throttle response is now better than it was on my 545. I have no idea what this is doing to fuel economy - but coming from the BMW V8 and its 16MPG, it can't get much worse.
All-in-all I give this product a 5-star rating. It's relatively cheap, it's immediately noticeable, and it satisfies our need for instant gratification.
Next stop - exhaust. I will probably wait for the APR system to come out so that I can remap to match.