Re: Tuning in Brisbane

[Coxy09]

Hey all,

looking at getting a APR tune done in Brisbane (Open to other suggestions) on my missus 132 Tiguan TSI and my TSI Amarok. Was wondering if anyone knows of anyone around Brisbane doing these at a decent price.....I see people have said price varies from $800-$1400 for the flash. Both quotes I've had are $1200 and its a flash only. By this I mean, check the car, flash the ECU, drive the car and scan and that's it.....no post Dyno run to check everything is ok....This is all well and find, but if I can get it done for $800 instead of 1200....I'll put the extra cash elsewhere.

As I said above, I am open to other tunes, I recall GIAC was always pretty well spoken of....

Cheers

Coxy

[guile]

i'm not sure where you have had quotes from already mate but i got my apr tune from prestige and performance at coorparoo and i was happy with the level of service...

[Coxy09]

i'm not sure where you have had quotes from already mate but i got my apr tune from prestige and performance at coorparoo and i was happy with the level of service...

Hey man,

Yeah they were one of the ones I've spoken too. The thing I don't like now days, is that it's a flash, drive, quick check and that's it....for $1200. If it were going onto a dyne to ensure everything was right I'd have no issues, but $1200 for a flash is a little crazy to me. I know "Developers" have spent money developing these things but it still should be done right.

If nothing else comes back, I think I'll be heading over to these guys, but it seems to have all changed quite a bit from when I was playing with cars a few years ago.....must be getting old

[Scratchyratface]

I have a RacingLine tune on my TT from Harding Performance at Coorparoo, had no issues and performance gains are very good but pricing is the same as APR

[Coxy09]

I have a RacingLine tune on my TT from Harding Performance at Coorparoo, had no issues and performance gains are very good but pricing is the same as APR

Thanks for the tip, I might give Guy a call today and have a chat with him.

[Lucas_R]

If you are hell bent on getting APR then unless you have plenty of disposable income I would suggest waiting for one of their 10-15% off sales that they do several times a year. There should be one leading up to Christmas and they normally do one at the end of financial year.

Other options in Brisbane are Tarmac Engineering who offer tunes for the MK2 Tiguan, but with the Amarok they only have the TDI listed...although im sure they could do the TSI as well.

Mk2 Tiguan ECU Tune - Tarmac Engineering (https://www.tarmacengineering.com.au/product/mk2-tiguan-ecu-tune/)

[Sharkie]

Unfortunately, only APR has a tune available for the TSI Amarok. None of the other tuners in Oz have actually done any with a reasonable result as far as I know.

The TSI Amarok runs a version of the MK6 GTI engine, but has a different turbo and a different exhaust cam, so it is unique and no GTI tune will work (Incidentally due to those differences a stage 1 tuned TSI Amarok makes more power than a Stg 1 tuned MK6 GTI) APR spent over a 100 dyno runs working on the TSI Amarok to get a workable tune and in my view nobody else will get close to that, given they really only want to spend a small amount of time. Any more is uneconomical to the tuner.

Also, for the 132TSI Mk1 Tiguan, again there is only 1 proven tune that works well (APR). Lots of people in the MK1 Tiguan section tried other tunes and none had the same result as the APR tune. For a Mk2, things have improved and I'd recommend talking to Guy or any of the other tuners out there.

[guile]

i know apr tunes are expensive and i never thought i'd run one on my car as i really wanted to support the underdogs. however apr is the second tune i've had with my current hardware and is far better than the previous tune...

basically you get what you pay for and it could be false economy to get something cheaper and potentially not as good performance. i learnt the hard way and bought twice although the apr tte420 i now have was in development at the time so that had an effect on my original decision...

[tigger73]

I think you’ll find most places are flash, test drive with logging and off you go. There’s not a great deal of difference with standard hardware stage1/2.

You’re more likely to get a dyno with Tarmac or Harding if you asked.

TSI Amarok is a bit of a unique one as not many were sold/delivered so not many would have done development on it. I’d probably go with APR on this just because they’ve done the work.

On the Tiguan there’s other options out there and they will all be around the same output. There’s decent gains in drive ability with a DSG tune (if you have it). Some tuners will bundle the DSG with ECU for a better deal. You can sometimes pick up both for $1500 if you’re lucky.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Coxy09]

If you are hell bent on getting APR then unless you have plenty of disposable income I would suggest waiting for one of their 10-15% off sales that they do several times a year. There should be one leading up to Christmas and they normally do one at the end of financial year.

Other options in Brisbane are Tarmac Engineering who offer tunes for the MK2 Tiguan, but with the Amarok they only have the TDI listed...although im sure they could do the TSI as well.

Mk2 Tiguan ECU Tune - Tarmac Engineering (https://www.tarmacengineering.com.au/product/mk2-tiguan-ecu-tune/)

Thanks bud, I'll have a look at that, hadn't heard about Tarmac before. Cheers bud


Unfortunately, only APR has a tune available for the TSI Amarok. None of the other tuners in Oz have actually done any with a reasonable result as far as I know.

The TSI Amarok runs a version of the MK6 GTI engine, but has a different turbo and a different exhaust cam, so it is unique and no GTI tune will work (Incidentally due to those differences a stage 1 tuned TSI Amarok makes more power than a Stg 1 tuned MK6 GTI) APR spent over a 100 dyno runs working on the TSI Amarok to get a workable tune and in my view nobody else will get close to that, given they really only want to spend a small amount of time. Any more is uneconomical to the tuner.

Also, for the 132TSI Mk1 Tiguan, again there is only 1 proven tune that works well (APR). Lots of people in the MK1 Tiguan section tried other tunes and none had the same result as the APR tune. For a Mk2, things have improved and I'd recommend talking to Guy or any of the other tuners out there.

Do you know what vehicle they used for testing Sharkie =P

Thing that worries me, is the Dyno run.....I think you had your new Coils in when you started playing didn't you? I think you mentioned in one of your posts how two identical motors could be different in some way which is why you'd do the dyne run to check, I just want to get the thing done right so I don't damage anything in the process.....Had a bad experience on my Abarth 500 where it was a flash in and off you go.....I took it off to a dyno for a check and found bad detonation was occurring from about 4500-redline.

I didn't think Guy was doing APR any more?


i know apr tunes are expensive and i never thought i'd run one on my car as i really wanted to support the underdogs. however apr is the second tune i've had with my current hardware and is far better than the previous tune...

basically you get what you pay for and it could be false economy to get something cheaper and potentially not as good performance. i learnt the hard way and bought twice although the apr tte420 i now have was in development at the time so that had an effect on my original decision...

I don't have an issue with paying the dollars for quality as I have heard lots of people say the same thing you've said, APR is miles ahead of the pack.....but what I wanted to know is if there was someone cheaper in Brisbane who could do the work (IE doing it for $800 instead of $1200). I'll keep an eye out for the specials that come up, that may be the way to go.


I think you’ll find most places are flash, test drive with logging and off you go. There’s not a great deal of difference with standard hardware stage1/2.

You’re more likely to get a dyno with Tarmac or Harding if you asked.

TSI Amarok is a bit of a unique one as not many were sold/delivered so not many would have done development on it. I’d probably go with APR on this just because they’ve done the work.

On the Tiguan there’s other options out there and they will all be around the same output. There’s decent gains in drive ability with a DSG tune (if you have it). Some tuners will bundle the DSG with ECU for a better deal. You can sometimes pick up both for $1500 if you’re lucky.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't think the missus is too stressed about the DSG tune, but to be honest, I'd forgotten about that. Does it make a difference? or does it just make it quicker shifts and more efficient?

[tigger73]

Thanks bud, I'll have a look at that, hadn't heard about Tarmac before. Cheers bud


Tarmac has been around for a while. Also called Spectune with handheld controllers which they use for remote tuning. Ben is generally well respected.



Do you know what vehicle they used for testing Sharkie =

They used Sharkies car!!!!! Back in the days when APR did local development and Harding Performance was the local agent.


Thing that worries me, is the Dyno run.....I think you had your new Coils in when you started playing didn't you? I think you mentioned in one of your posts how two identical motors could be different in some way which is why you'd do the dyne run to check, I just want to get the thing done right so I don't damage anything in the process.....Had a bad experience on my Abarth 500 where it was a flash in and off you go.....I took it off to a dyno for a check and found bad detonation was occurring from about 4500-redline.


All the local tuners should be able to sort this for the grade fuel we get here in Aus. Just don’t use CALTEX 98 and you should be Ok. BP Ultimate is generally accepted as the best 98 fuel on the market especially for tuned cars.



I didn't think Guy was doing APR any more?

Correct APR dumped all their dealers worldwide. Then they realised that nobody was stocking hardware locally so they appointed distributors again (though they called them something different). Basically it destroyed Harding Performance/Guys business overnight and caused a major disruption in the supply chain and APR has not recovered (and probably never will) to the same position that they had 5-7 years ago.

A lot of people that were around at the time vowed not to use APR since how they treated Guy/HP. They awarded him top global dealer and one month later stripped the dealership off him. Pretty low act from a principal business.



I don't have an issue with paying the dollars for quality as I have heard lots of people say the same thing you've said, APR is miles ahead of the pack.....but what I wanted to know is if there was someone cheaper in Brisbane who could do the work (IE doing it for $800 instead of $1200). I'll keep an eye out for the specials that come up, that may be the way to

I wouldn’t say APR are miles ahead anymore. They used to develop they files for local fuels/conditions however they don’t these days.

Most reputable businesses will be able to tune your cars. Or if they can’t they should be good enough to tell you that you’re better off going down the road to someone else.



I don't think the missus is too stressed about the DSG tune, but to be honest, I'd forgotten about that. Does it make a difference? or does it just make it quicker shifts and more efficient?

You’ll get D mode to be slightly more intuitive (and less for achieving best fuel economy) and S mode to be less mental and more easy to drive as a daily for performance. It’ll revert to first gear before you stop and if you stomp on the accelerator it’ll downshift if you need to rather that sticking in 2nd gear and being off-boost.

I’d highly recommend a DSG tune as it improves how the car drives just about as much as a stage 1 ECU tune. If you can find someone that’ll package both up I’d highly recommend it.

Unfortunately APR don’t have tunes for the DQ500 ( or at least they never used to). I’d suggest talking to either RD Technik who I know do both or Spectune to see what they offer. Buying a ECU/DSG package is the cheapest way. Other supplier for DSG software is TVS which Harding Performance distributes. Though you can buy a handheld controller from them direct and install your own DSG software without going through HP which may end up cheaper.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sharkie]

For the few hundred TSI Amarok's out there, the only tuning solution in reality is the APR tune. Like Tigger said, back when Guy was the APR distributor, all tunes released (and for a few like the Amarok developed) here, was specifically calibrated for Australian conditions. Each tune was tested and confirmed to be OK for Australian conditions and specced cars over many many (30+) dyno runs and software updates. THIS NO LONGER HAPPENS!

For that reason, I'd recommend any car after about 2015, not to go to APR ..... tunes are purely canned (internationally sourced and not localised at all). To some extent the same can be said for most of the "well known" tunes out there though. Minimal local calibration takes place as all the tunes are originally coded overseas. A dyno run for a few of those may result in uploaded data to the off-shore tuner which is then updated in the code and uploaded back to your car.

Like I said before, it is uneconomical for these local "tuners" now to run multiple runs on a dyno (and by that I mean in excess of 20) to really fine tune your car from the internationally sourced code. I include ALL of the tuners in this, including HP and Tarmac ..... at best you end up with a very mildly tweaked version of the internationally supplied code. There are many hundreds of fuel, timing and boost maps in a modern ECU to modify and to do it properly takes time and money. Happy to be proved wrong .... but I doubt it.

That said, even with only mild tweaks to the overseas code, the well known tuners all deliver pretty good products and on a post 2015 VAG car, you'd be OK with any of them. Some are obviously still better than others due to the international resources behind the tunes, so look out for that.

I have OEM+ from HP on the 110TSI and it is pretty good and will put it on the R as well when the specials roll around at the end of the year .... My Mustang has a tune from a well known local tuner too, makes over 360kw which I'm happy with but it took me clarifying that it had a larger throttle-body on it to explain the "unexpectedly high intake air flow" to the tuner who was tuning the car on the dyno ( in reality only "modifying" the internationally sourced tune) to get the best result.