APR stage 1: the 25,000 mile review

"PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power" (petarvn)
05/30/2016 at 10:00 • Filed to: None

As I’m sure you all know, i drive a 2012 VW Jetta GLI with a 6-speed row your own. I bought this car with 23,034 miles on the odometer in 2014, and after a few months of tooling around with just 200hp i got bored. So like every reasonable GTI/GLI owner, I took it to my local VW shop (Achtuning in Redmond, WA) to get it tuned so it would make a bit more power. As of today, the car is sitting at 50,150 miles; and that means that I’ve had this car with a software tune for 25,000. How I’ve not gone through a clutch/water pump i have no clue!

This is meant to be a little review of the software, and to explain why it’s such a great deal!

The software: My car is currently sitting on APR’s V2.0 stage 1 ‘low torque’ file. originally it was on the V1.0 file ,which had a much lumpier torque curve. This had always bugged me as the car had a great surge of power up to 3,500 RPM but then slowly grew more lackluster up to the 6,000 RPM reline. With the V2.0 software, the car pulls a lot harder through the whole rev band, and it even lost the lumpy torque curve characteristic that made it more annoying to drive. AS it is tuned right now, the car makes 255hp and 292 ft-lbs at the crank (estimated). The reason i’m not using the high torque file is that i do not want to shell out $2200 for a stronger clutch, so i’ve limited my power upgrades to just software and some exhaust work. with the high torque file, i’d be making 310ft-lbs on 91 octane gas!

Usability: as mentioned before, the upgrade provided a linear and usable power curve. the car feels responsive and dialed-in, and only stumbles on boost occasionally when the TCS kicks in. It’s a great setup and makes the car very daily-able.

Reliability: I’m currently knocking on all the wood in my house because my car has had only one issue since the tune, and that was warrantied. I have not had the water pump issues, nor have i had my clutch slip. I did however, have a faulty intake manifold, but that was replaced under warranty (and at the same time a walnut blast to get rid of carbon deposits was done. this is vital on these cars. do it once every 45k or so for best results!) to add to keeping up the car, i replaced the plugs and coils at 40,000 miles, just to make sure it all works well. The car is very reliable, it just requires a lot of upkeep to be kept that way.

Efficiency: When i tuned the car, i expected a drop in gas mileage. what i got was a pleasant surprise. my freeway gas mileage had gone up! on a drive to Portland, OR from Redmond, WA i averaged 36.3MPG. this is 3MPG higher than the EPA estimate, and i was averaging about 75mph, PLUS i did this on rather sticky, brand new Michelin Pilot SuperSports! i’m genuinely surprised with how efficient the car has been since the tune, it’s great!

Features? Allong with the increased power and efficiency, there have been a few more improovements. The first of which is the removal of the 4k rev limiter when the car is stopped. I can now have fun and rev the car up when i’m with my friends! yes it’s childish, but it’s fun. second, my car has a feature that’s called ‘no lift shift’ basically, this means that if i am at WOT in any gear above 4,000RPM, i can shift without letting go of the gas. this was very weird to get used to at first, but when you do; the car’s acceleration gets much better since it stays in boost between shifts, and you can accelerate even harder! lastly the 130MPH top speed limiter has been removed but since I’m a good boy i will tell you how my car has never seen over 75. nuh-uh. never. nope!

Overall: Overall, i cannot recommend this upgrade enough. for $650+$100(no lift shift is an extra) it is a great boost in power, response and efficiency that these cars just cry out for from the factory. i recommend it to any and all VW mk6-platform owners!

TL;DR: teen tuned his VW. expected it to break. it didn’t. it’s working great.

DISCUSSION (23)

Funktheduck > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 10:08

When you had the manifold issue, did the screen warn you beforehand or did you not find out until an unexplainable piece of floorboard fell out?

Milky > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 10:14

Side topic DI seems like the worst. You have to tear apart your engine to walnut blast it every 45k miles?! That would be every 2 years for me. I’m sure thats not cheap either.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 10:27

Have you heard success stories from folks with the 1.8t engine in the regular Golf? I'd be interested in a tune, but only if it worked as well as yours did.

BobintheMtns > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 10:30

Gotta love those 2.0t motors... Such an epic mill.

AM3R shamefully returns > Milky
05/30/2016 at 10:32

About $400-500 at a local Indy for my 335i. I'm at 69k and have never done it but now I'm getting ready to.

AM3R shamefully returns > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 10:33

How big of a difference did the walnut blast make?

Milky > AM3R shamefully returns
05/30/2016 at 10:44

... For some reason I thought the head had to come off the car. So yea in the grand scheme of owning a car, not that big of a deal. Still another you have to do though.

bob and john > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 10:49

“I’m a good boy i will tell you how my car has never seen over 75. nuh-uh. never. nope! “

I really dont think anyone here believes a word of that

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 12:12

Curse all you children on here with high power outputs and great fuel economy.

Wudstock22 > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 13:53

Went Unitronic 1+ (93 oct) on my GTI, upgraded to a South Bend Stage 2 clutch, and it pulls like a truck through all gears when the turbo is spooling (~2100rpm). Getting an AWE TBE next month and going stage 2, which is where it will probably stay. These cars really come alive after a tune, glad you’re enjoying yours!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > AM3R shamefully returns
05/30/2016 at 14:08

it made a small difference to the power output, but a big one to throttle response and efficiency! i realy recommend it. it is pricey though

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
05/30/2016 at 14:10

i have actually! they make similar numbers to those of my older 2.0T hahah. i strongly recommend it!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Funktheduck
05/30/2016 at 14:12

hahah i actually didn’t know about it untill the guys at achtuning checked and saw it!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Milky
05/30/2016 at 14:17

you don’t have to every 40K, it’s just i did it at 40K, because that’s when the manifold was replaced. it was due for a cleaning though.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > bob and john
05/30/2016 at 14:18

yup hahah

AM3R shamefully returns > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
05/30/2016 at 16:13

How much did you pay? Local shops are offering it for about $400-500, sometimes cheaper with a group buy.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > AM3R shamefully returns
05/30/2016 at 18:18

I paid a smidge under 600 with tax and the $50/30 minute labor fee included.

TylerJ > AM3R shamefully returns
09/08/2016 at 11:01

This is way after you posted this, but I’m so glad I saw it. I was wondering how much it would run me on my 328i. I think I saw someone mention it was $2k (!!!) somewhere and it was starting to freak me out.

AM3R shamefully returns > TylerJ
09/09/2016 at 16:46

Hey no problem! Do yourself a favor and hop on a regional section of your BMW forum. I went on E90post and in the mid-Atlantic section (mostly the DC/MD/VA area) I saw that a local shop was doing a group buy, if 10 people signed up a walnut blast was only $299. They do this pretty frequently, you can even set it up yourself. I still haven't gotten it done actually, my cars been running fine so I'm just holding off a little.

Antm > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
01/05/2018 at 02:52

Did you have any trouble with the warranty replacement of the intake manifold since you had the APR tune? Did the dealer have any issues with it? I’m curious I. Your previous post you mentioned that both major dealers in Seattle seemed to say that an APR tune won’t void warranty. Which ones were these? I live in the Seattle area as well and recently purchased a CPO Golf

NJmtnbkr > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/14/2018 at 18:33

Great article! I just recently picked up a bran new 2017 GLI in 6 speed. Has 4500 miles on it. I am planning an APR stage 1 tune real soon. So automatically the 130 top speed is lifted, or is this a la carte when the software is setup?

1texansfan1 > bob and john
08/12/2018 at 15:22

I tuned my 14 Eos- and saw 145 with very little'lift' and was still pulling!!

1texansfan1 > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
08/12/2018 at 15:27

Breath in- breath out !! Both increase performance. The tune allows more boost - the downpipe allows for better exhaust ( VW- has a ceramic catalytic at the turbo exhaust- I broke the first one out to mimic a downpipe)

Yes you will love a tune!!