Was going to post in primetime’s thread, but I don’t want to sidetrack the reviews.
I’m really conflicted on what to do here, since 1k is not cheap (I think this should be priced at 700 since GIAC and REVO charge this, and APR are very late to the table). No one has tested this at the strip on AZ, largely because APR is missing files for half the people…only person I’m aware of is Primetime (mrmomo couldn’t get a built file). He is trapping great but still having some quirks (it’s really hot here today, so imagining thompson won’t be great tonight?).
I asked Sean/Arin some questions in the AZ thread and they ducked them http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/650865-APR-Presents-the-DL501-S-Tronic-TCU-Upgrade-for-the-B8-B8-5-S4-amp-S5!?p=10766537&viewfull=1#post10766537. No addressing the 11.59x time and nothing about how the 1/8 mile passes are showing no gains from the TCU software.
At this point, the DSG tune is being sold mostly on subjective merit’s as far as I’m concerned. They do have the .15 et and 1.5 mph trap delta on the 2014 93 passes, but there is still something weird about the 1/8 stats. Keep in mind that I have a 2013 B8.5 DSG and my best pass is 12.45@110 with a DA of around 0 (Milan in the late fall).
So now, let’s address the “features” of this tune as they appear on APR’s website https://www.goapr.com/products/tcu_upgrade_dl501_30t.html, see my responses in yellow
-7,200 max shift point with gear dependent overshoot protection.
HUGE, probably reason number 1 I would get this, but is this worth 1k?
-User adjustable 3-Step multiple launch control RPM.
Stupid, no need for this
-User definable* max launch control RPM up to 6,000 RPM.
Would probably set this to 4k, no need for 6k launches
-User definable* manual mode downshifts (on/off).
Stupid feature, why would you not downshift when pulling up to a light…does the car stall?
-User definable* manual mode upshifts (on/off).
Decent feature I suppose, still haven’t seen a vid of it hitting the rev limiter (did you send this to me Prime? I forget). This would be kind of nice for the road course, but I’m still in intermediate HPDE, so lap times aren’t a huge focus of mine.
-Launch control enabled on all models.
Already have factory LC.
-Launch control response enhanced for quicker launches.
I see ZERO data to support this
-Launch control limits raised from 200 to 3000 launches.
I have 13 launches on my DSG, so I don’t really care about this…
-Launch control Max acceleration mode enabled for the fastest possible acceleration.
Maybe interesting for drag racing, but that’s it. Only enter this when enabling LC, which for me is drag strip only. And honestly, the data doesn’t show me that this is beicial.
-Multiple acceleration modes defined for various driving scenarios.
WTF does this mean.
-Manual mode / TT mode paddle response time optimized.
Not sure what this means, I always assumed this was due to the DSG guessing the wrong gear and not preselecting it correctly. When I’m hammering the car, the shifts are incredibly fast.
-Manual mode / TT mode shift optimized with gear dependent thresholds on Gen 2/B8.5 Models.
Not sure what this means.
-Torque intervention limits raised, while retaining temperature protection.
So this means the ECU tune dials back unless you have the DSG software? What about for 6MT guys?
-Temperature management modified.
Is this a good thing? I’ve hammered the car and never had problems with this on a road course. Maybe something bad is happening if you hot lap at the strip?
-Transmission coolant pump optimized during high temp scenarios.
Again, wtf is this, not sure I trust APR is doing something great here.
-Gear display enabled in Drive and Sport.
LOL at VCDS coding touted as a “feature” of your tune.
-Optimized Drive and Sport mode shift maps.
I never drive in D or S mode, but what does this mean? Did audi do the shift maps wrong or something?
-Downshift “lockout” disabled below previous gear’s max RPM.
I thought they already changed the shift maps? That should implicitly fix this.
-First gear, rolling-stop, “clunk” addressed.
I don’t really get this, I think the B8.5 DSG is in general smoother, as it never goes to 1st gear while slowing down unless you ask for it.
-First gear “short shift” addressed.
Drag strip stuff, nice, but should be implicitly fixed by changing the shift maps.
-Significant power increase on applications meeting peak power well above the vehicle’s factory defined shift points.
Same “feature” as the first one.
So now the question becomes, is the new tune designed to only work properly with the TCU tune? I.e. why was mrmomo seeing weird behavior (could have been tire pressure, I know). And then, does APR really know how to better tune a DSG than Audi? Maybe 10 months ago I would have given them some beit of the doubt, but with the shadiness, primetime still having issues while they launched, not being able to directly answer questions, pricing way out of the market etc…man I really have no idea wtf to do. Am going to Milan next wed, so I should probably decide soon. :-\