Is there a general consensus on the best b8 tune?

B8 S4
#1

I feel like I am reading through forum thread after thread and I still can’t differentiate who takes the lead on the different available tunes for a B8 S4.

In my situation the car is living at about 500m and has access to 91 and ethanol mixed 94 (that is spotty at best).

Would running a crank pulley even help with a 91 tune? I would use a DSG tune.

A local guy is running an EPL stg2 tune with the cts intake/pulley/exhaust. He swears by the customer service and likes the power.

I have a cts pulley and intake waiting to go on, but I really want to know which product I should be tuning with.

I see that JHM is going to be in the running, but I would reckon they won’t release a product till late this year at the earliest? At least that what was hinted at by the sales rep i was bugging.

So who do I go with for a stg2 tune?

#2

The one thing I keep in mind is that performance is king but performance and consistant performance over and over and time working in the B8 come into effect when doing a tie breaker.

EPL has great customer service because they dont have many customers to service. going EPL would just be a waste when you see that both APR and GIAC are still working and epanding there programs. GIAC and APR clearly know more and have deep deep testing results and a strong knowledge of these cars and there power.

I would expect to see APR looking to continue to build off the stage 3 but I dont know what to expect given the weak recent results. But with the stage 2 two pulley systems depending on your year Its going to be APR or GIAC

JHM had great results and given there history you know they have been quietly testing. but I think JHM just came out with the one results to show people that they know what they are doing and to prove a point. I dont know if they are really going to dive into the b8 anytime soon.

To me if you have a 2010 through 2012 before the face lift and change on the transmission stuff APR is the way to go. APR has what seems to be a trasmission program that isnt good. So if you dont need a trans tune APR is king. If you need a transmission tune and thats the 12.5 and up cars GIAC is the king and seems to continue racking up a impressive list of fast cars consistantly.

From someone that dosent own a B8 but has been watching the B8 that is what I have seen.

#3

What year?

2009-2012 coin toss Apr or giac, skip the tcu in both cases

2013-2016 giac+giac tcu

#4

2013, so I’m thinking GIAC may be the way then.

Is there any issue running the cts pulley/intake?

Thoughts on the dual pulley system?
Do I need other components before i do this?
Is there a specific tune for that?

#5

Looks like there is a Giac dealer in Calgary, hmm going to have to pay them a visit.

#6

The best for heat management at a road course track day is REVO. There are other ones that are good for 1/4 mile glory.

#7

according to what? Because you have a REVO tune that appears not to help you accelerate very well…thus it’s best at heat management?

I think you’re full of shit. There are hundreds of APR and GIAC tuned cars who have been pounded on at the road course, and they’re just fine. The REVO tune is frankly a joke.

Voting with the receipts in your wallet helps nobody if it’s not based on facts.

#8

Damn you beat me to it. Lol. Just when I thought he was done with the stupid comments, west goes and does it again.

#9

“Is there a general consensus” is an absurd premise for a car forum post, particularly when you combine it with the most controversial subtopic. Clearly a tune should be $400, add 150 WHP, get better gas mileage than stock, make your engine last 300k miles, etc.

There is no bad tune. They are all the best to the person who bought them. Basically if your tune is working, you’d be a fool to change it. Find a local dealer who can support you and get it working, then leave it.

It’s not like if I changed my tune, my 1:43 at Laguna would improve. My impression is it wouldn’t make a fast lap 20 minutes into the session where I need it to perform most.

#10

I do think its a fair question and the truth is not all tunes are created equal and just because a tuner is local or can support you better isnt going to mean its the best tune. A good tune is one that has been tested and tested and proven on more then just one car. When you look at the GIAC and APR model they have a large group of sucuessful cars with proven performance. There are a few odd ball companys that will give people a discount or free tune for fake reviews so for someone to ask whats is the real deal on a site thats known for telling it how it is makes sense.

#11

Indeed… I can always count on you guys to tear a company a new one if something is not up to par.

#12

The market is segmented. You have the blue chip products from APR, GIAC, REVO. Then you have the upstarts, the chop shops in Vegas, the well known regional Audi tuning shops making their own maps from a common ROM.

But seriously this post is like “Is there a general consensus on the best candidate to vote for?” The answer is no, people disagree and they can both be right.

#13

Asking which performance tune is best for the S4 is much more specific than asking which person is best for president. President does 40,000 things. Performance tunes do one thing.

Your partisan biased view supposition would be true if you were asking republicans or democrats. but if you were asking politically independant, non-partisan voters for who makes the best candidate, you’d get a pretty level headed opinion based on the available facts

I don’t own a B8
I don’t own any car tuned by REVO or APR or GIAC or anyone
I am not friends with any of the companies offering B8 S4 tunes

I gave a totally non-partisan view.

As for the evidence I used for that view, I have seen a myriad of customer testimony, acceleration data, and logging data. Hands down, APR and GIAC have it won for the early B8 cars and GIAC have it won for the facelift B8 cars.

also Revo is no-fucking-where-near blue chip.

#14

Sounds about right /thread . I feel this topic has been beaten to death. Next :slight_smile:

#15

To also back this up. the advice would be different if you were talking about the V8 S4 You wouldnt get the same suggestions for APR or GIAC you would hear guys saying get the JHM tune. There are lots of guys who are very much able to stand back and say. When you look at all the companys there are companys that do better in some platforms over others

#16

BS I run my Stage 2 APR tune and it very consistent and powerful.

OP GIAC or APR period both have proven repeatable results, you aren’t driving a B5 with China parts on it so no need for experimental tunes

#17

Seems like I found the “general consensus” lol Thanks guys.

#18

I would listen to saki’s advice on the B8 right after I asked this Canadian who I should vote for. He is virtually sure of things. Don’t mistake his confidence for competence or experience. He’s read all of the posts!

If you buy a $3000 ECU/TCU tune you can make your $60k S4 do a 1/4 mile slower than a stock $25k Mustang GT. If you buy Ford’s Mustang drag car for $75k you can do a 9 second 1/4 mile at like 160 MPH.

If you listen to me you can make your S4 faster around a road course than an RS5 with a pro driver, and come damn close to besting a stock GT4.

#19

2015 Mustang GT 5.0 does it in 12.8 seconds at 112.2 doesn’t it ?

#20

A $200 tune makes the Mustang do 12.4.