Stage 1 Tuning - Some research for my TSi

[petrev]

Did a bit of research and soon got lost in all the options ...

Did this spreadsheet to try to keep track.
It may, or may not, be useful to someone else.

Image - Click for full size



My thoughts (for what they're worth) on Stage 1 and whats out there.

Lots of home tuners. I personally didn't feel like going the home tune route.
Lots of choice - Some prefer to do a custum Dyno map others offer an off the shelf, generally optimised for the particular engine version.

A number said that DSG map is a waste of money as they can't change the torque limit and the rest is not really noticable.

TVS NL - DSG specialists do a Stage1 TCU map that lifts Torque limit to 280Nm and a Stage 2 lifts it to 350 Nm (+ lots of other tweaks)

Most set Stage 1 tune at about 150PS and 250Nm (Standard DQ200 torque limit)
Some go higher in power and torque - Beyond the DQ200 standard torque limit.
One- Celtic Tuning - Claims 188PS and 291Nm - Way beyond the standard DQ200 torque limit. Some say Celtic are rather optimistic in their claims, while others feel there is a posibility of damage.

None say you should get a TCU tune to save your gearbox from issues with their Stage 1, and all say their Stage 1 is within safe limits.

TVS do a mild Stage 1, and a Stage 2 that is a sort of Stage 1+ that requires a TCU map but not any mechanical changes.

I may add any other thoughts as I remember them

[petrev]

I forgot to mention - the block to the right is about multi mode, user installable maps.

These seem to be somewhat based on the APR EMCS system that is sadly no langer availabe for more recent ECUs.

The EMCS system allowed simple switching between 4 maps - Stock, Performance, Anti-Theft, and Valet modes and/or others as available.
This system used the cruise buttons to switch modes very easily and quickly as they were all stored in the ECU.

Today the switchng is done from a device that holds the maps and overwrites the previous map each time, taking some 15 minutes I believe - Not so convenient.

Map types available seem to almost all be similar, but with different names depending on the supplier.
I don't know, but they seem to all come from central servers that retailers pay to access and sell on to clients along with the remote OBD programmer.

Map/Modes vary by reseller but generally include

Stock - ECO - Blend -Performance - Race/Track

Some also have ... Valet - Burbles - Pop/Bang/Stealth (WTF?)
(Options/choice and numbers vary by supplier)

Some suppliers have catchy names (e.g. Viezu) others keep it simple.

This remote loading and options facility may be of interest to some.

p.s. The spreadsheet is just a sample of what is out there based on a few days searching and phoning. It is not intended to be comprehensive or authoratative.

e & o e

[petrev]

And ... I forgot to mention - Tuning Boxes !

Darkside Developments did a great comparison of 3 popular brands' offerings.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_sIRoPgFFI

They found one did absolutely nothing ref. power and torque uplift.
The other two did a reasonable amount but not near their claimed improvements.
TDI Tuning was their favourite offering.

I have included a box from Bluespark (Pro Tuning - Box) because it gets good reviews.
Bottom row, right side, on my spreadsheet.

I did have a turbo tuning box on an old T4 (arrived with it fitted, but not mentioned by the dealer ! ! ).
Gave amazing power when you pressed the loud pedal, but I removed it as there was always a distinct smell like something metal burning after a quick blast, and I thought the turbo was gradually making more noise ?

Darkside also looked at Powergate user boxes for clients who can't visit them so they can remotely remap using their software. They are currently using the Powergate4 as are some others, while other firms doing this are using versions of the Powergate3+ or similar (Top right on the spreadsheet).

As always e & o e

[andycon]

Have you decided on what tuning you are going to use?

Sent from my moto g62 5G using Tapatalk

[petrev]

TVS DSG TCU Stage2/2+ From STA Aylesbury (best price)

Still to confirm my best ECU ???

[petrev]

Hi all

Decided (after much deliberation) that I wanted to be able to revert to stock ECU tune if I ever needed/wanted to.

Chose the AlienTech PowerGate3+ system and bought myself a Master and User combination.
I chose to do this so I could use/try any tuning map on the market and swap back at will not being limited to just the tune provided by the Powergate supplier.
I can now offer the PowerGate3+ Userbox with the map of your choice to anyone on here that wants it (Cost plus nominal fee). Plus I can change the map to a different one in the future if you find a better one later ... No fee for that, just costs.
While PowerGate3+ stocks last as Aliengate now sells PowerGate4 (subscription service and more cost)

I tried out a 145PS Map - This is the standard stage 1 map level for the 1.4TSI with the DQ200 DSG A7 box as the gearbox is the limiting factor.

This level of tune makes a difference, but not a massive one as one might expect.

As I have had my DQ200 upgraded with a TVS Stage2+ TCU map the torque limits are higher and the clamping force upped (etc.) I decided to go a bit higher ...

There is a 160PS map available, but I knew if I tried it I would still have to try the 185PS map from Celtic !!!
So, straight to 185PS it is.

Ordered the map file from Celtic Tuning and they delivered it by eMail within the hour.

When I did the first remap flash to 145PS I used a 25 amp battery supply to augment the vehicle battery - This was on the edge of not being enough because my battery is about 3 years old and at about 60% quality at a guess. I say only just OK because during the flash the coolant fans turned on full blast for the 12 minute duration of the flash. This droppped the voltage to 11.5V even with 25A support - Squeaky time !

Second time flash - Fully charged my main battery, and my auxilliary battery (linked in parallel), and added the 25A supply.
Maintained 11.7V this time. Those fans draw a lot of current !

New flash at 185PS is very nice. Feels great, and very smooth.

I have got a Virtual Dyno app on my phone (Perf Expert) and after painstaking calibration and a lot of test runs on stock power - You have to get used to the procedure and also reject graphs that simply look wrong, I found 2nd gear runs were less variable than 3rd gear runs.
I also found that even with all the correct vehicle factors added - Cd, Frontal area, weight, fuel level, temp, pressure etc. ! - I still had to apply a correction factor (1.25x) to get to standard base power and torque.
After all that you can get some pretty graphs and the 145PS tune came in at about 141PS corrected, while the 185PS tune is reported as 187PS corrected.

There is a fair amount of margin for error in my attempts at Dyno runs so while they give you an idea of what is going on, they are not to be taken as gospel.

Fun though