2017 A3 Premium Tune

[JimVonBaden]

No doubt this has been covered at length, but a forum search and a google search have turned up nothing.

I am interested in a tune for my A3 Quatro 2.0. I do not want any mechanical changes, just a tune to up the HP and torque.

My 2008 Saturn Sky Redline 2.0T gained 60 hp and torque with nothing but a tune. I realize that this is not likely with the A3, but what is available?

Thanks,

[brian23A3]

Here's what I found.

I typed "A3 tune" into Google and got results for APR, Unitronic, EQT, Cobb, etc.

As well as results from this forum.


And more.


https://www.google.com/search?q=a3+t...obile&ie=UTF-8



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[JimVonBaden]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I am looking for recommendations for a simple tune, not a bunch of complicated options that require mods. I want it reasonably safe, and reasonably priced.

Google and this forum do not make it clear, many companies are unclear, and I don't trust that what they advertise is what I will get. Real world experience is what I seek.

Thanks for making me see that I was not clear enough.

[NGittings91]

All Stage 1 tunes will give you a significant boost in hp and tq. Stage 1 doesn't require any hardware changes, just a flash on the ECU.

[JimVonBaden]

All Stage 1 tunes will give you a significant boost in hp and tq. Stage 1 doesn't require any hardware changes, just a flash on the ECU.

Do you have a local recommendation?

[NGittings91]

Do you have a local recommendation?

Do you want the ability to tune at home?

[JimVonBaden]

Do you want the ability to tune at home?

I do not have a tune tool.

[NGittings91]

I do not have a tune tool.

Eurodyne, Unitronic, and Cobb provide the adapters to be able to tune in your driveway. Alot of others require taking it to one of their "dealer" to have it tuned. I have Eurodyne and have had no issues with them. One thing I recommend is think about the future for the car, ie what you plan to do with it in the future.

[JimVonBaden]

Eurodyne, Unitronic, and Cobb provide the adapters to be able to tune in your driveway. Alot of others require taking it to one of their "dealer" to have it tuned. I have Eurodyne and have had no issues with them. One thing I recommend is think about the future for the car, ie what you plan to do with it in the future.

How much is an adapter, plus tune? One reason I hesitate to go that route is the cost of the tool and tune is prohibitive. When I did my Sky Redline 2.0T, it was $250 to have it done. I realize that is not a realistic figure today, but $800-1000 is too much for a simple tune.

I do not plan any other performance mods, and have no plans for racing it.

[NGittings91]

How much is an adapter, plus tune? One reason I hesitate to go that route is the cost of the tool and tune is prohibitive. When I did my Sky Redline 2.0T, it was $250 to have it done. I realize that is not a realistic figure today, but $800-1000 is too much for a simple tune.

I do not plan any other performance mods, and have no plans for racing it.

Tunes will range between $700-$1000. With any engine tune these cars will require a TCU tune on top of it.

[JimVonBaden]

Tunes will range between $700-$1000. With any engine tune these cars will require a TCU tune on top of it.

I'm not sure I understand. Why two tunes?

[NGittings91]

The DSG trans can't handle the torque in stock form. The tuning ups the clamping pressure as to prevent slippage.

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[CavEsk1337]

With an ECU (Engine) and DSG (Transmission) tune, and the cable to do it yourself, you will be in the $12-1400 range depending on which company you go with.

[JimVonBaden]

Thanks guys. Sounds like a tune will overly stress the car. My number one concern is reliability. Number two is cost. Both sound like they are not worth it.

I appreciate the assistance.

[B6 Turbo]

Look into integrated engineering. I just tuned my car at my house. They have stage 1 low torque which is what I have and that doesn’t require a tcu tune. According to their numbers I’m right under 300hp and right around 340ftlb of torque. Pricing however is going to be the same with roughly every tuner. I would recommend Integrated Engineering, considering the option of a “less stressful” file is available. I also like the ability to flash from my home for future upgrades.

[letterj]

I think APR is likely one of the more conservative ECU tunes out there. Some users here have reported Stage 1 from other tuners like IE suppress things like Knock Detection which could be a liability in the future. As some have mentioned above: Eurodyne, Unitronic, and Cobb (EQT and Stratified) all flash through at-home units that add to the upfront cost, but is offset by the lower cost of any tunes beyond the first. APR is ~$500 (they used to be over $700), but you need to have it done at an APR dealer, some of whom will charge you $100 for labor.

I now have an EQT tune on my A3 and love it. No regrets and I keep the Cobb AP mounted to pull logs, errors and monitor things like Oil temp. Not everyone sees value in that though so if you just want to set it and forget it, APR might be the way to go, especially if you're worried about your warranty

[texasboy21]

Thanks guys. Sounds like a tune will overly stress the car. My number one concern is reliability. Number two is cost. Both sound like they are not worth it.

I appreciate the assistance.

A basic reflash of the ECU and/or TCU will not over stress the car. You do not need a TCU tune, but it is often recommended as engine and trans are controlled by separate computers.

Just like you can flash the engine computer and make more power, you can flash the transmission ECU to improve performance with optimized shift points, shift speeds, etc.

Any reputable tuner will offer a flash for the ECU and/or TCU that is suitable for all stock hardware. You cant go wrong with APR, UM, 034, Uni, Eurodyne, EQT, GIAC, and countless others. It will completely transform the car, and you can expect to see gains of 50-100 HP over stock!

[brian23A3]

The best options for you would probably be a piggy back. It's close to a stage 1 tune and the DSG tune is not required. (Though it can help, but again, more $)

There are occasionally used piggyback in the classifieds, eBay, etc.

JB1, JB4, Dinan, Neuspeed, and Racechip may work for you.

If it's power probably JB4 and then Racechip would be the fastest. The rest give an extra bit but not quite as much.

All are completely reversible and you can then sell used to recuperate some money.

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[JimVonBaden]

Look into integrated engineering. I just tuned my car at my house. They have stage 1 low torque which is what I have and that doesn’t require a tcu tune. According to their numbers I’m right under 300hp and right around 340ftlb of torque. Pricing however is going to be the same with roughly every tuner. I would recommend Integrated Engineering, considering the option of a “less stressful” file is available. I also like the ability to flash from my home for future upgrades.

I think APR is likely one of the more conservative ECU tunes out there. Some users here have reported Stage 1 from other tuners like IE suppress things like Knock Detection which could be a liability in the future. As some have mentioned above: Eurodyne, Unitronic, and Cobb (EQT and Stratified) all flash through at-home units that add to the upfront cost, but is offset by the lower cost of any tunes beyond the first. APR is ~$500 (they used to be over $700), but you need to have it done at an APR dealer, some of whom will charge you $100 for labor.

I now have an EQT tune on my A3 and love it. No regrets and I keep the Cobb AP mounted to pull logs, errors and monitor things like Oil temp. Not everyone sees value in that though so if you just want to set it and forget it, APR might be the way to go, especially if you're worried about your warranty

A basic reflash of the ECU and/or TCU will not over stress the car. You do not need a TCU tune, but it is often recommended as engine and trans are controlled by separate computers.

Just like you can flash the engine computer and make more power, you can flash the transmission ECU to improve performance with optimized shift points, shift speeds, etc.

Any reputable tuner will offer a flash for the ECU and/or TCU that is suitable for all stock hardware. You cant go wrong with APR, UM, 034, Uni, Eurodyne, EQT, GIAC, and countless others. It will completely transform the car, and you can expect to see gains of 50-100 HP over stock!

Thanks guys, a lot to consider.

[JimVonBaden]

The best options for you would probably be a piggy back. It's close to a stage 1 tune and the DSG tune is not required. (Though it can help, but again, more $)

There are occasionally used piggyback in the classifieds, eBay, etc.

JB1, JB4, Dinan, Neuspeed, and Racechip may work for you.

If it's power probably JB4 and then Racechip would be the fastest. The rest give an extra bit but not quite as much.

All are completely reversible and you can then sell used to recuperate some money.

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A little googling and Racechip comes in cheapest, but JB4 looks like a better deal. Both in my range.

Who has direct experience on a bone stock car?

[fischman]

I have been running the JB4 on a stock car for the past year. Definitely gives a nice bump in power with out requiring anything special. It also allows you to go quite far with tuning if you do decide to add things down the road. Mine will be going up for sale soon as I've decided to upgrade to the Cobb with EQT ECU/TCU(DSG) tunes with a downpipe and I also have plans to go bigger down the road.

For someone who wants reliability and a modest bump with some ability to grow, JB4 is a great way to go and can't be beat on price.

Josh

[JimVonBaden]

I have been running the JB4 on a stock car for the past year. Definitely gives a nice bump in power with out requiring anything special. It also allows you to go quite far with tuning if you do decide to add things down the road. Mine will be going up for sale soon as I've decided to upgrade to the Cobb with EQT ECU/TCU(DSG) tunes with a downpipe and I also have plans to go bigger down the road.

For someone who wants reliability and a modest bump with some ability to grow, JB4 is a great way to go and can't be beat on price.

Josh

Is yours suitable for my car? I would be very interested, and am not in a hurry.

Thanks!

[fischman]

Is yours suitable for my car? I would be very interested, and am not in a hurry.

Thanks!

Yep, I have a 2017 A3 Premium Plus 2.0T. The version I have is for the S3, but according to George at Berger Tuning, it's the exact same as the A3's. It's worked great. I'll message you when I get ready to sell it. It comes with the Bluetooth module so you can connect to it via the app on your phone. The app does cost money, but it's great because you can log with it and update maps on the fly.

Josh

[JimVonBaden]

Yep, I have a 2017 A3 Premium Plus 2.0T. The version I have is for the S3, but according to George at Berger Tuning, it's the exact same as the A3's. It's worked great. I'll message you when I get ready to sell it. It comes with the Bluetooth module so you can connect to it via the app on your phone. The app does cost money, but it's great because you can log with it and update maps on the fly.

Josh

Great! Definitely PM me.

Thanks,

[aaronc7]

Buy a Cobb AP used, and you can resell it when you take it off. Makes this option a lot cheaper, all things considered.

[texasboy21]

A little googling and Racechip comes in cheapest, but JB4 looks like a better deal. Both in my range.

Who has direct experience on a bone stock car?

I have a JB4 for sale currently if you are interested, its in the classifieds. I ran it for about a year and it was amazing. I am now going with an ECU+TCU tune because my warranty ended and I have installed a catless downpipe.

[JimVonBaden]

I went ahead and got the Race Chip. It was less expensive, less invasive, and specifically listed my car.






Well packaged, and complete with instructions, though the instructions were slightly lacking.

Pop the cover off the engine, and identify the manifold pressure sensor;




This is where you plug in cable part B.



Next feed cable part A down to the Boost Pressure Sensor.


To plug into the intake boost sensor, you need to pull the shield for the bottom of the car. The manual says it is a small plate, but on the Quatro it is a substantial metal plate. I suggest you leave the rear two 13mm bolts in place, but loose. Remove the remaining 13mm bolts, T27 Torx across the front, and T25 Torx on the side trim, then drop the plate down, leaving it hanging by the last 2 bolts. This makes it MUCH easier to reinstall, and you still have easy access to the sensor.




Disconnect the sensor and plug in the B cable to the sensor, and the factory wire plug.




Next use the supplied zip ties to secure the wiring away from the moving parts on the intake pipe.



Back up top move the main plug over by the battery under the large turbo outlet pipe.




Ensuring that there is no power on, remove the blank plug and install the Race Chip unit. It should not light up.


Leave it loose for the moment. Go in the car and turn it on, but do not start it. The dash should act normally, and lights should go out as normal. The Race Chip will be lit. If all is well so far, start the car. It should start normally, not unusual lights on. Rev it a few times. If it revs normally, shut off the car and finish the install.

I punched a small hole in the battery box and zip tied the unit to it, then cleaned up and zip tied all the wiring so it doesn't rub or move.



Then I reinstalled the engine cover and went for a test ride. The manual discusses how to optimize it, but mine was good on the factory setting. It made an immediate difference. The slight off idle cold stumble was gone, and above 3K RPM there was a significant improvement according to my calibrated butt dyno. Race Chip says 41 hp and 47 ft pounds of torque increase, and it sure feels like it. YMMV.



All in all, a good deal for $275.

Thanks to all who contributed to the thread, and offers.