Experience with Racingline Tunes?

[crosstownbeef]

Hey everyone!

I’m woo’d by the Racingline story, and love the fit and finish of the parts that I’ve seen. I’m planning to do a stage 1 tune in spring and Racingline’s is the one I’ve heard least about (for our cars, anyway). Wondering if anyone here has any experience they can share


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[MSq5]

Why would you want to go with a UK based company? I know they have a VAG pedigree, but they are very late to the tuning game for our engine. Their numbers seem mild.

I can't tell for sure, but it also seems you would be tied to a dealer to use their hardware to flash your tune. Wouldn't it make more sense to select one of the well-established US based flash-at-home cloud based tuners? There is plenty of hard data on this board regarding the performance of those tunes. Lots of 1/8, 1/4 mile time slips, Dragy runs and 0-60.

[EvolutionArmory]

If you want a stage 2 tune that is as fast as US based stage 1 tunes, I’d say go for it? 😀

You’d be foolish to not just go with APR, IE, 034 or GIAC.

[minman26]

If you want a stage 2 tune that is as fast as US based stage 1 tunes, I’d say go for it? 😀

You’d be foolish to not just go with APR, IE, 034 or GIAC.

Forgot EPL, but what the guys above said.

[sepheroth86]

Coming from some experience in tuners... Pick one with Ethanol support if you have it available in your area.

[MSq5]

Forgot EPL, but what the guys above said.

Yes, include EPL. EPL has done quite well for me, progressing from Stage 1, then Stage 2, now Stage 2 double pulley. It has superb customer service. They will develop custom tunes based on your data logs. Their tunes are very safe. You just don't hear of blown engines on their tunes, which is not the case with some others.

They do tend to be a little (not much) more conservative, not pushing timing into excessively high EGTs which extends cat life and lowers the risk of detonation. They may leave a whopping 5 hp on the table. I like their approach.

[Chris@EPL]

LMK we just started our Holiday Sale and we are doing Stage 1 for $449 or Stage 2 for $599 and our DSG TCU tune for $349.

[mahhdd]

If you want the sportiest feel (where you literally feel going on and off throttle) and you're going to really look to push the car: 034

If you want a comfortable beast and break-neck response speeds for customer service: EPL

I've owned both, and like both. They're definitely different in how they feel, though. The general consensus is that EPL has a spotless track record.

[XLR8Performance]

Hey, we are having our end of the year sale, including all Racingline products! We are offering great bundle deals for those interested in software and hardware.

For more info, please DM or call me at 203-483-6100, or email me at [email protected]

Here is a link to our site
https://xlr8performance.com/?gclid=C...kMdEUm1pP15tIg.

[crosstownbeef]

I really appreciate all of the responses! I’m actually okay with a milder tune, and don’t see myself going beyond stage 1. I have no dreams of taking down hellcats but would love a little more aggression than the car has stock. Using dealer hardware is not a dealbreaker necessarily, and I do have shops that deal in APR and Racingline within comfortable driving distance. But, the idea of being able to self install and receive updates is appealing.

I had an APR tune on my previous 2.0T, and was happy with it, but it seems to be less popular for our motors. At least on this forum :)

Thanks everyone for giving me a lot to chew on. I now have no idea what I’m going to do lol


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[sepheroth86]

I really appreciate all of the responses! I’m actually okay with a milder tune, and don’t see myself going beyond stage 1. I have no dreams of taking down hellcats but would love a little more aggression than the car has stock. Using dealer hardware is not a dealbreaker necessarily, and I do have shops that deal in APR and Racingline within comfortable driving distance. But, the idea of being able to self install and receive updates is appealing.

I had an APR tune on my previous 2.0T, and was happy with it, but it seems to be less popular for our motors. At least on this forum :)

Thanks everyone for giving me a lot to chew on. I now have no idea what I’m going to do lol


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I have APR currently. It has worked flawlessly.

That being said, I purchased 034 files for ethanol support. APR while solid AF, has moved on from the 3.0t platform.

[EvolutionArmory]

If you have no plans on going above stage 1, going with a company like APR is a no brainer. Especially since it’s only 600 bucks. It would be foolish to go with Racingline over APR if there are dealers for both near you.

I’m getting APR stage 1 93 and TCU tune in a couple weeks. There is no E85 around me so I don’t need support for it. It’s going to cost me 1100 bucks to be able to run low 12’s.

You’re going to buy this Racingline tune and be disappointed when it’s barely faster than stock. Especially if you don’t get a TCU tune. That’s assuming you’re not manual.

[mahhdd]

Here's the issue with APR... They no longer support the platform.

I don't think EPL has updated their tune since 2018; but, they at least have support for it... In addition, they have a Stage 1 "beta" adjustable tune... In my experience, that tune was sick! Even when the ethanol is set to 0%, it burbles and it offers a small bump in power over their Stage 1.

In addition, the APR tune leaves power on the table.

Being a few handful of userse who has tried both tunes, and owning 034's for a few months, I can still recommend EPL's. That should be a a heavy endorsement. I sold my EPL tunes earlier this year to another user...

[EvolutionArmory]

You don’t need to update your tune when it’s just been working fine for years. There’s plenty of low 12’s APR stage 1 cars. If you want to go all out, maybe APR isn’t the tune you should buy but if you want a stage 1 tune that just works pretty consistently, APR is still a contender.

I always get a kick out of the “they don’t support our platform” comments. They are always the first to get a tune to market and their tunes are usually better or on par with everyone playing catch up to them. They also support WAY more platforms than everyone else. 😉

[sepheroth86]

You don’t need to update your tune when it’s just been working fine for years. There’s plenty of low 12’s APR stage 1 cars. If you want to go all out, maybe APR isn’t the tune you should buy but if you want a stage 1 tune that just works pretty consistently, APR is still a contender.

I always get a kick out of the “they don’t support our platform” comments. They are always the first to get a tune to market and their tunes are usually better or on par with everyone playing catch up to them. They also support WAY more platforms than everyone else. 😉

I think that the comments about moving on from the platform are more in regards to the fact that there are some potentially HUGE upgrades for these cars in the pipeline (TVS1900 from Merc and port fuel injection). Since they (APR) have moved on, they will not offer tunes that support these upgrades.

While you are correct, that at many of the currently available tune stages APR is a solid contender. When it comes to support for upgrades in the (hopefully near) future, APR will not be providing any such products.

[SouthernBoy]

So how does Unitronics stack up against EPL and APR? I'm talking their Stage 1+ (93 file) tune.

[mahhdd]

You don’t need to update your tune when it’s just been working fine for years. There’s plenty of low 12’s APR stage 1 cars. If you want to go all out, maybe APR isn’t the tune you should buy but if you want a stage 1 tune that just works pretty consistently, APR is still a contender.

I always get a kick out of the “they don’t support our platform” comments. They are always the first to get a tune to market and their tunes are usually better or on par with everyone playing catch up to them. They also support WAY more platforms than everyone else. 😉

It may be working fine.... But...

Is it the most robust in its feature set?
Is it putting out the SAFEST amount of horsepower?
Can you flash it yourself? It may be $600; but, you have to pay the "labor" of the APR dealer.
Will they support new products (such as the TVS1900 from Merc, port fuel injection from JXB, superdupercharger from 034)

These are valid questions. Someone's level of importance on each will vary.

Someone could say, "Ehh... I don't give a shit... I just want something that works, I want someone to do it for me, I have a reasonable flash cost from an APR dealer, and I want to be one-and-done" - APR would be fine for someone.

I think it's important to support companies that have an interest in your car still. Not ones that were first to the game, and have since moved in.

[EvolutionArmory]

Those are all valid points but the OP already said he’s not interested in going beyond. You gotta give the right advice to the right guy. Know what I mean? Like me for instance. I have no desire to go above single pulley 100 octane so APR is fine for me.

He doesn’t wanna go over stage 1 and all the stage 1 tunes are very similar. APR is cheapest. Why pay more for the same power? All the stage 1 tunes do 12.3-12.0 with the very rare sub 12. When APR released V2 of the tune it was a substantial increase. There was no need to improve it anymore.

You guys saying there are better options for balls out performance aren’t wrong. What I’m saying is it’s hard to beat APR for stage 1. And even with paying a dealer to flash it, with the tune at home guys you have to pay for their flash loader, which probably costs more than the fee you’ll pay at an APR dealer.

[sepheroth86]

Those are all valid points but the OP already said he’s not interested in going beyond. You gotta give the right advice to the right guy. Know what I mean? Like me for instance. I have no desire to go above single pulley 100 octane so APR is fine for me.

He doesn’t wanna go over stage 1 and all the stage 1 tunes are very similar. APR is cheapest. Why pay more for the same power? All the stage 1 tunes do 12.3-12.0 with the very rare sub 12. When APR released V2 of the tune it was a substantial increase. There was no need to improve it anymore.

You guys saying there are better options for balls out performance aren’t wrong. What I’m saying is it’s hard to beat APR for stage 1. And even with paying a dealer to flash it, with the tune at home guys you have to pay for their flash loader, which probably costs more than the fee you’ll pay at an APR dealer.

"I'm only going stage 1...."

Famous last words, lol.

The itch for more power is a serious one. I am totally happy with the performance of my APR flash it has been dead nuts and makes the car seriously quick. However, future me wants way more out of it. lol

[crosstownbeef]

"I'm only going stage 1...."

Famous last words, lol.

I know, right? The shop that did the tune on my old CC gave me the same warning. I guess they were kind of right, I bought a faster car


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[EvolutionArmory]

I’m going to drive this S4 for a few years and slide it over to the wife when she needs a new car. The days of me spending a couple-few thousand in mods are over. I’ll do stage one, I already bought a Merc HX and I’ll do single pulley eventually. That’s it. I’ll do the pulley upgrade next year maybe, maybe not. These cars fun stock so I’ll be happy as hell with Stage 1 or stage 2, single pulley.

[jc_B8_A4]

I’m going to drive this S4 for a few years and slide it over to the wife when she needs a new car. The days of me spending a couple-few thousand in mods are over. I’ll do stage one, I already bought a Merc HX and I’ll do single pulley eventually. That’s it. I’ll do the pulley upgrade next year maybe, maybe not. These cars fun stock so I’ll be happy as hell with Stage 1 or stage 2, single pulley.

My opinion would be go straight to single pulley. I just did it last week and the car is nuts now. I bought ecs pulley since they had it on sale for like $85 with a new belt. Gonna do their heat exchanger in the spring


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[EvolutionArmory]

Nah. I’m gonna do single pulley when I throw the heat exchanger on. In no hurry when it’s 30 degrees out and super negative DA. That’s a project for April or May.

[sepheroth86]

Crank pulley > blower pulley.

Get rid of the possibility of the factory delaminating crank pulley/failure.

[mahhdd]

Easier to install, too.
More surface area on the stock S/C pulley, less risk of slippage.

[S4Gibbs]

I had my car tuned with APR Stage1 for a few weeks, but ended up returning it inside their 30day trial.

Main reason was that I couldn't get over the jerky throttle response of APR, which I heard 034's tune has as well. The car no longer drove like a refined Audi, regardless of what Drive Select mode it was in. 6MT shifting was also more awkward as a result. I personally enjoy chilled-out rows around town more than just banging gears, so APR was out.

Went with GIAC instead. GIAC retained the OEM progressive/adaptive throttle feel in their tune, instead of slapping a more "linear" throttle map/multiplier on it and calling it a day. Seemed more of a nit-picked tune overall to me, which is maybe why GIAC was able to find more power. Haven't heard of any GIAC engines blowing up either.

Anyway, take my and anyone's tuning recommendation with a grain of salt. Ask any man for life advice, and they'll usually recommend paths they chose. All the tunes essentially do the same for stage1-2 and you'll probably be happy with any.

[mahhdd]

I had my car tuned with APR Stage1 for a few weeks, but ended up returning it inside their 30day trial.

Main reason was that I couldn't get over the jerky throttle response of APR, which I heard 034's tune has as well. The car no longer drove like a refined Audi, regardless of what Drive Select mode it was in. 6MT shifting was also more awkward as a result. I personally enjoy chilled-out rows around town more than just banging gears, so APR was out.

Went with GIAC instead. GIAC retained the OEM progressive/adaptive throttle feel in their tune, instead of slapping a more "linear" throttle map/multiplier on it and calling it a day. Seemed more of a nit-picked tune overall to me, which is maybe why GIAC was able to find more power. Haven't heard of any GIAC engines blowing up either.

Anyway, take my and anyone's tuning recommendation with a grain of salt. Ask any man for life advice, and they'll usually recommend paths they chose. All the tunes essentially do the same for stage1-2 and you'll probably be happy with any.

FWIW, 034 has begun to address this. I'm on their beta tune, which eliminates the hard jerks. I think I was the guy who pushed them to address it, because I was about to return theirs and gave detail on what was happening and when.


That said, you can still feel on/off throttle. It feels sporty; but, I get tired of it sometimes.

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[EvolutionArmory]

Most tunes are going to get rid of the refined throttle mapping so picking one tune over the other solely based on that is kind of hard to do.

GIAC might have a more civilized throttle map but other aspects of their tune might make them a worse choice. Like they stick you with a 4K only launch control RPM and 4K is going to give you wheel slip with most street tires. If GIAC offered a lower launch RPM I would go with them in a heart beat but since APR offers more adjustability on the TCU tune, I’m going with them.

You definitely nailed it with all of these Stage 1 tunes being relatively similar in gains though. You can’t really make a wrong choice with the main 4 tuning companies.

GIAC is also the most expensive but at least they give you a loaded ECU with that price.