Integrated Engineering Stage 1 reviews

[sepangrs5]

Hey guys,

I just downloaded my IE Stage 1 ECU/TCU tune and so far it’s been awesome. I have a local mechanic who does a ton of work for me on my audis and he just told me IE is known for blown motors with their tunes.

I’m looking to hear if anyone has had any horror stories with their S4 or S5. I have 55k miles and daily drive my car. I don’t really beat on it and my only mods are forge motorsports atmospheric dump valve and the IE turbo inlet pipe with BMC drop in filter.

Thanks all!



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[INS4NE_B9]

I wouldn't sweat one guy's comments.

While I use 034 and think they have the best overall package, I haven't heard any issues with the IE tune on this platform and don't expect I ever will.

034, IE, and APR are all solid options on this platform.

[FromS60toB61.8t]

Hey guys,

I just downloaded my IE Stage 1 ECU/TCU tune and so far it’s been awesome. I have a local mechanic who does a ton of work for me on my audis and he just told me IE is known for blown motors with their tunes.

I’m looking to hear if anyone has had any horror stories with their S4 or S5. I have 55k miles and daily drive my car. I don’t really beat on it and my only mods are forge motorsports atmospheric dump valve and the IE turbo inlet pipe with BMC drop in filter.

Thanks all!



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First time I've personally heard of this so I would take that with a grain of salt. If they were "known" for blown motors, there would be multiple threads.

Never had an IE tune, but I've used various IE parts for my 2.1 stroker b6 within the last 15 years with zero issues, so take that for what it's worth.

[sepangrs5]

Wow good to know guys, thank you. He told me that there were 21 blown engines just last month that had IE tunes. That’s why I wanted to explore here and see if anyone had a blown engine with IE tune…


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[aintitthelife98]

I'm pretty sure no tuner would still be in business if they were "known for blowing motors" and they were blowing motors at the rate that your mechanic is suggesting.

I ran IE on my previous A3 with no issues and I've had their stage 1, 93 octane tune and full TCU tune on my B9 S4 for over 15,000 miles with no issues whatsoever.

I'd find a new mechanic if I were you!

[sepangrs5]

I'm pretty sure no tuner would still be in business if they were "known for blowing motors" and they were blowing motors at the rate that your mechanic is suggesting.

I ran IE on my previous A3 with no issues and I've had their stage 1, 93 octane tune and full TCU tune on my B9 S4 for over 15,000 miles with no issues whatsoever.

I'd find a new mechanic if I were you!

This is the response I love to hear! That’s amazing that you’ve had such great success with their tunes. I’m excited to dragy and get some feedback on them. I’m running the same stage 1 tune as you too. Sounds like I do need one. Thank for the feedback!!


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[aintitthelife98]

This is the response I love to hear! That’s amazing that you’ve had such great success with their tunes. I’m excited to dragy and get some feedback on them. I’m running the same stage 1 tune as you too. Sounds like I do need one. Thank for the feedback!!


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I hope you enjoy it, I know it took the car to a whole differnet level for me.

If you don't have one already, I'd highly recommend getting an upgraded intercooler ASAP so you can really take advantage of any tune you are running. The tiny stock one will heat soak before you complete a single 1/4 mile run.

[sepangrs5]

I hope you enjoy it, I know it took the car to a whole differnet level for me.

If you don't have one already, I'd highly recommend getting an upgraded intercooler ASAP so you can really take advantage of any tune you are running. The tiny stock one will heat soak before you complete a single 1/4 mile run.

Thank you so much, it’s been a blast. I’m waiting on a seller to get back to me about his wagner, but if someone else has one comparable for sale, I’d love to get my hands on it!


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[arumikpart]

IE stands behind their products and has a history of taking care of customers who may have run into trouble with a product. Keep in mind there has been blown stock engines as well. Have fun with your car you probably have better odds getting hit by lightning.

[initiala4]

I would do a search, but again you dont see any post about IE tunes blowing up.

[TulsaMike4]

People are known for blowing engines, not tuners. Sadly the tuners are the first step of the blame either in failed installations, poor fuel choice, mechanical issues, and of course, idiots behind the wheel. It’s one thing to lose a car on the Dyno from too much timing or a lean condition, but another when the car has been fine for months, randomly lets loose, and then the tuner is blamed. This goes for any company, not just those mentioned in this thread, and unfortunately before asking questions, people just love to hop online and throw their two cents in, which we most recently saw with EPL, and the majority of people responding not even having their tune.

IE is a great company, and their tuner is phenomenal. Enjoy your tune and ignore what the rest say. The people on forums continuously bashing other companies, besides the ones they use or “approve of”, are just your typical insecure car guys with no life attempting to justify their existence.

[Dresta]

Love my IE tune, they have been excellent at answering all of the silly questions that pop into my head about ways I can improve my car.

[sepangrs5]

Thanks so much for all the feedback guys. The mechanic mentioned is a very highly reputable mechanic for Vw and Audi and that’s why I was confused. But clearly there is not truth to his claims.

Something I noticed driving my car today, is that my oil temp while driving is about 190. Before my tune it was about 210 and if I got on it hard, it would be closer to maybe 220. Anyone else see that? Thought that was pretty good to see


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[FromS60toB61.8t]

Thanks so much for all the feedback guys. The mechanic mentioned is a very highly reputable mechanic for Vw and Audi and that’s why I was confused. But clearly there is not truth to his claims.

Something I noticed driving my car today, is that my oil temp while driving is about 190. Before my tune it was about 210 and if I got on it hard, it would be closer to maybe 220. Anyone else see that? Thought that was pretty good to see


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probably the same as the 034 tune, but I know on the 034 tune, the cooling is refined to run cooler than stock.

I'm curious, was the mechanic suggesting another brand of tuner to go with? Or is it just one of those mechanics that talks shit about tunes because they want everything to be factory spec?

[sepangrs5]

probably the same as the 034 tune, but I know on the 034 tune, the cooling is refined to run cooler than stock.

I'm curious, was the mechanic suggesting another brand of tuner to go with? Or is it just one of those mechanics that talks shit about tunes because they want everything to be factory spec?

That would make sense if it was designed to run cooler. And yes, he was plugging another tune that he is affiliated with of course. I’m going to leave the name out for this posts sake lol


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[Tyler@IE]

Wow, I'm sorry to see this. I would love to have the chance to talk to this guy and see where he is getting his information and have the chance to set the record straight. We have had zero failures in the B9 3.0T world, not a single engine, transmission, turbo, otherwise. Same story in pretty much any platform. The "21 engines" is an over-exaggeration but may be a rumor that stemmed from some truth that we have been VERY honest about. We pushed out a highly requested 2-step launch control and rolling anti-lag feature to the MQB market (MK7 GTI, Golf R & 8V A3, S3), which is one of our largest tune markets for sure. There was a very rare ECU variation (luckily it small) that had a bug when the exact match of software loaded and feature options caused it to ignore a single line of safety code in the programming and threw the rods through the block of a few engines. We caught it quickly, but not before a few customers lost their engines. More importantly than it happening, in my opinion, is how we handled it... we reimbursed any fees for towing etc., paid for rental cars, found trusted shops, replaced the engines, upgraded them to our Stage 3 GT2260S turbo setup, and covered all costs returning them with a car better than it started. That was a severe custom code project with a very unfortunate bug -luckily, it only affected a handful of people out of a pool containing thousands of flashes. This is the only time in the history of our company something like that has happened in tuning, and the customers were taken care of 100%, and every one of them is happy and still a customer today. That was a 1-in-a-million issue and so incredibly unlikely to ever happen again with how we engineer these products here. At least it's good to know if the very unlikely thing ever did happen (and no company is perfect), you know IE has your back.

We have implemented massive investments in equipment, training, and practices in our calibration department that very few companies have. We use advanced sensors to collect huge amounts of login data beyond the stock ECU, including cylinder pressures and strict various altitude/climate testing on every platform. You won't find a safer tune than we are producing. I'm glad you love your tune, and so much BIG stuff is coming from us for this platform from us; you're in for a good time!

[sepangrs5]

Wow, I'm sorry to see this. I would love to have the chance to talk to this guy and see where he is getting his information and have the chance to set the record straight. We have had zero failures in the B9 3.0T world, not a single engine, transmission, turbo, otherwise. Same story in pretty much any platform. The "21 engines" is an over-exaggeration but may be a rumor that stemmed from some truth that we have been VERY honest about. We pushed out a highly requested 2-step launch control and rolling anti-lag feature to the MQB market (MK7 GTI, Golf R & 8V A3, S3), which is one of our largest tune markets for sure. There was a very rare ECU variation (luckily it small) that had a bug when the exact match of software loaded and feature options caused it to ignore a single line of safety code in the programming and threw the rods through the block of a few engines. We caught it quickly, but not before a few customers lost their engines. More importantly than it happening, in my opinion, is how we handled it... we reimbursed any fees for towing etc., paid for rental cars, found trusted shops, replaced the engines, upgraded them to our Stage 3 GT2260S turbo setup, and covered all costs returning them with a car better than it started. That was a severe custom code project with a very unfortunate bug -luckily, it only affected a handful of people out of a pool containing thousands of flashes. This is the only time in the history of our company something like that has happened in tuning, and the customers were taken care of 100%, and every one of them is happy and still a customer today. That was a 1-in-a-million issue and so incredibly unlikely to ever happen again with how we engineer these products here. At least it's good to know if the very unlikely thing ever did happen (and no company is perfect), you know IE has your back.

We have implemented massive investments in equipment, training, and practices in our calibration department that very few companies have. We use advanced sensors to collect huge amounts of login data beyond the stock ECU, including cylinder pressures and strict various altitude/climate testing on every platform. You won't find a safer tune than we are producing. I'm glad you love your tune, and so much BIG stuff is coming from us for this platform frmo us; you're in for a good time!

First off, thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post. Just the fact that you took the time to address my concerns and the rumor I heard speaks volumes to who IE is as a company and how amazing your customer service is. Every time I’ve had a question, someone has been there to answer it and explain to me the answer. This alone was a huge factor in why I chose IE vs the several other tuning companies out there. I met someone over the weekend who ironically works at FCP Euro, and when I told him the same claim, he laughed and said there was just no way it was true. He continued to tell me how kind everyone at IE is and how much he likes their products.

Secondly, how you handled the tuning situation when it happened further proves that you guys are a notch above the rest. I’ll always choose a company that puts their customers first.

Lastly, this is the first time tuning any of my cars and WOW this tune is amazing. It feels so much faster in dynamic and just as smooth as stock in comfort mode. I’m so glad I went with IE as a stage 1 tune and I’m so eager to keep the fun going. I can’t wait to see what else IE has in store! You guys rock!!!


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[Tyler@IE]

First off, thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post. Just the fact that you took the time to address my concerns and the rumor I heard speaks volumes to who IE is as a company and how amazing your customer service is. Every time I’ve had a question, someone has been there to answer it and explain to me the answer. This alone was a huge factor in why I chose IE vs the several other tuning companies out there. I met someone over the weekend who ironically works at FCP Euro, and when I told him the same claim, he laughed and said there was just no way it was true. He continued to tell me how kind everyone at IE is and how much he likes their products.

Secondly, how you handled the tuning situation when it happened further proves that you guys are a notch above the rest. I’ll always choose a company that puts their customers first.

Lastly, this is the first time tuning any of my cars and WOW this tune is amazing. It feels so much faster in dynamic and just as smooth as stock in comfort mode. I’m so glad I went with IE as a stage 1 tune and I’m so eager to keep the fun going. I can’t wait to see what else IE has in store! You guys rock!!!


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Our lead calibrator on the B9 3.0T platform is seriously in love and obsessed over it and I can't even begin to express his passion and the amount of late-night and weekend hours he has put into these calibrations. It is an awesome tune and I have had so much fun driving it myself -LOVE this platform. We are constantly finding more refinements in these files and working on updates and, we also have some large new tuning system updates coming that you guys are going to love. B9 platform has endles potential, we ar ejust getting started. :)

[sepangrs5]

Our lead calibrator on the B9 3.0T platform is seriously in love and obsessed over it and I can't even begin to express his passion and the amount of late-night and weekend hours he has put into these calibrations. It is an awesome tune and I have had so much fun driving it myself -LOVE this platform. We are constantly finding more refinements in these files and working on updates and, we also have some large new tuning system updates coming that you guys are going to love. B9 platform has endles potential, we ar ejust getting started. :)

I can imagine so! It’s a great platform and so much fun. I’m excited to see the updates that come out. The car performs well and feels really good. What’re you guys seeing for a 60-130 on your stage 3+ S4? Have you guys timed it yet? I’d be curious to see!


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[Sturn992]

IE for the CS win!!!!
As for your mechanic, I would consider finding a new one. People who like to stretch the truth never do it just once. Especially when they profit from the outcome.

[Auditude437]

Wow, I'm sorry to see this. I would love to have the chance to talk to this guy and see where he is getting his information and have the chance to set the record straight. We have had zero failures in the B9 3.0T world, not a single engine, transmission, turbo, otherwise. Same story in pretty much any platform. The "21 engines" is an over-exaggeration but may be a rumor that stemmed from some truth that we have been VERY honest about. We pushed out a highly requested 2-step launch control and rolling anti-lag feature to the MQB market (MK7 GTI, Golf R & 8V A3, S3), which is one of our largest tune markets for sure. There was a very rare ECU variation (luckily it small) that had a bug when the exact match of software loaded and feature options caused it to ignore a single line of safety code in the programming and threw the rods through the block of a few engines. We caught it quickly, but not before a few customers lost their engines. More importantly than it happening, in my opinion, is how we handled it... we reimbursed any fees for towing etc., paid for rental cars, found trusted shops, replaced the engines, upgraded them to our Stage 3 GT2260S turbo setup, and covered all costs returning them with a car better than it started. That was a severe custom code project with a very unfortunate bug -luckily, it only affected a handful of people out of a pool containing thousands of flashes. This is the only time in the history of our company something like that has happened in tuning, and the customers were taken care of 100%, and every one of them is happy and still a customer today. That was a 1-in-a-million issue and so incredibly unlikely to ever happen again with how we engineer these products here. At least it's good to know if the very unlikely thing ever did happen (and no company is perfect), you know IE has your back.

We have implemented massive investments in equipment, training, and practices in our calibration department that very few companies have. We use advanced sensors to collect huge amounts of login data beyond the stock ECU, including cylinder pressures and strict various altitude/climate testing on every platform. You won't find a safer tune than we are producing. I'm glad you love your tune, and so much BIG stuff is coming from us for this platform from us; you're in for a good time!

Appreciate the transparency and honesty, Tyler....I'm currently stage 1 with IE as well and may go stage 3 in the future!

[Tyler@IE]

I can imagine so! It’s a great platform and so much fun. I’m excited to see the updates that come out. The car performs well and feels really good. What’re you guys seeing for a 60-130 on your stage 3+ S4? Have you guys timed it yet? I’d be curious to see!

I'm not sure on 60mph-130mph, but here is a time slip that will give you a good idea.

Appreciate the transparency and honesty, Tyler....I'm currently stage 1 with IE as well and may go stage 3 in the future!

Of course! And let me know if you have any questions about our Stage 3 setup. I'm very educated and personally spent a lot of time in our Stage 3 development; I would be happy to help. It's an amazing amount of fun!