Fixeroh

Seems to be a backorder on APR manufactured downpipes currently. The shop doing my work will contact me when they receive the item but it could be another 3 weeks+. Seems to be a popular item or a very low production run. Stay tuned to this Bat channel for more information.............

AB8V

I got the 91 octane APR stage 1 on my 2015 A3 2.0T Quattro a couple weeks ago. I drive a lot for work so my car had about 45,000 on it when I got the tune. I've been wanting it for a while and since they are $100 off this month I pulled the trigger. I also have a VWR R600 intake. It's an awesome increase in power and really feels like it's running how it should've from the factory. No regrets yet, but I've put about 1,000 miles on it! I can tell you that you will certainly have a smile on your face the first time you step on it!!

score0412

Great to hear!

radmanboca

I have a 2018 S5 3.0T and did the APR ECU Stage 1 after 22,000 miles for two reasons:

1. Increased HP and torque
2. That engine engine start/stop crap Audi put on their cars
3. Speed limiting

The upgrade was great for about 7-8k miles - I absolutely LOVED the power and torque and the engine start/stop crap GONE along with the speed limiting.

Just before 31,000 miles my car suddenly overheats. BADLY, VERY BADLY, and for no visible reason. However based on the symptoms I was sure the water pump was blown and no fluid was circulating. I managed to limp to Audi by start/stop/waiting anc driving 1 mile at a time.

They replaced the water pump, thermo, flushed the system and it was still overheating like crazy. The final part they replaced was a pressure valve on the coolant system that releases all pressure from the closed system which was like a 5-10 dollar part. They also flashed the ECU back to stock and VOIDED MY EXTENDED WARRANTEE.

The point is I am rather convinced the APR Stage 1 on my ECU caused the overheating due to the increased heat it obviously creates in the engine system that must be dissipated. Why would that be? Because the extra power and torque come from making the engine burn rich (NOT from changing shift points, everyone...), which is why the engine creates much more heat.

Besides the fact I would have to pay APR again to upgrade my ECU, the likelihood is very high it will just cause a heat problem all over again (and other additional problems from the rich mixture). I hate that engine start/stop crap SOOOO bad it's tempting to do the upgrade again for that reason alone.

Ultimately it's the heat problem the APR ECU Upgrade created that I can't afford to have happen again or blow the engine Voiding the warrantee screwed me badly too. Remember you have flash the ECU back to stock again if you ever sell the car too.

Bottom line is I chose the best, APR, to do the tuning and it cost me dearly. You want more horsepower??? Then buy a faster car with a higher performance engine. Don't make the mistake I did!

will13k7

tunes can expose defective parts or parts barely in spec that might have kept working at oem power levels, it's the luck of the draw, but the number of folks that get unlucky are very low, and yes, your warranty is void when you tune your car. some tuners could be more up front about this though. as the saying goes it is "pay to play".

ThePav

The first thing dealerships do is flash it back to stock to see if that was the issue so sounds like you just had a cheap faulty part and wasted hundreds by going to a dealership.

radmanboca

Yes, the APR folks were not 100% clear on that risk and indeed had I known this I would not have done the tune until after the warrantee expired.

As I said in my original post title DONT DO IT. After the warrantee expires, its probably less of a risk really. The good news is they fixed the problem and it cost me zip, but now the warrantee was voided so painful, but maybe I'm just unlucky? Honestly speaking, it only stands to reason that the tune is likely what caused the part to fail prematurely and then the crazy overheating, but it's impossible to know for sure either way.

ThePav

But they are, It's stated on their website on every page at the bottom.

The dealership did it for free because it clearly wasn't an issue with the tune.

signde

or you could have gotten the warrantied tune from APR plus, which covers anything audi would deny. i had a leaking water pump and audi denied but apr plus covered it, no questions asked.

there are thousands of people running APR tune on your platform. if this were a problem directly caused by the APR tune, everyone would be talking about it.

radmanboca

I have a 2018 S5 Prestige Plus Coupe (hard top), and it has the 3.0L TFSI engine (B9 I believe they call it….). I went through a tuning in October of last year when my car had about 22,000 miles on it, and it was done through APR. What I’ve written below is the recount of my experience as of about 5 weeks ago and it includes much more information than what I had put in I put in the posts made elsewhere

First I need to be clear that in October 2020 when I had the tuning done, APR did not have a product with insurance. They also did not make it clear that any change to the ECU will DEFINITELY void the warrantee and if I had known that I would never have done the stage 1 in the first place. I’m not sure what the insurance covers, but if it doesn’t cover the engine failing as mine did, in my humble yet now infinitely wiser opinion, DON’T DO IT. The increased stress on the engine will cause other parts to fail but more importantly I guarantee it will void your car’s warrantee. Now that they have the insurance on the tune, depending on what it covred, I would DEFINITELY spent the extra $ - even if it is 2x the cost to do.

I want to also be clear that I had the tuning done for three major reasons:

1. Increased HP and torque (of course….)
2. That engine start/stop crap Audi put on their cars
3. Speed limiting

The upgrade was great for about 7-8k miles - I absolutely LOVED the power and torque and the engine start/stop crap GONE along with the speed limiting. You should also know that I I take extremely good care of the vehicle, I live in Florida so no ice/cold issues , and I never EVER start driving the car until it is done warming up and the dddddwarmed up and drops from the 1k rpm warmup cycle it goes through (it usually drops to 600 rpm after about 20 – 30 seconds).

Just before 31,000 miles my car suddenly overheated. BADLY, VERY BADLY, and for no visible reason after being in the car for only about 5 minutes. The temperature was not any higher than usual though, and the dash showed 214 degress F. However based on the symptoms I noticed a little further down the road AND after reading some of the forumns here. was very sure the water pump was blown and no fluid was circulating. I managed to limp to Audi by start/stop/waiting anc driving 1 mile at a time.

I left the car at the dealership and told them what I had found on the forums and based upon my past history and knowledge of auto engines, I was sure it was the water pump.

They called me about 4 days later telling me they replaced the water pump, thermostat (we know that wouldn’t be the problem as thermostats close open when they fail!), flushed the system and it was still overheating like crazy. The service agent (they have a super basic understanding of automechanics) told me the final part they replaced was a pressure valve on the coolant system, supposedly this part releases all pressure from the closed system and is on the order of a 5-10 dollar part. However here is what the Audi report actually says:

“…after replacing water pump on Line A the vehicle is still overheating, ran GFF and have found DTC P26FA00: Coolant Pump “C” Air in System, performed cooling system pressure test and found no leaks, performed cooling system coolant bleeding routine test plan, performed coolant drain/fill, r/r air intake distributor, replaced thermostat, replaced coolant pipe, again performed coolant bleeding routine, road tested vehicle from 30,724-30,728 miles and vehicle again overheating” [so at this juncture they had replaced the pump and basically ruled it out as the cause of the overheating.!]

“Got shop foreman involved, we determined there to be no heat in the passenger compartment, after looking at the cooling system schematics we decided to replace the coolant valve as it causes the same concern on our 4.0 v8 twin turbo engines, performed coolant drain/fill, r/r air intake distributor, r/r coolant pipe, replaced coolant shut off valve, performed cooling system bleeding routine test plan, road tested again [for 6 miles] vehicle is again overheating but we now have heat in the passenger compartment, ran GFF again and opened up TAC ticket ACCESS CODE: 2768XXX, in working with TAC I came to find that sporadically the N649 solenoid is sticking open not allowing the water pump sleeve to close and circulate coolant, replaced N649, set readiness, road tested vehicle [for 8 miles], vehicle is no longer overheating and again operating just as designed.” [so it DID show all the classic symptoms of the water pump failing however was due to the n649 solenoid sticking open which kept the water from circulating!! ] not allowing the water pump to circulate coolant!!!]

The Audi dealer also flashed the ECU back to stock and notified me when I picked up my car that they have VOIDED MY EXTENDED WARRANTEE.

The point is I am rather convinced the APR Stage 1 on my ECU caused the overheating due to the increased heat it obviously creates in the engine system that must be dissipated. Why would that be? Because the extra power and torque come from making the engine burn lean (I had previously thought rich…), and from what I’ve been told by folks here also in a change in ignition timing. In any case, the extra horsepower does NOT come from changing shift points, everyone, and with an increase in the power of combustion, obviously more heat is created and must be shed by the cooling system, putting much more stress on the powertrain.

Besides the likelihood I will have to pay APR again to upgrade my ECU, it seems also likely I will just e a new qis very high it will just cause a heat problem all over again (and other additional problems from the fuel mixture change). Having said that, I hate that engine start/stop crap SOOOO bad it's tempting to do the upgrade again for that reason alone.

Ultimately it's the heat problem the APR ECU Upgrade created that I can't afford to have happen again or blow the engine. Voiding the warrantee screwed me badly too. It is my understanding that unless you sell to a private buyer, you will also have to flash the ECU back to stock again if you want to trade in/sell it.

Bottom line is I chose the best, APR, to do the tuning and it cost me dearly. You want more horsepower??? Then buy a faster car with a higher performance engine or wait until the car’s warrantee expires and then do it. Don't make the mistake I did!

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!