BlackSVT

Agreed 100%. If you are going to do it, do it right -- with a reputable (APR GIAC, etc) ECU tuning company that, with respect to Audis anyway, is essentially restoring the power the engine was originally designed and tested for.

Audi is notorious for designing one engine capable of use in an "S" series vehicle, and then detuning through software for use in more garden variety applications. Engine/Powertrain design is extraordinarily time consuming and expensive given all of the emissions and economy regs along with drivability, warranty costs, etc. What better way to conserve engineering dollars than to design the top dog first and then scale back for product marketing tiers through software?

A tune then, done correctly, is much like a "buy up", only done through a 3rd party rather than Audi. Minimized risk along with stresses within the original engineering design intent. Not to trivialize the effort that goes into tuning, but that's essentially what is going on with a "Stage 1" tune.

An interceptor box upgrade, on the other hand is a big tangent into unknown territory for less power gain. By my way of thinking, I'd rather do the tune, and actually have less risk of damage (knowing there's a chance I'll get caught) than go with an easy to hide solution but bigger risk of something actually going wrong. ...All for less performance anyway.

My $0.02

hicks3665

Hi my user name is hicks 3665, I have just become a member and I can't seem to figure out how to post a problem I am having. Can you direct me in the right direction I sure would appreciate. Thanks hicks3665

spijun

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