Hardwired

I got a Unitronic Stage 1 on both of my vehicles about a month ago. The 2.0 has a bit more oomph after about 20 mph, and the 3.0 has added steroid-infused muscles all through the power band. While driving normally, you drive normally, but when you want more it's there.

I've never had an APR tune, but thought I would share my experience.

peaster3

Oh yeah, brand new. I'm happy with it. I was just looking into it out of curiosity. Stock power seems fine to me! Everyone around me keeps telling me to do it. Figured I'd see what the deal is

NorthValley

They are also warranty voiders I believe so caution is required. Personally I wouldn't touch a tune until the warranty has run out, especially as it is a brand new car! A stage 1 tune isn't going to set your pants on fire neither. A couple of tenths improvement on the 0-60...big deal.

ex-quattro PETE

Ask them if they'll foot your repair bill should anything go wrong.

peaster3

Haha, ikr?

BlackSVT

This may be redundant to others' posts here, but my firm belief is that if you have to ask on here if modding is worth the warranty risk, then you probably should be waiting until you feel comfortable with the risks, if ever.

For some of us (read: irrational car junkies), mods for faster/quicker, better handling, better looking, etc cars are unrelated to any warranty. One can practically argue that doesn't make sense, but once it's off the truck, you can guarantee I'll be looking to change something to make it mine in a timeframe that fits my time/wallet budget and comfort level. That's definitely not for everyone though, and IMO it's pretty crappy of me to recommend to one of my buddies to do something to his pride and joy that's making him uncomfortable.

Knowing the risks and going in, eyes wide open and comfortable with whatever happens is, IMO, the only way to go at this.

sszyma

I also had Unitronic on the 2.0 and now the SQ5. Either way a tune is the way to go. Both companies are reputable. I tuned the SQ5 at 700 miles

riceboy22

The general rule of thumb here is that you need to be prepared to foot the bill if something happens and Audi decides to decline warranty coverage for a repair. It doesn't matter if your dealership is mod-friendly either, because it's ultimately not up to them to decide whether to reimburse for a warranty repair (and they aren't going to do it on their own dime). Also, the Magnuson-Moss Act that people love to reference isn't going to protect you either, because while it's intended to protect you from being denied warranty coverage for using aftermarket parts, it only applies if those parts are not causing the vehicle to operate outside of factory specs.

And as far as whether to disclose your tune, there's no guarantee that a tuner flashing you back to stock and resetting the flash counter will keep you from getting flagged TD1. There were similar claims of being undetectable a couple of years ago, but then Audi changed how they looked for tunes and undetectable became very detectable. It definitely wouldn't hurt to have a good relationship with your service department, but again, you need to be prepared to potentially pay for expensive repairs if something happens.

EDIT: I'm basically reiterating what BlackSVT stated above. Please don't get an ECU tune if you don't understand the potential consequences.

Hardwired

Ha! I thought at 15K miles was irresponsible!

kreativecid

I've gone back and forth on a Stage 1 for my SQ5. Called APR and they said "it voids the warranty, if you're concerned about that get a tune AFTER the factory warranty is up." On a $60,000-ish SQ5 which I don't know how to work on beyond the basics it's not worth it to me. On my motorcycles I've installed quick shifters, fuel maps, gearing, airboxes, etc. because I'm comfortable with the possible consequences (which there have been none, but a $25,000 H2 and $17000 Super Duke use relatively simple tools and my 40 years of experience).

My Audi dealer told me they are now able to detect an ecu reflash and a reset. They would flag it TD1 immediately.

There is a sweet 2015 s3 in the classified, and the seller covers the warranty topic. For some who enjoy and are confident tuning cars it's no big deal. Seller says several potential buyers backed out based on warranty. You can find the thread but seller gets a little defensive/angry/passionate about his history of tuned cars not having issue. For me I've had one tuned Audi and it overheated and the ecu was replaced by Audi; they did not detect the APR stage 1 luckily otherwise it would've been a two week labor charge plus the rental Q5.

Someone wrote how it's a few tenths 0 to 60. Heck, I'll just use the ESC button and get half a second to 60mph. Save the $1100 for the 20 minute reflash that is 6 hours out of town. If there was a local reputable ecu flash available for half the price I'd be all over it, ha!