# Apr to Unitronics



## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

Hello fellow members. After a long hiatus of Audi ownership, I am pleased to be driving an Audi once again.*

*Skip to impressions if you don't want to do the reading.*

Before this review begins, I would like to give you some insight of my experiences with vag products and aftermarket modifications.*

My first ownership experience came in the form of a 2.0T B7 A4. It was well known around the B7 sub forums for its water meth, nitrous oxide, larger turbo, and the DIY threads I started while it was built. It had more mods than I care to list, and it ran custom setting on a Revo stage 2++ tune. It was an extremely fun car, and It got me hooked in to the vag world.*

Later I acquired a MK6 Jetta TDi wagon, which I once again tuned to stage 2 with Malone, added air ride, my own leveling system, and other goodies. 

After that, I started missing the old 2.0T days, and got myself in to a Beetle R-line. Flashed it with APR stage one and did some supporting mod to handle the added power. Unfortunately, no one supported the bastardized version of the 2.0T Gen 3 EA888. This left me itching for more.

In between 2006 and 2016, I had a dedicated 1990 Miata track car (sold for wedding), and logged several miles in a Panamera GTS, Cayenne GTS, and E60 BMW 550i.

Here is where the S3 comes in to play. Got the car, and right after the break in period I decided to flash it at my local dealer. They have been my VAG shop of choice for the last 10 years, and will continue to be.*

Since I had a good experience with my last APR tune, I decided to give them a try on the S3 as well. All while I also waited for my friend to get flashed with Unitronic. Our cars are basically clones, bought within days of each other. 

*Impressions:*

*APR.*

Lots of torque, all at once, after considerable lag. Life begins at 3k-3.5k rpm and pulls strongest up until ~5k, where the mountain of torque starts running out of steam, and then the horsepower does its thing to take you to redline. 

The power delivery is violent. Enough to overwhelm the DSG transmission and every mount its attached too. I think I have experienced slip. Not a very pleasurable experience. In addition to the car staying in gear a couple of times and bouncing of the rev limiter.*

The lag makes it feel like an all or nothing tune, with hindered transient response when compared to stock. Mid to full throttle after 3k really loads up the drivetrain. The wife thought I broke the car after she felt how the motor and transmission unload. Power can be explosive at times you don’t want it to be.

This tune is by no means a slow tune, it’s very fast after it gets going. However, in my opinion, it lacks some refinement for it to be the complete daily driving package I'm looking for.

*Unitronic*

One word: Linear.

Imagine the OEM power delivery, with relentless pulling power. Life starts at about 2.5K rpm and keeps pulling all the way to redline. The earlier spool up is quite noticeable, while less torque is felt, the linear power delivery makes the car feel more willing to get up go. Not quite like an NA car, but excellent considering the turbo this car is spinning.

I have noticed that the tune is much kinder the DSG. It Allows for smoother shifts at part throttle, specially through 3.5K rpm. As well as, during full bore full throttle runs. This results in less jerking of the drivetrain and more solid shifts. A desirable trait for street and track driving, as abrupt movement of the drivetrain can unsettle the car quite easily. 

For these reasons, I believe the APR tune needs a DSG tune in order to function properly. While the Unitronics file plays nicely with the OEM hardware right out of the box without compromise.

Before driving on a Unitronic tune, I thought there was no way it could compete with the onslaught of torque the APR file had. But, after driving on the Unitronic file all doubts were put aside. It is just as competent, if not more due to the for mentioned attributes. 

I am very happy with the power delivery of this tune, this is what I would call an OEM+ quality tune. As it seems to do everything well, with the same elegance and refinement of the stock tune. 

As for the DSG tune, the farting sound between shifts seems to have become somewhat shorter. While on dynamic mode+S mode shifts seem significantly firmer.

All the flashing for this tune was done by myself on my garage with my laptop. It's extremely convenient.

*I ran some test to objectively compare the files performance:*

*Vbox results (Same road, same car):*

*APR Stage 1 93oc high torque (1/4 gas tank):*

0-60 mph 4.23sec

60 foot 1.93 @ 37.2 mph

1/8 [email protected] mph

1/4 [email protected] mph

*Track elevation: 27ft

Density Altitude: 2179ft*

Humidity: 69%

Temperature: 88 F

Uni Stage 1+ / DSG flash. (Full gas tank):

0-60 mph 4.28sec

60 foot 1.87 @ 36.9 mph

1/8 [email protected] mph

1/4 [email protected] mph

Track elevation: 27ft

Density Altitude: 2233ft*

Humidity: 66%

Temperature: 88 F

I ended up keeping the Unitronics file, as there were no appreciable performance compromises, was kinder to the car, and has more convenient support.*


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## SlowJim (Jan 21, 2016)

Thanks for posting :beer:


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

Kept the Uni tune. 

No surprises, no turbo surge, and I can flash the car whenever I want.

Also, there is no performance compromise.


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## Euro_Boost (Jun 23, 2016)

Thanks for the review!


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## GolfRRRR (Apr 29, 2016)

Thank you for this insightful review, much more useful than many, many other reviews of performance software.:thumbup:


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

No problem Guys. I'm really happy this didn't start a flame war.

I wanted to add that this review wasn't meant to claim one is better than the other, but to shine some light on the choices out there.

Its great to have options and being able to choose what suits your needs best. 

Cheers :beer:


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## SixpackMk3 (Nov 28, 2008)

Flame war will start. This is Vortex lol. Good write up though :thumbup: I will be going Uni myself when the time comes.


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## davera3 (Jul 26, 2014)

This is an excellet review! I have a lowly A3 with the APR tune, but I agree with your opinion on the boostiness of the APR tune. I had hoped it would more linear, as I had started with the 'low torque' tune to keep it so. But alas, the desire for more power was inevitable. Also, with about 20,000 miles on the APR tune, I'm starting to get concerned about the DSG as well as it seems to be 'thinking' more between shifts than it used to.


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

davera3 said:


> This is an excellet review! I have a lowly A3 with the APR tune, but I agree with your opinion on the boostiness of the APR tune. I had hoped it would more linear, as I had started with the 'low torque' tune to keep it so. But alas, the desire for more power was inevitable. Also, with about 20,000 miles on the APR tune, I'm starting to get concerned about the DSG as well as it seems to be 'thinking' more between shifts than it used to.


Thanks.

I wouldn't call an A3 Lowly. Now a days they move once flashed.

Sound like you need stage 2 in your life and a TCU tune


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## Hessen7R (May 2, 2016)

Interesting write up as I also went between APR and Uni. I agree Uni is more linear, but I ended up going with APR in the end because the power delivery simply puts it down better (more). I feel like the JB1 was about the same as Uni Stg1+ and felt the APR Stg1 would deliver same or more output than JB4 Stg2 and Uni Stg2 without having to buy a DP (when looking at the numbers). All in, the increased boost against stock is always going to put strain on the components and it will have an unknown effect until we see someone with a tune at 50, 75, 100k+ miles testify to longevity. 

Your numbers are also interesting because there are multiple videos where APR 0-60 was sub-4 on YT. 

I also agree that the pull in APR wasn't as linear, but I just got it tuned back this month and it feels different in smoothness as compared to April last year. I'm not sure if they did anything or if it's just placebo. 


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

I think the 0-60 times are on the low 4s because of my heavy wheels (OEM black optics), temps, and humidity. Last couple of weeks the temps have been much cooler (60s), and I have finally seen humidity numbers below 55%(It feels like another car). Also remember Rs are faster than S3s.

Do you know how those 0-60 times were measured? 

I'm under the impression that speedo videos yield faster times than the vbox.


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## Hessen7R (May 2, 2016)

P3, which I've heard aren't 100% accurate, but should be close enough. A lot of the VW community seem to use it over others. I didn't realize R's were faster (by consensus). I test drove an S3 and loved it. I'll admit the R felt incrementally quicker. In end, couldn't afford the S3, plus got kids 


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

Lol, its funny. 

I couldn't afford an R, but got a ridiculous deal on an S3.

I had a red mk7 R lined up, and the payments were over $100 more than the S3.

VW seriously has to stop treating these cars like unicorns. The dealer didn't even want to let me test drive the car before settling on a number.


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## Shtaka (Feb 20, 2016)

I'm moving back to S. Florida. What dealer do you recommend?


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

I got this one at the collection (Coral gables). It was a very nice experience and got a killer deal.

I used to love champion (Coral Springs), but they no longer sell audis. 

My closest dealer is Audi of pembroke pines, where I had some good experiences in the service department.


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