# TTE525R Upgrade



## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

So it begins...




Turbo has been installed into my S3, map is being made as i type!


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## HalvieCuw (Mar 20, 2003)

You aren't in the US, right?


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## amargaretis (Jan 11, 2013)

Subd


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

HalvieCuw said:


> You aren't in the US, right?



Based in the uk, tuning is being done by MRC.
Dont let that put you off considering the upgrade, there will surely be maps made available for this setup at some point in the future.
This turbo is a hybrid based on the IS38, capable of over 500bhp.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

Unboxing video..


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## 1998GTIVR6 (Nov 28, 2005)

Dude, you saved me from sending you a PM. I watched your videos on youtube for a few months now and I am virtually subscribed to your post. I have been anxious to see any updates on the TTE525. Please let us know how the TTE525 works out(spool up, top end, tune, boost). I am looking forward to see your new times at Santa Pod, I am guessing you could pick up at least 5mph on the top end and perhaps run a 11.4 in the 1/4 mile(about half second better). It all depends on your tune.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

1998GTIVR6 said:


> Dude, you saved me from sending you a PM. I watched your videos on youtube for a few months now and I am virtually subscribed to your post. I have been anxious to see any updates on the TTE525. Please let us know how the TTE525 works out(spool up, top end, tune, boost). I am looking forward to see your new times at Santa Pod, I am guessing you could pick up at least 5mph on the top end and perhaps run a 11.4 in the 1/4 mile(about half second better). It all depends on your tune.


I am as anxious as you are!
No news yet other than my car being very healthy, though i think you will find the car should be in the low 11s according to the guys running the TTE470 as they all get 11.4 with that setup!


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## brekdown29 (Jun 26, 2007)

Sub'd. And to the OP - enjoy and keep us posted!


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## 1998GTIVR6 (Nov 28, 2005)

DADANFINGs,

Spit the beans. You suppose to have the car tuned already. Did you get it back? did you run into any issues?


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## brekdown29 (Jun 26, 2007)

Little birdie told me that GIAC will be tuning this kit across the pond. I sure hope they are able to do something for us here in NA with this turbo. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## -LoneStar- (Aug 5, 2015)

Kind of curious why this isn't more popular. I had to look up TTE because to be honest I didn't know who they were. I have been big in the LSx game for years but this is my wife's car so I try to educate myself with it as much as possible. 

It seems like a complete drop in system since its a modified is38. This is different then say APR which requires their downpipe as well as a number of additional parts for their kit. Is the only item really holding people back the custom tune? With the exception of APR (because they have their own stage 3) you would think that other tuning companies would be willing to step up to plate, and at least offer a safe canned tune of some sort? Especially the guys that allow you to flash at home. With all this ability for people to log themselves I don't know why more custom tune optiones aren't avalible tailored to individual needs and environments. 

Anyhow looking forward to your build. :thumbup:


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## Rolando_TX (Oct 14, 2008)

-LoneStar- said:


> Kind of curious why this isn't more popular. I had to look up TTE because to be honest I didn't know who they were. I have been big in the LSx game for years but this is my wife's car so I try to educate myself with it as much as possible.
> 
> It seems like a complete drop in system since its a modified is38. This is different then say APR which requires their downpipe as well as a number of additional parts for their kit. Is the only item really holding people back the custom tune? With the exception of APR (because they have their own stage 3) you would think that other tuning companies would be willing to step up to plate, and at least offer a safe canned tune of some sort? Especially the guys that allow you to flash at home. With all this ability for people to log themselves I don't know why more custom tune optiones aren't avalible tailored to individual needs and environments.
> 
> Anyhow looking forward to your build. :thumbup:


UM has something in the works


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

Sorry for the silence, I have been in Cancun.
Should have some results first week of June, its taking a long time as mapping for this turbo is very complex!


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## Spoooolin (Mar 31, 2015)

Rolando_TX said:


> UM has something in the works



This could be interesting...


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## 1998GTIVR6 (Nov 28, 2005)

What is the hold up? still the tune?. You dropped of the car like 2-3 weeks ago(before you went to Cancun)? there are already some people with this turbo and got their cars tuned already:

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...-s1-s3-8v-tts-cupra-sc-5f-octavia-vrs.261889/


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## 1998GTIVR6 (Nov 28, 2005)

Dadanfings,

What is going on with your car? any updates? I followed you on youtube and I read that you guys had to changed from 1.7 to 1.8 bars of boost or viceversa. Are they still trying to work the bugs? Also, do you happen to know the flow of this turbo? Thanks and good luck!


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

OK Dandanfings,

First things first. We appreciate all the effort, money, research and feedback that you put into this big project, I just came from watching your most recent videos on youtube from today. Before I continue let me also say congratulations for finally getting it done.

So I learned 3 or 4 things from your last two most current videos:

1) a 3" exhaust free up a lot of power on the 525R turbo ?
2) A different intercooler also free up a lot of power on the bigger turbo? 
3) The TTE470 and TTE525 spools the same?
4) Are you still on stock DSG clutch packs?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3EF_Guv5vQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xoC1GdeQeQ

So after watching your video named (Big turbo drama Audi S3 8V) you were so disappointed that you were short like 50-60hp? on your other video from today things got resolved by changing the exhaust and intercooler? is that the same stuff that Dave 7R is running on his [email protected] MK7R video?

Thanks so much and sorry for so many questions. You are spearheading this whole thing on bolt on turbos.


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## MisterTroy (Jun 25, 2016)

27turbocars said:


> OK Dandanfings,
> 
> First things first. We appreciate all the effort, money, research and feedback that you put into this big project, I just came from watching your most recent videos on youtube from today. Before I continue let me also say congratulations for finally getting it done.
> 
> ...


And I was hoping that I wouldn't have to buy a catback this time...


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

MisterTroy said:


> And I was hoping that I wouldn't have to buy a catback this time...


Well, it depends. Are you on stock turbo? or are you running a big turbo like Dandanfings is? He has a lot of bolt ons (intercooler, Downpipe, air filter, bigger turbo) so he was choking at the catback


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

Sorry for the lack of updates, its been a real nightmare getting this turbo running and its mostly my fault for refusing to swap intercoolers.
Once you go big turbo you quickly realise that the stock cat back holds the car back by about 20bhp+ and also intercooler choice is INCREDIBLY important, so far the only intercooler that gets decent figures is the Wagner..... you can thank 6 weeks of my car being tested with every possible single bolt on part/turbo to figure that one out!

Anyway to answer your questions directly:

1) yes it does, at least 20bhp but then we dont know if some 3'' exhausts are better than others... im testing out a full 3 ''resonated exhaust welded to the stock backbox at some point next month.

2) ohhhh yes and thats been a real heart breaker for me because its a huge job to switch these, so far only the wagner has consistently provided the best figures on the 470 and 525 (thats across multiple cars the world over).

3) on one car which was manual yes it did, pretty much makes the 470 obsolete... but we will be testing my car with both and the DSG this week.

4) Yep, software can hold 600nm (about 440ftlb) with no slip.


I just want to add that what works great for stage 2 bolt on wise does not always work best with the bigger turbos, once i have more facts i can report back providing the exact known setup to get the best results.:thumbup:




27turbocars said:


> OK Dandanfings,
> 
> First things first. We appreciate all the effort, money, research and feedback that you put into this big project, I just came from watching your most recent videos on youtube from today. Before I continue let me also say congratulations for finally getting it done.
> 
> ...


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

We are making great progress!
Before i show you my TTE470 result i want to show you a problem I have with my exhaust:


(ignore the TTRS exhaust below)

This was done by an exhaust shop here in London (I cut out the mid box and hated it so paid them to reattach it) and I am not too happy as its causing a massive bottleneck in my exhaust system, its my BCS 3" downpipe linked to a 2.5" stainless tube thats been flared to fit the stock 2.75" system leading to the stock resonator. 
This causes almost no issue at stage 2 levels (hence me having no idea this was done) but now we are finding its costing anywhere from 10-20bhp all at the top end from 6000rpm to redline.

So to hit 480bhp (400whp) with this bunged up piece of crap is seriously impressive:



I would say that the TTE470 can push 500bhp with a proper exhaust system and around 2 bar of boost..... very impressive :thumbup:

I am now switching the turbo to the TTE525R and will be having an exhaust made for my car this Saturday, really rushed as next weekend there is GTI International and i start a new job on Monday so I wont have time to get anything done if this isnt finished on time :banghead:


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## RS200Z (Mar 21, 2015)

I supposed you still have your APR DSG tune. Works well with the MRC ECU tune I reckon?


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

RS200Z said:


> I supposed you still have your APR DSG tune. Works well with the MRC ECU tune I reckon?


We actually wiped the APR tune just to rule out any possible interference... it wasn't causing any so i will be reflashing when i get the chance.


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## notavr (Aug 28, 2012)

curious to what intercoolers you tested so far?


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

notavr said:


> curious to what intercoolers you tested so far?


I only tested my old intercooler, but with the TTE470 some tuners have noticed that most aftermarket intercoolers have not been making the same numbers as cars equipped with the Wagner.... simply put, the best performing vehicles all had wagner intercoolers.

We are still learning which setup works with these hybrid turbos and all the money/time wasted by others will benefit everybody in the long run as you will be able to know exactly what parts work.

What works great with Stage 1 and 2 does not automatically mean it works well with the larger turbos, its a whole other game altogether.:thumbup:

Also you guys might like to see this:


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## will13k7 (Aug 30, 2015)

nice! so stock internals? I'm very curious how well/long the engine and dsg holds up to ~stage3 power levels. stage2 is a lot of fun, but stage3 looks like ridiculous fun.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

will13k7 said:


> nice! so stock internals? I'm very curious how well/long the engine and dsg holds up to ~stage3 power levels. stage2 is a lot of fun, but stage3 looks like ridiculous fun.


Yep stock internals, fingers crossed it survives this summer :laugh:
DSG is coping without any sign of slip, software can hold 660nm.


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## .:AreThirteeTwo (May 30, 2010)

glad to see you got the TT525R working!

look forward to some good videos on this :thumbup:


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

I thought the delay was due to the Brexit! Guess not. I bet you feel very badly not supporting the cub med countries anymore? 

I found it very ironic when some Yanks would tell the Brits to not give the EU the FU when, well, us Yanks gave the Brits the FU way back when. 

Best of luck to you with the new Job and the S3.


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## VMRWheels (Aug 11, 2009)

ohmahgah, i'm drooling! awesome work!


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

VMRWheels said:


> ohmahgah, i'm drooling! awesome work!


Awesome work?  Yea, awesome work if you are the shop that is taking his money!


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

crackkills said:


> Awesome work?  Yea, awesome work if you are the shop that is taking his money!


 Dont remind me

Some nice acceleration clips here:


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

Dandanfings said:


> Dont remind me
> 
> Some nice acceleration clips here:


I can't tell, but why didn't the installer just enlarge the opening into the rear muffler so that a three inch pipe would just go into the box? 

Is the location of the cat on the DP in the stock location?

Enjoy it in good health. I just don't trust people to wrench in my car. I wasn't trying to be a "wanker!" 

BE SAFE! :thumbup:


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

DANDANFINGS,

Weren't you already running a downpipe on your previous Stage 2+? why do you need another downpipe now? that is what you said on this video at minute 8:40 seconds. I honestly disagree about the 3" full exhaust. It is closer to 3" but not quite 3", it looks in the video a conical shape tubing/piping just prior to the muffler. A true 3" is typical a muffler with an inlet of 3" all the way through the muffler(no bottle necks or conical shapes).

I am not trying to argue anything with you, I am just going out of my observations. Would you clarify that for me ? thanks man:beer:


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## arrested_decay (Jun 6, 2016)

Did the Wagner intercooler go in no problem? It is big, but supposedly goes in without cutting or anything of that nature.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


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## hassenrennen (Jan 5, 2004)

"Fk'N Hell" is classic in your video BTW....

Watching this thread for sure. Just wondering what "other intercoolers that were installed and didn't work as well"....? Do you have a list of them just for reference?


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

Another fine APR product. The APR hoses he had blew off his throttle body on the track. The clamp for the APR hoses for that location are crap. He had a misfire and EPC light after fixing the clamp. I appreciate all that he is doing and he is brave to experiment and test and try things. I am learning from him and I am thankful that somebody has the balls to do the things he is doing. I am curious as to the DP setup his friend has that has less lag than him. My money is on it either being catless or having a cat further down. I am also curious as to what DP he has. Truly doubt if he has the stock but if he does, there you have it. 

If your DP has the cat in the stock location that could be one reason that it is lagy. If the cat is a quality cat, it can work on a stock tune with it being farther away from the engine leading to longer heating of the cat and NO check engine light. A cat on DP that is in the stock location will cause you to have more lag than a dp with no cat or cat further down stream. Turbo cars do NOT NEED back pressure. 

Again, the main reason the factory puts a cat so close to the engine is for emission. The faster the cat gets to operating temps the quicker the car pollutes.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

27turbocars said:


> DANDANFINGS,
> 
> Weren't you already running a downpipe on your previous Stage 2+? why do you need another downpipe now? that is what you said on this video at minute 8:40 seconds. I honestly disagree about the 3" full exhaust. It is closer to 3" but not quite 3", it looks in the video a conical shape tubing/piping just prior to the muffler. A true 3" is typical a muffler with an inlet of 3" all the way through the muffler(no bottle necks or conical shapes).
> 
> I am not trying to argue anything with you, I am just going out of my observations. Would you clarify that for me ? thanks man:beer:


Good catch and i fully understand why this is confusing!
My downpipe has a 200 cell cat, this reduces flow and creates more back pressure with my 525 turbo than with the stock turbo and as such is potentially a bottleneck.
Another S3 is running my 525 turbo and they spool a full 1000rpm before mine with almost the same peak power, the only major difference between the cars is the exhuast. That car is running a Miltek decat and full 3" non-resonated Miltek exhaust.
I am not a fan of the loud 4 cylinder sound so I am trying my best to get the required flow to spool up the turbo the same as the other car while keeping my ears pleased.

In regards to what you see in the video, are you reffering to what i have just installed?
I can assure you its a full 3" from the turbo all the way to the stock backbox which has a 2.5"-2.75" inlet.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

arrested_decay said:


> Did the Wagner intercooler go in no problem? It is big, but supposedly goes in without cutting or anything of that nature.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


I wasnt there when it was installed, my shroud was already slightly trimmed for the peron (previous video shows this) however MRC told me it requires even more trimming to install the Wagner.... its a pretty major job.


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## pat15312 (Feb 19, 2010)

When changing intercooler, why did you go for the Wagner over the APR one?

I compared the sizes and the APR intercooler has an additional 3 litres of volumetric capacity over the Wagner (20L vs 17L).

Just wondering why the Wagner seems to be overall the more popular option with people at this level of tune.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## arrested_decay (Jun 6, 2016)

Dandanfings said:


> I wasnt there when it was installed, my shroud was already slightly trimmed for the peron (previous video shows this) however MRC told me it requires even more trimming to install the Wagner.... its a pretty major job.


Interesting. It is not supposed to be much issue with it in terms of fitment.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

pat15312 said:


> When changing intercooler, why did you go for the Wagner over the APR one?
> 
> I compared the sizes and the APR intercooler has an additional 3 litres of volumetric capacity over the Wagner (20L vs 17L).
> 
> ...


Because the wagner is proven and i have seen it work with the bigger turbos on the 7R and 8V.
Nobody has the APR, in fact i tried to buy one... waited 3 months and got fed up so bought something else which made me do this for 7 weeks :banghead:
Saying that with the intake rattling and the clamps for the intercooler slipping off.... maybe it would of been the same.


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

Dandanfings said:


> Good catch and i fully understand why this is confusing!
> My downpipe has a 200 cell cat, this reduces flow and creates more back pressure with my 525 turbo than with the stock turbo and as such is potentially a bottleneck.
> Another S3 is running my 525 turbo and they spool a full 1000rpm before mine with almost the same peak power, the only major difference between the cars is the exhuast. That car is running a Miltek decat and full 3" non-resonated Miltek exhaust.
> I am not a fan of the loud 4 cylinder sound so I am trying my best to get the required flow to spool up the turbo the same as the other car while keeping my ears pleased.
> ...


I am not doubting that the guys did a 3" piping but the portion just prior to the "back box" that you called doesn't seem a 3" like I pointed out on pot #34 ,. here is my quote from post #34: *" It is closer to 3" but not quite 3", it looks in the video a conical shape tubing/piping just prior to the muffler. A true 3" is typical a muffler with an inlet of 3" all the way through the muffler(no bottle necks or conical shapes)."*

I *reiterate* what I said on post #34 that it is not a full 3" exhaust unless you have a inlet/inner diameter and exit of 3" on the muffler (you call it backbox). In other words, you might have a custom built 5" (Five inches) in diameter piping but if you leave a portion of the piping with less diameter then it becomes the diameter of the lowest portion.

Look at your on video at minute 7 and 10 sec.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

27turbocars said:


> I am not doubting that the guys did a 3" piping but the portion just prior to the "back box" that you called doesn't seem a 3" like I pointed out on pot #34 ,. here is my quote from post #34: *" It is closer to 3" but not quite 3", it looks in the video a conical shape tubing/piping just prior to the muffler. A true 3" is typical a muffler with an inlet of 3" all the way through the muffler(no bottle necks or conical shapes)."*
> 
> I *reiterate* what I said on post #34 that it is not a full 3" exhaust unless you have a inlet/inner diameter and exit of 3" on the muffler (you call it backbox). In other words, you might have a custom built 5" (Five inches) in diameter piping but if you leave a portion of the piping with less diameter then it becomes the diameter of the lowest portion.
> 
> Look at your on video at minute 7 and 10 sec.


I see what you mean, the stock back box as a slightly larger than 2.5" inlet hence the step down.
Cant put 3" into the backbox without breaking it so this is as good as i can do.
If there is not improvement from before (will know this week) then i will install a 3.5" backbox..... there is logic to me wanting it bigger at the outlet.


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

Dandanfings said:


> I see what you mean, the stock back box as a slightly larger than 2.5" inlet hence the step down.
> Cant put 3" into the backbox without breaking it so this is as good as i can do.
> If there is not improvement from before (will know this week) then i will install a 3.5" backbox..... there is logic to me wanting it bigger at the outlet.


He could have expanded the opening going into the stock box to accommodate a 3 inch or hell even a 3.5 inch pipe. It takes time but very doable. 

Keep us posted and as I said earlier, I do appreciate you being the Christopher Columbus of the platform. Or the Star Trek.


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

Dandanfings said:


> I see what you mean, the stock back box as a slightly larger than 2.5" inlet hence the step down.
> Cant put 3" into the backbox without breaking it so this is as good as i can do.
> If there is not improvement from before (will know this week) then i will install a 3.5" backbox..... there is logic to me wanting it bigger at the outlet.


Now we are talking! Yes, correct, we are in the same page. You would have to cut a bigger diameter in the muffler(inlet) and even like that it wouldn't guarantee that you get a full 3" straight through because the muffler(back box as you call it) probably has internal chambers and piping that is smaller than 3".

In all reality, the muffler is to far from the turbo to make that much of a difference anymore but either way it wouldn't affect the performance because you are panning on going with a less restrictive muffler (back box). 

Please keep your updates coming. You are a very helpful source of information and experience.


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## hassenrennen (Jan 5, 2004)

looks like he is putting his car back to stock and selling it. 

Change in jobs...and also vehicles...?


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

hassenrennen said:


> looks like he is putting his car back to stock and selling it.
> 
> Change in jobs...and also vehicles...?



Really? where did you get that from? from his youtube channel? Speaking of 525TTE, username daylson2020 ran [email protected] last night with his 525TTE turbo upgrade. It is posted on drag racing ladder on under the Golf 7R section.

As far is dandanfings going back to stock(I have no verification on this), I wouldn't be surprise if that happens. He has been very patient and he encountered many obstacles on his way.


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## rex_racer (May 19, 2001)

27turbocars said:


> As far is dandanfings going back to stock(I have no verification on this), I wouldn't be surprise if that happens. He has been very patient and he encountered many obstacles on his way.


He posted it himself in various areas including social media. He already has another vehicle on the way.


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

^^ Eventually I will catch up with his history. It has been several years since I dropped facebook at least 4 or 5 years ago, and I have been for 9 years without a cell phone, no twitter account, no myspace account, no whasap, no instagram and life is very pleasant this way and stress free. 

It was entertaining while he was posting on youtube and here but like I said, I will eventually catch up, this whole thing about social media is the worst thing the society has seen. Everytime that there is something happening people pull their cell phone cameras. The texting and driving is even worse..


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

It seems like he placed an order on a GTI clubsport and he will keep it stock. That is what I read on youtube.

..﻿


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

Sorry to leave you guys in the dark.... there has been a lot of stuff happening all at once and i have been very reluctant to say anything as I know its gonna cause drama, but it feels wrong to hold back information, so here it all is. I feel utterly betrayed and in a way used by a certain company that just happens to sponsor a lot of forums and no doubt this thread and story will be hushed up in some way.
They had the opportunity to do the right thing or show some form of kindness due to the situation I find myself in, but no the local importer here was incredibly rude and out of line. I don't like to air out laundry in public and tend to keep quiet, but the way i was spoken to and the expense/debt I am now in... well I will say what needs to be said. I hope that those of you on the fence about tuning with this tuner will think twice.

opcorn:

Right before MRC installed the TTE turbo a compression test was done, now my car had 16,000 miles of which about 13,000+ miles were using (famous company) stage 1 & 2 Beta software, you know the ones you sign your life away for if anything was to happen! 


3 Cylinders were at about 10.5 bar which is perfect, cylinder number 4 was about 9.4 bar. MRC were a little concerned about proceeding but i said worry not this is still well within factory spec (really is WELL within) and at the time I highly doubted the software I was running would of damaged anything... thats how confident I was about using 'their' software.
But just to be safe MRC did a Dyno run which gave a interesting result (green is stock software, higher due to bolt on mods, Downpipe, air intake, chargepipe, intercooler)

See that zigzag at the upper part of the rev range, thats because the car is having to pull timing due to the aggressive timing present in the 'other companies' map, not good for the engine 
I have been attending many drag strip events with my car setup with this map....
So MRC then uploaded their Stage 2 software to see if the engine is healthy, the logic in that was if it would make a smooth 380bhp like the other cars with my setup did then we should be good to go.... so here it is:

It did more than alright, in fact it was one of the highest Stage 2's they have ever seen, so obviously with that excellent result they proceeded with the install... which is a whole other story in itself, the intercooler I was using couldnt handle the airflow and as soon as i switched to Wagner... BOOM 520bhp ( I would also like to add that i installed DENSO IKH24 sparkplugs at the same time, that will bite me in the ass later!)






The lag was caused by this very restrictive 2 1/4" pipe but between the downpipe and stock cat back:





Car drove great and it was quite honestly INSANE, have a look at this video to see some acceleration tests in Mexico:









Ok so i mentioned drama didn't I?
Well during the VAG Tuner event whilst going flat out on the track my boost hose popped off, the boost hoses are actually (they who shall not be be named) parts that I bought to replace all the stock ones, all of them fit well except for the throttle body, the jubilee clip they supply is too big and as such sits over the lip... hard to explain on here but what it means is during high load it will pop off and getting that bastard back on requires getting the car on a jack and getting under the car to loosen the pipe the hose is connected to, otherwise it will not slip back on 







What really upset me was that the very company who supplied these parts was attending that very event, when i went up to them to ask for any tools or some help they basically shunned me claiming they didnt have any tools (their stage (cough) car was in the pit garage along with staff whom im certain had some tools) and didn't help in anyway at all. They told me to ask around somewhere else! 
However Chris from Volk Auto was there and he tried his very best for hours attempting to put it back on, even cutting himself in the process.
I cant thank him enough, such a stand up guy :thumbup:

Anyway after hours of trying I had to make the call to the AA and get the car recovered, luckily the AA had tools and were able to get the car on some jacks and managed to place the pipe/hose back on. funnily enough the AA man said that the jubilee clip is blatantly too big and obviously whoever made it didnt test it!
Heres an image of the popped off hose and you can see the clip is far too big pretty clearly:




Anyway the drama doesn't end there, the day before I managed to get the exhaust system fixed, had a complete 3" from the turbo back to the 2.5" stock back box.
The car was mapped for the blocked/bunged up exhaust and you know what happens when you put something more free flowing on a turbo car right?
I was slowly accelerating in 5th or 6th gear from the slip road onto the motorway and suddenly the engine light came on and the car went into limp mode on a VERY busy motorway, i had to evade some lorries and pull onto the hard shoulder.
I gave Doug from MRC a call (on sunday!) and told him what happened, he arranged to meet me a few miles further down , again what a stand up guy to come out at short notice on a Sunday afternoon.
He logged the car and it reported 2 misfires, just the day before 2 cars with the same spark plugs as me had the same thing happen to them and not long after the engines blew!
He also noticed i had a boost spike of .15 bar caused by the exhaust back pressure change. He cleared the codes and arranged to have the car brought back to the shop where he will install the stock spark plugs............... and thats where im going to cut this story for now.

There is a lot more to tell but i cant post it up just yet, will have to wait until the 31st of this month


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## hassenrennen (Jan 5, 2004)

Well that sucks. Your car was the dogs bollocks for being the test mule for all this. 

Just want to clarify about the tuner not stepping up to the plate to take care of you and this ordeal. Did you speak to the "corporate cell" of the software provider or just the secondary seller of it (local dealer) and they are the ones that told you to "shove off"...? or both? Either way you should have been taken care of since you're breaking new ground for them and their services... 

So you put it back to stock to sell or trade before it went boom...? 

So what do you think was the single issue that would of caused the failure? Plugs+tune...? or just too much stress overall on the engine before the kinks got worked out?

Waiting until the 31st if I have to.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

hassenrennen said:


> Well that sucks. Your car was the dogs bollocks for being the test mule for all this.
> 
> Just want to clarify about the tuner not stepping up to the plate to take care of you and this ordeal. Did you speak to the "corporate cell" of the software provider or just the secondary seller of it (local dealer) and they are the ones that told you to "shove off"...? or both? Either way you should have been taken care of since you're breaking new ground for them and their services...
> 
> ...



Having been dealing with this tuner for a while now I have learned that the local distributor doesnt like it if I go over his head so this time I went directly to the uk head.
It didnt go well as mentioned before.........

So I then contacted the main man directly at the company and he promised to look into it, he got back to me apologetically and said he cant do anything and that essentially his hands were tied by the UK importer as they will not honour the transfer.
I think maybe he made something up or just refused, he has that right after all he is the exclusive distributor.

Its becoming quite clear that he is pissed off that i went with another tuner, but as mentioned I did offer/ask them to handle the TTE and they refused so i was forced to go elsewhere.
Even when i did I kept quiet about how much better the MRC software was at stage 2, as you can see on the graph about its like night and day!.
I kept that graph to myself as I didnt want to rub them up the wrong way.... well I might as well share it now, massive difference in power, torque and more importantly no timing pulls!

I always try to resolve things peacefully and in the nicest way possible, but after how i was treated... i cant see that happening now.
I wont give them a single penny for any product ever again and all those PM's and messages from subscribers or members of forums i get on a weekly basis asking who to go for..... well I certainly wont be recommending them.

Im still confused about why they did this, they know I run a channel and am a member of multiple communities online, I have been the guinea pig for them the whole way.:screwy:

Just to be clear its 100% on the UK distributor, hopefully they will go the same way as the AUS distributor... probably will if they carry on like this


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## will13k7 (Aug 30, 2015)

Sorry you are having to go through this, modding can be an expensive and time consuming pain in the butt sometimes.

I'm a little confused though, it sounds like you ran into problems after getting the bigger turbo and switching to a new tune, yet it also seems like you're implying that damage to your engine was caused by running your previous tune before the switch? That's sounds like an unlikely conclusion as it's more plausible the tune and parts you were running at the time of the incident would be to blame, especially considering the more risky boost levels from the new turbo.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

will13k7 said:


> Sorry you are having to go through this, modding can be an expensive and time consuming pain in the butt sometimes.
> 
> I'm a little confused though, it sounds like you ran into problems after getting the bigger turbo and switching to a new tune, yet it also seems like you're implying that damage to your engine was caused by running your previous tune before the switch? That's sounds like an unlikely conclusion as it's more plausible the tune and parts you were running at the time of the incident would be to blame, especially considering the more risky boost levels from the new turbo.



Its perfectly logical what you just said, however I probably didnt explain clearly enough.

Compression test was done before any turbo was placed on the car, cylinder 4 was down by just over 1 bar.
MRC were a little concerned and wanted to stick a pinhole camera down there to make sure but I said dont bother :banghead: my ignorance and faith in the other companies tune has bitten me on the ass.

When the car went back after Vag Tuner and that misfire fiasco, another compression test was done and the EXACT same results came back.... I assumed that this was good news but Doug at MRC stuffed a camera down there anyway.
I cant go into any more detail at this stage until end of this month but I promise I will.


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

Dandanfings,

I followed your car project for a few months now, I watched just about all the videos pertaining your Audi and your modification path. Here is my take on your situation and believe me , I sympathize with you but I also disagree on some points.. First of all, you car was running crazy fast with the APR tune. Lets be up front, you ran 11.9 and trapped 114MPH on Santa Pod.

You posted many videos of your car running mid-high 3 sec with the APR set up. All the sudden you want more power and you added hardware (Turbo, intercooler, some IC pipes, modification of exhaust). MRC provide some additional tuning.

The main point here is that before you switched to the MRC tune your car was running very quick and reliably with APR. Yes, I know it, you had some clamp issues with your APR clamp./ pipes but that is a really minor thing. You can get a T-clamp and move on. You had a bad experience with one single APR vendor which didn't want to lend you tools but that is not the spirit of APR in general. Vividracing has done exactly the same thing to me..., most shop have a policy which they don't want to let their tools.

Your compression issues could be related to something else. We are not certain that APR caused the low compression issue because you didn't do a prior to tune compression test. I have done many car builds and t I learned my lesson long time ago. Reliability is paramount to me and once you start modifying the car that much then you start messing with other issues (over heating, clutch slippage). 

I am surprised that your clutch packs haven't gave up yet, perhaps thanks to APR software allowing the clutch packs to engage and disengage briefly? Another thing that I learned over the years is that most of the shops step back and put the blame on someone else(anther shop), it seems like no one is willing to take responsibility. What aggravated the situation more is the fact that you are a very nice and patient guy that gave up your money and time and like you said earlier, you are too educated to call out a tuner/vendor in a forum.

I have had some issues with my APR DSG tunes but I can firmly say that APR has done a great job with their customer service. They always backed up the money back guarantee policy, they always responded my e-mails and my phone calls in a timely manner and my local APR shop always bent backwards for me with any issues.


Perhaps you should consider going back to stage II and enjoy the driving. Another option(as crazy) as it sound would be running APR stage III kit which is precisely calibrated although I am not sure if their ROW is readily available. Best of luck buddy.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

27turbocars said:


> Dandanfings,
> 
> Your compression issues could be related to something else. We are not certain that APR caused the low compression issue because you didn't do a prior to tune compression test. .


You make a very good, valid point...and you are right, I cannot be 100% sure of what caused the cylinder to lose compression as it 'could' of happened during the first few miles when it was stock.
Indeed I have also driven the car in anger at drag events, track days and autobahn high speed runs, that in itself could quite easily kill any car.
But I'm pretty sure that it did contribute to what happened (look at the dyno graph with all that timing pull) but I was well aware of the risks and I did take it all on the chin.

My issue is with how I was treated after the fact, I didnt go to the tuner and accuse or even mention I suspected they were the cause. I explained that im having to get rid of the car and replace with another vehicle, could you be so kind as to allow me to transfer the DSG map onto the new car when it arrives.
I dont think that was a unreasonable request, especially considering how much attention I brought to them, those guys made alot of money off the back of my praise, I never asked for any kickbacks or sponsorship, Im a straight up honest person and I was recommending them as a genuine consumer. I dont want to turn into one of those corrupt vloggers giving false reviews.

Anyway they treated me very badly, if it was anyone else and I was in their shoes I would of course honor the transfer and offer my condolences. Here is a customer who has praised your company to the world and contributed to your bottom line... its not going to cost them a penny to download a file from a server, I have already paid for it!
Most likely the USA guys would of done that, the guys running the show over here really need to take a page out of the 'looking after customers' book.

As for the hose and clip, its a minor part with minimal cost, my main point was that the part they supplied was not up to the job which means they didnt really test it.
Dont get me started on the airbox :facepalm:


I guess i allowed all of this to build up to the point where I have burst, I am already hurting financially, heart broken that I have to return my car to standard and sell at a loss.
All this timed with a new job, I am under a ton of pressure.... you just couldn't of timed this any worse.
What they did was unkind and people need to know about this, I dont feel its acceptable and given the responses im getting elsewhere most people agree.


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## will13k7 (Aug 30, 2015)

not trying to be mean, but this is how I see it:

1. You'll never know what caused your engine problems, there are just too many possibilities.
2. Most people show up at their local tuner shop and get whatever tune they sell. Only a small percentage of people actually look at reviews on forums and youtube.
3. It would be a better business decision to sometimes cut customers a break and allow the transfer of the DSG tune if you're able to bring your S3 to them so they can verify the tune has been removed first.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

will13k7 said:


> not trying to be mean, but this is how I see it:
> 
> 1. You'll never know what caused your engine problems, there are just too many possibilities.
> 2. Most people show up at their local tuner shop and get whatever tune they sell. Only a small percentage of people actually look at reviews on forums and youtube.
> 3. It would be a better business decision to sometimes cut customers a break and allow the transfer of the DSG tune if you're able to bring your S3 to them so they can verify the tune has been removed first.


1) You are exactly right, thats why i didnt even mention to them nor pursue them for it.

2) A large chunk of the german tuning community are intelligent, informed consumers (not cheap cars these and to afford one you would have to work!) so this news would get round, most of us still remember the Corsa exhaust drama :laugh:

3) With me you wouldnt even need to check, my car problem has been a very public thing!

Anyway its done now and whats said has been said, this situation now exists, suffice to say it is far too late to offer me anything (not that they will) and im pretty certain they are preparing the corporate/pr response which if i was to be a guessing man would be along the lines of............. he was given a free map by us, he then took his business to another tuner and subsequently his engine blew.... or something to that effect.


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

Dandanfings said:


> You make a very good, valid point...and you are right, I cannot be 100% sure of what caused the cylinder to lose compression as it 'could' of happened during the first few miles when it was stock.
> Indeed I have also driven the car in anger at drag events, track days and autobahn high speed runs, that in itself could quite easily kill any car.
> But I'm pretty sure that it did contribute to what happened (look at the dyno graph with all that timing pull) but I was well aware of the risks and I did take it all on the chin.
> 
> ...


I will try to be as unbiased as I can but from the business perspective it doesn't make financial sense to transfer DSG tune from one car to the other, that is basically giving you a value of what $600 o $700 (British pounds in your case). 

I will give you a fact, I traded-in my 2015 A3 2.0 quattro 10 days ago. I had APR stage I and DSG tune and the launch control was terrible. Unfortunately the DSG tune is the culprit for me to trade in the A3 for a A6 Supercharged. On a good note I was able to return my DSG because I was within the awesome 30 APR return policy and Arin from APR sent me a promotional discount for a ECU which I gladly used and I appreciate. Sometime you have to take the losses. 

I would have kept my A3 had my launch control work but it never did. I started from scratch with a A6 3.0 T and I just moved on.


Some APR dealers are money hungry and some others are exceptionally friendly and helpful. I happen to be a popular guy in the car meets and I have been treated fairly by some fellow APR technicians from the local APR dealer. They earned my business very quick (3 tuned Audis in 7 or 8 months).

If you are still attached to the VW /Audis cars you might want to wait to see if Cobb Tuning is your option, they are coming up with a Cobb AP which allows you to fully remove the tune with the Cobb AP and also to switch maps. With all the enthusiasm that you have for cars and being there in Europe you should be able to pick on other nice sports cars as well. 

I still remember how quick your car was on stage II and DSG tune, crazy fast.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

27turbocars said:


> I will try to be as unbiased as I can but from the business perspective it doesn't make financial sense to transfer DSG tune from one car to the other, that is basically giving you a value of what $600 o $700 (British pounds in your case).
> 
> I will give you a fact, I traded-in my 2015 A3 2.0 quattro 10 days ago. I had APR stage I and DSG tune and the launch control was terrible. Unfortunately the DSG tune is the culprit for me to trade in the A3 for a A6 Supercharged. On a good note I was able to return my DSG because I was within the awesome 30 APR return policy and Arin from APR sent me a promotional discount for a ECU which I gladly used and I appreciate. Sometime you have to take the losses.
> 
> ...


Arin is a alright guy, was good of him to do that for you, but then again any decent business would look out for their customers as thats what a good business does.
I will miss my S3 and its crazy speed, it really did put a smile on my face everyday and the occasional stain in my underpants 
Cobb tuning sounds like a interesting option and I may look into that...... but apparently nobody will touch me anymore, im considered a trouble customer according to a certain company, thats right they have all been talking in secret about my ludicrous theories and nobody will tune or take my money anymore :screwy:
Im not making that up, that literally happened about an hour ago and im still processing it :what:


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## will13k7 (Aug 30, 2015)

Dandanfings said:


> but apparently nobody will touch me anymore, im considered a trouble customer according to a certain company, thats right they have all been talking in secret about my ludicrous theories and nobody will tune or take my money anymore :screwy:
> Im not making that up, that literally happened about an hour ago and im still processing it :what:


playing devil's advocate:

maybe it's because it kind of looks like you are blasting a tuning company without any indisputable evidence their product led to your cylinder issues when you ran into problems while you were running another company's beta tune that they developed using your car as a test mule with a bigger turbo and in addition it seems you think you should be treated differently than someone who doesn't post reviews on youtube and forums, which might come accross as arrogant to some.

Perhaps that might ruffle a few feathers?


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

^^ what he said. 

Dandanfings,

Plus, think about it. How can APR be responsible for a tune pertaining to an addition of a much bigger turbo and intercooler? You can't blame APR the crazy "zig-zag" timing on your set up. MRC is ultimately responsible for a fine tune, they are the ones that should accept the responsibilities and get your fuel, timing,ignition AFRs, boost in proper order.

Here is the problem, TTE offers a turbo but now you are left alone to find out a competent tuner that is willing to do a decent safe tune. You opted for MRC but MRC has no experience on this turbo and this car combined. At least APR stands behind their products, look at their Stage 3 APR kit. They offer a tailored tune, trouble free plug and play hardware/software. APR gives themselves a huge margin of power in case you want to go nuts in the future.

Don't you wish by the end of the day stage III from APR was the way to go? You are a previous APR customer so you could take advantage of their discount. My advise is that you return the car to APR stage II. I fund like 20 plus APR dealers in the UK using GOapr website. Put it back t APR stage II and sell the turbo and start enjoying the car.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

You raise perfectly valid points however you have overlooked a few things which I mentioned in my post and thats the fact the uk dealer really does not like me.
He was incredibly rude and blunt about not wishing to entertain me and my humble request for a map transfer on the replacement car and that I should go back to my tuner MRC whom wiped their original tune.
Other things have also been said unfortunately on social media (i have posted nothing) suggesting that I better hope that he is not at a show... suggesting in rather uncouth terms he would get physical :what:

At this stage I dont really want anything to do with the UK arm.
Other stuff has also happened where i received a phone call suggesting that i could have trouble buying or tuning my car in the future as tuners have been talking behind the scences and im considered a trouble maker :screwy:

To say im not particularly impressed with the tuning industry is a understatement!
My GTi will arrive late this year and given my experience and the way i have been treated.... im gonna keep it stock.


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## will13k7 (Aug 30, 2015)

The employee at the uk dealer you're dealing with sounds a bit off his rocker, good idea to steer clear of him/her/them. Might be worth emailing the tuner's headquarters about how they are treating you, I have a feeling they won't approve and reconsider dealing with this dealer. This won't do anything for you, but might help others.


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## 27turbocars (Jun 26, 2016)

^^ Once again, what he said plus keep in mind that an APR dealer should be able to put a APR file without questions asked as long as you meet the criteria(having the stock turbo).

If you are already on your way to another car you might as well just forget asking them for a APR DSG tune transfer. Drive the new car for a little while stock and use your common sense. Unitronic offers a way to switch to stock without having to stop in a dealer. 

The situation with your local APR tuner being rude or blunt about not wanting to return back to stock has to do with liability. They probably prefer to stay away if they already know that your car has existing mechanical issues. My local APR tuner are excellent, they don't care if I just want to switch back to stock or go with another mod, all they care is to know if I am happy. 

You should go to another APR tuner and flash it back to stock before any other APR tuner gets the word. You can also ship it to the US and have the headquarters do it for you. Just my .50c. One last thing, stop being so nice, if your APR dealer are being a dik do the same and start putting bad reputation on their business, at the end of the day they aren't listening to the customer (you). You are the one with money in hand wanting to put the stock tune of the stage I tune or whatever.


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

Why bother wasting all that time and money when you could have just bought a RS3? Regardless of how fast you made/make the S3, it is still a buzzy sounding four banger. The RS3 at least sounds good and you would almost be at the power levels you were looking at getting with just a tune. 

I am puzzled. Regardless, thanks for your efforts. I now know what NOT to do.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

crackkills said:


> Why bother wasting all that time and money when you could have just bought a RS3? Regardless of how fast you made/make the S3, it is still a buzzy sounding four banger. The RS3 at least sounds good and you would almost be at the power levels you were looking at getting with just a tune.
> 
> I am puzzled. Regardless, thanks for your efforts. I now know what NOT to do.


I dont think the S3 sounds bad at all, in fact it sounds great for a 4 banger.
But yes I did not enjoy the car stock and what I did was put lipstick on a pig.... however it ended up being a very pretty pig :what:
Bad analogy but you get the idea!


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

Dandanfings said:


> I dont think the S3 sounds bad at all, in fact it sounds great for a 4 banger.
> But yes I did not enjoy the car stock and what I did was put lipstick on a pig.... however it ended up being a very pretty pig :what:
> Bad analogy but you get the idea!


What are you going to get and is the engine ok with stock external parts. At least you can sell some of your parts and recoup some of the money lost. 

Good luck mate. Again, I can't say enough how I appreciated all of your efforts and FULL honest disclosure. Most will never admit that any part they put on their car sucked balls. You did and I salute you for that. Take great care and keep me posted.


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## Dandanfings (Aug 22, 2015)

will13k7 said:


> The employee at the uk dealer you're dealing with sounds a bit off his rocker, good idea to steer clear of him/her/them. Might be worth emailing the tuner's headquarters about how they are treating you, I have a feeling they won't approve and reconsider dealing with this dealer. This won't do anything for you, but might help others.


missed this one entirely!
You would think so, I have a video going up that will perhaps explain a bit more and will mean that they probably stand behind them 100%

The new car is a GTi Clubsport, I will have to slum it in the econobox Skoda Fabia until December (when it arrives) but it gives me plenty of time to cool myself off and save up some much needed money.
I was able to sell the TTE525R to a nice chap in Tennessee, I am sure he will be delighted with this Turbo and im sure he will post up some videos of it.


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## will.fraser.3192 (Apr 30, 2016)

Thanks for creating such an interesting thread. I feel your heartbreak too. Based on your experience, I think I'll stick with my stage one system. 

I've noticed even at 350-360 hp torque steer is pretty significant. How was it for you?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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