# HPA touch motion review



## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

so I finally got my touch motion setup from HPA today. was super easy to install, plugs inline to the stock controller. took no more than. 20 minutes. depending on how low your car is you may not even need a jack.

simply unplug stock controller harness On the bracket on the back of the diff and plug the Hpa harness to either end and run the other end up to the grommet in the spare tire well and plug it into the programmers box








the included tablet is just a intuitive remote control you don't need to keep it in the car once you choose a mode.having the ability to switch through the settings is a big advantage , that in itself is worth the 100$ more over the other options.

the little bar graph display showing the "lock up" or torque split pretty neat but is more or less a novelty but I guess it makes the display active. 
the ability to just touch what mode you want to jump to on the fly is pretty damn cool though. that in itself makes the tablet useful. you are able to customize your own "hybrid program in the dynamic mode which is pretty cool. I'm still understanding and playing with that. 










my haldex was stock before this but I previously had a HPA orange controller, which performance wise was awesome but IMO needed refinement. the rear diff would essentially stay locked all the time , low speed binding was pretty evident and quite annoying. the "comp mode" on the new touch motion is noticeably more refined. there is no more of the low speed binding or back wheel dragging around slow turns.
now if you never had a performance haldex , the results of clicking comp mode are quiet apparent. the car feels much more neutral and balanced through turns. you can actively feel the back wheels propelling the car through corners. it is so much more confidence inspiring. 

the more active rear diff virtually kills all of the split second front wheel spin and torque steer before haldex kicks in which in itself is a beautiful thing. 
I'll update this when I have more time 



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## YayItsBlake (Apr 11, 2016)

Rad. Nice to see someone finally get their hands on one (and share with us). I really like the idea of being able to change settings on the fly, as that tends to be the way the road changes as well. 👍

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## hunTTsvegas (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks for the input. 

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## erabbit777 (Jan 11, 2009)

I want one!😍

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## TheDeckMan (Sep 26, 2004)

Great review, been planning on getting one for the street car :beer:


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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

erabbit777 said:


> I want one!😍
> 
> Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk


get one. it's worth the upcharge over just a flash price. so much more hardware makes you feel like you paid for something lol 

I was playing with "dynamic" mode last night. pretty cool in theory. I have it set so it bounces between sport mode and competition. there is threshold adjustment that tell the programming how long to hold the more aggressive comp mode before dropping back into sport mode or economy. 
it decides when to ramp up based on throttle position , rpm and speed... 
awesomeness. 
great for nice roads that change pace quickly. all without even touching the controller!


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## erabbit777 (Jan 11, 2009)

racin2redline said:


> get one. it's worth the upcharge over just a flash price. so much more hardware makes you feel like you paid for something lol
> 
> I was playing with "dynamic" mode last night. pretty cool in theory. I have it set so it bounces between sport mode and competition. there is threshold adjustment that tell the programming how long to hold the more aggressive comp mode before dropping back into sport mode or economy.
> it decides when to ramp up based on throttle position , rpm and speed...
> ...


Yeah, this is definitely going on my list. After the Haldex service (which I'm considering doing myself) and exhaust.

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## erabbit777 (Jan 11, 2009)

racin2redline said:


> get one. it's worth the upcharge over just a flash price. so much more hardware makes you feel like you paid for something lol
> 
> I was playing with "dynamic" mode last night. pretty cool in theory. I have it set so it bounces between sport mode and competition. there is threshold adjustment that tell the programming how long to hold the more aggressive comp mode before dropping back into sport mode or economy.
> it decides when to ramp up based on throttle position , rpm and speed...
> ...


Yeah, this is definitely going on my list. After the Haldex service (which I'm considering doing myself) and exhaust.

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## l88m22vette (Mar 2, 2006)

Great review, I really like it and am totally in for any updates you have opcorn:


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## Lorem (Nov 19, 2003)

Nice going ! Please keep us posted!


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## Converted2VW (Apr 8, 2009)

Sweet review! Thx for sharing.

This is something I'm interested in getting once the $$ flow in the near future 

Question: does the little box get in the way of the donut spare tire?


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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

Converted2VW said:


> Sweet review! Thx for sharing.
> 
> This is something I'm interested in getting once the $$ flow in the near future
> 
> Question: does the little box get in the way of the donut spare tire?


where it is now I'd imagine it wouldn't clear the spare. there is plenty of harness to move it wherever you'd like in the trunk.
I

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## Converted2VW (Apr 8, 2009)

racin2redline said:


> where it is now I'd imagine it wouldn't clear the spare. there is plenty of harness to move it wherever you'd like in the trunk.
> I
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk


Thx much appreciated!


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## tfifeco (Aug 4, 2014)

not trying to hijack this thread at all .. just wanted to throw this out there if anyone is interested

If anyone is interested. I have one of the very first original HPA touch motion Haldex units when they first launched back about a year and a half ago. Right after I bought and installed it, used it for a couple months, then I started my Turbo upgrade project, that went from bad to worse to a nightmare. Now the car is sitting on blocks, front end is off and about to pull the motor. This LIKE NEW, HPA Touch motion is sitting in the car not being used. and honestly I don't know when I will get the car back on the road, could be a long time. So, I am considering selling it, mainly because I could use the cash in other areas, and also let someone put it to use.

Send me a PM if interested, I can send pics and we can discuss price and other details


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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

^someone buy that! 

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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

got a chance to go for a nice drive today through some tight twisty roads on the north shore of the island. lots and lots of gradient changes sloped roads and tight turns , usually things that piss haldex off 
last time I went for a hard drive I had the stock controller. when the car would unload over a little pitch in the road the front wheels would spin and haldex would try viciously to try and transfer power, which usually resulted in a very noticeable wheelspin and a sharp RPM drop , 
all this transferred through the steering wheel as torque steer understeer and overall disappointment 

NOW today in comp mode through some sharp back country roads I was pushing the car pretty hard looking for any indication of power transfer but the car was very consistent. even using No lift shift in the straights and heel toe into corners buried into the brakes and hammering it again at the apex, there was no noticeable power transfer , the car just feels so neutral and balanced. 
the steering is so much more predictable and weighted with all 4 wheels propelling the car (in stock mode usually the steering feels lighter when haldex is inative and loads up noticably when torque transfers, which can be quite uncomfortable and discouraging at the limit) 

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## Arizman3 (May 30, 2006)

racin2redline said:


> got a chance to go for a nice drive today through some tight twisty roads on the north shore of the island.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk


Nice review. I wonder how the units features compare to the the UM flash.


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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

one thing to mention also, I've noticed the tablet included has a pretty poor battery life..

would probably be better if it were a phone app instead of a stand alone tablet 

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## Marcus_Aurelius (Mar 1, 2012)

Arizman3 said:


> Nice review. I wonder how the units features compare to the the UM flash.


In competition mode, this is similar to what the UM provides all the time (with a slight performance edge going to the UM mapping).


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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

Marcus_Aurelius said:


> In competition mode, this is similar to what the UM provides all the time (with a slight performance edge going to the UM mapping).


max do you have the UM tune? 

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## MCPaudiTT (Nov 26, 2006)

I have the UM Haldex Flash, but it was installed when I put in the TTRS motor, and I didn't do a before/after comparison. So I can't say what the "difference" feels like... No way to turn "off" the UM tune, as far as I know. I wish now I had time to have had the car without the Haldex flash, so I could tell "for sure" of the change due to the flash... Guess I could get another Haldex controller and swap back to OEM, hmmm...


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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

MCPaudiTT said:


> I have the UM Haldex Flash, but it was installed when I put in the TTRS motor, and I didn't do a before/after comparison. So I can't say what the "difference" feels like... No way to turn "off" the UM tune, as far as I know. I wish now I had time to have had the car without the Haldex flash, so I could tell "for sure" of the change due to the flash... Guess I could get another Haldex controller and swap back to OEM, hmmm...


I've done this and I can assure you it is a noticeable difference, you will not be happy you wasted time 
the way it feels now is how it should of came from the factory 

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## MCPaudiTT (Nov 26, 2006)

I have NO doubt it "works", I am just curious what it would feel like without the flash. Probably won't do anything to find out, too many other pokers in the fire at the moment with three project cars being juggled!


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## jsmith2015 (Mar 7, 2015)

I would be all over the um flash but by the time i drive 200 miles and pay a dealer fee or get in line for the remote flasher and pay that fee I could have just bought the hpa and saved 100 bucks.

Good to see its getting some positive reviews after such a bumpy roll out.

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## jsmith2015 (Mar 7, 2015)

Did we ever confirm if stays engaged during breaking in comp mode ?

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## racin2redline (Sep 25, 2008)

jsmith2015 said:


> Did we ever confirm if stays engaged during breaking in comp mode ?
> 
> Sent from my LGMS330 using Tapatalk


it definitely does 

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## Rohm32 (Apr 9, 2015)

Just wanted to share my experience with this programmer received it just about a week now and i must say money well spend , im currently learning the settings unfortunately i cant debate on UM haldex settings due i only have the ecu UM tune , but the Comp mode seems to be the settings, that awkens the heart of this machine ive had a little battle vs a Audi S3 the other night and we took it out trough the hills and turns and it was all smiles, sorry guys the S3 wasnt keeping up. Weekend i will be trying out the RaceSpeed mode at out local drag meet will let you guys know how it goes 

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## vtraudt (Mar 1, 2010)

Can someone comment on the other settings (aside from comp mode)?
How do the pre set settings compare for example to blue box or orange box?
Ditto to the UM flash?


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