# Stasis vs. APR upgrades



## lokee (Jul 2, 2008)

I have a 2011 S4 3.0T and am looking to upgrade the exhaust, ECU, and possibly other things to reach around 400hp. I'm debating whether to go with APR, Stasis, or if there are any other good names out there. Any input on my situation is greatly appreciated.


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## [email protected] (Dec 12, 2001)

Psssst.... you've already got over 400 crank HP, stock. Audi under-rates the 3.0T from the factory.

That said, I don't have any personal experience with the Stasis stuff, but I've spent a fair amount of time in the Fourtitude 4 Season S4, which has the APR ECU and RSC exhaust on it, and I think they're both totally fantastic upgrades. With the ECU and exhaust, the car pulls like a train, and the engine is really woken up higher in the rev band where it's lacking a bit stock. The exhaust is nice and quiet with zero cabin drone at cruising speeds, but when you get on it it sounds mean.

Personally, I think the APR upgrades are well worth the money, but like I said, I haven't driven anything with the Stasis stuff on it, but my understanding is that they're very good upgrades as well. One thing you might want to consider is support - does APR or Stasis have a bigger presence close to where you live?

-Tim


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## Akrion (Aug 7, 2005)

I am seriously considering Stasis since my dealership does it and it does not void the warranty. I am having hard time picking the exhaust upgrade though. APR exhaust looks very aggressive and sounds great. 

I talked to a tuner shop in my area and they recommended Miltek over APR ... not sure if that is a valid or its just their marketing crap.


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

The Stasis ECU tune & 91 octane APR ECU tune seem to be similar (if not the same tune).

The Stasis exhaust has lots a reviews about having excessive drone, especially with the S-Tronic.

The APR has a sharper sound outside the car (on heavy throttle) than the Milltek (with downpipes) both are very good & no drone. There is an exhaust shoutout on one of the Audi forums (Audizine?)

I have heard the APR with the 034 motorsport high flow cats, which is tame unless one gets into the throttle hard, then outside the car it gets loud.


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## M this 1! (May 17, 2000)

The Stasis tune is a no brainer. it's apr but with your warranty intact! Feels great too!

The Stasis exhaust is great as well. We have a built car on the floor that can be heard if you're out here. and honestly they have 2 systems. the challenge is louder and might be the droning one, but the touring sounds great, has no drone and is the same power increase! it also gives a stealthier evilness if you will. you hear it for sure...........but ever cop, kid, mom, etc in your 1 mile radius does not.


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

There are a number of posts on Audiworld & Audizine about the Stasis *Tourin*g exhaust *drone* on *DSG* B8 S4s. It would seem that the people who don't hear the drone, may have a hearing loss.


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## M this 1! (May 17, 2000)

Or they're complete sissys and it's their first non-stocker. we have the car on the floor for testing by customers. none have complaints


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

It seems Stasis & the Stasis dealers are in a state of denial about the exhaust drone on the B8 S4. They must have the same perspective as the Audi people deciding what to do with 2010 B8 S4 water pumps issues. Denial does not make the problem go away, it only causes customer frustration.


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## Fast Conejo (Aug 20, 2010)

Stassis use to buy their software from GIAC, when giac could not supply them with the new B8 S4software, they went to APR for their programs, so when you buy stassis you are in fact buying APR, but they charge more than APR. As for exhaust, the stassis exhaust has a lot of drone where the APR has zero drone. It's your pick, but my preference would be APR hands down. :thumbup:


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## receptionfades (Aug 19, 2007)

M this 1! said:


> The Stasis tune is a no brainer. it's apr but with your warranty intact! Feels great too!
> 
> The Stasis exhaust is great as well. We have a built car on the floor that can be heard if you're out here. and honestly they have 2 systems. the challenge is louder and might be the droning one, but the touring sounds great, has no drone and is the same power increase! it also gives a stealthier evilness if you will. you hear it for sure...........but ever cop, kid, mom, etc in your 1 mile radius does not.


I was told by several people that the warranty only stays intact if you have the StaSiS parts installed before taking delivery from the dealer. Installing the after the fact voids the warranty.


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

The Stasis warranty is intact, if it is installed by an approved Audi dealer that is also a Stasis dealer.

There is a list of Stasis Audi dealers on their web page.

http://www.stasisengineering.com/


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

I have APR on exhaust on my S4 and have driven the AWE exhaust setup. Both are quite good and with no drone (non S-tronic, MT6 owned and sampled). I don't have experience with the STaSIS exhaust.


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## DUBSPORTN (Apr 11, 2004)

I have a good buddy that runs a stasis s4 ecu and exhaust because the dealer talked him into it at time of sale. They rolled the cost of the upgrades into the finance. (Dont ask me if thats good or bad) I have APR 93oct ECU and the RSC exhaust on my car and he prefers the drive of my car. The exhaust does drone even on a manual car if you just drive it, you can contain the sound on a manual if you adjust the throttle delivery.


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

I'm not experiencing any drone on mine. It has caused some interior buzz vibrations at certain short RPM spreads but no drone.


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## DUBSPORTN (Apr 11, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> I'm not experiencing any drone on mine. It has caused some interior buzz vibrations at certain short RPM spreads but no drone.


 Im sorry I meant that the drone on the stasis exhaust in manageable, the RSC is smooth and quietly robust.


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## Golgo-13 (Aug 20, 2003)

Is there any downfall to merely dropping an ECU upgrade into the S4, and leaving the exhaust stock? Perhaps 3/4th the power and no exhaust headaches?


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## [email protected] (Dec 12, 2001)

Golgo-13 said:


> Is there any downfall to merely dropping an ECU upgrade into the S4, and leaving the exhaust stock? Perhaps 3/4th the power and no exhaust headaches?


Not really. APR says that the exhaust will give you another 15-16 HP and ft/lb over stock, but you can use the ECU upgrade without the exhaust if you want. With a decent exhaust, though, I don't know that you'll have headaches, either. All of the major brand ones will certainly not have any fitment issues or anything like that, and while I can't personally vouch for the Stasis product, I know that the APR exhaust is very quiet and comfortable to live with when you're driving the car.

-Tim


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## JackDanielsMotors (Mar 22, 2010)

We had a STaSIS A4 on the showroom floor for a little, and that car was a beast. It sounded amazing. I don't know how it is relative to the APR set of upgrades, but it definitely took that A4 to a whole new level. I can only image what it does to an S4.

This package came with:


Signature Series ECU Upgrade
Stainless Steel Cat-Back Dual Tip Exhaust
Touring Springs with Rear Anti-Roll Bar
Lightweight Wheels
255/30 High Performance Tires


The stats that STaSIS gives for the A4 are:


61 more horsepower
98 more foot pounds of torque
0-6 of 5.8 seconds vs 7.3 seconds on the stock model


Here are also some photos of the car we had:


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

Car looks great. Too bad it doesnt' have their new wheels though.


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## receptionfades (Aug 19, 2007)

JackDanielsMotors said:


> 0-6 of 5.8 seconds vs 7.3 seconds on the stock model


I thought the B8 A4 was faster than 7.3?


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

I guess it depends on where the numbers are quoted from and the details of the particular car. 

2011 A4 2.0T Performance, 0-60 MPH 

Manual ,	Tiptronic® ,	Multitronic® 
6.4 sec. , 6.6 sec. ,	7.1 sec. 

http://models.audiusa.com/a4-sedan/detailed-specifications


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

JackDanielsMotors, 

Have you driven the Stasis Challenege eddition of the A4 or S4 (the one with the Olin coilovers)? 

The 2011 S4 standard suspension always feels a bit odd to me, maybe due to the progressive rate tuned suspension? The rebound seems harsh on hard pothole bumps, similar to how excessive unsprung weight feels.


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## trueunion (Apr 15, 2008)

Gobwith the stasis pck we just sold our first s4 and the car is awesome with all the mods and you can't beat the warranty. I drove the car and the sound is perfect.


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## JackDanielsMotors (Mar 22, 2010)

wwhan said:


> JackDanielsMotors,
> 
> Have you driven the Stasis Challenege eddition of the A4 or S4 (the one with the Olin coilovers)?
> 
> The 2011 S4 standard suspension always feels a bit odd to me, maybe due to the progressive rate tuned suspension? The rebound seems harsh on hard pothole bumps, similar to how excessive unsprung weight feels.


I have not personally driven the car, the one I posted about before was in the showroom a few weeks ago and I did not get the chance to take it for a spin. Though Jack Daniels Audi has been offering Stasis upgrades since 2008, so I am sure to see another one come through soon.

STaSIS Partners With Jack Daniels Audi

- Phillip @ Jack Daniels Motors


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

I think the Statis upgrades ala carte make the most sense, since the exhaust drone & 20" tires are unneccesary.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

the Stasis software for this car is their own software, not used from APR or GIAC.

So both the APR and Stasis flash cost $1495, both produce same HP and TQ figures but Stasis comes with a 4yr/50k warranty. Seems like a no-brainer to pay the same and get a warranty, plus have a dealership do the work for you.

I drove the Stasis S4 that was at SEMA from LA to PHX, and having had 6 cars now with non-OEM exhaust systems, it by far was one of the quietest ones i've driven. All non-oem exhaust will make sound lounder than OEM, but compared to my 3" TBE on my A3 from B&B, the S4 had no drone at highway speeds. if i was in 6th gear at 55-60mph then it was a little noticeable, but nothing the radio couldnt balance out and i certainly wouldnt call it drone.

exhausts also change sound after they've been broken in. so reports of drone may be from immediate installs and not after a few hundred/thousand miles.


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

Well several DSG owners had problems with Stasis drone, even after running for a few months.

Actually I noticed the stock B8 S4 exhaust gets louder with age and starts to drone a little on hills (with DSG in auto mode around 70mph).

There are many posts on the forums pointing out that the Stasis B8 S4 FLASH is done by APR (since they have the encription key cracked). That is why it tends to takes twice as long to get the Stasis B8 S4 FLASH as the APR FLASH.


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## NWS4Guy (Nov 3, 2009)

ProjectA3 said:


> the Stasis software for this car is their own software, not used from APR or GIAC.


Not according to indirect quotes from APR, and fromn dealerships. They haven't (and likely won't be able to) come out and say it, but Stephen Hooks, head APR guy, hsa said repeatedly "We are the only shop to have sucessfully cracked and tuned the B8 S4 ECU."

It also doesn't help when you ship an ECU off from the dealership to stasis in Virginia, and it comes back to the dealership in an APR box from Alabama (which happened many times in the first few batches till they got the shipping sorted out).


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## mikeg6045 (Apr 14, 2010)

DUBSPORTN said:


> I have a good buddy that runs a stasis s4 ecu and exhaust because the dealer talked him into it at time of sale. They rolled the cost of the upgrades into the finance. (Dont ask me if thats good or bad) I have APR 93oct ECU and the RSC exhaust on my car and he prefers the drive of my car. The exhaust does drone even on a manual car if you just drive it, you can contain the sound on a manual if you adjust the throttle delivery.


wow, so he has to pay interest on upgrades that are of less value than factory parts in the case that something happens with the car (possible sale or tradein). What an honest dealer there. :banghead: lol

Drone is different than engine noise at a steady rpm. Drone is when the actual air inside the cabin resonates from the sound of the exhaust. drone you can hear and kinda feel in your ears. like when you have a window or sunroof open in a car that makes a humming wind noise. I have had RSC exhaust's and Corsa's technology is solid. I think the case may be that you are mistaking exhaust and engine noise/hum for drone.


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## mikeg6045 (Apr 14, 2010)

APR makes great products, I think thats great that Stasis has such a quality product to offer. 

I would recommend getting the tune from the dealer if your worried about a dealership that will battle you on a warranty claim (from something that is usually not at all related to the software in the first place)


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## mikeg6045 (Apr 14, 2010)

JackDanielsMotors said:


> We had a STaSIS A4 on the showroom floor for a little, and that car was a beast. It sounded amazing. I don't know how it is relative to the APR set of upgrades, but it definitely took that A4 to a whole new level. I can only image what it does to an S4.
> 
> This package came with:
> 
> ...


car for sure looks good !!


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## wwhan (Apr 12, 2010)

I feel that the wheel diameter is too large for the STaSIS A4 on the showroom floor. To me, it makes the car look too small & mismatched to the wheels.

Drone is a low frequency resonance from the exhaust system resonating with the exhaust of the engine. It is low frequency and yes you can feel it (like a large pipe organ). It also feels like pressure on your head. 

I have had several cars that have had drone issues with non-optimized (for sound) aftermarket exhaust. It is extremely irritating.


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## mikeg6045 (Apr 14, 2010)

wwhan said:


> I feel that the wheel diameter is too large for the STaSIS A4 on the showroom floor. To me, it makes the car look too small & mismatched to the wheels.
> 
> Drone is a low frequency resonance from the exhaust system resonating with the exhaust of the engine. It is low frequency and yes you can feel it (like a large pipe organ). It also feels like pressure on your head.
> 
> I have had several cars that have had drone issues with non-optimized (for sound) aftermarket exhaust. It is extremely irritating.


I personally think the car already looks to big for the size it actually is (way smaller than a 5 series bmw, but yet looks like that size from far away), so 20's imo are a good fit. 

I with the correct wheel design , imo, you would not be able to tell any mismatch. when you have a 1 piece wheel with a full face, they always make the tires look more low-pro, and the rim face makes the wheel appear bigger than they actually are.


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