# APR ECU Upgrade - 2.0T EA888 Gen 3B - DAMN!



## mohaimenk (Jun 2, 2021)

Hi guys! I'm new to this forum (first post)! Today I got my very first mod on my 2018 SEL. I just couldn't put up with the stock so I took a chance on the APR upgrade and I can't express how happy I am with this. I'm running 93 and the speed/performance is freaking amazing! If anyone's in the market for it, I'd definitely recommend it. Looking forward to other upgrades as well.

If anyone has any suggestion for which intake to purchase, I'm all ears! Thank you!!


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## Frankito71 (Jun 1, 2021)

Sweet, I'm looking to do my 2021 SE R-Line 4Motion soon.


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## dragonpalm (May 9, 2016)

mohaimenk said:


> I just couldn't put up with the stock so I took a chance on the APR upgrade and I can't express how happy I am with this. I'm running 93 and the speed/performance is freaking amazing!


Curious, what are you comparing against to call it “freaking amazing”? My APR tuned Tig on 91 is not amazing at all when I compare against my Mk7 GTI or really any vehicle with the same power figures. Of course it’s better than stock and should be for the $1k mod but that's not saying much since stock is horribly underpowered and barely drivable (to me). The motor screams and outputs little, trans is slow to react, steering is numb, and suspension is floaty. Don’t get me wrong, I like my Tig for other reasons like tech and space but to call it amazing after the tune is strange to me.


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## RatBustard (Jun 15, 2007)

dragonpalm said:


> Curious, what are you comparing against to call it “freaking amazing”? My APR tuned Tig on 91 is not amazing at all when I compare against my Mk7 GTI or really any vehicle with the same power figures. Of course it’s better than stock and should be for the $1k mod but that's not saying much since stock is horribly underpowered and barely drivable (to me). The motor screams and outputs little, trans is slow to react, steering is numb, and suspension is floaty. Don’t get me wrong, I like my Tig for other reasons like tech and space but to call it amazing after the tune is strange to me.


guessing the OP is comparing the car before the ECM flash and after the ECM flash.

of course it's not going to be as good as a GTI or Golf R, but it's neither of those, so why bother comparing apples to oranges?


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## dragonpalm (May 9, 2016)

n0rdicalex. said:


> guessing the OP is comparing the car before the ECM flash and after the ECM flash.
> 
> of course it's not going to be as good as a GTI or Golf R, but it's neither of those, so why bother comparing apples to oranges?


I wasn't clear but when I said comparing, I'm referring to acceleration. APR claims that with the stage 1 tune running 91 octane, the Tiguan has 239 HP and 277 TQ, gains of +50 HP and +66 TQ. The numbers suggest that's a relatively good gain in performance over stock. However, I'm questioning the OPs comment that it's "freaking amazing!" after the tune. That was not my experience at all. In terms of acceleration before and after tune, it's slightly better but no where near what I would even say is good. I don't have data but my butt dyno says tuned it's a high 7 or low 8 sec 0-60 vs. before of 9+ seconds. I've seen some other posts that corroborate the times. It's just not "freaking amazing" to me so I'm curious why people seemingly exaggerate. I just want other people to know that the APR stage 1 tune alone does not make the Tiguan a fast car, relative to GTI or any car for that matter. The tune makes it average while before the tune it's below average.


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## RatBustard (Jun 15, 2007)

dragonpalm said:


> I wasn't clear but when I said comparing, I'm referring to acceleration. APR claims that with the stage 1 tune running 91 octane, the Tiguan has 239 HP and 277 TQ, gains of +50 HP and +66 TQ. The numbers suggest that's a relatively good gain in performance over stock. However, I'm questioning the OPs comment that it's "freaking amazing!" after the tune. That was not my experience at all. In terms of acceleration before and after tune, it's slightly better but no where near what I would even say is good. I don't have data but my butt dyno says tuned it's a high 7 or low 8 sec 0-60 vs. before of 9+ seconds. I've seen some other posts that corroborate the times. It's just not "freaking amazing" to me so I'm curious why people seemingly exaggerate. I just want other people to know that the APR stage 1 tune alone does not make the Tiguan a fast car, relative to GTI or any car for that matter. The tune makes it average while before the tune it's below average.


it's subjective: likely amazing to OP and not that amazing to you or others. simple.


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## kickice24 (Apr 15, 2002)

I took delivery of my new '21 Tig R-Line w/ the 93 stage 1. Huge improvement over stock, but was hoping for a little bit better drivability. Specifically, leaving from a stop in sport. I think it actually amplified the initial surge. Mine really wants to spin the tires. Maybe the Audi pedal mod would help with this? I'm sure a stickier tire would help, but I'll use these up for now.


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## goodtill (Jun 20, 2013)

Comparing apples to oranges. These are different motors and can be tuned different. The Tig's motor is not the same as a GTI. So the tune on a Tig will be better than stock but you are not going to see the performance gains of a GTi motor


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## mohaimenk (Jun 2, 2021)

dragonpalm said:


> Curious, what are you comparing against to call it “freaking amazing”? My APR tuned Tig on 91 is not amazing at all when I compare against my Mk7 GTI or really any vehicle with the same power figures. Of course it’s better than stock and should be for the $1k mod but that's not saying much since stock is horribly underpowered and barely drivable (to me). The motor screams and outputs little, trans is slow to react, steering is numb, and suspension is floaty. Don’t get me wrong, I like my Tig for other reasons like tech and space but to call it amazing after the tune is strange to me.


Well, I'm running 93 and I'm getting a good pickup, even from stop. You've mentioned that you're getting 7s and 8s but on youtube videos I've seen low 6s and 5.8s with simple tune. I am definitely getting better than 7-8 0-60. This is before putting on an exhaust, intake, turbo delete. Also, GTI is 500lb lighter than a Tig so there's no way I'd even compare the two. Before I wouldn't have fun driving the TIG but now it's way more fun to drive for me. Even wife feels the difference. Again, I am not sure why you're getting 7-8 sec on your 0-60. Maybe try having them readjust it for 93 instead? My CX9 does mid 7s and this is definitely faster than that.


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## PiranhaTiguana (May 22, 2021)

It's funny to read how the stock Tiguan is a poor performer. We just bought a 2021 SEL-P to replace my wife's aging 2007 CR-V. There is no comparison. So maybe the solution is to drive an old, slow car for too long and then the Tiguan will feel fast.


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## bikeman102 (Jan 5, 2010)

mohaimenk said:


> Hi guys! I'm new to this forum (first post)! Today I got my very first mod on my 2018 SEL. I just couldn't put up with the stock so I took a chance on the APR upgrade and I can't express how happy I am with this. I'm running 93 and the speed/performance is freaking amazing! If anyone's in the market for it, I'd definitely recommend it. Looking forward to other upgrades as well.
> 
> If anyone has any suggestion for which intake to purchase, I'm all ears! Thank you!!


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## bikeman102 (Jan 5, 2010)

Had my 2019 Tiguan re-mapped to stage 1 via APR and local dealer, running oct 91, as soon as it was available and it it was the car really needs, more HP and TQ. Really improves the HP and TQ. When on highway at 70 to 80 or even 60mph the acceleration to faster, 90+ when needed is great, need to keep it on cruise control to keep the mounties at bay. Boosted HP like 45hp and TQ like 50 ftlbs. Just did a day trip 314 miles, to Oklahoma on checking my MPG this trip it was 30.8mpg so far so good with this car, a keeper...Anyone else done upgrades to ECU etc....what seems to work best...


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## ckspeed68 (Aug 20, 2012)

I went the Unitronic tune stage 1+, 93 Octane and I’m satisfy with it.


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## Jester2893 (May 2, 2008)

ckspeed68 said:


> I went the Unitronic tune stage 1+, 93 Octane and I’m satisfy with it.


I heard they were considering a stage 2 file in the future.


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## ckspeed68 (Aug 20, 2012)

I don’t remember the transmission torque, not sure that it can take more than 320 lb-f.


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## zackdawley (Oct 4, 2011)

ckspeed68 said:


> I don’t remember the transmission torque, not sure that it can take more than 320 lb-f.


That’s the rumored limit I heard as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## A4toMQB (Sep 13, 2021)

Thanks for the feedback/review OP. I'm considering the APR flash as well. Not sure why this car (Tiguan MQB) is being compared to a GTI/Golf R. This is supposed to be a family car lol we're just the minority of people who want more from it. 

In everyone's experience, does the APR tune affect the transmission for the better? My local shop said that APR also has a transmission flash so I'm wondering if that's even necessary with the APR ECU tune.


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## Bmanx (Apr 27, 2018)

So apples to apples comparison with my 2018 Tiguan. Bone stock I was getting mid 8’s with websites stating 8.2 to 8.8 range. Had the 24GB update and Unitronic Stage1 91 file installed. No other mods. Tiggy now runs 7.4 to 60. So if some are running the 93 file they should be faster. If you have done intake, new elbow and muffler delete, again should be better. I will be doing the stock modified intake as soon as I take that from my alltrack which is getting an IE intake. With these changes it should be in the high 6’s. So if you are lowered, better tires, better intake and 93 file you should be mid to low 6’s.

no TCU tunes that I can see from APR or Unitronic at this point.


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## Burkett.ACB (Jan 1, 2012)

Got the update today, 2022 Tiguan has been moved to the priority list. A donor ECU was received and they are tearing into the coding. Hopefully we will have a working tune in the next few weeks / months.


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## A4toMQB (Sep 13, 2021)

Burkett.ACB said:


> Got the update today, 2022 Tiguan has been moved to the priority list. A donor ECU was received and they are tearing into the coding. Hopefully we will have a working tune in the next few weeks / months.


Are you talking about an ECU flash for the '22s?


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## kickice24 (Apr 15, 2002)

I actually went back to the dealer and had them downgrade from the APR stage 1 93 octane to the 87 octane. Honestly, doesn't feel any less powerful by the seat of the pants. If anything, it's smoother and less peaky. My wallet is happier at the pump too. 😁 I've noticed a slight increase in MPG's as well.


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## jddaigle (May 30, 2003)

A4toMQB said:


> Are you talking about an ECU flash for the '22s?


APR can now tune 2022s:








The APR Tiguan 2.0T Ea888 Gen 3B ECU Upgrade is here!


The warranty covers the term limit of the original warranty. It does not cover aftermarket, CPO, or extended warranties. If ECS does software installs at their facility, and can look the car over, they can do the install of APR plus software. Give them a call to see. Here's the information...




www.vwvortex.com


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## dssmg123 (8 mo ago)

Hello Guys. At this moment im interestet in baught an Audi A3 2.0 40tfsi 2019. This car is a GEN 3B (have the MAF on the intake). I want to know if someone at this moment have done the turbo upgrade to IS38 for this engines, i was talking whit some APR dealers and they tell me that is possible but the upgrede required a custom tune for the and APR have a tune for this TCU (DQ381/S TRONIC). I like to know if someone at this moment have done this upgrade. Thnaks !!!


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## gerardrjj (Sep 4, 2014)

I've not done an ECU tune but have a Burger box installed and set level 3 for 91 octane.
The car is MUCH more enjoyable to drive like that, and I can only imagine the extra 20HP+ I'd get moving up to the ECU tune would make it that much snappier. But even at that I would not call the car an awesome performer.
For the size functionality and intended market it's pretty zippy in it's class when tuned but you're not going to blowing the doors off any level of performance vehicle with a Tiguan.

Even with the same power output as a Golf, the Tiggy has hundreds of more pounds of weight to drag around and a front wind profile of a brick. But try to take your Golf off road with 8" tall boulders in the roadway. 

When I first did the Burger install I did a full set of speed runs in an unofficial manner. I posted the results Burger Tuning Thread
So you could imagine the APR tune would return slightly better numbers than those as it claims higher power output than the Burger.


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