TomaS8

......the difference is very noticeable. The car is more hyper and the shifts are more crisp. Gone is the lethargic shifting. It is the best upgrade I have performed on the car.

A8bil

Strange, i never noticed my D3 to be lethargic...in fact, compared to my D5, it literally jump off the line. Can't imagine why you would want/need more.

TomaS8

The shifting on D3 S8s specially in tiptronic is one of the most lethargic that I've ever experienced. There is a great deal of flare.

njroute22

I'd love to know the details of how this was done. Care to share? Is it something anyone with VCDS can perform?

TomaS8

You have to go to jhmotorsports.com and buy the tune (I did them both ECU and TCU) and their dongle. A VCDS cable will not work.

A8bil

Not sure what flare is...are you referring to how long it takes for the transmission to find a gear after hard acceleration?

TomaS8

Yes. They build these luxury barges toned down for US markets. The clutch stays engaged (causing greater wear) longer than necessary so the shifting cannot be felt (luxury car feel) and the car rides as seamlessly as possible. This, needless to say, slows down the car and the car losses that crisp sports-like feel.

dvs_dave

Always confused why folks buy a luxury car and then mod/ruin it to be like a (bad) sportscar. Just buy a sports car. Right tool for the job, etc.

Anyway, what are the new shifts like? Still luxury car smooth at normal pace? Just quicker in tiptronic/S mode, or is it a snappy jerky mess now throughout now?

JBowers

Hey Tomas - it sounds like you love the mod. Question for you...did you do both at the same time? I know APR has a tune for the ECU, but the increase in HP and torque on a NA motor aren't very impressive. Conversely, on my son's 2.0t it makes a stunning increase that just isn't possible with a NA motor like the V-10. I saw your link and looked at what JHM offered...I couldn't find any information on the HP/Torque increase claims, but also read their tune is maximized for aftermarket exhaust systems. Anyway, I was mostly curious if you had done the ECU first and if that provided any noticeable improvement outside of the TCU mode.

Like I said, I'm mostly just curious and really don't have any plans to flash either the ECU or TCU.

TomaS8

My car is not ruined, it is waaaaay better. If you drove my car you would fall in love with it too
It was my impression that the "S"8 is considered to be a "sports" luxury sedan, thereby the bigger brakes, the lowered suspension and the higher torque and horsepower....I could be totally wrong.
It's a great feeling to have comfort and performance in one package.
I am all for improving my car in any way I can specially when it comes to performance. None of the cars I've owned have remained stock.

Driving it in D is normal although you can feel it shifting tighter and quicker. Driving it in Tip is power right here right now. Exhaust sound is different too, gone is the raspiness.