mhoran89

I will admit the car had some issues this weekend. after speaking with APR we narrowed it down to the latest software flashed on to my car. APR picked up the bill at the local APR dealer to flash my car again with an even newer revision that clears my CEL/MIL up for a wastegate stuck closed code. APR confirmed the car was fine to drive and after a flash it was good to go. huge props to APR for stepping up and making things right and glad it was as simple as another 40 minute software flash...

FLOS5IN

hearing about some serious issues with this new flash. Another users ECU locked up and he was 1.5 hours from home! The only way to fix it is to send APR the ECU. Yikes.

mhoran89

so I do have a code for ECM connection that I cannot clear but the car is driving well with no issues and no CEL. The car is going to the dealer for a new steering rack (warranty) in 2 weeks and I will have them look at that code at that time.

long story short, the name of the game is you have to pay to play. if you are modifying your car's ECU software (or anything else major) you cannot expect everything to be perfect all the time. I imagine APR will pay for that person's tow, and ECU shipping. possibly even a rental car in the meantime. I know another company just did this when they released bad software for one of the VW cars and said they were going to pay for anyone who blew up their motor including all parts and labor...

KAZAL

An APR IC will Actually do NOTHING to mess with reliability ..If you have followed APR since approx 2017 you would Know that the IC they utilize does nothing more then Lower IAT Dramatically and help with Heat soak if anything the IC is actually a Mod that will Help Tremendously, keep the car in a "safe zone"...
it's when you upgrade Turbos , fuel systems downpipes etc that is where reliability can quickly diminish A stage 1 APR and a IC .. all my years working for Audi I seen 1 failure with rocker arms , speaking w people that have been with APR and flashing APR since the start IE. DION from Drive Auto works he has seen zero failures on a stage 1 APR and IC...

Andy_FL

interesting thread to pull from the archives…. over a year ago. Back on topic - I would still vote EPL.

Nikon1

And I would still vote to buy the extra HP / torque from the factory before you purchase the vehicle thinking, “… I can add and bolt on more power after delivery”

As an example - instead of buying the S5 with the idea of increasing the power with aftermarket components - just buy the RS5 and no need to buy the “potential warranty killer” add-on parts on the shelf.

As Always, YMMV!

— John

JD15

Based on recent posts in the V6 failure thread, I would skip the IE tune.

4wheels

Just my $0.02 but I had an APR tune on my Q5 and although it was peppy, it felt like it was seriously out of sync with the TCU under some conditions and felt like the trans was going to be damaged. So I returned it and had the APR dealer flash it back to stock. Then decided to tune the ECU and TCU myself with the HPTuners SW and no issues (a lot of work to get it right however). It drives like stock now, just with more power & better response. The way most modern networked ECU’s and TCUs work it DOES help to have the ECU and TCU settings properly matched if you’re increasing power much, as there are many torque settings shared between the 2 modules that are used to coordinate shifting.

On the S5, I’ve tried both the IE and the 034 Stage 1 tunes for both ECU & TCU. I returned the IE tune as it had the occasional weird bucking and/or stumble under rare conditions & that was enough to scare me. Plus I didn’t like the throttle response and their TCU shifting was ridiculously harsh, like the timing & torque setting of the releasing & engaging gear were not properly matched. The 034 has been better. Not perfect mind you, but better in the above noted areas. I did switch up to the E85 Stage 1 tune and found the fuel limit so had to install the HPFP. Honestly, tunes can be dangerous and chasing that last HP or 0.1 second can cost you.

B7Quattro Pete

I think the lesson learned here is skip the APR - don’t you have to have a shop load that anyway - inconvenient. IE was my original preference but they were taking their good ole time releasing a tune for the B9.5, now there’s recent concerns over failures? The EPL seemed OK but I don’t believe they had a trans tune included; same for the Unitronic (which was also down on power to the 034). I bought the 034 Stage 1 ECU/TCU for my ‘21 S5 and had absolutely no issues over almost 2 years. The car’s performance was transformed from midrange slouch to torque monster. My only concern was whether the engine was running too hot when ******* it in warmer conditions - how sustainable would this be over time/miles? My plan was to remedy by installing a larger intercooler, before I was tempted by an RS5 and traded in the S5.