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Revo vs Apr

Yang24

Ready to race!
I know both are great companies but which tune is better i would love to have an all apr setup but id like to know if

they have done extensive testing on there chips like down the road will this affect my engine ? Which one would you

guys recommend i dont mind paying some extra cash for a better quality product instead of settling for the cheaper

product . Both companies seem great but which tune would you go for and why thanks.

alex,
 
oy vey - let me see if I can get the dead horse pushed over to the side here and answer (briefly) the question.

DISCLAIMER - I have never driven or used Revo. I don't care about the previous legal action between them (APR alleged that Revo stole their software years ago, sued, blah, blah, blah). Both are very legitimate companies with plenty of followers in both camps. And you have to be willing to pay to play. That is, in the real world, if you break something on your car related to your powertrain mod, then you have to be prepared and able to cover any expenses relating to that. No whining about "I'll just throw it into stock mode and make the dealer fix my grenaded clutch" or such silliness. Now, if a window regulator craps out then yes, VW should fix it 'cause that has nothing to do with allowing more boost from your turbo.

To probably oversimplify, the general consensus is that APR allows increases in stock boost levels from 1 bar to roughly 1.35 bar (approx 15 psi to 18.5 psi) and remaps so that you can hold boost longer into the powerband. Revo does exactly the same thing with allegedly a little more boost into 1.5 BAR territory. I have no technical proof for any of that. APR uses ECMS (cruise control switches) to control which program you want, security lockouts, etc. Revo does this via a dongle which plugs into your OBDII port.

I just got APR stage I on my 2010 GTI tonight. I tell you what - it is smooth, actually has better throttle response than stock and once you get into the fun zone (say 3,800 rpm and further up) it definitely pulls like a mofo compared to stock. The dyno runs say we run out of turbo at 6K so I was shifting there and you're definitely into "more than enough power for street use" there. :p The sale was too good to pass up and honestly, I think the anti-theft feature and the "clear fault codes" ability along with improved gas mileage would probably justify the $600 right there on the sale price. Obviously, most of us (me definitely) get it for the performance increase and the other stuff is just icing on the cake. Someone once said "go get whatever dealer is closest to you" and that might be pretty good advice as well! But IMHO, based on reputation, free reflashing if needed, no dongle or hardware required and NGP being 30 miles from me, I went with APR. FTW as far as I'm concerned. I'll let you know how she's holding up after 50K or 60K miles!
 

jmblur1

Go Kart Champion
Induktion is even closer to you and does GIAC ;)
 

Yang24

Ready to race!
Thanks so much volsfan0911,

See this is the only thing i am worried about is will this tune destroy my car over say 3-4 years .

I understand about how you have to pay to play and i understand this as well my dealer says that the tune will not void anything on my engine so i guess im just going to take the dive but still im not to sure on which one .

They both seem great but to be honest im like 80-20 in favor of acr, For these reasons...

1.The seem to be very legit and they have 100% confidence in there products.
2.Im getting there turbo back exhaust and intake setup so i think its obvious to go with there tune as well.
3.They have a great reputation on here and i have yet to find one unhappy customer on here.

But id still like everyone else's input thankss...

alex,
 
Thanks so much volsfan0911,

See this is the only thing i am worried about is will this tune destroy my car over say 3-4 years .

I understand about how you have to pay to play and i understand this as well my dealer says that the tune will not void anything on my engine so i guess im just going to take the dive but still im not to sure on which one .

They both seem great but to be honest im like 80-20 in favor of acr, For these reasons...

1.The seem to be very legit and they have 100% confidence in there products.
2.Im getting there turbo back exhaust and intake setup so i think its obvious to go with there tune as well.
3.They have a great reputation on here and i have yet to find one unhappy customer on here.

But id still like everyone else's input thankss...

alex,

Those are legit concerns. Yes, you will be stressing some powertrain components more than the stock boost/fuel mapping would. From APR's website, they say their tune stays within operating parameters for all the OEM and Tier 1 suppliers and I'm sure GIAC, Revo, Unitronic, UPSOLUTE will say the same (and probably do). I know Audi/VW owners who have chipped their 1.8T and 2.0T motors, followed religious maintainence and never had any problems for 50K, 60K, 80K miles. I plan to be one of them as well. And you can read a ton of posts on the forums saying "I have had zero problems". Personally, I'm not sweating it. I had already planned on shortening my oil service interval to 5,000 miles (the 2.0TSI motor just tears up motor oil - used oil analysis shows serious shearing of the oil) and I am fanatical about following maintainence schedules anyway. But everything I've read and heard from real owners and mechanics? Our cars are overengineered from the factory and can safely handle a little extra boost. Or at least that's my thought process........

Hope that helps!

Oh, and jmblur brings up a great point with GIAC - not trying to dis anyone. They have their fans too!
 
Last edited:

mikochu

boogerface
I was thinking of getting an ECU flash (APR or GIAC), but Sean at Forge Motorsport stated that Revo is working on cracking the OBDII encryption to enable port-flashing. Removing the ECU and cracking open the case to bench-flash the ECU makes me nervous...
 
I was thinking of getting an ECU flash (APR or GIAC), but Sean at Forge Motorsport stated that Revo is working on cracking the OBDII encryption to enable port-flashing. Removing the ECU and cracking open the case to bench-flash the ECU makes me nervous...

From what I watched tonight and heard/read - that may be impossible. There are several physical and hardware issues which currently can't be overcome via the OBDII port. Literally, there are box codes (4 different boards) and the process is different for each hardware change. In other words, you can't get a one-size-fits-all flash to work across the board. I'm sure there are other reasons but we'll see what happens.
 

MasterKevin

Ready to race!
*cough* Bluefin *cough* lol
 

rronan

Passed Driver's Ed
So if the ECU is re-flashed is there any concerns with passing emissions? Im looking to do a stage 1 also but concerns about two things. What happens when the dealer re-flashes the ECU back to stock? What about Warranty and emissions?
 

omerkm11

Ready to race!
I have been back and forth with APR, GIAC, REVO, etc....

Who knows which is better, they all claim to be the best at what they do. My thought is that if you can find a shop you like working with and trust, then use whatever they sell. Because when something goes wrong, which inevitably will happen since we are messing around with our BRAND NEW cars, at least you will have someone to talk too about it....

Oh, and while Bluefin looks very cool, it isnt available in the US. GIAC has finally released their stage 1 and stage 2 maps. My car is scheduled to go in for the stage 1 map next Thursday. I will let everyone know how it goes....
 
So if the ECU is re-flashed is there any concerns with passing emissions? Im looking to do a stage 1 also but concerns about two things. What happens when the dealer re-flashes the ECU back to stock? What about Warranty and emissions?

VEIP here in Maryland (Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program) involves plugging in to your ODBII port and running a scan. If you don't throw a CEL, you're done and good for another 2 years. If they do a visual inspection they're not going to see anything unless you've changed your intake and/or exhaust (I honestly can't see them checking a downpipe or verifying that the cat is in place but guess they've got that option). Revo/APR/GIAC/etc. will be fine and you won't throw a code.

Up to each company but APR will reflash your ECU for free if the dealership flashes over it.

Warranty? Search. Bottom line, a dealer can refuse to honor a warranty claim if your mod caused the malfunction. If the malfunction or warranty claim isn't due to your mod (e.g. your stereo craps out) then the dealer should fix it under warranty and VW shouldn't give you any grief. What does an ECU flash have to do with that?
 

omerkm11

Ready to race!
I wonder if GIAC will reflash for free if the dealer flashes over as well? I know that for a extra $100, you can get a pin for the flash loader. This makes sure that the dealer doesnt plug in their own flashloader to see if your car is chipped....
 

Arin@APR

GOLFMK7 Official Sponsor
*cough* Bluefin *cough* lol

Bluefin issued this suicide note for 2010 US vehicles:
 
I wonder if they realize it is not "Volkswagen Audi Group" but rather Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (as with most German corporations of that type, they abbreviate to AG hence the acronym VAG) ?
 

leslie

Ready to race!
i had my car revo'd last week and i love the results...the torque is alot ...really alot..395 nm..massive result from 0-160 in 14.1 sec dsg...from 160 until 250 it's alot faster!!!...
the power is smooth and usability of power is easy...
 
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