I have been thinking about an APR Stage 1 tune for my car for about a year. Reason why I have not done it yet is basically due to VW reliability issues. Water pump failures, intake manifold failures, tensionor failures, which are all "known" problems. I just had my Water Pump replaced on a my car at 12k miles.
People say, "oh those are known problems and have nothing to do with the tune" CORRECT BUT these issues may be amplified by placing more stress on the components, of which a tune would do by increasing boost, etc.
I have modified cars for over 20 yrs, and for the past 10 yrs I have been modifying Lancer Evolutions for DD and track duty. I was spoiled with the Evo and its reliability. Now I step into VW arena. As much as I love the GTI and all, I do not have the confidence with this car or the TSI as I did with the Evo and the 4G63.
I mean look under the hood of the GTI for example, The TSI on paper looks stout internally, but when you consider modifications, you see WAY too much plastic bits that would have to be upgraded to hold boost properly. Example? The intake manifold, intercooler, intercooler plumbiing, diverter valve, not to mention a plastic water pump and housing. All this does not add up to reliability when the boost goes up.
Though this is just my "opinion" and im basing my opinion on modifying cars since 1991 and though I am no "pro" I just feel certain applications are best left alone. This being one of them.
Will a Stage 1 tune really mess things up? Its a coin toss IMO and to be honest 50/50 are odds I just dont like to have in a DD car.
Now if APR would give a warranty with their tunes like DINAN does for BMW?? Then that would be a different story.
Just my ten cents....
Let the bashing begin.
Jeff