Hey guys and gals I am thinking about doing the stage 1 upgrade on my 01 A4 quattro 1.8T. Reason being is I took it up to the mountains the other day and needless to say i felt that it was ******* it going up. Not to mention i got **** for gas mileage. Now my theory is due to the fact the vehicle has low tq and not a whole lot of HP it takes more energy to make it up. I tried driving in 4th gear all the way but still on those inclines i kept feeling it lose power so i would have to drop it back down into third to get to a good "crusing speed". I am not sure if I am doing it right as I have not driven in the mountains yet any other time than this, so it may take some experimenting as well.

Anyways I want to know your thoughts/feelings about the stage 1 upgrade. I believe its an additional 20hp and 75 ft lbs of tq.

Which of you have this upgrade and what have you seen with your fuel economy, performance, etc...

thanks,

-F

 

If you're getting a good deal on the tune, jump on it. It makes a significantly larger impact on the 1.8t motor than the V6 counterpart as I have. From what I've heard, if you granny shift after getting the tune, you will see an improvement in fuel economy, and the performance is definitely noticeable; like I said, from what I've heard from other people on the forum.

If you do get the tune, you'll definitely want to do the supporting mods as well if you don't already have them done. This includes an upgraded intake, not necessarily a cold air intake/cone filter as its been well proven that the stock air box can support more than enough air flow for a stage 1 setup, but none the less, a quality, high flow, drop in panel air filter is well recommended, I personally suggest getting an ITG filter as I had some pretty bad luck with the K&N counterpart that I originally installed. You'll also want to consider an upgraded cat back exhaust as well, and an upgraded diverter valve to fully appreciate the tune. Also, if the fuel mileage is a large concern, you might consider replacing the fuel filter, as that is something often overlooked and a critical component in ensuring you get a maximum flow of fuel to the motor.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for all of that very enlightening info. I will definitely look into all the other supporting mods. I have to be sure the catback exhaust is something that isnt abnoxiously loud unless I am under higher RPM's which then i do not mind . How much should the tune cost or there abouts?

thanks again!

 

its actually about 64hp increase

 

^True, the number is higher, but not quite that high. If that's what is listed on the company's website, chances are more likely than not that that is power to the crank; after factoring in drivetrain loss and atmospheric effect and the fact that they probably generated that number on a dyno under ideal conditions (low ambient temperature, water cooled intercooler, sea level testing etc) so its probably closer to about 40hp to the ground (whp) which is what really matters. Still a worthy gain at any rate.

OP: just google APR and go to their website, you can find prices there. As for the exhaust, a basic cat back kit won't be too unbearably noisy at cruising speeds and will sound mean when you get on it. Exhaust doesn't really start getting too loud and annoying until you hit turbo back mods (stage 2 support) which includes a bigger downpipe and high flow cats (or no cats if you don't have to worry about emissions tests where you live) and bigger piping all the way through. As far as I am aware though, the stock downpipe provides enough flow to support stock turbo on a stage 1 tune, but as originally stated, I'm not a 1.8 guy so I could be very very wrong with that statement. Some good cat backs to look into would be HKS or Borla, and I've heard pretty solid reviews of Remus too. Myself, I have a Brullen setup that came off an S4; not sure of any retail outlets in the states that carry it though so it might be something that has to be shipped from the manufacturer in Germany; again, could be wrong with that statement too since I didn't specifically buy my Brullen setup from a retailer and thus didn't look into retailers to get it so somewhere local might carry it, but I can't say for sure.

 

I actually do have to worry about emissions which sucks. But man 40hp makes it sound even more worth it.

I was browsing in another members forum and he was looking at the ECU upgrade as well but from Revo. Went to their website but they do not have any graphs up for my year yet. Would really like to see a graph to graph comparison of the 2 companies. I have an APR dealer that is about 6 miles away so possibly could try the trial to test it out and get a taste of power. Not sure about a Revo dealer in the area though. What was the other company that upgrades ECU's. Im weighing out all the possibilities and doing research before i jump.

Thanks again for the helpful input.

 

APR worth it? In a word - yes. I kicked around getting my car chipped for over a year and finally did it in December. Feels like an entirely different car now. Only things I've run into thus far are that I had to regap my spark plugs (kept getting a misfire at higher boost), and lately my DV has been acting weird so I ordered myself a Forge 007 (should be here by Monday). I can't recommend the APR upgrade enough, although in the spirit of honesty I've never ridden in any A4 other than my own, so I can't exactly say that it's the best ECU upgrade or anything by any stretch. I did it, I love it, and I've definitely caught the modding bug with this car.

 

After a lot of research I found that APR or Unitronic is the best option

 

for an 01 just do the diode mod..... you get tune type power for the cost of the diode and a boost controller.... just a thought

 

^less expensive, true, but easier to mess up than just getting the tune. I think an APR tune on the '01 will net you about 30 HP, since it's already got 170 hp stock, and the tune gets you to about 200, give or take. The torque is about in the 250 range. IMHO, totally worth it, an I think the APR tunes for the B5 are about 400 bucks. Yes, more expensive than the diode method, but a zero percent chance of messing it up.

You will need a new DV (APR or Forge are great, but expensive) and like Stat said, you will need to regap the plugs to .028.

Your emissions will stay within required levels as well, assuming your cat is still good, so no need to worry about that.