2015 A3 Stage 1 gains

[Asp3ct]

Car: 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro Premium (S-Tronic 6 speed DSG)

Hey everyone,
So I've started looking at mods and tuning and I've been told that simply with chip tuning (ECU) it's possible to get close to the same amount of power as the S3. I was told by a local Audi and BMW tuner that I could get possibly around 270hp to 280hp with chip tuning up from 220hp.

I also found some websites like this one here getunitronic that claims you can get up to around 297hp simply with chip tuning. Now if that's even true, is it "safe" with stock internals? I'm trying to push a little bit more out of that 2.0T fsi engine but I'm wondering what the safe limit to stay under would be. I'm guessing that since the S3 has the same engine then that anything under 300hp is safe??

Also, if anyone here has done stage 1 on their A3, is it worth it? And what are the approximate 0 to 100km/h (60mp/h) with stage 1 compared to bone stock? I can't seem to find much info online. Sorry if I'm asking tons of questions haha.

Any tuning recommendations as well possibly? Or possibly do's and don'ts?

Thanks again guys!!

 

[Crash0090]

So i've got A3 TDI, but i'll share my story.

I was toying with getting the car mapped for AGES. I did quite a bit of research as there are a lot of different maps out there, but eventually settled on an Avon Tuning map, good gains, and the installer garage local to me had great reviews for looking after your car throughout the process.

Any tuner worth their weight in gold will discuss what you're looking for out of a map and health check your car before going ahead to make sure it's suitable. I was a bit hesitant as my car had done over 100k, but the garage said everything was looking good so I went ahead and was not disappointed. - the car was totally stock at the time, i'll add.

The power difference was instantly noticeable, it really did transform the car and i was left thinking 'why didn't i get this done sooner?!' You will find yourself with a heavy right foot for a few weeks, so be careful.

Only issue is that now i'm so used to the power that it doesn't feel like it was ever mapped lol.

Putting more power and torque through your clutch, etc will shorten the life of these components, so bear that in mind.

I'd recommend Avon Tuning and a quick look their site claims they can get you to 300bhp - https://www.avontuning.co.uk/tuning/audi/a3-8v-mk1-2012-2016/20-tfsi-220hp

just for reference i paid £225 + VAT for the map and £45 + VAT for Dyno - that was 2 years ago

 

[Maniek]

I did the remap on my 2.0 TFSI FWD and it was absolutely worth it, totally different car. Definitely recommend. The only downside is the loss of traction on wet as it's FWD...

Sent from my XQ-AT51 using Tapatalk

 

[Asp3ct]

Interesting! So one of my buddy has a 2010 S4 with the V6 supercharged engine and he recommended a couple tuners to me and 2 out of those 3 use the Unitronic tunes and map, and I was also recommended to get a TCU tune as well since apparently the stock TCU map on the A3 sometimes doesn't react well to the power increase of the engine after an ECU remap (??). Does anyone have any idea if that's true or not?

 

[Damo S]

Any stage 1 from the usual sources (revo, apr, mrc, etc) will be fine as none of them particularly push the limits. Revo reckons 300+ for you car. That would be 100% worth doing. The TCU tune is also worth doing according to people who have had it done. Just expect a fair bit more wheel spin being FWD.

 

[Asp3ct]

I'd never heard of Revo before but now looking at it, saying 313hp to 330hp. Seems better than what Unitronic is offering (297hp). I have the Quattro AWD model by the way so I'm guessing that the DSG is gonna be able to take that power increase pretty well?

 

[Damo S]

I'd never heard of Revo before but now looking at it, saying 313hp to 330hp. Seems better than what Unitronic is offering (297hp). I have the Quattro AWD model by the way so I'm guessing that the DSG is gonna be able to take that power increase pretty well?

Yes. They wouldn't offer it as a stage 1 otherwise.

 

[Damo S]

Also, expect the low end of that range. The upper end is more for when you have other supporting mods such as upgraded intake, exhaust etc.

 

[CanadaA3wales]

I have a 2.0TDI Non Quattro and started at 150bph and ended with 190bhp and it cost me about £150.00

It was rolling road, and took about 6 hours for him to do which was a bargain, he deals with mainly Porsche, Lambo and BMW's and has an amazing rep, but he is based in Cardiff. 2 years on, its still going strong on the original clutch and turbo.

Any Mapper who says they can get 300bhp as per the above threads are lying, you will never get 300bhp from a A3 unless you put some serious cash into the Turbo, Pistons and exhaust and even then I doubt you would get 300bhp+ on a A3. You might as well buy a S3 or RS3 due to how much that would cost to get to 300bhp

I think you have about 180bhp and you can expect about 210 - 230 without any other mods to your car. 230 will be pushing it IMHO.

You dont notice much in 1st obliviously due to the quick change, but when it hits 2nd, 3rd,4th and even 5th you will get pulled into your seat and get that tingle in your pants, its very noticeable. In 6th you dont notice it as much, but it will pull like a train on the motorway.

 

[JohnM100]

^This

Alarm bells go off if anyone claims >30% over stock for a stage 1.

That said, drivability / increase across a wide Rev range vs peak is a consideration.

 

[Maniek]

Couple of recommended mappers in Poland do custom remaps with really good power/torque gains. Graphs found online.

 

[Asp3ct]

Thanks for all the replies! So far I've talked to 3 tuners in Ontario Canada (where I am) and all of them are telling me (from experience) about what you guys are telling me too. So from what I was told I can expect to get at MAX up to 290hp with at least an aftermarket intake. So about that, they recommended the CTS intake one or the carbon fibre one from Unitronic I think. If I go the CTS way all in all it'd be around CAD$1000 all-in-all and that includes a couple dyno runs I think.

I'll keep you guys updated!

 

[Asp3ct]

Also, the European 2.0 TFSI engine makes less hp than the North American model. Mine pushes 220hp stock and not 180-190hp. That's why most of the maps we have in North America are able to push out a little bit more if I recall correctly, I might be wrong on that. On every websites I visit from the UK and other places in Europe, the only equivalent closest engine I can find for my car would be the 187hp model. Here we have different hp engine variants from what I can see.

 

[Maniek]

You are right, stock US models have 220hp and QUATTRO as standard I think.

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[Damo S]

Any Mapper who says they can get 300bhp as per the above threads are lying, you will never get 300bhp from a A3 unless you put some serious cash into the Turbo, Pistons and exhaust and even then I doubt you would get 300bhp+ on a A3. You might as well buy a S3 or RS3 due to how much that would cost to get to 300bhp

I think you have about 180bhp and you can expect about 210 - 230 without any other mods to your car. 230 will be pushing it IMHO.

You dont notice much in 1st obliviously due to the quick change, but when it hits 2nd, 3rd,4th and even 5th you will get pulled into your seat and get that tingle in your pants, its very noticeable. In 6th you dont notice it as much, but it will pull like a train on the motorway.

The OPs car is a petrol with 220bhp off the bat. Generally I dont think revo, for example, talk too much rubbish when it comes to quoting their stage 1 figures. I suspect the TFSI is significantly detuned so that S3 appears to be a significant and worth while step up. Much like the S3 (which also has a lot of potential) is not using much of it so the RS3 offers a decent step up again. An S3 without Audi's dialled in reduced boost in 1st and 2nd gear would be mid/high 4s to 60 and challenge an Rs3 pretty well (perhaps not the 400 bhp model introduced in 2017).

 

[Asp3ct]

Quick update on the whole situation:

So I ordered the Unitronic Stage 1 tune, looks like I'll be receiving the cable sometime next week. I'll get it dyno'd in the next few weeks after flashing the tune. I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[Asp3ct]

Quick update on the whole situation:

So I ordered the Unitronic Stage 1 tune, looks like I'll be receiving the cable sometime next week. I'll get it dyno'd in the next few weeks after flashing the tune. I'll keep you guys posted!

Just flashed it yesterday, didn't have much time. Had quite a lot of issues and had to order the TCU tune as well to bypass some transmission software limits (transmission would lock itself when applyting too much torque). Had to call Unitronic multiple times. Long story short, when I tried full throtle pulls, it wouldn't shift until the power would go down for almost every gears I tested it in and the transmission would simply disengage if there was too much torque applied. $1k later, its amazing. It makes a major difference in power. Not sure if I'm wrong but the turbo starts spooling up way earlier than before and there's not much turbo lag anymore. Haven't dynoed it yet. I wanna wait until I get a cold air intake first.

Overall, the flashing part was really easy, the troubleshooting was not too hard (Unitronic techs came in clutch to help put).