# Audi TT 2017 tuning



## nickyoung1 (Nov 23, 2021)

I'm interested in getting my Audi TT MK3 tuned.

Has anyone used Celtic before? They quoted me £325 and was wondering if they're a reputable company/whether this is a good price. They claim BHP from 226 up to 300 and torque from 273lb/ft to 325.

Interested in your experiences/any other companies used & price. I'm based in London if that helps.

Thanks!


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## MrOCD (Feb 9, 2021)

A typical generic flash which is why it is cheap. I'd assume that doesn't cover the TCU either if needed. What model / gearbox?

APR, Revo, Racingline are generally the go-to companies for the EA888.3 platform... or if you want custom mapped specific to your car then MRC, R-Tech and Unicorn all come highly recommended and cost similar to the APR / Revo / Racingline tunes.

The above you will see circa 310-320bhp and 330-350lbft.


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## kevin#34 (Jan 8, 2019)

I would add also Unitronic, they're probably the unique specialists dedicated to the VW group (Audi, Lambo, Porsche, VW etc) only....
probably not so known in UK, but very popular in US and also here in Italy, thanks to the "flash by yourself" possibility


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## nickyoung1 (Nov 23, 2021)

MrOCD said:


> A typical generic flash which is why it is cheap. I'd assume that doesn't cover the TCU either if needed. What model / gearbox?
> 
> APR, Revo, Racingline are generally the go-to companies for the EA888.3 platform... or if you want custom mapped specific to your car then MRC, R-Tech and Unicorn all come highly recommended and cost similar to the APR / Revo / Racingline tunes.
> 
> The above you will see circa 310-320bhp and 330-350lbft.


It's probably best I get the TCU flashed as well, right?

Got the S-tronic 6-speed auto. 2-litre 230bhp quattro.

Thank you for the recommendations - I'll get quotes from all those companies!


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## nickyoung1 (Nov 23, 2021)

kevin#34 said:


> I would add also Unitronic, they're probably the unique specialists dedicated to the VW group (Audi, Lambo, Porsche, VW etc) only....
> probably not so known in UK, but very popular in US and also here in Italy, thanks to the "flash by yourself" possibility


I'll have a look at them too, thanks!


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## kevin#34 (Jan 8, 2019)

TCU flash is not mandatory, but recommended (higher clamping pressure to avoid clutch slipping, quicker gear changes, optimised launch control, kick down removal etc)


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## Master Yoda (May 18, 2019)

nickyoung1 said:


> I'm interested in getting my Audi TT MK3 tuned.
> 
> Has anyone used Celtic before? They quoted me £325 and was wondering if they're a reputable company/whether this is a good price. They claim BHP from 226 up to 300 and torque from 273lb/ft to 325.
> 
> ...


They quoted me the same, but that includes their call out charges. You can get this down to about £250 if you go direct through one of their installers and push them down on price. Celtic Tuning do offer TCU remapping - they told me that was £195 if they come out to you, otherwise it's £150 if done at one of their premises.

I am hopefully having their ECU remap over the next few weeks so will report back then. I wasn't going to bother with a TCU remap but am in two minds about whether I should get that done at the same time. For some reason none of the companies I've contacted regarding ECU remapping seem to be pushing TCU remaps - they don't even mention them unless you really press them on it. I had been planning on seeing how the car drives before burning more money, especially as I've spent thousands on my car over the last few weeks. Celtic Tuning's map is designed to be well within the safe tolerances of your vehicle. Some of these other remaps with higher claimed BHP are pushing the stock components further and will inevitably have higher risk of part failure


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## MrOCD (Feb 9, 2021)

Master Yoda said:


> They quoted me the same, but I believe that includes their call out charges - It's cheaper not to go through them directly. You can get this down to about £250 if you go direct through one of their installers and push them down on price. Celtic Tuning do offer TCU remapping but they told me that was an additional £195
> 
> . Some of these other remaps with higher claimed BHP are pushing the stock components further and will inevitably have higher risk of part failure


Firstly, I’ve yet to come across any owner who has only had the ECU mapped but not the TCU on an S-Tronic equipped car and have been very happy … I’ve come across plenty that have reverted to standard though after only having the ECU mapped … Strange no?

Secondly, higher figures do not mean more risk of failure. It’s not all about pushing boost and timing to achieve those figures. In fact, you could argue a generic flash map could cause more harm as typically these are not mapped live on the dyno therefore you are simply relying on the operator to identify problems with a laptop. This has been proven time and time again by people with vast experience of these engines.

In context .. my stage 2+ car runs the same boost as a stage one map … as it’s been mapped live by a very experienced tuner who has done massive R&D on the EA888.3 platform. However, it has all the correct supporting mods to sustain it safely and correctly.

Finally, modifying a car from standard comes with risk. So to minimise that risk … ask yourself … what’s going to be better - a £250 flash remap… or something that costs three times that with huge R&D behind it, with live emulation and an experienced operator?

My 2p.


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## Master Yoda (May 18, 2019)

MrOCD said:


> Firstly, I’ve yet to come across any owner who has only had the ECU mapped but not the TCU on an S-Tronic equipped car … I’ve come across plenty that have reverted to standard though after only having the ECU mapped … Strange no?
> 
> Secondly, higher figures do not mean more risk of failure. It’s not all about pushing boost and timing to achieve those figures. In fact, you could argue a generic flash map could cause more harm as typically these are not mapped live on the dyno therefore you are simply relying on the operator to identify problems with a laptop. This has been proven time and time again by people with vast experience of these engines.
> 
> ...


I'm confused by your first comment as most of the people in all the threads and forums I've looked at have only had a non-dyno ECU remap with no TCU remap (exactly like this one) and I've looked at countless threads - most typically paid around £250 (this remap is £325 and hardly cheap). Most people just want to unlock some extra power with minimal cost (most bang for their buck) and really don't want to modify their cars too much. I don't plan on thrashing my TT on a track or becoming the next Lewis Hamilton. I barely even get a chance to use the stock acceleration I have where I live. All the people I saw in the forums recommended their non-dyno ECU only remap (regardless of brand) to others saying it made a massive improvement and that their car is like a new car now, which is the reason I was getting it done or I wouldn't bother. Celtic Tuning do make their own remaps on a dyno and are not just selling other people's software.

I noticed alot of people in forums saying to do a TCU remap 'after' Stage 2 and that it really wasn't needed before that. Also people were saying the increased clamping force from a TCU remap causes more wear and tear on the gearbox and will reduce its life. As someone whose BMW was written off previously due to an automatic gearbox failure (and that was at stock), I'm alot more careful now with looking after my gearbox. Being able to change things like the Launch Control and RPM limit also doesn't appeal to me. The gearshifts being up to a claimed 20% faster again doesn't really sell it to me as the gearbox is already more than fast enough IMO - it's never been slow at all. The main benefit for me would be increased torque from what I can see and maybe getting rid of the auto-kickdown.

I would love to hear from people who had their TCU remapped later on after already having had a Stage 1 ECU remap (rather than at the same time) and if they feel it was worth it or not. I feel like I should be upgrading the brakes and suspension well before I start spending money on TCU remaps tbh and then it just becomes a rabbit hole


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## Master Yoda (May 18, 2019)

MrOCD said:


> A typical generic flash which is why it is cheap. I'd assume that doesn't cover the TCU either if needed. What model / gearbox?
> 
> APR, Revo, Racingline are generally the go-to companies for the EA888.3 platform... or if you want custom mapped specific to your car then MRC, R-Tech and Unicorn all come highly recommended and cost similar to the APR / Revo / Racingline tunes.
> 
> The above you will see circa 310-320bhp and 330-350lbft.


Just wondering, what BHP did you find your car was at stock on the Dyno? I was amazed to see the stock BHP before remapping on other people's TT's was way higher than 226 BHP... These guys had 253 BHP and 239 BHP(?). If anything, I was expecting lower figures than 226 BHP as I always thought BHP decreases as a car ages(?)

These were some Stage 1 ECU remaps done on their Dyno. First guy wanted a more conservative increase in power to not stress his stock components, so this was only tuned to 291.4 BHP. 2nd guy got 302.5 BHP from their Stage 1 ECU remap (slightly higher than the claimed 300 BHP).


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## MrOCD (Feb 9, 2021)

Master Yoda said:


> Just wondering, what BHP did you find your car was at stock on the Dyno? I was amazed to see the stock BHP before remapping on other people's TT's was way higher than 226 BHP... These guys had 253 BHP and 239 BHP(?). If anything, I was expecting lower figures than 226 BHP as I always thought BHP decreases as a car ages(?)
> 
> These were some Stage 1 ECU remaps done on their Dyno. First guy got 302.5 BHP. Second person wanted a more conservative increase in power to not stress his stock components and that was tuned lower to 291.4 BHP
> 
> ...


That’s why the before figure is important so you can see the actual gain … there is a lot of optimistic dynos out there hence the final figures can seem high, so my advice is ignore the peak figures and focus on the delta gains made and how it drives … torque is more important than peak bhp after all we don’t drive everywhere at 6000 rpm …

It wasn’t dyno fully stock but with air filter and TIP (advertised as 8-10 bhp gain) … it made before mapping 241bhp and 285lbft which pretty much where I expected it to be as Unicorn Developments Dyno is pretty accurate … apparently a bit of a heart breaker


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## MrOCD (Feb 9, 2021)

Master Yoda said:


> I'm confused by your first comment as most of the people in all the threads and forums I've looked at have only had a non-dyno ECU remap with no TCU remap (exactly like this one) and I've looked at countless threads - most typically paid around £250 (this remap is £325 and hardly cheap). Most people just want to unlock some extra power with minimal cost (most bang for their buck) and really don't want to modify their cars too much. I don't plan on thrashing my TT on a track or becoming the next Lewis Hamilton. I barely even get a chance to use the stock acceleration I have where I live. All the people I saw in the forums recommended their non-dyno ECU only remap (regardless of brand) to others saying it made a massive improvement and that their car is like a new car now, which is the reason I was getting it done or I wouldn't bother. Celtic Tuning do make their own remaps on a dyno and are not just selling other people's software.
> 
> I noticed alot of people in forums saying to do a TCU remap 'after' Stage 2 and that it really wasn't needed before that. Also people were saying the increased clamping force from a TCU remap causes more wear and tear on the gearbox and will reduce its life. As someone whose BMW was written off previously due to an automatic gearbox failure (and that was at stock), I'm alot more careful now with looking after my gearbox. Being able to change things like the Launch Control and RPM limit also doesn't appeal to me. The gearshifts being up to a claimed 20% faster again doesn't really sell it to me as the gearbox is already more than fast enough IMO - it's never been slow at all. The main benefit for me would be increased torque from what I can see and maybe getting rid of the auto-kickdown.
> 
> I would love to hear from people who had their TCU remapped later on after already having had a Stage 1 ECU remap (rather than at the same time) and if they feel it was worth it or not. I feel like I should be upgrading the brakes and suspension well before I start spending money on TCU remaps tbh and then it just becomes a rabbit hole


Again, this is from my own research and based on my own experience of tuning cars for over 20yrs.

In fairness this forum doesn’t have a great deal of tuning info as with the cars being relatively new and this forum actually being quiet I did my research on the Golf R / GTi forums which utilises the EA888.3 platform. You can find and read plenty of threads there about cars without TCU tunes.

At the end of the day it is your choice. Celtic maps are cheap and cheerful, nothing fancy and often quote optimistic figures as proven when such cars have been on the dyno. But some people are just happy with a basic map …

As for the TCU it’s not about clamping pressures, faster shifts, etc. it’s about matching the TCU to the new ECU map … not to mention increase clamping is needed due to the extra torque because if those plates start to slip in anyway you’ll be buying a new clutch pack … another reason why torque can be limited with a ECU only map … so whilst not essential if you are going to do the job properly get the TCU map and get all the torque you can! 

You need to decide how far you want to take the car … then work backwards … I can tell you now a Stage one car with ECU and TCU works just fine with the standard suspension and decent pads / fluid in the brakes … Stage 2 … that’s when things get expensive and need uprating …


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## nickyoung1 (Nov 23, 2021)

Master Yoda said:


> They quoted me the same, but I believe that includes their call out charges - It's cheaper not to go through them directly. You can get this down to about £250 if you go direct through one of their installers and push them down on price. Celtic Tuning do offer TCU remapping but they told me that was an additional £195
> 
> I am hopefully having their ECU remap over the next few weeks so will report back then. I wasn't going to bother with a TCU remap but am in two minds about whether I should get that done at the same time. For some reason none of the companies I've contacted regarding ECU remapping seem to be pushing TCU remaps - they don't even mention them unless you really press them on it. I had been planning on seeing how the car drives before burning more money, especially as I've spent thousands on my car over the last few weeks. Celtic Tuning's map is designed to be well within the safe tolerances of your vehicle. Some of these other remaps with higher claimed BHP are pushing the stock components further and will inevitably have higher risk of part failure


Celtic are definitely an attractive price. I’m now thinking about a custom stage 1 tune as it just feels like I’d be taking more care of my car - having a tune that’s custom made must be better than a generic tune.


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## nickyoung1 (Nov 23, 2021)

MrOCD said:


> Firstly, I’ve yet to come across any owner who has only had the ECU mapped but not the TCU on an S-Tronic equipped car and have been very happy … I’ve come across plenty that have reverted to standard though after only having the ECU mapped … Strange no?
> 
> Secondly, higher figures do not mean more risk of failure. It’s not all about pushing boost and timing to achieve those figures. In fact, you could argue a generic flash map could cause more harm as typically these are not mapped live on the dyno therefore you are simply relying on the operator to identify problems with a laptop. This has been proven time and time again by people with vast experience of these engines.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I’m thinking a proper tune on a dyno is the best way to go.


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## Master Yoda (May 18, 2019)

Looking at the actual 'change' in BHP in the example above, they gained about 50 BHP which is significantly less than the advertised +73 BHP. They did gain more torque though than advertised (+ 58.9 lb/ft vs + 52 lb/ft)

Also, I thought THIS was a very interesting read...


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## Denso (10 mo ago)

Anybody got any experience with DMS automotive, thinking of using them.






audi tts mk3 tts 8s mk2 - 2018 to







www.dmsautomotive.com





Denso


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## MrOCD (Feb 9, 2021)

Master Yoda said:


> Also, I thought THIS was a very interesting read...


… by a guy that does mobile mapping… Hmmm … there is so much wrong there with what he has said I wouldn’t even know where to start. 

At the end of the day it’s your car, and your money so whatever you feel comfortable with … however with performance tuning it’s always worth doing it right.


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## nickyoung1 (Nov 23, 2021)

Remap Kings look good. Their reviews on Google are top-notch. Really between going full dyno, custom tune but then again I just want to unlock a bit more power and would probably never touch a stage 2.


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## Master Yoda (May 18, 2019)

Can someone confirm - if you have the TCU remapped, you have to take it easy for a while before pushing the car? I read online somewhere that you should not push your car hard and should only drive the car very conservatively for about 150 to 200 miles after remapping the DSG, as the car has to relearn everything and you will ruin your car and get poor results if you don't do this(?)

I really need to know as I was planning on flooring it on the way home to test everything out


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## MrOCD (Feb 9, 2021)

Master Yoda said:


> Can someone confirm - if you have the TCU remapped, you have to take it easy for a while before pushing the car? I read online somewhere that you should not push your car hard and should only drive the car very conservatively for about 150 to 200 miles after remapping the DSG, as the car has to relearn everything and you will ruin your car and get poor results if you don't do this(?)
> 
> I really need to know as I was planning on flooring it on the way home to test everything out


Nonsense. If anything you want it to learn your driving habits so just send it.


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## MrOCD (Feb 9, 2021)

nickyoung1 said:


> Remap Kings look good. Their reviews on Google are top-notch. Really between going full dyno, custom tune but then again I just want to unlock a bit more power and would probably never touch a stage 2.


Again it’s not about going Stage 2. It’s about obtaining a tune that is suited to YOUR car … rather than generic flash. With generic they have to consider a lot of variables to provide safe tunes to suit a wider application of wear and tear on vehicles. Hence why promised figures are often lower and they aren’t as refined as they could be… this is the real advantage with custom, more power, more mpg and a refined power curve.


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## nickyoung1 (Nov 23, 2021)

Now deciding between Remap Kings (mobile van) and Evolution D&T (Nottingham). Evolution offer a stage 1 with 3 dyno pulls for £320 and I go to Nottingham often so will probably go with this one. Also a little worried about the warranty.


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## Dale.TT (Dec 19, 2016)

FYI I had my last car mapped by Superchips and a Remap Kings van turned up. Apparently they are the same business these days with Remap Kings buying Superchips.


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## RAB (Jul 3, 2020)

Dale.TT said:


> FYI I had my last car mapped by Superchips and a Remap Kings van turned up. Apparently they are the same business these days with Remap Kings buying Superchips.


I had mine done last Friday. Exactly the same, ordered on Superchips website Remap Kings van and engineer did it.

Took about 1.5 hours


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