# Stage 1 vs Stock



## -BigMac- (Jan 27, 2021)

Hi guys,

Am on the fence about getting a Unitronic stage 1+ ECU and Stage 2 TCU tune next week.

Does anyone have any personal experiences with tuning their quattro TT? 
Thoughts? Advantages outweigh disadvantages?

Thanks!


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## 21tesla (Aug 29, 2016)

At 8000 km, my 2016 TT had a Unitronic Stage 1+ ECU/TCU tune. Nearly five years later, the car is at 102000 km and going strong without any issues.

At 100000 km, the car got a new set of spark plugs and its second DSG and haldex service. Drives like new. I change the oil every 8000 km myself.

I had a Unitronic downpipe and a stage 2 ECU/TCU tune for a while and while the power was awesome, the drone drove me crazy since I spend a lot of time on the highway. I have since turned off the soundaktor so the car essentially went from loud to super silent.


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## -BigMac- (Jan 27, 2021)

21tesla said:


> At 8000 km, my 2016 TT had a Unitronic Stage 1+ ECU/TCU tune. Nearly five years later, the car is at 102000 km and going strong without any issues.
> 
> At 100000 km, the car got a new set of spark plugs and its second DSG and haldex service. Drives like new. I change the oil every 8000 km myself.
> 
> I had a Unitronic downpipe and a stage 2 ECU/TCU tune for a while and while the power was awesome, the drone drove me crazy since I spend a lot of time on the highway. I have since turned off the soundaktor so the car essentially went from loud to super silent.


Ah nice! You running the 1 TCU with the 1+ ECU?
Surprised as they recommend the 2 TCU with 1+ ECU.
Must be a good amount of lee way they put into it then 

Sounds like its pretty reliable..
With soundaktor off, even on stage 1+, you find the car pretty silent now?
Had no idea soundaktor was so strong..

How do you find driving with the 1+?


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## 21tesla (Aug 29, 2016)

Yes, I have been running Stage 1 ECU and TCU together. I think the TCU tune is worth it because it has different shift points, different launch control RPMs and higher clamping force if necessary. You can ask Unitronic about the details and they may tweak to suit your needs.

With the TCU tune, you get the D1/D2/D3... S1/S2/S3 gear indicator on the dash which is nice.

I only had Stage 2 ECU and TCU for a month. Some modification was required at the shop to fit the downpipe to the TT but it was not major and easily reversed went back to stock and sold the DP to a Golf R owner. I have a video of before and after the downpipe. With Stage 2, you get the DSG farts and the power increase feels a lot more than 30 hp. I instantly wanted upgraded brakes after that. I tried to install a Vibrant resonator but there isn't any room underneath without making further modifications elsewhere to the exhaust, something I didn't want to do. The Golf GTI people have successfully installed a resonator at the midpipe because there is no driveshaft in the way.






With OBDeleven or similar, you can dial the soundaktor anywhere from full "on" = 100 to full "off" = 0. The car is supersilent with the soundaktor off and fresh fluid everywhere. I also put a fresh set of 245/35/19 Michelin PS4S tires on and what a difference for ride quality and sound, too.

Having a cable means you can make changes to the tune yourself from the driveway. I run the unitronic software from a virtual PC windows on a Macbook Pro and it works fine.


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## revulike (Jun 15, 2018)

I had a stage 1 remap just over a year ago.
No regrets at all.
Power now about 320 hp (312 plus whatever a Pipercross filter adds) and 500 Nm torque, although I suspect that may be limited, as I did not go for a tcu remap.
Great fun, the car is as fast as I would ever want. 
Downside, none really. Insurance went up about £50 (shop around), but dropped about £50 this year!

I probably spend a bit more on petrol, but only because of the odd hook now and then.

Do it, life's too short.


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## kevin#34 (Jan 8, 2019)

had Unitronic ECU stage 1+/TCU stage 2, Pipercross filter and the difference was massive, then went for ECU stage 2 with Milltek hi-flow kat, colder plugs and Uni turbo inlet to get a bit more power/torque with the exhaust sound sensibly enhanced (farts&crackles especially).
Engine response is obviously transformed but still smooth and linear, the only downside is an occasional aggressive downshift in D when slowing down/engine at low rpm.
Fuel consumption almost same as before, if driven "normally", but thirstier when driven spirited,
Sound aktuator set to zero since ever


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## kevin#34 (Jan 8, 2019)

you mean that the drone noise was coming om the sound aktuator and not from the exhaust? 



21tesla said:


> At 8000 km, my 2016 TT had a Unitronic Stage 1+ ECU/TCU tune. Nearly five years later, the car is at 102000 km and going strong without any issues.
> 
> At 100000 km, the car got a new set of spark plugs and its second DSG and haldex service. Drives like new. I change the oil every 8000 km myself.
> 
> I had a Unitronic downpipe and a stage 2 ECU/TCU tune for a while and while the power was awesome, *the drone drove me crazy since I spend a lot of time on the highway. I have since turned off the soundaktor so the car essentially went from loud to super silent*.


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## 21tesla (Aug 29, 2016)

I think I am just really sensitive to drone at 2800-3000 rpm because I spend so much time on the highway. Perhaps the soundaktor amplified it, too. I have to admit though, that the power from the Stage 2 tune was very nice.

In contrast, the Stage 1 tune is more like OEM+ and it suits me well. The car has be awesome for the past five years.


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