[Eagle1234]

Hello folks,

My first post in the forum after being a lurker for number of years. I recently bought a well maintained 2019 Audi TDI A3 with 80,000kms on the odo. The previous owner had used it extensively for his weekly runs between Bangalore - Chikmagalur. Car was serviced exclusively at Audi, Bangalore. The service records are clean and I did an extensive test with a FNG too for peace of mind. This is going to be my only vehicle in my garage as I recently sold my Rapid.

The stock output is 143bhp and 340 NM. I feel the engine is much more capable than these numbers on paper. I got in touch with the team in Engineering Exponent and they suggested ECU + TCU remaps. Post the remap, the car should be able to push 192 bhp and 450 nm. These numbers looks very tempting indeed!!! I have a few questions and I was hoping if few members can throw light on these

1) Does TCU + ECU remap increase the general wear and tear, engine's issues, clutch assembly etc?
2) This is DQ250 and so its wet clutch. I assume this is a less problematic gearbox from the VAG stable. Should I be mindful of DSG issues cropping up later
3) This car has completed 4yrs and 80k kms, so should I go slow on remaps and run stock alone.

Will be helpful of members might throw light on anything that I might have missed.

Mods please move it to the appropriate thread if I have made a mistake.

[suhaas307]

Congratulations on your latest acquisition!

80,000 km may seem like high mileage for a 4 year old car. But if most of these kilometers were covered on the highway between BLR - CKM, your car is probably healthier than an A3 TDI of similar vintage that has been driven exclusively within city limits, with 20,000 km on the odo.

Tuning your car is therefore not going to be a problem despite the higher mileage indicated. Wolf Moto is a great tuning outfit and one of the best in the country, in my opinion. Don't focus on numbers, and instead, request for better drivability and midrange punch. Also, do ask them to keep the black smoke to a minimum, even if this means compromising a little bit on outright performance.

Do ensure that your car has undergone a thorough check-up with the authorized Audi service centre as well. Some weak points include the water pump and injectors. That said, these engines are quite robust, with plenty of headroom and potential for more power. So you should be fine.

EDIT: What I would focus more on are suspension and chassis components like the bushes, mounts, links, ball-joints and even the dampers, considering the mileage done. Give them a once-over because the roads between Hassan and Chikmagalur are not in the best state, and frequent highway drivers don't bother too much about ruts and potholes after a point.

Have fun with your new car and tuning it, and drive safe!

[Eagle1234]

Thanks mate. Your reply sounds reassuring.

[vattyboy]

You can drive the car for at least 1 year in stock power outputs and when you are bored of it you can tune it later on.

If you tune the car to its maximum potential just after buying it then you will get bored with it very early.

Instead, I will suggest driving the car for 1 year and putting your money on regular maintenance items which the car will demand in the coming months.

And talking about the tune don't worry, it will not harm the engine. The same engine is tuned to deliver 188 bhp in A4 and A6. There are 2 good tuners in Delhi which I know - Gt Tunez and Auto Psyche.

[Eagle1234]

Thanks. Will keep in mind about delaying the remapping

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Eagle1234

Thanks. Will keep in mind about delaying the remapping

Another thing to consider:

Please do not get TCU tunes.

I have cut my teeth with them, and although it was for a Polo GT TSI, I would not recommend TCU tunes generally.

Reason: the TCU is perfectly set up from the factory to provide a good balance between efficiency and performance. Messing with the TCU may disturb this balance and your car may not be 'happy'.

For instance, I flashed by Polo's TCU with stage-2 software, which essentially altered the shift points and sharpened the gear changes. While the quicker changes were nice, it will wear the clutch pack far quicker. And the altered shift-points meant the car never felt "settled" or relaxed in traffic in 'D'. I reverted to the stock TCU map very quickly.

TCU tunes are great for track-days and getting the most out of your box, but for daily driving it's not something I would personally recommend.

[Eagle1234]

Even i was against TCU mapping but the folks at Engineering exponent asked me to do it considering the quick shifts. Let me rethink on the TCU bit.

[Cresterk]

That's a 34% increase in power and torque. Your car is a 35tdi. First thing you need to do is find out how many powertrain components are identical to the 40tdi which produces around 180hp stock. If they are the same and the engine has just been given a de-tune to produce less power to ensure no competition with the 40tdi, then it's a pretty safe bet.

But if they have also skimped out on some components since it won't be running at full strength, (Most of the time they won't since it would mean setting up different assembly lines and sourcing different components from vendors) then you need to be careful and swap out the necessary components too. Happy driving!

[hellraiser_yank]

Originally Posted by Eagle1234

Even i was against TCU mapping but the folks at Engineering exponent asked me to do it considering the quick shifts. Let me rethink on the TCU bit.

I'm running a TCU+ECU tune on my polo GT TSI. I have some inputs. My stage 1 car could keep up with an ECU+exhaust polo running stock size tyres (mine is running 205 PS4) till 100kmph. My car shifts better and smoother, it's aggressive when I want it to be. Only issue I have faced is the sudden downshift to first gear which happens below 10kmph on potholes so I just manually keep it in second gear.
Have also ridden in my tuners A3 TFSI also running A DQ200 , intercooler and big turbo. No issues. Drove a Jetta TDI in traffic and open roads for over a 100kms which again had an intercooler, big turbo and ECU+TCU tune , also this car has done over 1.7 lakh kms on factory gearbox.

The DQ250 can take loads of punishment when compared to a DQ200. After a couple of launches I can smell my polos clutch. No such issue in the Jetta.

I'd say go for it. The guys at EE are good at what they do. I got my tune from Prama Tuning in NCR. And have spoken to the people at EE too.

Once you feel the launch control after a remap there's no going back, especially on the DQ250

[Eagle1234]

Yes I got the ECU tuning done. The low end torque availability makes the drive more pleasurable.

[VwRabbit]

80K is high mileage for a German car especially on our roads unless its a W123, since you bought it used and if you got a good deal on it I would say go ahead with the remap but be mentally prepared for some hefty repair bills in the future since the car in question is an Audi do not expect VW rates for service especially if its from the Authorised service centre, because although there’s parts sharing even a simple part like a diesel filter could cost twice or thrice with Audi compared to a similar part in a Jetta here i am speaking from experience,thats their way of charging a premium for the four rings on the grill .

The 2.0 TDI is a sweet motor and a tuner/mod friendly engine definitely can take a lot more than the factory specs it came with only thing is change/top up the oil before the manufacturer specified intervals likely before 10K since the car is now almost nearing a lakh km and like most VW engines in this age they will have a habit of burning oil, same with the wet clutch DSG too but as others have mentioned wear and tear parts will be worn out a little bit faster.

Go for reputed tuners who have experience tuning similar cars but then the real star to tune in the A3 lineup would have been the 1.8 TFSI version, a stage 2 tune which will come along with an exhaust maybe couple that with an RS3 body kit would have been neat but then since this a TDI that is in question that too with an automatic the benefit will be that since the A3 weighs less it will definitely punch above its weight giving its higher siblings a run for the money but then a tuned Jetta Diesel DSG can also perform similarly.

[sunikkat]

Please go with remap, that engine is much more capable. And EE is very good at this. You also have many good tuners in Bangalore.

Though MT, I have done my Octavia TDI remap while at 55k kms and currently at 83k kms and 8 years the car is absolutely reliable. Not issues other than the regular wear and tear for VAG. But yeah, be prepared to keep changing your brake rotors and pads because of the way you drive after remap

Atleast that’s my bigger running expense. Also I am now servicing at every 8k kms with better engine oils instead of 15k kms.

[sh3lby]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

That's a 34% increase in power and torque. Your car is a 35tdi. First thing you need to do is find out how many powertrain components are identical to the 40tdi which produces around 180hp stock. If they are the same and the engine has just been given a de-tune to produce less power to ensure no competition with the 40tdi, then it's a pretty safe bet.

Sorry for this late and slightly off-topic question, but what source can I use to do this for my Audi Q3 SB? I'm not planning a Stage 1 tune now but for the future I'd like to compare the powertrain hardware with other Q3 sportback models sold abroad, if possible please read this short post of mine (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...eign-ones.html) and see if you can help...thanks!

Sidenote - is it possible to install the manufacturer's map of a different model but same engine in my car? Like if the engine in my car and another OEM Q3 sold abroad, producing more power & torque) is the same, is there a way to use the 'official' Audi map from that car in my car? Sorry if I don't make sense, my knowledge of this stuff is extremely limited...