Although the allroad has enough pep from the factory, I wanted more highway passing capability. Over the years I’ve grown to appreciate acceleration potential for safety reasons. I’ve been in many situations on the road where accelerating was a better defense than braking.
APR, a popular VW/Audi tuning company, purchased a B8.5 allroad for development and released an impressive stage 1 tune:
That’s right, with nothing more than a software tune and E85 ethanol in the tank, the 2.0T becomes a highway cruising beast.
| Stock: | 91 Octane Stage 1: | E85 Stage 1: | |
| Torque: | 258 TQ | 329 TQ | 388 TQ |
| Horse Power: | 220 HP | 270 HP | 313 HP |
On E85, we are looking at an increase of +130 pound feet of torque and +93 horses. This quite literally puts the power delivery of this car in another league.
Audi did a great job at pairing this motor to an 8-speed tiptronic. It’s not as lightening fast as the dual-clutch DSG but it’s one of the best torque converter automatics on the market today. Small turbo engines tend to have narrow power bands so having 8 gears ensures you always stay in power and experience minimal lag.
Precision Motorworks, a nearby shop in Santa Clara is an authorized APR dealer. I went to them for the flash and they were great to deal with:
If you are planning on getting an ECU tune allocate about 2 hours start to finish, it only takes about 20-30mins to do the job but there is some paperwork involved and obviously the shop may have jobs ahead of yours.
So far, I’m very happy and pleased with this tune. I can run 91 octane gasoline or E85 ethanol (or a blend) and enjoy much improved pickup when I need it.
E85 or not, this upgrade is a no brainer. The gains over stock on 91 octane gasoline are well worth it. If you own this car and aren’t worried about voiding your warranty, this tune is a must have!
My Blue Unicorn 