Audi Service Dealerships performing software upgrades?

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nevadayz

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Howzit guys,

These might be a noobish question, but here goes.

I currently own an Audi, and when in the process of purchasing the car i was told by a salesman that his dealership can do software upgrades on the cars, which would boost the power and possibly lower consumption. I heard a similar story from a VW mechanic, regarding software upgrades on the GOlf GTis.
However, this dealership is in Durban, and i am in Gauteng area. Also im not too keen to take it to a place like Revo or similar, as i want to try as far as possible to keep everything stock.

Is there any truth in what this guy said? Are there any dealerships in Gauteng that might do the same?

Interested in finding out if i can, as my car is almost up for the 60k service and this might make things a bit more interesting :)
 
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guest2013-1

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All dealerships can do software upgrades/tweaks, but you need to ask the guy if it affects your warranty (which I suspect it will, last time I checked, this is the reason why I didn't tweak anything when I got my Audi in 2007 - RIP 2012)

Best is to phone any dealership out here in Gauteng (closest to you) and ask the service manager. FYI, they need to have the equipment on site because they use it to do all kinds of checks on the system when they do a service
 
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Jody.Ponnusami

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Audi and VW do not perform software updates to increase power. Their updates are based on improvements through research on test cars or to fix possible bugs across that software ID.
The Dealership is most likely offering you an aftermarket solution. Salesman and Techies alike have been known to do this as they generally get a kick back from an aftermarket tuner.

In respect to aftermarket tuning, there are safe and not so safe tuners out there. According to my knowledge there is NO approved VAG aftermarket tuner in SA. So your warranty can be voided if found. Though I must add it is rather difficult to find if done via a professional company using the right product. 80% of dealers warn you first, flag the car and request you have it removed before totally voiding your warranty.
 
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pboy

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actually, what audi does, is that you have the same engine/mechanicals but offering different power outputs..take the 2.0T for example, the red T is more powerful than the normal silver T.
same internals, different mappings.

so what they can do is where you do have a lower power version of the same car that is available in a more powerful spec, they can reflash your software to the more powerful version.

the same with the sportline etc.. its not as drastic a difference as revo or aftermarket chaps, but the new 1.8T goes from stock 118kw, to sportline spec 125kw.
and hey- its free!
 
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Haldex

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pboy said:
actually, what audi does, is that you have the same engine/mechanicals but offering different power outputs..take the 2.0T for example, the red T is more powerful than the normal silver T.
same internals, different mappings.

so what they can do is where you do have a lower power version of the same car that is available in a more powerful spec, they can reflash your software to the more powerful version.

the same with the sportline etc.. its not as drastic a difference as revo or aftermarket chaps, but the new 1.8T goes from stock 118kw, to sportline spec 125kw.
and hey- its free!
Click to expand...

Hahaha awesome!!
/:erm:
 
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grim

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pboy said:
actually, what audi does, is that you have the same engine/mechanicals but offering different power outputs..take the 2.0T for example, the red T is more powerful than the normal silver T.
same internals, different mappings.

so what they can do is where you do have a lower power version of the same car that is available in a more powerful spec, they can reflash your software to the more powerful version.

the same with the sportline etc.. its not as drastic a difference as revo or aftermarket chaps, but the new 1.8T goes from stock 118kw, to sportline spec 125kw.
and hey- its free!
Click to expand...

It's not that simple, the 1.8T with 88KW doesn't have the same valvetrain as the one with 125KW the engine codes are even different for the two, the 2.0T currently only comes in 155KW.

They aren't artificially limiting the power output of the engine to have a "premium" version to sell, same with the Golf 6 1.4TSI, you get it in 90KW and 118KW, the 90KW engine is turbo charged only whereas the 118KW engine is turbo and super charged.

Yes you can turn up the turbo boost by changing the software on the lower powered engines to make the same power as the other models but it will severely affect reliability.

As far as getting more power and more fuel efficiency, anyone that tells you that is lying, it's one of the two not both, ever.

There is a set amount of energy per unit of fuel burnt, whether it be petrol or diesel, so the only way to get more power out of an engine is to burn more fuel.
 
rorz0r

rorz0r

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nevadayz said:
Also im not too keen to take it to a place like Revo or similar, as i want to try as far as possible to keep everything stock.
Click to expand...

If you flash a software update to give a car more power than it originally had then it's not stock anymore. As the guys have said there's no "official" upgrades for audi's so your best option if you want more power but not stress is to go for something like Revo where's the guys have been around internationally for ages and locally for quite a while as well. Revo also offer the SPS switch which allows you to basically set the car back to stock for when you service it or even if you just feel like it. (plus a few other cool features)

Howsit Jody
 
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Haldex

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Every single post in this thread is laughable and false!

Edit: my 3G connection is slow.
 
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Ice2Cool

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Revo tune is well worth it. I have a stage 1 on my golf 5 tdi and it made the driving experience 500000% better.
 
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nevadayz

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rorz0r said:
Revo also offer the SPS switch which allows you to basically set the car back to stock for when you service it or even if you just feel like it. (plus a few other cool features)
Click to expand...

This, looks awesome :)
 
Naks

Naks

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grim said:
As far as getting more power and more fuel efficiency, anyone that tells you that is lying, it's one of the two not both, ever. There is a set amount of energy per unit of fuel burnt, whether it be petrol or diesel, so the only way to get more power out of an engine is to burn more fuel.
Click to expand...


Bollocks! I have a remap on my landy and it has more power and burns less diesel.

It all boils down to the tuner and how good their maps are. If they know what they are doing, they will modify the fuel maps to get more efficiency, since it is well known that manufacturers limit their outputs to conform to environmental legislations.

If your remap is simply shoving more fuel into the engine to get more power, then I suggest you find a decent tuner to begin with.
 
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