The 034 Motorsport DQ250 DSG TCU tune was the fifth DSG tune that I tested in the search for a well matched tune. By well matched I mean one that I was satisfied with for my daily driver.
Ultimately what I was looking for from a DSG tune was something that would shift the gears when I would if I were manually changing gears.
As delivered I was underwhelmed by the 034 tune (D) mode. I rarely drive in (S)port mode and will not address that mode. (D) mode felt very stock-like and took substantial coaxing to get it to accelerate rapidly.
This laziness was brought center stage during one crossing through an interchange. Looking at the gap between oncoming cars as I waited in the left-hand turning lane an opportunity came to make the turn well before an approaching car would be entering the intersection. Not a tight move so long as I moved promptly across the opposite direction lanes, so I gave it about 25% accelerator pedal to get moving without spinning the tires. The transmission quickly went from 1st to 2nd gear and then I pressed to about 40% accelerator to get moving, and that was when it happened. At 40% pedal the 034 tune would shift to the next gear at 2000-2250 rpm, the GTI shifted to 3rd and I found myself not crossing the lanes as quickly as I had planned, not fun.
If it were not for 034 being willing to tweak their tune I’d have moved on to something else, but 034 was willing to make modifications to the tune.
I spent a week logging the car under different driving conditions and then created some data charts showing how the tune was behaving in each gear along with how I felt it should behave. I sent the suggestions to 034 and waited. A few days later 034 got back to me with a tune revision and I tried it out. Wow! Spot on for what I was looking for.
At light pedal input, between 5-15% the transmission will shift up to the next gear at relatively low rpm. With progressively more pedal input from 15% to around 45% the engine speed that the next shift occurs at increases with the pedal input. This results in a 45% pedal input shifting around 4000 rpm. The net effect is that when driving very casually the transmission shifts quickly to the next gear to keep the engine speed low, but with increasing pedal input it keeps the engine revving longer and longer creating a much more lively driving experience.
Overall I am very satisfied with the 034 TCU tune (D) mode. It has a wide range of behaviors depending upon the driver input and matches the versatility of the Mk7 GTI.
Note: This review is based on customization made for me to the 034 TCU tune in D mode. The tune as it is sold by 034 is indistinguishable from stock D mode and I do NOT recommend purchasing that version of the tune.
Nice writeup…
So have your suggested mods been incorporated as the 034 standard D mode, or are they for your tune only?
Hey Eric, Nate said it’s available for others to use but he has not incorporated it into the base file. Sounds like you just need to ask for the increased drive shiftpoints tune and you can use it.