Background:
Following up on a post in which I discussed making a comparison between off-the-shelf IS38 tunes that are available for the Mk7 GTI.
This table lists the vendors I identified that offer OTS tunes for an IS38-equipped GTI.
| Vendor | Cost | HP/TQ |
|---|---|---|
| Unitronic | $1,000 (Dealer install) / $1,165 (Uniconnect) | 381/377-Crank |
| EQT | $1,075 ($350 + $725 Cobb AP) | 357/395-Wheel |
| Integrated Engineering | $1,000 ($850 + $150 Powerlink) | 360/403-Wheel |
| Eurodyne | $700 (w/ flash device) | 410/400-Crank |
| SneekyTuned | $1,075 ($350 + $725 Cobb AP) | – |
| GIAC | $1,200 ($1000 + $200 Flashloader) | 350/356-Wheel |
| APR | $750 (Dealer install) | 358/363-Wheel |
| REVO | ? | 360/383-Hub |
| MTM | $1,750 (Dealer install) | – |
Decision:
After considering the pros and cons of undertaking this effort I decided the level of effort required would outweigh the benefits – the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.
Already considered in the prior post were the costs and difficulty of obtaining all of the tunes.
I added a column to the table for the published estimates for power and torque supplied by the vendors that make this information available.
I noticed that most of the power figures are around 360 whp, for those that report it at the wheels.
360 whp is about what Virtual Dyno estimated for my IS38 equipped GTI with a custom EQT tune,
With all of these tune options apparently performing about the same, the value of measuring them all myself, knowing the effort it would require, became unappealing.
Note: Of course, the vendor figures are with different GTIs on their own dynos and with different conditions. On the other hand, the IS38 turbo is the main factor in these pump gas tunes.