APR

APR ECU Upgrade - 2.0T EA888 Gen 4 (MQB EVO) (MK8 GTI/A3/Formentor/Leon/Octavia)

Fits 2022+ Volkswagen GTI in the USA and additionally the Audi A3, Cupra Formentor, Cupra Leon, and Skoda Octavia in the ROW

Part # ECU-20T-EA888-4-LK2 Be the first to write a review

APR ECU Upgrade - 2.0T EA888 Gen 4 (MQB EVO) (MK8 GTI/A3/Formentor/Leon/Octavia)

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Emissions

This part is legal under the provisions of EPA’s Tampering Policy dated November 23rd, 2020.

See Emissions Details
We're excited to announce our Engine Control Unit (ECU) Upgrades are now available for the Volkswagen GTI (MK8), Audi A3, Cupra Formentor and Leon, and Skoda Octavia with the 2.0 TSI EA888 Gen 4 engine with the Continental Simos 19 ECU! Expect massive gains with up to 328-392 HP with 391-428 FT-LBS of torque on tap, depending on octane and mods! This represents up to 57% more horsepower at the wheels, over stock! Additionally APR Plus is available in the USA which adds a factory term limit matching limited powertrain warranty and is offered on our 87 AKI or 91 AKI ECU upgrades!

Features:

  • Delivers up to 328-375 HP with 391-427 FT-LBS (Stage 1)
  • Delivers up to 345-392 HP with 391-428 FT-LBS (Stage 2)
  • Max gains of +63-105 HP and +96-129 FT-LBS at the wheels (Stage 1)
  • Max gains of +76-122 HP and +96-131 FT-LBS at the wheels (Stage 2)
  • HP gains as high as 25-47% over stock at the wheels (Stage 1)
  • HP gains as high as 34-57% over stock at the wheels (Stage 2)
  • Torque gains as high as 35-47% over stock at the wheels (Stage 1)
  • Torque gains as high as 35-50% over stock at the wheels (Stage 2)
  • Supports 87 AKI, 91 AKI, 93 AKI, 100 AKI, 104 AKI, and E60-E85 fuel grades (Stage 1 & 2) (North America)
  • Supports 91 RON, 95 RON, 104 RON, 105 RON, 108 RON, and E60-E85 fuel grades (Stage 1 & 2) (ROW)
  • Supports 87 AKI or 91 AKI fuel grades (APR Plus) (USA ONLY)
  • Ethanol support with no additional hardware required (Stage 1 & 2)
  • Factory term limit matching limited powertrain warranty (APR Plus) (USA ONLY)
  • Makes more power with more mods without a new reflash
  • Makes more torque with our TCU upgrade
  • Standing RPM soft limiter increased
  • Left-foot braking / brake boosting added
  • Speed limiter removed
  • Auto Start/Stop defaults to your last picked option
  • Properly rescaled performance gauges
  • Properly rescaled boost gauge
  • Linear throttle mapping
  • Flat torque mapping
  • Optional torque limited mapping available for manual transmissions
  • ECO mode limits output to further promote fuel savings
  • No additional hardware or software required
  • Supports standard bolt on modifications and TCU upgrades
  • Optimized thermal management and additional protection
  • Optimized high-gear LSPI protection and turbocharger protection added
  • Flash counter does not increase with each flash
  • Free lifetime updates
  • Direct OBDII port flash (No ECU removal required)
  • 30 day money back guarantee
Brand APR
Emission Code7
Engine AspirationTurbocharged
Engine ConfigurationI4
Engine Displacement2.0L
Engine FamilyEA888 Gen 4
Engine OrientationTransverse
Fuel TypeGasoline
MarketNAR
Product TypeECU Upgrade
Part NumberECU-20T-EA888-4-LK2
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This part is legal under the provisions of EPA’s Tampering Policy dated November 23rd, 2020. The company has reasonable basis (test results) to verify that this product allows the vehicle to operate within legal emissions standards and is therefore legal to be sold for on-street use in all states that accept the legal provisions of the Clean Air Act and the EPA Tampering Policy. This product is NOT LEGAL FOR SALE OR USE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. Testing with the California Air Resources Board, in order to achieve 50-state compliance, is pending with CARB. Once testing is complete with California, and an E.O. number is issued, this product will be updated to 50-state legal status.
Important fuel quality information
Important fuel quality information
Find your boxcode and revision
Find your boxcode and revision
APR Plus Warranty Booklet
APR Plus Warranty Booklet
Only use fuel equal to or higher than specified. Never use a lower octane fuel. Always follow our fuel guide, especially with race fuel and Ethanol, where available. Dynos are for reference only. Results will vary. Contributing factors include the vehicle condition, vehicle setup, dyno type, dyno setup, environmental factors, fuel quality, and more. When describing fuels, the North American Region (NAR) uses the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), (RON+MON)/2, or (R+M)/2. The Rest of the World (ROW) uses RON. RON is Research Octane Number and MON is Motor Octane Number.

Have a question about this product?

  • Question

    Can I run E85 with a stock fuel system?

    By Hector Segura on May 15, 2023

    Answer
    Yes!
    Helpful?
  • Question

    Can I add pops and bangs with this tune ?

    By NL Lim on May 26, 2023

    Answer
    Not more than stock.
    Helpful?
  • Question

    So can I run full E85 or even an E-Mix with a stock fuel system?

    By Hector Segura on May 15, 2023

    Answer
    E60-E85 is good to go.
    Helpful?
  • Question

    Could I do a stage 2 93 octane tune without the TCU flash?

    By Brian Desrosiers on May 9, 2023

    Answer
    Yes
    Helpful?
  • Question

    Does the tune void the factory warranty?

    By Rastin.G on May 3, 2023

    Answer
    Limited powertrain warranty may be affected by modding
    Helpful?
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APR ECU Upgrade Stages

We're excited to announce our Engine Control Unit (ECU) Upgrades are now available for the Volkswagen GTI (MK8), Audi A3, Cupra Formentor and Leon, and Skoda Octavia with the 2.0 TSI EA888 Gen 4 engine with the Continental Simos 19 ECU! Expect massive gains with up to 328-392 HP with 391-428 FT-LBS of torque on tap, depending on octane and mods! This represents up to 57% more horsepower at the wheels, over stock! Additionally APR Plus is available in the USA which adds a factory term limit matching limited powertrain warranty and is offered on our 87 AKI or 91 AKI ECU upgrades!


Our new suite of Simos 19 ECU software comes after months of extensive research and development that is typically absent from the aftermarket. Our upgrade makes the engine more powerful and more exciting. We’ve extensively calibrated the system to work flawlessly in various driving conditions while retaining safety routines to protect your engine in the most demanding scenarios. This was all made possible by our engineering team's pursuit of perfection. Development vehicles were outfitted with additional sensors, including turbo shaft speed sensors, thermocouples, transducers, and more, along with our high speed direct RAM logging equipment, to feed valuable data to the team for analysis. After many hours of testing and tuning we created new calibrations that are fine tuned for several octanes and contain hundreds of map changes, with a vast array of safety features built in.


The result of this work is nothing short of astounding. Not only have we increase power, we’ve added many safety routines to ensure the engine and components are protected under demanding scenarios. Additionally we’ve added features to enhance the driving experience! We’ve added brake boosting / left foot braking, removed the vehicle speed limiter, raised the standing limiter, set auto start/stop to retain your last used mode, properly rescaled the boost and power gauges, developed a linear and flat torque curve, and linearized the throttle pedal.


To protect the engine and components we’ve spent a considerable amount of time tuning safety routines, some of which were not active from the factory. The engine has advanced LSPI protection to prevent the engine from damage when being lugged in the tallest gears. Excessive intake air temperature, which is common on a dynamometer, will cause power to reduce to protect the engine. Furthermore more we’ve added and calibrated protection routines for turbocharger pressure ratios, shaft speed, exhaust pressure, intake air temperature, turbo discharge temperature, coolant temperature, oil temperature, lambda, fueling system limitations, and more.

Performance Stages

OEM Turbo Software (Stage 1 and Stage 2)

The APR Stage 1 and Stage 2 ECU upgrades are designed for use on the factory turbocharger. The ECU alone with no hardware mods produces 328-375 HP and 391-427 FT-LBS with +63-105 WHP and +96-129 WFT-LBS over stock, depending on fuel grade. By adding hardware such as our intake and intercooler, the tune automatically jumps to Stage 2 power levels and produces 345-392 HP and 391-428 FT-LBS with +76-122 WHP and +96-131 WFT-LBS over stock, depending on fuel grade. Adding more mods will increase power further.


For manual transmission vehicles torque can be optionally limited to help alleviate stress on the factory clutch. On DSG/S-Tronic equipped vehicles, torque is also limited, but the limit is removed with our Transmission Control Unit (TCU) upgrade.


This tune is available for 87, 91, 93, 100, and 104 AKI fuel grades, as well as E60-E85 Ethanol in North America and 91, 95, 98, 104, and 108 RON fuel grades, and E60-E85 Ethanol in the ROW.


APR Plus is optionally available and adds our limited powertrain warranty to this stage. It's available for 87 or 91 AKI fuel grades in the USA and requires the use of original factory or APR approved hardware only.


When selecting a fuel grade, a minimum of that fuel grade must be used. Using higher fuel grades is permissible.

Upgraded Turbocharger Software (Stage 3)

In development

Horsepower and Torque Dyno Charts

Select a DynoSelect a Dyno Type

APR Calibration Report

StageHPTQMax GainMax GainWHP % Gain
WTQ % Gain
Stock As Reported by OEM (87 AKI) 241 HP
245 PS 
273 FT-LBS

Stock As Measured by APR (93 AKI) 272 HP 314 FT-LBS

Stage 1

87 AKI / 91 RON¹328 HP 391 FT-LBS +63 WHP +96 WFT-LBS 25%35%
91 AKI / 95 RON¹337 HP 398 FT-LBS +69 WHP +101 WFT-LBS 28%37%
93 AKI / 98 RON345 HP 404 FT-LBS +75 WHP +108 WFT-LBS 32%39%
100 AKI / 104 RON358 HP 410 FT-LBS +88 WHP +114 WFT-LBS 39%41%
104 AKI / 108 RON365 HP 416 FT-LBS +94 WHP +120 WFT-LBS 42%43%
E60-E85 (Ethanol)375 HP 427 FT-LBS +105 WHP +129 WFT-LBS 47%47%
Stage 2

87 AKI / 91 RON¹345 HP 391 FT-LBS +76 WHP +96 WFT-LBS 34%35%
91 AKI / 95 RON¹353 HP 398 FT-LBS +84 WHP +101 WFT-LBS 36%37%
93 AKI / 98 RON358 HP 404 FT-LBS +88 WHP +108 WFT-LBS 38%39%
100 AKI / 104 RON371 HP 410 FT-LBS +101 WHP +114 WFT-LBS 45%41%
104 AKI / 108 RON377 HP 416 FT-LBS +107 WHP +120 WFT-LBS 49%43%
E60-E85 (Ethanol)392 HP 428 FT-LBS +122 WHP +131 WFT-LBS 57%50%
¹ APR Plus available.


Limited torque software is available for 6MT. DSG/S-tronic vehicles require an APR TCU upgrade to meet advertised torque levels, otherwise torque will automatically limit.

Only use fuel equal to or higher than specified. Never use a lower octane fuel. Always follow our fuel guide, especially with race fuel and Ethanol, where available. Dynos are for reference only. Results will vary. Contributing factors include the vehicle condition, vehicle setup, dyno type, dyno setup, environmental factors, fuel quality, and more. When describing fuels, the North American Region (NAR) uses the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), (RON+MON)/2, or (R+M)/2. The Rest of the World (ROW) uses RON. RON is Research Octane Number and MON is Motor Octane Number.

The APR Difference

Who we are - We’re a global automotive engineering firm nestled in Opelika, Alabama. Our 80,000ft² state-of-the-art facility is home to some of the best engineers in the industry, who have mastered hundreds of engine management systems. We have multiple engine and chassis dynos, and the resources necessary to create our ECU Upgrades in-house, from the ground up! We're not a new company either. We've been around since the 90's and we have a strong financial backing to ensure we'll be here to support you for decades to come!


What we do - We optimize everything to make your engine more powerful. We adjust air-fuel ratios, advance ignition, increase boost pressure, alter cam positions and lift profiles, and more, all depending on the type of engine and management system, of course! We don’t take shortcuts, and we don’t take risks. We do it the right way.


How we differ - With our proprietary calibration and direct ram access data logging tools and operating system code changes, we’re able to make some of the strongest and fastest ECU upgrades, without needing costly end user adjustments. We work with the ECUs intelligent modeling and closed-loop systems, and beta test in multiple environments to create upgrades that work no matter where you drive!

APR Software Pricing Guide

Our performance software upgrade is available in multiple stages with optional features.

APR Plus (USA/Canada)
APR Plus ECU Upgrade with Limited Powertrain Warranty$1,599.95
APR Stage 1 and 2
APR Stage 1 and 2 ECU Upgrade$599.95
APR Stage 1 and 2 ECU Upgrade from APR PlusFree
APR Stage 3
In Development

Purchasing, Guarantee, and Updates

How to Purchase - APR Software Upgrades are available through Authorized APR dealers. The dealer will connect to your vehicle, and install the update.¹ Alternatively you can mail your ECU to APR*. Fill out this form. Use this guide to remove your ECU. Mail your ECU to to APR, 4800 U.S. Hwy 280 W, Opelika, AL 36801, USA, and include the last 6 of your VIN on the outside of the box.


Money-Back Guarantee - Try our Software Upgrades for up to 30 days, risk free! If you are not satisfied, return to an APR Dealer to have it removed and refunded.²


Free Updates - If we make an update, add a standard feature, or if the manufacturer issues an update, you are entitled to a free update.³


1. APR Software may not be available for all vehicles. Stages, programs, and features may not be available for all ECUs.
2. Excludes some Software Upgrades, such as those included with a hardware purchase. Labor charges are at the discretion of the installer.
3. Subject to availability. Labor charges are at the discretion of the installer. Applicable to the original purchaser. Second hand owners may inquire with an APR Dealer about a software license transfer fee.
*. Excludes APR Plus.
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    *Free Shipping & Handling only offered to the contiguous US on orders over $100, excludes clearance parts and oversized packages.

    Some parts are not legal for use in California or other states with similar regulations.