APR

APR ECU Upgrade - 2.0T EA888 Gen 4 (MQB EVO) (MK8 Golf R / S3 8Y)

Fits 2022+ Audi S3, Volkswagen Golf R

Part # ECU-20T-EA888-4-LK3 Be the first to write a review

APR ECU Upgrade - 2.0T EA888 Gen 4 (MQB EVO) (MK8 Golf R / S3 8Y)

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$539.96
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Emissions

This part is legal under the provisions of EPAโ€™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 Golf R (MK8) and Audi S3 (8Y) 2.0 TSI EA888 Gen 4 engine with the Continental Simos 19 ECU! Expect massive gains with up to 398-455 HP with 385-436 FT-LBS of torque on tap, depending on octane and mods! This represents up to 43% more horsepower at the wheels, over stock! Additionally APR Plus is available which adds a factory term limit matching limited powertrain warranty and is offered on our 91 AKI ECU upgrades!

Features:

  • Delivers up to 398-442 HP with 385-430 FT-LBS (Stage 1)
  • Delivers up to 410-455 HP with 389-436 FT-LBS (Stage 2)
  • Max gains of +64-112 HP and +76-118 FT-LBS at the wheels (Stage 1)
  • Max gains of +74-123 HP and +80-125 FT-LBS at the wheels (Stage 2)
  • HP gains as high as 22-39% over stock at the wheels (Stage 1)
  • HP gains as high as 26-43% over stock at the wheels (Stage 2)
  • Torque gains as high as 26-41% over stock at the wheels (Stage 1)
  • Torque gains as high as 28-44% over stock at the wheels (Stage 2)
  • Supports 91 AKI, 93 AKI, 100 AKI, 104 AKI, and E60-E85 fuel grades (Stage 1 & 2) (NAR)
  • Supports 95 RON, 98 RON, 104 RON, 108 RON, and E60-E85 fuel grades (Stage 1 & 2) (ROW)
  • Supports 91 AKI fuel grade (APR Plus) (NAR)
  • Ethanol support with no additional hardware required (Stage 1 & 2)
  • Factory term limit matching limited powertrain warranty (APR Plus)
  • 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-LK3
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This part is legal under the provisions of EPAโ€™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
Low torque files are necessary on manual transmission vehicles using the factory clutch. Low torque files are also necessary on DSG/S-Tronic vehicles unless running our TCU upgrade. 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

    Hello, What is the 0-60 time on the stage 2 E60-E85 Ethanol Mk8 Golf R?

    By Joseph Shafiei on April 9, 2023

    Answer
    We went from 4.0 to 3.32 on Stage 1 93. No other mods. Stock wheels and tires. I don't have Stage 2 or E85 times.
    Helpful?
  • Question

    I have a 2022 VW Arteon R Line, that shares the same engine with the Golf R (EA888Gen4). Would this fit my car or is this specific just for the GolfR?

    By Thomas Miles on June 21, 2023

    Answer
    It eventually will, but the ECU is on a slightly different operating system we haven't released yet. Stay tuned for a release!
    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 Golf R (MK8) and Audi S3 (8Y) 2.0 TSI EA888 Gen 4 engine with the Continental Simos 19 ECU! Expect massive gains with up to 398-455 HP with 385-436 FT-LBS of torque on tap, depending on octane and mods! This represents up to 43% more horsepower at the wheels, over stock! Additionally APR Plus is available which adds a factory term limit matching limited powertrain warranty and is offered on our 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. Weโ€™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, weโ€™ve added many safety routines to ensure the engine and components are protected under demanding scenarios. Additionally weโ€™ve added features to enhance the driving experience! Weโ€™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 weโ€™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. On 6MT equipped vehicles, youโ€™ll achieve full torque, but on DSG equipped vehicles, torque will be limited at the factory limits until our TCU upgrade is added. Furthermore more weโ€™ve added and calibrated protection routines for turbocharger pressure ratios, shaft speed, exhaust pressure, intake air temperature, coolant temperature, oil temperature, lambda, fueling system limitations, and more.


Our ECU Upgrades are available in multiple configurations. Installation of additional performance hardware, such as an intercooler or intake systems, may provide further performance improvements.

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 398-442 HP and 385-430 FT-LBS with +64-112 WHP and +76-118 WFT-LBS over stock. By adding hardware such as our intake and intercooler, the tune automatically jumps to Stage 2 power levels and produces 410-455 HP and 389-436 FT-LBS with +74-123 WHP and +80-125 WFT-LBS over stock.


Optional Low Torque Files

For manual transmission vehicles, this file helps alleviate stress on the factory clutch. Upgrade the clutch to run the high torque file.

On DSG/S-Tronic transmission vehicles, running this file is necessary to prevent slip. Run our TCU upgrade to remove torque caps and to prevent slip.


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


APR Plus is optionally available and adds our limited powertrain warranty to this stage. It's available for 91 AKI fuel grade 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 (91 AKI) 315 HP 310 FT-LBS

Stock As Measured by APR (93 AKI) 349 HP 322 FT-LBS

Stage 1

91 AKI / 95 RONยน398 HP 385 FT-LBS +64 HP +76 FT-LBS 22%26%
93 AKI / 98 RON405 HP 398 FT-LBS +74 HP +87 FT-LBS 26%30%
100 AKI / 104 RON425 HP 417 FT-LBS +92 HP +104 FT-LBS 32%36%
104 AKI / 108 RON436 HP 425 FT-LBS +100 HP +112 FT-LBS 35%39%
E60-E85 Ethanol442 HP 430 FT-LBS +112 HP +118 FT-LBS 39%41%
Stage 2

91 AKI / 95 RONยน410 HP 389 FT-LBS +74 HP +80 FT-LBS 26%28%
93 AKI / 98 RON416 HP 407 FT-LBS +86 HP +97 FT-LBS 30%34%
100 AKI / 104 RON435 HP 419 FT-LBS +98 HP +108 FT-LBS 35%38%
104 AKI / 108 RON445 HP 431 FT-LBS +113 HP +118 FT-LBS 40%41%
E60-E85 Ethanol455 HP 436 FT-LBS +123 HP +125 FT-LBS 43%44%
ยน APR Plus available.

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

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.ยน APR Plus available.

The APR Difference

Who we are - Weโ€™re a global automotive engineering firm nestled in Opelika, Alabama. Our 80,000ftยฒ 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 donโ€™t take shortcuts, and we donโ€™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, weโ€™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 a Limited Powertrain Warranty$1,599.95
APR Stage 1 and Stage 2
APR Stage 1 and Stage 2 ECU Upgrade$599.95
APR Stage 1 and Stage 2 from APR PlusFree
APR Stage 3
In Development

Purchasing, Guarantee, and Updates

Purchasing Optionsยน: Locate an APR Dealer. They will physically install software on your vehicle at their location. Alternatively with the APR Remote Tuning Service (RTS) you'll purchase an APR Tuning Cable and we, or a participating dealer, will remotely install software on your vehicleโ€ .


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


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.ยณ


1. Availability: APR Software may not be available for all vehicles. Stages, programs, and features may not be available for all ECUs.
2. Money Back Guarantee: Excludes some Software Upgrades, such as those included with a hardware purchase. Labor charges are at the discretion of the installer.
3. Free updates: 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.
โ€ . Remote flashing: Excludes APR Plus. Excludes some platforms. Dealer participation will vary. Visit our product page for details.
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