I was really surprised at what a stage 1 APR ECU remap did for my car. Being my first 1.8T I thought it was pretty fast when I got it, but the flash takes it from 225 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque to 263 hp and 267 lb-ft of torque. Man what a difference! And I still get about 25 mpg.
I remember when I went down to APR in Alabama for the annual BBQ and got it flashed, after I drove it out I took it down the highway for a little test drive. I started accelerating and climbing the hill, then as I approached the top I saw a police car sitting right in the median, so I had to back way off...oh well.
Also, when I was in line for my flash I was talking to the guy behind me who had a pretty nice looking Mk4 Jetta 1.8T. I can't remember which state he was from, but he said he worked at the dealer as a mechanic and one day this lady brought her car in. She had neglected the timing belt and naturally it broke, and when she heard how much it would be to repair she wasn't interested. He made a deal with her to buy the car for about $200, took it home and fixed the engine. The car was clean otherwise, and now he was paying more to have the ECU upgrade installed than he paid for the whole car.
