APR doesn't charge you anything. The tuning company will charge you their hourly rate though.

 

Seems to me that you should be able to retain the "stock" program as one of your selectable programming options and, at least according to the info on APR's web site, if you re-enable it prior to delivering it to the dealer that should render the other programs undetectable to the dealer's VAG. That's one of the questions that I need to ask the APR people when I call them.

I know I've mentioned this here before, but I was originally going to buy an '06 Mustang GT convertible but cancelled the order when Ford couldn't give me a firm delivery date anytime in the near future. That's how I ended up with my B7. Had I bought the Mustang, the process of aftermarket ECM upgrades is pretty simple and straightforward. There's a device called the Predator II that costs 399.00 that you hook up directly to your car's ODB II connector. It comes with four aftermarket programs including the original bone stock and also allows you to essentially make up your own by giving you total programmable control over fuel and timing curves. There should be such a device for our cars as well.

 

ahhhhhhhh you are so lucky. let us know how it is with 100 octane

 

Yeah you dial in the stock program via the cruise control stalk. Then you can lock the program in to prevent them from detecting it or changing it. Basically the system acts totally as stock unless someone inputs your password via clicks on stalk. If you are really paranoid then you can have your dealer completely reflash back to the original stock program. That costs money each time (hourly rate, my ECS was $45 an hour).

 

APR told me that even with just the chipped mode, the software would not be detectable by Audi. They could however operate the car and observe the different behavior if it was chipped, so I got the stock program in addition to the 91 octane stage I. Now you can switch back and forth using the cruise control stalk, but of course Audi knows this as well, and simply pressing and holding the set button would tell them that you're chipped, so I bought the lockout option as well. Once locked out, the cruise control behavior is stock until you reenter your security code (see instructions on the APR web site here. My APR dealer has offered to check that I have properly switched back to stock mode, and clear any error codes for me, before my next visit to Audi.

Of course if you've upgraded your DV as you should have, then that's the easiest way for Audi to see that you are probably chipped. Even using the 710N, which locks identical to stock except for the part number, I have it attached with screw clamps because you can't take those damn stock clamps off without destroying them.