Our most aggressive software-only engine file, matched to a gearbox calibrated to keep up with it. Stage 1+ pushes the factory hardware to its sensible edge; the DSG side raises torque acceptance, halves shift times and arms launch control. One visit, £300, £30 saved — and a daily driver that behaves like it left the factory two trim levels angrier.
Stage 1+ asks more of the engine. This bundle makes sure the gearbox isn't the part that says no.
Stage 1+ is our software ceiling for standard hardware — boost arriving earlier and held harder, a wider timing window, fuelling developed at the optimistic edge of safe, throttle response that treats hesitation as a defect. On a healthy engine running quality fuel it finds up to 35% more power. It's the file we build for drivers who'd otherwise be back within a month asking what's next.
Put that file in a DSG car without touching the gearbox, though, and you've built a bottleneck. The TCU's factory torque cap was marginal for Stage 1; against a Stage 1+ curve it's actively in the way — trimming delivery exactly where the new map is strongest. And the factory shift points, calibrated around a torque peak that has since moved, upshift the car out of its own best work.
So the bundle calibrates both computers in the same session, from the same data. Torque acceptance raised to the Stage 1+ figure. Shift points moved to the new powerband. Clutch pressures firmed to bite under the extra load. Launch control armed where the gearbox supports it. The result is coherence at a higher intensity — a car that's dramatically faster and still perfectly happy idling through the retail park. Both originals archived, everything documented, £30 saved against separate bookings.
The six workstreams of the sharpest road package — engine side and gearbox side.
The Stage 1+ signature — target boost arriving sooner and held further through the range.
Wastegate and target strategies are calibrated at the assertive end of what the standard turbo sustains: spool prioritised, mid-range filled, top-end held rather than tapering politely. The difference over Stage 1 is felt most between 2,000 and 4,500 rpm — exactly where real overtakes live.
Developed against knock data to the optimistic edge of safe — with every protection still armed.
Stage 1+ earns its extra percentage in the timing map: advance found cylinder-by-cylinder from logged knock response, fuelling enriched to carry it with cooling margin. Quality fuel matters at this level — 97+ RON is the design assumption, and we'll say so plainly at booking.
Throttle and torque-request mapping with the hesitation engineered out.
Pedal travel maps to intent: the soft dead zone shrinks, part-throttle requests answer immediately, and the engine's torque structure is shaped to hand the gearbox clean, consistent steps it can shift against crisply.
The TCU clamp lifted to the Stage 1+ figure — nothing trimmed, nothing wasted.
A Stage 1+ torque curve into a stock TCU table is a guarantee of clipped delivery. Acceptance is raised to match the engine file exactly, within the clutch pack's verified capability — checked against adaptation data during the health check, not assumed.
Shifts up to 55% faster, Sport mode holding gears where the new map actually works.
Clutch overlap timing tightened for punchy full-load upshifts; Sport shift points rebuilt around the Stage 1+ powerband; Drive left civilised for the commute. The gearbox finally shares the engine's ambition — that's the bundle feeling in one sentence.
Launch control armed where supported; Manual mode that obeys the paddles, properly.
Launch rpm is set for the Stage 1+ boost curve — enough to leave hard, not enough to cook clutches. Manual mode holds your gear to the limiter where the 'box allows, with temperature and over-rev protection fully active underneath.
Typical Stage 1+ gains on popular DSG platforms — then confirm your own engine's figures from the reg.
| Vehicle | Power (stock → tuned) | Torque (stock → tuned) |
|---|---|---|
| VW Golf GTI 2.0 TSI DSG | 245 → 310 bhp | 370 → 450 Nm |
| Audi S3 2.0 TFSI S-tronic | 310 → 370 bhp | 400 → 480 Nm |
| Cupra Leon 2.0 TSI DSG | 300 → 365 bhp | 400 → 470 Nm |
Plus gearbox side: shifts up to 55% faster, torque acceptance raised to match, launch control where supported.
Health check, dual backup, engine file, gearbox file, combined verification — two to three hours, documented throughout.
Three truths that come with the most aggressive road bundle we sell.
The timing edge that makes the file special is calibrated around 97+ RON. Feed it supermarket 95 and the knock control will protect the engine — by quietly taking your gains back.
We tell you the fuel assumption before you book, not after you notice. If you won't commit to super unleaded, the standard Stage 1 bundle is the honest recommendation.
Insurance declaration covers two calibrations; dealer tools can detect both; warranty exposure applies to engine and gearbox alike. The sharpest package deserves the clearest eyes.
One spec sheet lists everything for your insurer, both originals are archived for life, and full return-to-stock on either unit is always available. Informed is how we like our customers.
Stage 1+ torque through a gearbox with tired clutch adaptations or overdue oil is a stress test nobody asked for. The sharper the file, the less forgiving it is of neglect.
The pre-tune health check reads both units before any file is written — and if either side isn't ready, we say so and fix the plan rather than flash and hope.
Torn between the two bundles? Send the reg and your fuel habits — we'll recommend the one we'd put on our own car.
The engine side moves from Stage 1's balanced calibration to Stage 1+'s sport-biased one — boost earlier and held harder, a more aggressive timing window, sharper throttle. Typical gains rise from around 30% to around 35%, with the bigger difference felt in mid-range urgency. The gearbox work is equally thorough in both bundles; it's the engine's character that changes. The £25 difference buys the edge.
No — Stage 1+ is calibrated for standard hardware pushed to its sensible software limit. But it's also the right file if you run a panel filter or cat-back exhaust, and it leaves you positioned for breathing mods later. If you're already running a full intake, intercooler and downpipe, skip ahead: that's a Stage 2 conversation.
It's a design assumption rather than a padlock — the knock control will always protect the engine on lesser fuel. But protection works by retarding timing, which surrenders the exact gains you paid the premium for. If 97+ RON isn't going in the tank consistently, the standard bundle delivers more of its promise more of the time, and we'll tell you so directly.
On a healthy, serviced gearbox, calibrated within the clutch pack's verified capability — no, and reduced slip time during shifts works in your favour. What genuinely shortens DSG life is heat from slip, old oil and neglected adaptations, which is exactly what the pre-tune health check screens for. We decline tunes on gearboxes that aren't ready; that policy protects both of us.
You can, and some customers do — but you'll pay £330 across two visits instead of £300 in one, and between visits the car runs the mismatch the bundle exists to eliminate: a Stage 1+ engine being trimmed by a stock TCU. If budget timing forces the split, do the engine first and book the gearbox close behind. If it doesn't, the bundle is simply the better engineering and the better deal.
Where your gearbox generation supports it, launch is enabled with the rpm set for the Stage 1+ boost curve — typically holding around 3,000–3,500 rpm so boost is built before the clutches take up. Activation is the factory procedure (modes and pedals), repeatable as often as the gearbox temperature allows, and the protection logic supervising it stays fully active.
Same dual-calibration logic with the balanced engine file — no fuel commitment, £25 less.
£275 Compare Stage 1 bundle // Beyond software Stage 2 ECU RemapWhen bolt-on hardware joins the plan, the calibration moves up a designation with it.
From £250 Explore Stage 2 // Feature work Gearbox & Launch ControlTargeted transmission features — launch, shift points, kickdown — on compatible autos.
From £120 See gearbox tuningStage 1+ engine calibration matched to full DSG software — £300, one visit, both originals archived, every figure documented. The sharpest road package we build.