APR Facility Tour

[MissVeeDub]

After working with APR through my dealership for sometime now, the thought of actually visiting the APR HQs and seeing firsthand what exactly it is that has continuously set them apart from the masses has crossed my mind often. Never mind the fact that there is plenty of personal interest as well, after all I do have a '12 GTI TSI that is in dire need of more umph. (Stage 2 mayhaps?)

After I mapped out the logistics of my stay, I flew into Birmingham, AL, and I met up with Kurt who is out there for work. Since he is an over-all car guru, I already knew I'd be out of my (in relation to him) amateur element once the technical conversations and German accent impersonations took off, (boys *rolleyes ). But we both made the trip to Opelika, down the smooth pavements of the south; highway 280 led us right to APR's front door. I'll quote some of Kurt's post from the golfmk6 forum as he gives a great illustration of the experience.

...Pulling up the drive we felt more like we were arriving at an embassy to the VW-Audi world than to a tuner shop. We walked past the flag poles and into the glass encased front lobby where we were greeted by the receptionist, display cases of turbocharger kits, and a few stunning one-off cars. The facility is modern and clean, and the walls lined with plaques of magazine articles going back to 2000 remind visitors of APR's heritage of success.

The view alone when you park along the front line overlooking highway 280, is pretty breathtaking. Not only was the front line lined with all things of VAG greatness; but you can actually see the sun setting over the hills while sitting in the lounge area. Now that's an experience.

Evan and Arin met us in the lobby and were gracious enough to offer us a full tour.....certainly a generous offer given how busy things were a week out from race day. More than a few times we were told of specific things we couldn't photograph or talk about, but we were still given plenty to see and share. We started out in the shop, which was packed with APR race cars, a customer's one off twin turbo R8, as well as a couple other development cars starting their lives into the world of all things aftermarket. The tour continued, and we got to see all of the 3d modeling and prototyping machines, the ventilated "indoor dyno chamber", the machining facilities, and more. Seeing APR's work into cylinder porting was extremely interesting, as was seeing the k04 at various stages of completion. One thing that was an overwhelming and dominating theme was OEM fit, finish, and quality above all else, and it showed in the products. Absolutely nothing looks like an aftermarket piece thrown together in a garage somewhere that might fit and might work.....absolutely everything is modeled, test fit, used and abused to ensure perfect functionality.

The one thing I can't get over, this coming from working in the service dept at a VW dealership, is the cleanliness and tidiness both in and out of the shop. You'd think they just moved in two weeks ago and everything was just put in its place. After working in a couple of dealerships, I'm disappointed to admit that this is a bit uncharacteristic. This fact alone already gives you the confidence in the quality produced out of such a facility.

Arin and Evan shared some pretty interesting things coming down the road, and how far ahead of the curve APR already is.....there are some big big changes with the mk7, and they are already hard at work on it. One other interesting thing is going to be a partnership product line with VW Racing, which they will be discussing at length as it releases next week. The TT RS is an *animal*....and seeing the turbo they are going to use for the stage 3 for that...gents, it is going to be absolutely bonkers. One question I had, was how on earth do you tune the exhaust pulses with the manifold runners like that? Arin explained that while the manifold was not equal length due to size and space constraints, they were able to model the firing order of the inline 5 and essentially set the runner lengths to even out the pulses impacting the turbine. Impressive to say the least. We discussed why APR chose to use the GTX turbo instead of the EFR, namely space constraints and weight in addition to cost and availability.

After the facility tour we got a ride-along in Evan's MK6 GTI stage3+. Yeah. Awesome doesn't even cut it The over-all set up was a perfect example of form follows function. The way it should be, especially when seeking power and performance.

Since Evan and Arin didn't think we were a bunch-a weirdos (inside joke there) we all went out for some great food and drinks afterward and had a blast. Those German impersonations are apparently a big thing for Evan too, who knew! :p

Thank you to Arin and Evan for being so welcoming and showing us around. I'm sorry I won't be there this coming weekend for the races, but I expect you guys to kick butt and have a great time doing it

(I apologize for the crappy pics, only had battery on iphone)


























(Evan and Arin)

[stevegolf]

Awesome! When I had my VW's I was always drooling over their stuff. Thanks for posting.

[cockerpunk]

can you buy those APR badges? **** they look awesome. serve better then my APR sticker in the window at showing my otherwise stock looking mk6 is not stock in any way.

[Time for a GTI]

Dear APR, Open a site closer to New England. I'll even manage it for you if you ask nicely.

[MissVeeDub]

can you buy those APR badges? **** they look awesome. serve better then my APR sticker in the window at showing my otherwise stock looking mk6 is not stock in any way.

Their badges reflect their true to a streamlined look

Dear APR, Open a site closer to New England. I'll even manage it for you if you ask nicely.

Listen, I wish! I'm making the road trip there to get the work done. Total experience.

[Arin@APR]

We really enjoyed our time with you two and you're welcome back any time. Thanks for the writeup!

[DannyLo]

So awesome, I have to make the pilgrimage one day when I'm around the area.

I want to work for you guys so bad! Accepting any applications in the Industrial Design field?

Or I can sweep a mean floor as well, i've been told i'm the best

[flat6guy]

WOW that place is huge

[AKdub914]

[ShadowWabbit]

x2

I know you asked me to make the drive back down with u Tania... But that will only happen if APR ever made a Rabbit 2.5l turbo kit!

Edit: or better yet a supercharger!

[RS4PD]

Stopped by and got a tour about 1.5 yrs ago when we were driving from Mobile to Atlanta. Really impressive facility on a beautiful plot of land with some nice rolling hills.

And what I also remember best was how clean the damn place was.

[MissVeeDub]

x2

I know you asked me to make the drive back down with u Tania... But that will only happen if APR ever made a Rabbit 2.5l turbo kit!

Edit: or better yet a supercharger!

Come on little bro. I'll even let you drive the GTI back for a coupl'a hundred miles.


-Tania
Sent from my iPhone.

[Brendon1098]

i'll echo what everyone else has said about the facility. I took my B8 S4 down there when they needed a car to play with for a few days with the S-tronic. Took a friend and I to lunch, did the tour. Dyno'd my car and then gave me a nearly brand new A4 S-line with their tune to drive in the mean time while they played with mine.

I couldn't say enough good things about the guys honestly.

Look's like Arin took Keith's old office maybe :p

[Arin@APR]

i'll echo what everyone else has said about the facility. I took my B8 S4 down there when they needed a car to play with for a few days with the S-tronic. Took a friend and I to lunch, did the tour. Dyno'd my car and then gave me a nearly brand new A4 S-line with their tune to drive in the mean time while they played with mine.

I couldn't say enough good things about the guys honestly.

Look's like Arin took Keith's old office maybe :p

Yup! I took it over.

[EuroMadchen]

Great write up Tania!!!! I will have to make the drive down from my job in Irondale, AL the next time I'm there!! I have talked to the guys from APR at shows before and they, by far, have the friendliest staff out of all the vendors I visit. I absolutely love my RSC 3" Performance Exhaust, and recommend it to anyone looking for an exhaust. I can't wait to purchase more good stuff from APR for my 08' MKV GTI FSI in the future

[not_a_chick_car]

Great post, thanks for sharing.

[Denniswhat]

APR

I would love to come see that place sometime!

[MissVeeDub]

Great write up Tania!!!! I will have to make the drive down from my job in Irondale, AL the next time I'm there!! I have talked to the guys from APR at shows before and they, by far, have the friendliest staff out of all the vendors I visit. I absolutely love my RSC 3" Performance Exhaust, and recommend it to anyone looking for an exhaust. I can't wait to purchase more good stuff from APR for my 08' MKV GTI FSI in the future

Thanks Melissa.
Yep, they are cool people.

(girl's weekend in AL? These Yanks will paint the town pink? I think so! haha)

Great post, thanks for sharing.

Thanks

[Brendon1098]

Yup! I took it over.

HAHA niiice, not a bad move. However Keith got the best move of all I think. Lucky bastard lol

[RS4PD]

Found some pics from my trip. Not trying to thread jack but thought I'd post some pics that exemplify how clean they keep the damn place even while working hard on the race/customer cars.

[MissVeeDub]

Found some pics from my trip. Not trying to thread jack but thought I'd post some pics that exemplify how clean they keep the damn place even while working hard on the race/customer cars.

Not thread jacking at all. I wish I had my camera charged for some decent shots. I welcome anyone to post images of the facility actually
Yes, totally blown away by the cleanliness. Very impressive.

[Brendon1098]

when i get home from work tomorrow i'll post pics of our visit as well

[MissVeeDub]

when i get home from work tomorrow i'll post pics of our visit as well

let's see'em.

[j. Kush]

Awesome facility!

The SEMA CC and flat black GTi are a long way from home. They stayed at my old dealership right by HQ for quite some time. Looks like ya'll have had them for a while as the inspection stickers we put on have expired.

[MissVeeDub]

Anyone else with images of the facility?