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Hoppen (MTM) 1.8t Stage 1 By: Adam Toy Email: toybiz@home.com (FEB-00) Make & model of car the product was used on: 1997 A4, 1.8t quattro Product Description: Hoppen (MTM) Stage 1 ECU upgrade for 1.8t Well, I am sure that the subject of who makes the best "chip" for the 1.8t has surely been beaten to death by now. I may have been one of the first few who tried a different chip in hopes to gain a few extra ponies. I got delivery of my '97 1.8t in late August 1997, ordered and installed the "chip" in October. Well, it was a relatively painless modification as far as horsepower upgrades are concerned. The ECU was shipped on an exchange basis, so there was no down time. The Brain Surgery took all of about 20 minutes, it was recommended that the car be started without touching the throttle and to let it idle for a minute or two, in order to calibrate the throttle settings. After that, I took my sceptical wife on the necessary road test to verify if my $600 has indeed bought me some extra ponies. Well, immediately my "seat of my pants" meter confirmed something has happened. The engine felt as if it had grown almost 25% in size! I was impressed, I did not want to send it back under the 30 day trial. So off went my original ECU and the apparent warranty with it. (that is another sore subject, email me if you want my story). In all, I am satisfied with the Hoppen (MTM) chip, with the exception that sometimes when I come off acceleration and then hit the throttle again (like for everyone in stop and go traffic), the car would jerk excessively. It would feel as if though I was pumping the throttle pedal. (but I'm not). This doesn't happen everyday, nor does it detract from the drivability of the car, it is just annoying. Mike Hoppen has been very informative, but tells me that the software is normal. Anyone with similar experiences with their upgrade from Hoppen? In all exchanging the "chip" is probably the best per dollar modification you can make, but if I was to try another "chip", I may go with one from Wett or TAP. |
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By: Brian Davis
Email: badavisjr@aol.com
(December-00) Make & model of car the product was used on: 1999.5 A4 1.8T I recently had an MTM stage 1 chip installed by Sport Wheels in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. THe only complaint I had about my 1.8T was that I felt it was underpowered, especially where I live,(base elevation of 8000ft). I had recently taken the car on a road trip to the west coast, and the car was great down at sea level. I thought that if I could get the performance in Colorado I had experienced in California, I would be happy. When I picked up the car, I couldn't belive the difference! The car was even faster then when at sea level. During acceleration, I was actually presesed back in the seat! Gone was the engine that struggled to pull the car to 65 while merging onto the highway. Kind of nice now to hear the rush of the air through the intake, and the whistle of the turbo!(very subdued in stock form) As far as drawbacks, I haven't experienced any. No fall in MPG, Starting or running problems. As far as the warranty issue, I'm curious as to how Audi can say chipping (up to 185hp) will void your warranty. In Europe, you can order your A4 1.8T with a 180hp engine option! Same engine, but with different software than the standard engine. How is that different than the MTM chip? |
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