jeff O'B

I am interested in hearing from anyone with either the 1.8T or the 2.8 chips from these guys. I have a hard time believing the the modest claims on the 2.8 after an article I read in one of the car mags, I think it was R&T. They did some testing with several cars including BMWs with Dinan, and the performance/hp/torque was the same, no improvements. But, with the turbo motors I am more willing to believe in the chips. Any comments?

BDW

As for the chips for normally aspirated cars, the article speaks volumes, in my opinion. No turbo equals no SIGNIFICANT performance gains. If someone wants to pay a few hundred bucks for something that gets them an phantom tenth of a second 0-60, that's their business. I wouldn't do it.

Of course, the 1.8T engine is a totally different story. I chipped my '99 1.8Tqms with the Wett 1.0 bar at 5K miles (at 8K now), and I can assure you it transformed my car. In stock form, I really liked the car. Now I love it. A chip (anybody's chip, .8 bar or 1 bar) will unleash very noticeable horsepower and torque gains, mainly due to turning up the boost on the turbo. A chipped 1.8T does not show great gains below 2,000 RPM, will drive very much like stock. But when driven enthusiastically, between 2,500-4,500 RPM my car is a different beast. The pull is fantastic.

Now as for the horsepower and torque claims, I can't be sure. I can tell you this ... the car I traded in for my A4 was a '95 Nissan Maxima SE manual with that super V6 (190 HP, 205 lb feet). My A4 feels a good tick quicker than that car did, and since I chipped, I don't miss the Maxima at all. (I did miss the power before I chipped). The Maxima ran around 7 seconds 0-60 and I'm sure I'm doing at least that, if not a little better, with the A4. In fact the chip in my opinion makes the 1.8T feel like there is a torquey little V6 under the hood instead of a four cylinder.

I have been lucky ... no pinging, no check engine lights, no problems at all. These things do happen to some people who chip and though they can be resolved, can be frustrating. The other thing to note is that when you turn up the boost the power delivery changes ... it's not quite as seamless as stock because of the thrust when the boost kicks in. You get a little lag. Small price to pay, though.

BDW

jeff O'B

Re: thanks, so you went with the Wett chip, how much was it?

BDW

nt

Jeff

I have been thinking about ordering a chip from Wetterauer for my 99.5 QTMS. If I want the $100 discount, do I just mention A4.org? Any info would be appreciated.