me

After much thought, I decided to purchase the new chip from GAIC (garrett). If this had been the first forum that I started watching I probably would have never even thought of it, but other forums spoke very highly of it and their posted communications with garret were very impressive. It is very hard to get in touch with him, though most of his retailers are very friendly and helpful, but I did manage to discuss a few things with him. I'll try to remember to include most of it here. Despite most of the anti-garrett sentiment on this group, I think he is a competent guy who puts an incredible amount of time and care ( and his name) into his products. And I don't mean that he is just some nice guy who wrote a chip program. From what I understand, he enjoys writing very complex reprogramming, just like Dr. Valentine enjoys his countermeasures.<p>I decided on the stageII chip which is supposed to bring the car to about 205HP with no other mods (I have the ram air filter), increase mileage by 2 or three, and increase turbo boost to about 1. (he used to advertise 1.1 bar but I think that it was just a little over one, and he has recently rewritten his programs for the Audi so maybe it is lower.). He only charges $20 for a chip change, so I new going to a milder program wasn't going to be a big deal. There has been much concern about the 1 bar chips on this group and I really don't think that 1 bar is a problem. The turbo is designed for 1 bar and I believe that the car was designed for it too. I am not in the industry but being a vehicle dynamics researcher, I do understand the design processes that go into these cars and with safety margins that are always included. The fact that Audi has similar cars using more boost (than stock A4) then as long as you can control yourself the car should be fine. You can destroy anything if you don't treat it well. <p>Anyway, I have only 500 miles on this chip so far and this is what I have seen. I drove the same 300 mile trip at the same 75 mph this weekend as I did last month (both with some in town driving) and my mileage actually did increase from 29 to 31 mpg in my 99 1.8TMS. The power increase is obvious and you notice it right away, as low as 2000RPM. When I put it in, the engine never ran rough, didn't act like it had to adjust to the new programming, and the idle is as smooth as ever. The stage2 chip is very similar to the stage one, except for full throttle. And let me tell you, full-throttle is absolutely incredible. It's just amazing. I know I haven't tried any other chips but I was planning on saving some money for another mod, and now I don't see the point. I love this car! (Too bad he couldn't reprogram the low beams to be brighter). Unfortunately, I let the dealer talk me into a non-quatro so from a rolling start I can spin the tires all the way through first and even through second!! But I have only gone full-throttle through third so far, can't find a place safe enough to go any faster. There is no sign of knocking, no matter what I do. I was going to take the chip right back if it knocked, but it wasn't a problem. He seemed very proud of his chip and talked about how other chips use too much advance and yadda yadda yadda… But now I know why: this chip really rocks.<p>He also has the tip chip and designed both chips used in the PES supercharger. I talked to him about the tip chip too since there were bad stories going around. He said that he has been selling this chip since the transmission first came out and there has never been a problem with the transmissions so far. He also said that he did not push the tip further that he could have. It changes the shift points, and increases shift time from 1 to .2 secs. I think it about 150 or $200.<p>He also sent a stock chip, and just started putting in an easy swap module so I can go back stock whenever I need to. He is also open to custom programming for speed/rpm limits/ other mods and even cams. There is a 30V chip, I dont know about the 12V though.<br>No, I have no connection with him, I just though that this was very interesting.<p>Though I do admit, he has a crappy web page.<p>I also have to mention my other nice goodies: it's just like Christmas. I put on the front splashguards from clair. Very nice, except they act like a big air pocket creating who knows how much drag.<p>I just got the V1 and hardwired it in already. Now that is another cool toy from someone who enjoys his work. I like it a lot and I'm glad I went against my judgement and bought what was probably the most expensive detector on the market. Just like everyone else on the page, I highly recommend it too.<p>And the window reprogramming? The dealer didn't even charge me!<p>next adventure: boost guage. Sean you have a great write up.<p>Well, I was planning on writing some more of my deciding factors I came up with after months of chip research and reading this forum, but this is already way too long. So I just hope I made the right points. I just am excited about the G-chip and I think people should know that they have more choices than tap/wet. But whatever your decision, treat the car right and it should treat you right. <p><br>http://www.dvol.com/~users/gal/giac.htm<br>I delt with todd S. at Air & Water Enterprises mostly<br>1-(888)-565-2257 <p>sorry so long,<br>mike<br>

ErikR

I remember several people asking about these chips, but I don't remember much rancor. People feel strongly about their chips (why I don't know), but did any serious posters claim to have bad experiences with this company?<p>I'm glad we have another tuner who seems to know what they are doing.<p>Enjoy your chip!<br>

Wesley Walls

How much?

me

for the 1.8T -$400 including return shipping.

ELH

Does Garett also have an option (like Wet) that lets you swap back to stock if needed?

me

Yeas, you can get the socket put so you can swap chips. He sent me a second 'stock' chip that I have in my glove box. I imagine that he will include the chip now for everyone but I am not sure.

ELH

No additional cost?

me

<br>n

Tim C.

His chips are well regarded and he has been very helpful to BMW owners of the 1.9L motor. Not a huge market share for this motor and none of the major BMW tuners wanted to bother.<p>He is active in the BMW ti community and quite open. I think he has been neglected and I intend to give him a real good look when I chip.<p>Tim C.<br>1.8TqMS<br>former BMW 318ti