"so you're foofighter"

A recent convo w/ a well respected tuner of VW's and Audi's told me that the new 02 ECU boxes have been changed; yet again! Apparently they added a few more blocks and changed the check sum as well as the algorithims(sp). Apparently the 02 Passat's are in the same perverbial boat...as no one has yet been able to crack/decypher the new coding of these boxes.

There has always been a rumor that's been going around here and VWVortex that VAG was going to "lock" out the ecu so that no aftermarket tuners could do any snooping and therefore subsequent enhancements. They said that about the 01's CH box as well as the VW's but resourceful people managed to crack it. Another point that was made was that VAG in Europe often colaborate w/ aftermarket tuners and if they did decide to lock out the ECU that would essentially kill some of the business. But then again, wasn't there talk of Audi selling their own software w/ warranty? If all this is true then VAG could be taking a preemptive strike to lock out the aftermarket chip tuner so that they can provide this in house and sell it w/ a warranty. Which wouldn't necessarily be too bad of an option. So hold tight guys. I'll let you know when I hear some new development/code cracking =)

Uwe@Ross-Tech.com

But don't worry, it will get cracked. I've mentioned this before, not that long ago, possibly on the old forum:

When OBD-II was introduced, the manufacturers claimed it would be impossible for the aftermarket tuners to chip the cars.

When Drive-by-Wire was introduced, the the manufacturers claimed it would be impossible for the aftermarket tuners to chip the cars.

In fact, all the drive-by-wire ECU's contain a number of "Traps" intended to foil chip-tuning. And indeed, it took the tuners a while to find them all and work around them.

I'm sure it will be the same thing with the '02 1.8T -- it will take a while, the only question is how long.. In the meantime, the 3.0 owners will have fun running rings around the 1.8T owners.:-)

But even when when the tuners figure it out, I am convinced it will take at least a K04 upgrade for the 1.8T to beat the 3.0. A K03 is simply not capable of flowing enough air to make 220hp, and the the 3.0 has the additional advantage of the close-ratio 6-speed..

-Uwe- (Picking up our 3.0 QMS this afternoon!)

EricPA

I know that we will see little, if any, HP gain but it can help throttle response and fuel economy. Did you chip your VR6?

trifona

When I locally test drove an '02 1.8tqms, I was of the opinion that throttle response was much improved than in my car.

The dealer where I bought my car from in Reading was told during training that throttle response was improved in the '02 vehicles.

Something else improved over the B5's.



trifona

Uwe@Ross-Tech.com

And there's no question that they can tweak throttle response. In fact, I worry they will over-do that aspect of it. Some of the other efforts at chipping naturally aspirated drive-by-wire cars have made the throttle too "touchy" for my taste.

How much torque, HP, and fuel economy can be extracted remains to be seen.

Of course my VR6 is chipped. With the other mods on it, it's making just over 200HP. Not bad for a 2800 lb car..;-) Click the link below for a extensive list of mods on that car. BTW, this car is for sale...:-)<ul><li><a href="http://wso.net/ross/Uwe/VR6/index.htm">Uwe's 1997 GTI-VR6</a></li></ul>

EricPA

I too have a Garrett chip in my Jetta VR6 and it would be nice to see him come up with something for the 3.0L. Unlike you I get to keep my VR6 which makes me very happy. I love to toss (H&R coilovers) that thing around. I have owned the car for 5 years and I am on my 5th set of tires. :-)

EricPA

improvement. Actually, I would probably look to get the "Tip chip" first.

EricPA

Do you think it will be compatible with the 2002 Tip?

Uwe@Ross-Tech.com

The diagnostic protcols have changed, which means the Tip firmware has changed as well. How signifigant this change is to a tuner, I don't know.

EricPA

Thanks.