Chipping an ECU changes how the engine controls various aspects of fuel mixture, timing, and turbo boost. It gives you additional horsepower for very short money. It does come with a price however... By putting additional stresses on the engine, various engine parts are likely to fail earlier. These would include the throttle body boot, the diverter valves, and -- if you really push the envelope and don't follow the good rules of turbo ownership (gentle warm up until oil is over 175 degrees and gentle cool down for the last few miles until you turn the engine off) -- turbo failure.
If you don't know what it is, I'd recommend you do a whole lot of reading before going that route. It can be a very rewarding and economical way of boosting performance, but it can bite you if you don't go in knowing what you're getting into. For some background reading, following the link in my signature to my registry page. Once there, look for suggested readings and find Stoney's Links.
Finally, this is not something your Audi dealer will do -- it may actually void parts of your warranty. I think the "dealer" being discussed here is the dealer of the chip modification company (really just a software load these days). GIAC and APR are a couple of the major players.
yea, that whole warranty thing is kinda a bitch. im upset that audi doesnt have a tuning company that would make parts for em and not void the warranty
Posts: 669
Joined: 9/8/2006 From: Holland MI Status: offline
I read about 30 pages of these postings before deciding to GIAC chip my 2003 A6 2.7T w/ 6 speed. It had 74K miles on it. Based on reading I also added the Bailey diverters and a Samco TBB. I only have a 1000 miles on it so far, but it definitely pulls more strongly above 3000rpm. Downshifting to 5th or 4th redlines too quickly. It gets from 70 to 110 very quickly.
I do notice a slight oil smell after a few hundred miles of highway running. Mileage seems a little down, too. But it is also colder here in MI now and it gets better mileage in hot weather.
I don't jump on the throttle very often and I will be changing oil frequently and using Mobil1.
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RE: APR chip installed - 
dont kill me
