brrman, you seem to know a lot about carby reading this forum..very impressive, I thought you are a technician from Audi or something. Anyway, can you or anyone tell me, I was told by a company to send my ECU to them or they will send me the ECU that is soldered to replace and send the one I have in my car back to them. Is this good or back?

 

Sending a company your ECU for resoldering is the normal procedure to get yourself chipped - unless you live near one of the tuners that do the job. The soldering procedure only takes about 20 minutes, so you send it overnight mail, they solder it and send it back the next day.

Just be sure the tuner is a reputable one. It is possible to get back an ECU that has a bad soldering job and the ECU doesnt function properly. In which case you should be able to call them up and have it resoldered without cost. This doesn't happen often, mind you.

Which company are you thinking about using?

<img border="0" src=smileys/smiley14.gif border="0"> I'm no Audi technician. I just have a love for the car and that translates into me digging around in it and solving my own problems.<edited><editID>brrman</editID><editDate>37943.3864930556</editDate></edited>

 

Hi brrman, I haveonly contacted one company call TAP in USA-not sure whcih state now. The other option he gave me was he would send me the one soldered then I just exchange it and send him mine - is this ok, meaning is there a component different in term of quality. Also, the cost was 475.00 USD, is this too expensive?</P>


By the way, I'm in Toronto-Canada, I have no clue of where to get chipped here, even if I found one I have no idea how their reputation is, and prices might be cheaper in the state.</P>


</P>

 

I have not heard many good things about TAP actually.

However you are in luck...
APR is an excellent and well respected tuner and they do have a rep/tech in Toronto if I recall...

H2Sport, Inc.
199 Guelph Street
Georgetown, ON L7G4A8
tel: 905.702.8299
fax: 905.702.8599
http://www.h2sport.com
info@h2sport.com

And go to the APR Website for info on APR products. They charge $399.00 USD for a 99 model upgrade (non drive-by-wire version).
Keep in mind the local shop will add a little to that cost in order to make profit probably - but you also save on shipping fees - and you get it done in a half an hour.

There is also another tuner called 'BBR Sportline' in Markham. They carry Wetterauer chips, which also have a good reputation. (www.bbrsportsline.com).

BTW, I used to live in the Toronto area. Let me know which way you go.
<edited><editID>brrman</editID><editDate>37943.5944560185</editDate></edited>

 

i know this is an old thread, but there's great info in it. thanks, brrman!

btw, any recommendations for tuners in so cal? also, if i don't plan on driving the car hard [just want a little more power for daily driving], would you recommend getting anything else (in conjunction w/ chipping it)? the car in question is a '99 A4 1.8T. [you already wrote about replacing the BPV, water pump, tensioner, timing belt. anything else? you wrote about getting a boost gauge, but is it really necessary for what i want?] TIA...

 

if your car is an automatic then i dont reccomend getting a chip cause the automatic engine loses more power then a manual, and u might blow up your engine, but if u got stick then make sure u want to take the risk. get a good chip also, like apr.

 

www.goapr.com go with this one if you do

 

WTF?? Mehurrman? Do you know what your talking about? Please refrain from giving bad advice. Why do people answer questions they don't know the answer to factually.

My car is an automatic. My car does lose some power because of the torque converter, but it has nothing to do with the engine. Its all in the drivetrain. I will not blow my engine any easier than a manual A4. My car has been chipped for over a year and runs flawlessly.

An automatic is perfectly fine to chip. GIAC, APR, Neuspeed, and Wetteraurer make tiptronic software for their chips, and it contains no less power than the manuals - simply different fuel and gear management because of the different powerband and gear ratios. Crap dude, I know a guy with a K04 in his tiptronic.

Hmm, well there are lots of "good chips". APR is widely known, but not the best for everyone. There are at least half a dozen very good chiptuners. APR, GIAC, Wetteraurer, Neuspeed, MTM, ABT, even Upsolute is respectable. The best thing to do is pick from those listed vendors and if one if local to you, it's wise to use them because its easier to solve tuning problems. If not, do some reading on their sites and decide which is best for you. Some company's software is more agressive than others, and some have expandable (GIAC K04, etc) software in conjunction with hardware. Others have hardware configurations that compliment the chip (ie, APR stage 2,3).

Lots of possibilities. Some people will tell you to get what they have, and others will tell you to get what they have "heard" is good on the forums. Do your own research first, then you'll know what questions to ask when you're ready to buy.

 

WHAT!!!??? That is an absolutely ridiculous statement.

APR and GIAC are the top two chip makers with superb reputations. Auto trannys need a tip chip, too. That is all.

"... u might blow up your engine...."???? Where the heck did that come from?

 

Tips do not "need" a tip chip when engine chipped. But they do have quicker shifts with one. And for $250 its not a bad deal.