All right here is my delima. I want to chip my car and an APR dealer is near my home so down time wont be long, they say they can be done in 10min. If I go GIAC I would have to ship my ecu to have it installed I cannot have my car down for two days.

In the future I may want to go K04 but I dont know, if I do then I would save money by already having a GIAC chip(since APR doesnt do k04). The car will have 120kmi or more if I choose that route so maybe the k03 will be ready for replacement by then, I dunno. I am actually satisfied with the stock performance for the type of driving I do, mostly highway, no racing. However there are times when a little more power would be nice and just a chip may be good for me.

Thoughts????

 

well - if you want to go K04 then go with GIAC. You get a discount on the K04 programming from GIAC if you already have a GIAC chip. Currently I don't think APR even has software for the K04.

But if you're fairly satisfied with stock performance then I doubt a K04 is for you. More power, but not really off the line - all you get off the line with a K04 is more turbo lag. Now once you are moving, the K04 kicks in like a son-of-a-bitch. A basic chip will do you fine and you will enjoy the car. Go with APR because they are local to you.

 

Aaaaah yeah what he said!

 

I concur...
Go with APR; only because they are closer. You will be glad they are close by if you ever need further service.

 

thanks for the imput, the more I think about it APR does make more sense. I guess a better question I should have asked is how long can I expect a K03 to last if taken good care of(proper cool down)? Maybe ill be the lab rat on this one.

 

Turbo timer- Basic function is to allow the vehicle to idle for a timed period, with the ignition key removed. This allows the engine oil and turbo to cool down and prevent internal turbo damage.

A good turbo timer can cost between $80- $125

 

no turbo timer for me. i just stay light on the gas and keep the rpm's below 3k 5-10 before i arrive to my destination. engine oil temp is always below 200 before i shut it off.

Now I would like to know what the most miles anyone has gone with the stock k03?

 

ANother thing you could do if you went with apr, is you could rebuild or have your KO3 rebuilt and then have it ported and polished.

 

would it change anything in a way that the APR chip wouldn't function right? Like running a k04 with k03 software.

 

Any info on this one? How much does this cost? Is it comparable to buying a k04?

I never asked but how would the k04 run with apr software? anyone try this?