Hi Guys,

So I've finally decidedthat I willmost likely have my ECU reprogrammed for more power. Now, before I spend $600 or more on this, I'd love to get some input from some of you that have the APR and GIAC performance software in your cars. I'd really love to get only honest assessments of the driveability and reliability of the software, along with any issues any of you may have experienced with durability or reliabilty when it comes to your stock turbos, diverter valves or transmissions. My car is a 2003 A6 2.7T with a Tiptronic transmission and has 44,000 miles on it with no modifications to the engine or exhaust.
P.S. I'm not the type to beat the tar out of my car on a daily basis, but there are times when the extra power would be nice. Thanks in advance to all who post replies...Just want to see which of the two might be better for me

 

you'll be fine with the chip if you don't constantly beat up the car, maintain it religiously, perform basic warm up and cool down procedures AND chnage a few stock parts: DVs and TBB.
Had my car chipped ta 45k ish miles. NO regrets. I have APR Dvs, used to have the Hyperboost which are fine... but you can go with cheaper 710N Dvs from the TT. Samco TBB or APR bipipe (pricier).
Some A6's have over 100k miles on stock turbos and running strong, others have had bad luck before 70k miles... hard to say

 

Formulagigi,
Hi. Appreciate the input. If you don't mind telling me, which chip are you running and how many miles have you put on your car since adding it? Any driveability issues?

 

I chose the APR because it is IMO easier on the turbos/less aggressive, VERY VERY driveable, and also is what is sold/supported by my local performance shop and that is critical to me. I got it at about 45k miles and now have 77k. I did DVs and APR Bipiperight away though to help with reliability. IN addition I also did the piggy pipes from VAST within a year to not only get more power and TQ but also to increase reliability as they help reduce the temperature behind the turbos. Those at the time were 345 plus install. When i replaced my auxiliary water pump I also got NewSouth powergaskets ($75)to decrease intake temperature... every little bit helps...

 

I blew my turbos on the APR chip... It really matters if your car is auto vs stick..... When the ESP randomly comes on with an auto the turbo has to spool down and spool back up so fast it sometimes causes dmg to the fan blade or would just break it. That sadly happened to me when I was pulling out of my house?!?!?! I pulled how and didn't even hit it just gave it half throttle... when it went to grab second ESP light started flashing... I pull over and smoke comes from the car :-X. This might be my own little theory but I would like to see the poll for blown turbos on manuals vs blown turbos on a auto. I think they make the world of difference with dmg.

 

Could be.... good point to research. I am very curious. Could you start a poll amybe?
But is it possible your turbos were on their way out already? or something else was wrong... I mean that it doe snot seem right your ESP came on while not pushing the car and just leaving your house...
I also turn off ESP if I do launches to avoid damage.

 

Yah but it limps the car out with the torque when you do that :/ ohhh and I even let the car warm up off the cold start for 5 mins... WTF but it is over now

 

Blew my turbos on a cold day (-25F), warmed the car up and was driving out of boost, first stoplight, went to takeoff and hit black ice the turbos spooled rapidly before ESP caught, then lots of white smoke IDK what the hell happened, but my headgasket also went, smashed heads bad, bad,bad.

Anyways I have GIAC 1.3X chip, runningan MBC to smooth out the boost curve, when I was stage 1 I tried both APR and GIAC, APR was much more driveable and smooth( I didn't like it) GIAC was more agressive. I agree with GIGI, maintain and treat the car right and hope for the best. Sometimes turbos just blow. I really dont believe that running the K03's at around 1 bar will do them any harm, 1 Bar is still well within K03's efficiency range