GIAC or APR
3rd Gear
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,158
From: CT
i have ARP. its pretty good. it came with the car, not sure i would have gone with it if i had the options, but its not worth paying for something else right now. if you are going to put in a K04 eventually then its no question- go with GIAC.
5th Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 7,728
From: noob from NY
you should try the trial and then get in on the GB. that way you wouldn't have to ship and you'd get a lower price. oh and if they charge to do the install, i'd just do it myself. there's 5 8mm bolts holding down the cover. just take it off, there a big black thing that goes across the ECU to hold it down, just take it off. pull the ecu out a little bit then pull the black piece that holds the harness on. after that the harness comes right off. do the reverse for install. you'll be done rly quick. say 30 min because one of the bolts is a biotch to take out
1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 47
From: Boulder, Colorado
I'm gonna have to go against the grain here, i have the APR chip and i really like it.
I like it for a few reasons:
- I got it done 2 weeks ago during APR's H20 carshow sale - They offered a fully loaded ECU $1200) for the base price ($499 for B5s). All i ever run is the 91 octane program.
-The APR was able to be done through direct-port flashing, so there was no "install" at all. Took about 30 min at my local APR dealer (Avalon motorsports).
-The driveability of the car is MUCH improved. I really disliked the "spikey" or "peaky" feeling of 1st gear in the stock ECU mapping. The APR ECU mapping totally changed the feeling of the car at acceleration from a redlight. It is much smoother and more powerful. It feels like the engine revs more freely now, with the turbo kicking in more smoothly and with a much better curve than before.
-Power gains were subtle, but noticeable even here at 9,000ft above sea level.
-Most surprisingly, my b5 has a startup noise from the rear cam tensioner (gonna have to be fixed in 20k =P). The chipping actually seemed to reduce this noise. Less pressure on it during startup? dunno.
I have not experienced the GIAC chip myself, but i would certainly purchase the APR chip again if i had the chance.
I like it for a few reasons:
- I got it done 2 weeks ago during APR's H20 carshow sale - They offered a fully loaded ECU $1200) for the base price ($499 for B5s). All i ever run is the 91 octane program.
-The APR was able to be done through direct-port flashing, so there was no "install" at all. Took about 30 min at my local APR dealer (Avalon motorsports).
-The driveability of the car is MUCH improved. I really disliked the "spikey" or "peaky" feeling of 1st gear in the stock ECU mapping. The APR ECU mapping totally changed the feeling of the car at acceleration from a redlight. It is much smoother and more powerful. It feels like the engine revs more freely now, with the turbo kicking in more smoothly and with a much better curve than before.
-Power gains were subtle, but noticeable even here at 9,000ft above sea level.
-Most surprisingly, my b5 has a startup noise from the rear cam tensioner (gonna have to be fixed in 20k =P). The chipping actually seemed to reduce this noise. Less pressure on it during startup? dunno.
I have not experienced the GIAC chip myself, but i would certainly purchase the APR chip again if i had the chance.
1st Gear
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 333
From: Pickerington, Ohio
I'd really like to try both before buying, but I always hear that the GIAC is much better for the B5's. And I guess it would depend on the dealer but i've heard that the giac has better supporting software, Like for the k04 obv.
