I've had this car(stock) for almost two years and its about to time to upgrade some things. The handling and braking are fine, but the power output just isn't cutting it. A GIAC ecu chip runs me $500 including installation. However, my car has 160,xxx miles so I was wondering what I would need to replace in order to safely upgrade hp/tq by 50. I've also gone to a custom exhaust shop and they could set me up with a 2.5 inch custom pipe to a magnaflow exhaust for $350. Also, any suggestions on a couple hundred dollar aftermarket headlights? My lights are so bad its dangerous. I know this is alot, but any advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Look at SpeedTuning for your chip - from what's been posted here, the gains are essentially the same and you're looking at half the cost of Giac. Don't forget to budget for a new DV as well. Exhaust will help as well. Call that $700 total so far (including $100 here for the DV). With $300 left, get a set of OEM projector lights from someone selling a set in one of the classifieds here, at www.vwvortex.com, or www.audizine.com. If you can't find a set, get two-piece Depo lights off of eBay (in this case, eBay is OK and I will vouch that the Depos look good and work well - had them for a year or so). With the remaining $100 or so, get HIDs for your new projectors and a set of clear sidemarker lenses to replace the amber ones you currently have. Put orange bulbs in them but paint the top 1/4" with silver paint so they don't look orange when off (they'll still blink amber though).

At the end of all this, not only will you go faster, you'll be able to see a lot better and the look of the car will be nicely updated.

 

Really? With 160K you'd still recommend chipping it? Not doubting, just surprised. I recently bought my 01 1.8T w/99K on the clock and I got the impression I'd be having the turbo rebuilt before I hit 125K, and it probably wouldn't last a month if I chipped it. Hope to hear that I'm mistaken, might take that money I'm budgeting for new wheels and get a chip instead!

 

It's very hard to say on the turbo since maintenance is such a big factor on their lifespans, but you're right to question it. It may be fine or it may not but if you're not showing signs of failure (oil smoke and dental drill sound), you probably won't know until you chip it. K03 turbo failure isn't uncommon these days but a lot of it will depend if your turbo has had the snot beaten out of it through its life.

I shouldve mentioned also that a compression check on your engine is an easy and quick way to ascertain engine health and is a good idea before turning up the wick.

 

How about spending part of the money on a used turbo/turbo rebuild/remanufactured turbo/new turbo and the rest on a chip and DV? It just won't cure your headlight issue.

 

Id go for a used turbo setup, probably k04 if you dont have any other mods yet.

 

Thanks guys, this is really helpful. A cheaper ecu chip will give me more money to fix up the car. How much effort is generally involved in replacing or fixing up an older turbo? As of yet, I haven't had any of the mentioned issues with my turbo, I have a feeling it was replaced around 100k.

I'm going to go into the shop to get my compression checked, but if it turns out chipping the car would be unsafe, how much would a new turbo run me? And is upgrading the throttle body/spark plugs a good idea?

 

new turbo=$1k...mine as well go k04 which is what I did a couple years ago or you can go elim for more power and a little more $$...i got tired of the k04 and now I have gone all out, so its up to you and what you plan on doing with your car

 

A compression test determines the health of the engine, piston rings and valve seals to be more specific. It has nothing to do with the health of your turbo. So if you have low compression, chipping it would be a waste, and obviously getting a new/different turbo wont help anything. Throttle body upgrade isnt till way down the road, and spark plugs need to be changed pretty frequently anyway.

 

go for maintence hands down unless its maintained, go for chip and than exhuast with a new dv