Ok, so as you can tell by my post count im new here and new to audi, there are not too many technical post on here about ECUs so I wanted to make one. Basically I am looking at two companies for upgrades, the first being GIAC and the second being APR. Everything APR and AWE sell looks to be top quality, and everyone says GIAC has more aggressive tuning... but when I looked at the dynos:

APR stage 1 ECU dyno

GIAC stage 1 ECU dyno

All I see is APR with more FTLBS and more HP for alot longer time, so what gives... whats the difference and why does everyone say GIAC is more aggressive when they are CLEARLY not?

also does anyone have a real dyno from a stage one GIAC or APR just so I know those numbers are totally accurate?

When upgrading the ECU I also wanted to do the BPVs, I used a forge on the saab and loved it but what works best for audi?

Thanks
-Chip

Giac chips may indeed be the most aggressive in terms of boost etc, but there is a lot more that goes into a chip retuning than boost pressure. It is possible that APR does a better job managing throttle, fuel delivery, timing and whatever else. It is also possible that APR is using a more "generous" dyno, or that their numbers are not SAE corrected for weather elements etc. I guess the point I am trying to make is that there is a lot of information which is not justified by the two comps dyno graphs and the difference could be attributed to any number of things, including better programming.

For my money I will go with APR for the simple fact that I like being able to go back to stock when I am not pushing the car and there reprogram allows for that and the nifty security thingy is kind of cool also.

Furthermore, if I were APR I would sell those chips under a new brand name because if the programming really is all that better then I don't see why they should be the only large distributor of the product, as it is now I can see why other tuners who don't do their own computer tuning would be hesitant to sell a product which establishes their competitor as an industry leader.

One Last thing to the Mods: I wondered if anyone had ever thought to extend an invitation to the head tuners of these companies so that they can come on here and build brand equity with the people who buy their products. This has been done very successfully by www.focaljet.com where they have seperate forums for the tirerack and focussport (also the guys behind eurosport for any VW guys out there) I would suggest checking out their setup cause it is really slick and I know Focussport does a ton of business as a result of that relationship.

Sorry About the long post...

The Emperor[sm=gears.gif]

can anyone tell me exactly how the audi B5 ECU works? come on... I know someone knows exactly how that thing runs.

*This is just my guess*
Maybe it overclocks the horsepower from 250 to 308 (short for "blah blah blah increasing fuel intake air pressure blah blah), but also increasing the engines temperature by 6-7 degrees C, and maybe that's why they also want you to buy intercoolers as stage 1 kits, so to take care of that 6-7 degree increase.

oh, ok well thats something new again... it does not say that on any sites ive seen. I doubt the audi is as complex as the SAAB was but with the saab if you went to a higher alltitude or the temp went up it would adjust the boost accordingly, does the audi have anything like that built in or is it just the same boost level. Also with the increse in temps if they want you to get an intercooler what happens if you dont have one?

Hey chip, take a look at this project car done up by european car magazine if you haven't already seen it, They went with APR and unfortunately there is no ecu alone upgrade dyno charts but I gather you are probably thinking about exhaust also. There is a lot of information on what the chip does and how it works, driving feel etc.

There is also some information in the tech files section that you may find interesting, look at the left side of the page for that.

http://www.europeancarweb.com/projectcars/

I hope this helps you with your decision.

T_E