chip tuning?

[johnny12345]

just got my o7 gti, wondering about chiptuning? How much am I looking at, and what type of hp and torgue gains i'm gonna get.

[HotLanta MKfizzle]

I went with APR, LOVE IT.... can't give you the exact gains, they advertise around 50hp to the flywheel, but it's probablly like 25 or 30 to the wheels, gonna get dyno'd in a week or two; whatever it is it feels necessary. OH and I paid $748.00 for 4 programs (91,93,100,stock) flipswitch, and anti-theft. I want Exhaust now bad.

[GTiMkVtyler]

Originally Posted by HotLanta MKfizzle

I went with APR, LOVE IT.... can't give you the exact gains, they advertise around 50hp to the flywheel, but it's probablly like 25 or 30 to the wheels, gonna get dyno'd in a week or two; whatever it is it feels necessary. OH and I paid $748.00 for 4 programs (91,93,100,stock) flipswitch, and anti-theft. I want Exhaust now bad.

Can you explain the program thing to me. I have NO IDEA about this shit, but I'll be doing it soon.

[HotLanta MKfizzle]

Originally Posted by GTiMkVtyler

Can you explain the program thing to me. I have NO IDEA about this shit, but I'll be doing it soon.

No Prob... I didn't know shit either at first, I actually thought you had to remove your car's motherboard and have them solder a new chip to it. Basically they update your car's ECU through a port located under the light-switch. It's Plug and Play software that adjusts your engine to respond to various octanes. Each octane is a seperate program, I have 4. You really only need 2 programs (stock and 93 if you have 93 in your area if not then 91). The cool thing about APR is that you can control what program you run through your cruise control lever. It's a simple protocol to change between programs (you basically just hold the set button down until a flashing engine light signals to the program your in). You can alway's go back to Stock, or in my case go crazy with 100 octane fuel. The software also has an anti-theft option that will dis-allow the car to start, even with the key. I haven't dyno'd so I can't state the true HP gains to the wheels, but I know I like how it feels. I couldn't imagine doing any other engine mods before this one. What's the point of having a BOV or Intake when this is the shit mod, quick and easy, but expensive. Hope that helps.

[Wild Hare]

Originally Posted by HotLanta MKfizzle

I went with APR, LOVE IT.... can't give you the exact gains, they advertise around 50hp to the flywheel, but it's probablly like 25 or 30 to the wheels, gonna get dyno'd in a week or two; whatever it is it feels necessary. OH and I paid $748.00 for 4 programs (91,93,100,stock) flipswitch, and anti-theft. I want Exhaust now bad.

High flow cat, down pipe, and exhaust all in one. Don't mess around. You WILL notice a huge difference once you go with the cat & down pipe. Woke my 1.8t up!

[LivEToDrivE]

How/or does the GIAC X-chip, convert to stock mode? and is it better or worse than the APR chip in personal opinion? (reliability/performance) are their perks to both> my chip will be a very soon modification, so just trying to get last impressions as these are the two I have moved too. Thanks guys

[DBCPerformance]

is that correct? I am just trying to justify the price for performance gains

Originally Posted by Wild Hare

High flow cat, down pipe, and exhaust all in one. Don't mess around. You WILL notice a huge difference once you go with the cat & down pipe. Woke my 1.8t up!

[Vivid]

Originally Posted by LivEToDrivE

How/or does the GIAC X-chip, convert to stock mode? and is it better or worse than the APR chip in personal opinion? (reliability/performance) are their perks to both> my chip will be a very soon modification, so just trying to get last impressions as these are the two I have moved too. Thanks guys

that is a very very hard question... There are 4 major chip you can get: Revo, Neuspeed, ARP and GIAC... each one has a huge following and not many complaints... So this is what I have gathered from what I have read, I am by no means an expert but below is my impression from reading the forums, chip makers sites and talk to the dealers...

GIAC push the most out of their chips but it could be too much...
APR, great chips no quite as powerful as GIAC but slightly more reliable.
REVO, they are user/owner changeable so the true enthousiaste love these.
Nuspeed, is the least talked about chip but still has a good name.

hope this helps, but there is no easy ans, just a whole lot of opinions and many of those are from fairly inexperienced users.

[LivEToDrivE]

Thanks vivid, I guess I'm still lost..haha I mostly want reliability with a side of a kick in the as* to the engine. But isn't the APR chip like 100 dollars more than the Giac X chip?

[HotLanta MKfizzle]

I think only APR and REVO currently offer the flipswitch technology that allows to go back to stock mode "on the fly". APR also makes sure the tuning is un-traceable thru VAG COM. They also are located in the SOUTH where i'm at so that's a big selling point for me. There main shop is in Alabama so I can keep up relations with them.

[LivEToDrivE]

If I choose to go with APR cus it sounds most tempting right now, are there any places in the Northern VA/ Maryland area that any of you know of to get the programs installed?

[Vivid]

check their web site APR they list all their dealers on there, as do all of the other chip makers...

Another options would be to call the dealers for each and see which store you like the best... I called the APR guys in ATL and was not too impressed, I called the GIAC guys and we spoke for 45 mins about everything, so my confidence in the shop may make my decision easier.

[RedlineMotorworks]

what's the link for GIAC's website?
So GIAC pushes out more HP, but isn't as reliable as APR?

[Vivid]

Originally Posted by 06_TR_GTI

what's the link for GIAC's website?
So GIAC pushes out more HP, but isn't as reliable as APR?

Yes that is the impression that I have... that being said I have not read/heard about any chip causing a problem... So one being more reliable does not mean than another is unreliable by any means...

Hotlannta does have a good point about ARPs chip and the way you can change it into different modes, like stock for when you go to the dealer and tuned for when you drive around... When I spoke to my local GIAC dealer they said anytime I was going into the dealer to stop by and they would reflash the ECU back to stock and change it back when I get done, but check with your local dealer to see if they will do that for you and more importantly if the GIAC dealer is convenient, for me they are about 1ml from my VW dealer...

GIAC's web site

[GTiMkVtyler]

Is this chip tunable from a pc?

[Vivid]

Originally Posted by GTiMkVtyler

Is this chip tunable from a pc?

Revo's chip is best suited for owner tweeks and changes... Look into them if thats what you are looking for

[RJS5689]

Yea im gonna go REVO, im just waiting for the demo to come out so i can try it first :) gotta love computers

[GTiMkVtyler]

Originally Posted by Vivid

Revo's chip is best suited for owner tweeks and changes... Look into them if thats what you are looking for

What do those run? and what's the gain?

[alf]

Originally Posted by GTiMkVtyler

What do those run? and what's the gain?

its what i got, i love to be able to tweak the settings. lets say it gets hot or too cold, i love to be able to change my timing or boost setting to abide by the weather.

its also $100 less that the APR chip ;-) just as good gains.

with my chip set at 6 boost 5 timing and 9 fuel i made the power below in my sig. this last friday i turned the boost up to 7, and u can definantly see a slight change in power ;)

alf