Chris L.
08-09-1999, 01:35 PM
First, the disclaimer - I am not affiliated with AutoThority and do not/will not benefit at all from the success of their products.
The reason I'm posting this now is b/c I have been extremely satisfied with my AutoThority chip and wanted to share my positive experience since reading personal 'field reports' on this forum was a huge factor in my decision making process.
I installed the chip about two months ago with about 18,000 miles on the odo and now have about 23,500 miles. I have a 98.5 1.8TQS Tip and installed a RamAir filter with the chip. I also run Mobil 1 (20w-50 in the summer 10w-30 in the winter). I use either Amoco Premium (93 octane) and occassionally Sunoco Ultra (94 octane).
Now for the glowing review.... The car plus the chip is awesome. It's pretty much stock under 2200 rpm and then the turbo really pulls the car up into the redline. The only way to describe the difference from stock is to imagine accelerating your stock 1.8T down a hill with 20 degree decline - that is what a chipped car feels like all the time. Yes, the turbo lag is more pronounced but I'll take that downside for the extra power. My inexact 0-60 times are around 7.5 seconds from about 9.5 seconds stock. The real pleasure however is downshifting from 5th to for 4th and sprinting from 50 to 80mph - I've left several drivers of lesser cars scratching their heads!
Good news and bad news on gas mileage. First the good news - on recent long hauls I squeezed 31 mpg averaging 75mph, about 10% higher than stock. The bad news - I average about 21mpg in everyday driving, down about 10% from stock (most likely due to lead-foot syndrome with my newfound power).
I have had absolutely NO pinging , stalling, check engine lights, etc.
The only negative experience that I can report was one night I was first in line at a stoplight leading up an entrance ramp to a major highway. I was all psyched to execute a spirited run up to 80mph as the ramp was more than 1/4 mile long and clear of all traffic. Well, about 1/3 up the ramp with my tach at about 6400 and the speedo reading about 45mph, I was stunned to see this red 'blur' pass me on the shoulder doing about 90mph - I could barely make out the markings on the tail... V-I-P-E-R. Oh well, even the AutoThority chip has it's limitations!
I am very hopeful that Chris C. et al can pull together the chip shoot-out as I would love to see some objective statistical data on these chips.
For those sitting on the fence... Just do it!
Chris
The reason I'm posting this now is b/c I have been extremely satisfied with my AutoThority chip and wanted to share my positive experience since reading personal 'field reports' on this forum was a huge factor in my decision making process.
I installed the chip about two months ago with about 18,000 miles on the odo and now have about 23,500 miles. I have a 98.5 1.8TQS Tip and installed a RamAir filter with the chip. I also run Mobil 1 (20w-50 in the summer 10w-30 in the winter). I use either Amoco Premium (93 octane) and occassionally Sunoco Ultra (94 octane).
Now for the glowing review.... The car plus the chip is awesome. It's pretty much stock under 2200 rpm and then the turbo really pulls the car up into the redline. The only way to describe the difference from stock is to imagine accelerating your stock 1.8T down a hill with 20 degree decline - that is what a chipped car feels like all the time. Yes, the turbo lag is more pronounced but I'll take that downside for the extra power. My inexact 0-60 times are around 7.5 seconds from about 9.5 seconds stock. The real pleasure however is downshifting from 5th to for 4th and sprinting from 50 to 80mph - I've left several drivers of lesser cars scratching their heads!
Good news and bad news on gas mileage. First the good news - on recent long hauls I squeezed 31 mpg averaging 75mph, about 10% higher than stock. The bad news - I average about 21mpg in everyday driving, down about 10% from stock (most likely due to lead-foot syndrome with my newfound power).
I have had absolutely NO pinging , stalling, check engine lights, etc.
The only negative experience that I can report was one night I was first in line at a stoplight leading up an entrance ramp to a major highway. I was all psyched to execute a spirited run up to 80mph as the ramp was more than 1/4 mile long and clear of all traffic. Well, about 1/3 up the ramp with my tach at about 6400 and the speedo reading about 45mph, I was stunned to see this red 'blur' pass me on the shoulder doing about 90mph - I could barely make out the markings on the tail... V-I-P-E-R. Oh well, even the AutoThority chip has it's limitations!
I am very hopeful that Chris C. et al can pull together the chip shoot-out as I would love to see some objective statistical data on these chips.
For those sitting on the fence... Just do it!
Chris