Nealio
09-16-1999, 10:42 PM
Let me just say that the entire experience was awesome. A couple of weeks ago he responded to a message I posted here in which I was deciding between his chip or a Wett. He offered to chip my A4 himself while he was here in LA.
Suffice it to say that everything you hear about Garrett is true. Considering his reputation and how much he knows, he's still very much down to earth. Talking about reputation, I can attest to the attention to detail he puts into everything he does. (Mental note: I didn't think people could know so much about cars, there's still hope for me yet.)
Going to the chip...what a freakin blast! I got the latest r.24 iteration of his chips. It is indeed socketed. IN addition I got a stock chip for when I go to the dealership for servicing. He mentioned that he is exploring the possibility of selling the socket to other chippers but we'll see how that turns out. The socket he uses for GIAC contains an encryption chip so his codes can't be ripped and used by anyone else, which seems to be a big problem. The installation was surprisingly clean, easy, and fast. It couldn't have taken more than 30-45 minutes, no doubt due to the hundreds of chips he's done before this was probably old hat for him.
The moment of truth...the on the road test. On a personal note, I probably wouldn't road test in a residential neighborhood at all anymore, that's probably why they ban ice cream trucks. The changes were immediately noticeable. The turbo kicks in a lot sooner, the only drawback being a slight turbo lag due to the more aggressive tuning of his chip. The A4 definitely begs to be revved and driven harder, the torque shifted from being a plateau through the revs to a steep slope.I couldn't seem to find the top of that hill, well legally anyways. But almost paradoxically the car overall seems more refined. At rest or easy driving the engine is smoother and quieter. Shifting through the gears is a bit easier and more forgiving, ie, you can get away with staying in a gear that's too low for a given speed than in the stock chip, it doesn't bog or jerk when you let off the clutch too early, etc. But put pedal to the metal and new found power is just waiting to be let loose. It is now way too hard to drive slow, especially on twisty roads (like Mulholland for you SoCal people), although hearing four wheels squeal though a turn takes some getting used to. One final note is that I've always had trouble going uphill in reverse, verry easy now due to the smoother revving chip.
I took quite a few photos which I'd be more than happy to post if anyone is interested in seeing how the whole installation goes, including photos of the socket system. Is there a gallery section or some place I can post the pics?
Hope this helps those of you thinking of chips & salsa.
Suffice it to say that everything you hear about Garrett is true. Considering his reputation and how much he knows, he's still very much down to earth. Talking about reputation, I can attest to the attention to detail he puts into everything he does. (Mental note: I didn't think people could know so much about cars, there's still hope for me yet.)
Going to the chip...what a freakin blast! I got the latest r.24 iteration of his chips. It is indeed socketed. IN addition I got a stock chip for when I go to the dealership for servicing. He mentioned that he is exploring the possibility of selling the socket to other chippers but we'll see how that turns out. The socket he uses for GIAC contains an encryption chip so his codes can't be ripped and used by anyone else, which seems to be a big problem. The installation was surprisingly clean, easy, and fast. It couldn't have taken more than 30-45 minutes, no doubt due to the hundreds of chips he's done before this was probably old hat for him.
The moment of truth...the on the road test. On a personal note, I probably wouldn't road test in a residential neighborhood at all anymore, that's probably why they ban ice cream trucks. The changes were immediately noticeable. The turbo kicks in a lot sooner, the only drawback being a slight turbo lag due to the more aggressive tuning of his chip. The A4 definitely begs to be revved and driven harder, the torque shifted from being a plateau through the revs to a steep slope.I couldn't seem to find the top of that hill, well legally anyways. But almost paradoxically the car overall seems more refined. At rest or easy driving the engine is smoother and quieter. Shifting through the gears is a bit easier and more forgiving, ie, you can get away with staying in a gear that's too low for a given speed than in the stock chip, it doesn't bog or jerk when you let off the clutch too early, etc. But put pedal to the metal and new found power is just waiting to be let loose. It is now way too hard to drive slow, especially on twisty roads (like Mulholland for you SoCal people), although hearing four wheels squeal though a turn takes some getting used to. One final note is that I've always had trouble going uphill in reverse, verry easy now due to the smoother revving chip.
I took quite a few photos which I'd be more than happy to post if anyone is interested in seeing how the whole installation goes, including photos of the socket system. Is there a gallery section or some place I can post the pics?
Hope this helps those of you thinking of chips & salsa.