There are actually TWO NEW A4 recalls my wife received notice of yesterday:

1) At temps under -4 degrees F, the power brake booster may not get adequate vacuum from the engine, resulting in loss of power brake assist

2) The boot shielding the tie rod ends may not properly shield the tie rod ends, allowing dirt in and causing wear that could cause the steering to loosen.

The recall notice said to contact your dealer after October 15, but my local dealer said they first heard about it the same time we did and wouldn't have parts until for a while and set up a service appointment for November 1...

Whoops - for reference, the recalls (at least in my wife's case) apply to a 98 A4 1.8TQ.

Who makes the best chip for the 1.8t?
Is it Neuspeed? TAP? Garrett?
Please help!

Who makes the best chip for the 1.8t\A4?

I chose TAP because there is a distributor close to me. Otherwise, I may have gone with Wett. I have had no problems with my TAP Stage 2 in the 7,000 miles that I've had it. As long as you go with one of the one's you listed (plus APR, Wett ?), you should be happy.

CraigB

I have the Autothority ECU. This is a .8 bar chip vs others at 1.0 bar. Car & Driver installed this ECU with their long term Passat (mechanically the same). They raved about it, I have had no problems. You will see some comments from some on pinging (pre-detonation) and others will comment on occasional drivability problems. So far this mod has not missed a beat. I bought the complete ECU rather than having my ECU modified, this way if there is ever a check engine comes on I can put back the original. The Autothority ECU is not inexpensive, I beleive the Neuspeed is the least expensive. I have had other Autothority chips in other cars (96 911), I have always been impressed by their knowledge and customer service.

Have driven A4's with most chips and have a Wett 1.0 bar in my car; however, today I drove an Avant w/MTM (Hoppen) Stage 2 kit ( chip And exhaust) at 2nd Creek Racetrack and it absolutely blew my Wett w/Stebro away. It felt 20-25 Hp stronger. I'm ordering the MTM next week.

I run Sunoco 94 no pings, excellent product, KICKS A$$!

Sean 98 A4 1.8tqms APR1.bar, K&N

One reason that I plan on going with Hoppen/MTM is that they retune their chip for the exhaust (cat-back is stage 1+, and full exhaust is stage 2). I think it shows good attention to detail by MTM to make software adjustments as the characteristics of the exhaust systems are changed.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

MTM is the way to go baby!! I have stage 1 and the torque curve is so flat the car keeps pulling. Also, 94 octane from sunoco really helps. good luck!

Everyone has their opinion, and the one they chose is usually the one they say is best. Such statements are inaccurate. Also, what do you mean best? Best bang for the buck, that honor goes to Neuspees, ~$200 for an extra 30hp. Fastest? Well, where are you measuring? 0-60, The AMS chip was back when EC magazine did their chip shootout, but they only compared 4 chips. 50-70, TAP came out on top in this category in the chip shootout I referred to above. Most individualized, probably Garrett if you live near him or can make a road trip, as he can custom tune it while you're driving the car (with him and his laptop in it of course). Most upgradeable Hoppen and TAP, both have upgrade paths which include retuning the chips as exhaust and other modifications are made others may also do this too, but these are the two I can think of with paths all the way (not just big jumps).

Do your research, talk to folks with chipped cars, get some rides if you can, then the decision is in your hands.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

I think you will find alot of people happy with different vendors on this site.