I've had my A4 1.8tms chipped for quite a while now. For some reason, it doesn't feel as fast as it was before. Am I just getting numb to the performance or could there be something wrong? Besides getting a G-tech is there anything I can do to check this out?<p>Thanks,<br>Howard Kim<br>98 A4 1.8tms(neu)

I too feel that my car went from a crazy horse to a tame pony? i notice this alot when i drive the car for a while. i think it is the heat build up in the car. i ma planing to purchase a secondary intercooler so i can cool down the hot air from the turbo.<p>Currenty i am thinking of upgrading my turbo or just replacing the intercooler.<p>Let me know if you find a solution...<p>JC M. ABT Stage2

And I only have 1700 miles on my Passat! But everyday I drive it now, even just after it's warmed up, it doesn't have the "spark" it did when I first test drove it. However, using references along a free way on-ramp allows me to keep things in check (i.e. 0-60 launches...actually, 0-70 most of the time; 60 is too slow on Hwy.280!) <p>And a larger/2nd intercooler wouldn't hurt regardless. Wonder if barometeric pressure would affect it in any significant way?<p>HermanH

I've got a Wett 1.o bar chip and I admit that the car feels slower than when I put it in. I attribute this to your body adjusting to the additional power and compensating by not hitting the accelerator as hard.<p>Think about it... when you're driving, you know how far down you have to press on the accelerator to smoothly pull away from a stop. Any time you make a change that adds as much HP as the chip does, your body needs time to adjust itself to the new "feel" of the engine.<p>I used to drive around like a bat-out-of-hell when I first put the chip in. Now, I've backed-off considerably....and I don't think it was a conscious decision on my part.<p>Of course, this is all my opinion. I've been thinking about swapping my stock chip in for a week or so and then going back to the Wett chip.<p>Andy Hedin<br>'97 A4 1.8Tqms, Wett 1.0 Bar, ABT Filter, Tint

Hey everyone,<p>Sure, the turbo will let you know if the chip and the turbo is working properly. However, it would also be a dead give-away for the dealers when they see the needle swing pass 7psi.<p>Even if it was the turbo that was broken, with that kind of evidence right in front of their face, good luck getting the repair covered under warranty. Not too hard to make a correlation in court between raising the turbo pressure beyond factory spec and the turbo breaking.<p>Just a thought.<p><br>James Wu<br>A4 Club of Vancouver<br>1998 Black/Onyx 1.8tqa<ul><li><a href="http://avant.extreme.com/va4">A4 Club of Vancouver</a></li></ul>

One of the first things the tech will do is put his Turbo gauge on your car anyway, And most dealers will cover your car in most cases. I have much experience on this and feel strongly that most problems these cars have are minor and few are related to chipping. I am going to post a long opinion on why I think all chip owners should have a second stock ECU to use, if you hade one now, you could tell if your problem was in the ECU or the chip, but with out a Turbo gauge you don't even know what boost your getting when you suspect a problem.

I have a Apex boost gauge installed in my 1.8tqm and it's worked great. I've been having problems with leaking boost after the installation of my front-mount but after I installed the gauge, I was sure on whether i was getting full boost or not. It's really a worthwhile investment.

I had a Turbo pressure hose split(very common on AUDI), and the dealer put his Turbo gauge on, test drove with me, saw needle go over 10psi, smiled and said "nice Chip", and I said yes but it usually goes over 15psi(TAP stage III), he found the problem and replaced the hose, no problem.

Hey Phil,<p>Unfortunately, not all Audi dealers will cover "chipped" cars. My dealer for instance has warned from day one NOT to chip my car. I was told by a friend that the dealer even voided part of his warranty because he installed a Turbo Timer, because they've had problems with it in the past. <p>Going back to your other reply, a dealer would not put on a boost gauge unless they suspect the presence of a chip. If you've installed one yourself, it just a give-away for those ""chips are bad" dealers to void your turbo's warranty. I agree, a turbo gauge is definately helpful. It will tell you if everything is working. And when something's broke, it gives you one less problem to guess at.<p>E-mail me. I'm interested in hearing a bit more about the TAP stage III<p><br>James Wu<br>A4 Club of Vancouver<br>1998 Black/Onyx 1.8tqa<ul><li><a href="http://avant.extreme.com/va4">A4 Club of Vancouver</a></li></ul>

ABT stage 2 chip 1bar boost<br>ABT filter<br>Oettinger Exhaust system<br>