S4 with a number of mods which include a performance chip that the original owner tells me was burned in either Germany or Austria and was brought back and installed in my car. The car seems to really hustle but I continue to wonder what kind of HP and torque is being made. But short of a 4 wheel dyno, I may never know.

I've got AWE (?) downpipes with a cat-back the Forge-Miltek (single) exhaust. I see write-ins of owners of Stage I, II & III and I always wonder what level I'm at.

I'm wondering what any of you guys would use in my situation to determine stage level.

TIA

<a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/1407640.phtml">Look under heading '-Performance Modifications-'</a>

If you can elaborate a scoche more on ECU chips that will get me past the thought that a Euro burned-in chip is in no way different than one from the known stateside suppliers. I've seen the GIAC, MTM, APR, ABT, etc., and they all have their own unique performance curves. Therein lies my query.

Thanks for the info though!

You asked the following:

<font color="blue"><i>"I'm wondering what any of you guys would use in my situation to determine stage level."</i></font>

To determine <b><i>Stage</i></b> as it is referred to you take in to account the differant mods on your car, not the particular brand. Looking at your post you mentioned a chip (of unknown orgin), exhaust, and aftermarket DP's. That puts you at what is commonly known as Stage 2.5 as mentioned in the link I submitted to you under the heading "-Performance Modifications-". You can get a <i>general</i> gain based on this same post, but you will have to know the Chip manufacturer to get precise HP/Torque gains through the ECU. Even then it is still guess work as to to total power (WHP) your car is outputing until you get a chance to do a dyno test.

There is another round-about method for obtaining quantitative data that will give you a general idea of the performance of your car. There is a test dubbed a FATS run that is discussed over and over on the B5 S4 forum. Do a search on that particular forum using 'FATS' and 'S4MadMan' as the criteria. S4MadMan has links to FATS tests results as well as instructions for performing your own in his sig.

The chip itself being burned over seas has little to do with the output. You need to know the distributor to get the true numbers they are claiming. Every manufacturer (stateside and overseas) has their own performance gains. BTW one of the chips you mentioned (MTM) is from a supplier in Germany. It may be that the chip you have is indeed this brand. To be sure you may have to remove the ECU to verify if there is a company name stamped on it.

I hope this helps you. Good Luck.

manuacturer that the previous owner named but then why go to Germany to get an ECU burned when it could have more easily &amp; redily been bought off the shelf here if it IS the same as what's available here? I was led to believe that it was a 'special' burn but who the hell knows? Bottom line, the car rocks but being my normal analytical self, I still want to know what I have. I've had the ECU out and it has NO markings or stickers at all! I also have the original ECU (separately).

Pls note that I appreciate your help in a BIG way and I did read all the way thru what you had posted last nite before responding. I don't want to beat thie issue to death, I am just wondering/discussing openly in a forum of technically knowledgable Audi owners.