Hello all. Been reading here for a while to get an idea of what's out there, and thought I would jump in and get some opinions. My wife and I just bought a new '99 1.8T Avant Quattro with 5-speed, Sport package and (I insisted) the bright yellow paint. Dealer said we'll be waiting for the car until the first of the year, since yellow is an order only option (and requires a non-refundable $1000.00 deposit?!?). Anyway, judging from the posts here on this board and elsewhere, the A4 has a great following, and I'm very anxious to own one.<p>So I have two months or so to fill with fantasy. What to do first? My first consideration will be to lower the car. Any recommendations on springs?<p>Second item might be a chip, although in my business, chips are often regarded as smoke and mirrors modifications (I am an engineer with Mallett Cars, LTD., builders of the 1999 Mallett 435 C5 Corvette). I've read some good things about some of the chips for the A4, but am curious as to how they work. Do they affect the wastegate setting? Timing? I'm concerned that the turbo might not flow adequate volume to reliably produce more boost. True or false with the A4? I'd really appreciate any advice from those who have chip experience (and experience in dealing with your dealer after the chip was installed).<p>Now if only my wife will let me drive it... Thanks for reading.<p>-Matt in Cleveland<ul><li><a href="http://www.mallettcars.com">Mallett Cars, LTD.</a></li></ul>

Congrats on ordering your A4! Oh, that Brilliant Yellow is bright... Your car will definetly be an attention grabber! Hmm, as for your dealer claiming that "the B-Y paint is the only order option..blah, blah, blah..., so we need $1000 non-refundable deposit." I think they are just doing that to protect their asses. Isn't the sport pkg also an option? Basically they don't want to be stuck with a Yellow Avant, which they think will be a hard sell. They did the same thing to me, so no biggie. <br>As far as mods go,.. it depends on what you are looking for. The stock sport pkg will do just fine, unless your wife plans to take that Avant to the track every weekend. It's more than capable of handling your daily and spirited driving without a problem. You may want to go with a set of 17" wheels first (just my 2 cents). <br>As for the chip,... well, let's just say that almost everyone on this board has a chip in their car (1.8T and 2.8). Without going into much details, they work by reprogramming the timing, fuel map, wastegate, boost...etc. As for chips and dealers... I've heard that it doesn't even show up on computer print outs by the dealer techs. Plus, a number of chip vendors now offers plug-in chipping.. where you can swap the stock OEM chip back in if/when you want - a 15 minutes job. As for which chip vendor to go with, that's entirely up to you... do your research well on this.<br>You will find ALOT of your questions answered in the archives... so start there. <p>Oh, here is a tip, don't ask "which vendor is better" on this board ... :)<p>If you have anymore [q], feel free to drop me a line.<p>Cris<br>

1 K non-refundable deposit isn't bad. A dealer told <br>me that I would have to put down 2.5 K non-refundable for a <br>Pelican Blue to cover their selling/storage costs should I cancel the order.<p>It's not likely that you will get your car so soon, unless your <br>dealer is modifying a car alll ready on order. A new factory <br>order seems to take 3 - 4 + months.