|
The
chip is a constant topic on the VWvortex, ClubB5.com and
Audiworld.com forums, quite a phenomena!
The
stock 1.8T is running with a light pressure turbo. I believe it runs at a
little over 7psi. With the small turbo, this reduces turbo lag and enables
the turbo to spool up at very low RPM's, hence the remarkably low
beginning of the torque curve (as low as 1700rpm).
For a
number of years now, electronic control units (ECU) of various designs and
functions been installed in cars to control engine functions and auto
transmissions as well as things like dash displays, A/C, even door locks.
Volvos and Saabs had electronic fuel injection "black
box" control way back in the early 1970s.
A chip is programmed to sense and mediate all the functions
associated with air-fuel mixture map, turbo boost, ignition timing,
emissions control, anti-knock sensing & control, etc.
There have been chip upgrades available for many cars for a long
time, just look through the ads in some major auto enthusiast magazines.
But without a turbo, most of these chips can only add about 10-20
more horsepower at most. With
turbos, the chip also controls the boost pressure which is a major factor
in the horsepower production of the motor.
This makes it possible to gain 35 to 50 additional horsepower with
just a reprogram of the chip! There
are nine chip tuning companies I've heard of who have a chip for the VW/Audi
1.8T 4 cylinder turbo motor. Many
of these chips originated in Europe, some companies here are only
distributors of the Euro product. You
are probably aware that the 1.8T motor is also in the Audi A4 and was
recently stuffed into the new Bug. Reports
are that the Golf & Jetta will get it soon.
|
Click
here to see the Audi
A4/Passat 1.8T chip tuners (so far) |
When the reprogrammed chips first came out for the 1.8T a couple of
years ago, there were only 2-3 companies doing this and it cost $800.
Now there is so much more competition and the average price is
about $400.
As you can see, there are many chips available, the main
difference being the peak boost. They
come in 0.8bar (11.7psi) 0.9bar (13.2psi) and 1bar (14.7psi).
While the chips are all different, they really are essentially the
same in design and function. The
horsepower gains ranges between about 35 and 50 hp and they have slightly
different power curves. Some
are better at off the line acceleration, 0-60 times are cut by almost a
second. Others are better at mid-range performance like 50-70 passing
power. The recommended high
flow air filters supposedly get you maybe 5 more horsepower. If you add a low restriction exhaust system, you may add
about 5 more hp, you can install a larger turbo ($1500+) and gain another
25 hp. The 1.8T motor is very
tough, typically German over-engineered in ways that make it possible to
increase the output considerably. The
only detractor I can see is that some of the chips boost the turbo more
than others - a potential reliability problem in the long run although
only a couple of turbo failures have been reported on Audi A4 or Passat
forums.
By the way, the generally accepted limit in upgrading horsepower
for a front wheel drive car is around 200 hp.
Beyond that, the OEM Passat suspension is not a good match and you
would loose traction. Maybe
with some suspension mods and wider sticky tires you could handle another
10-20 hp. The Quattro Audis
can probably handle up to almost 300 hp, a few of the guys on www.A4.org
have installed a PES supercharger which boots the 1.8T motor up into the
high 200 hp range. Personally,
I think that would be like driving a time bomb!
I have the Neuspeed (0.8 bar turbo boost) chip which I bought
through Greedspeed (www.greedspeed.com).
I drove up to Camarillo (3 hours north of San Diego) one morning
last March and met with the Greedspeed representative at the back door of
Neuspeed. He removed the ECU
and Neuspeed did the reprogramming in about 15 minutes.
There was a lot of controversy on the A4 and Passat forums when
Neuspeed's chip first came out so cheap out at the end of last year.
Most of the guys who had paid their $800 an earlier chip made
snobbish statements like "For less than $200, it MUST be junk!"
Well, it hasn't turned out that way, the Neuspeed chip performs at
the middle of the pack and I know that Neuspeed has sold a heck of a lot
of them. I find the Neuspeed
chip to be just what I wanted. I've
driven about 7000 miles now since the chip installation.
The chip produces a very satisfying change in the 1.8T Passat's
road manners. If you have
driven both the 1.8T & the V6, the chip will make it more like a V6 in
performance. The 1.8T still
works harder than a V6, however, just not as hard post-chipping.
The Neuspeed chip isn't the most aggressive on the market, others
produce more horsepower and have better off the line acceleration. All of the chips are relatively close in performance, only a
couple of tenths of a second difference in speed timings.
With the chip & low restriction air cleaner, I'm supposed to
have 190+ hp. There is
a increase in off-the-line performance but it's real strength is as a
mid-range performer. The chip
is at it's best on the road, not at a stoplight. Yes, the Neuspeed chip doesn't boost the turbo as much as
others but that’s comforting to my conservative middle aged psyche.
The published power/torque curve shows the increase beginning
around 2600 rpm and it’s smooth & strong all the way to the high
5000s. Other chips are more
peaky. This makes the
Neuspeed chip excellent at doing underway on the road things like lane
changes in fast freeway traffic, passing, and sprinting down a freeway
on-ramp. No more wondering if
you can really get out ahead that big truck.
Just driving around town you hardly notice any difference but when
you need it, it's there. I
have a tiptronic (the wife can't/won't/don't drive no stick) so I can't
use shift points vs. rpm to the maximum like with a 5-speed.
The only drivability problem I've encountered is that with a
tiptronic downshift, sometimes there is a lurch in power.
It's exhilarating when you push the car but when the tiptronic is
in control and the downshift isn't when you expected, it's a little
disconcerting. But -
Overall the price was right, it's exactly the amount of performance
improvement I wanted and I love it!
Installation - many factors & options.
There are no installers in the San Diego area.
Neuspeed (Camarillo, west of L.A. towards Ventura) and AMS (Costa
Mesa) are in the Los Angeles area and many southern Californians drive to
these chip sources for an installation, it only takes about 30 minutes.
The other companies are all over the U.S. and you must deal with
them by mail, unless you happen to live near them.
Various options are offered by the companies.
You can remove the ECU box (not very hard), FedEx it overnight,
they do the chip and it comes back in a day or three.
Some companies will do an exchange - mail you an ECU, you send
yours back to them. At least
one company (APR) will sell an ECU outright for $699 (or $599, see APR vs
Garrett above) so you can keep your stock unit "just in case".
The companies "do" the chip in a couple different ways.
The chip is soldered on to a circuit board.
So... some unsolder the OEM chip and solder in their chip. Some install a chip socket and then the chip - this makes
upgrades easy. Neuspeed (may
be the only one) actually reprograms the OEM chip in place. There are pros and cons to all these methods.
**ECU Removal: Wetterauer
has a *.pdf file on how the remove an A4 ECU, you can download it from
their website. I heard that
TAP has something similar. The
Passat ECU removal is very similar to the process with an Audi A4.
The black plastic box that holds the ECU is under the hood on the
driver's side just under the windshield wiper.
It has 5 bolts securing the lid, the one in the back is hard to get
to. But... I've heard you can
remove the 4 easy bolts and then open the box like a clamshell without
removing the rear bolt. Inside,
there's a metal strap that holds down the ECU, you unscrew the bolts
holding it down. There are
two cable plugs to pull out and the ECU is free.
You can't mix up the cable plugs when re-installing, they are
different sizes. You don't
have to disconnect the battery.
An interesting sidelight - Ron's Parts (RPI) at www.rpiequipped.com
has stock Audi/VW 1.8T factory ECUs for $495.00 in case you feel you just
have to have an OEM "spare" to install when you take the car to
the dealership for service.
More questions....
**"Gas mileage?" - I have experienced NO change at all!
Some have reported an mpg increase.
VERY rare reports of loss of mileage - probably more related to
putting their foot down on the gas pedal for fun!
**"Smog Control?" - Neuspeed says nobody has ever failed the test with this
chip. I haven't seen any
reports on the forums of failures with any other chip either.
**“I heard the dealer can reprogram the chip back to stock”
- Supposedly the newest electronic analysis tool at the VW dealer
can reprogram chips, they gave it that capability so upgrades could be
loaded. There are some
reports of this actually happening already.
Some of the chip companies are issuing statements that they will
reprogram their chip in this case for free or at a nominal cost.
Socketed chips may have the clear advantage here.
They jury is still out on this development.
**“Low restriction air cleaners?” - Recommended for optimum performance post-chip, turbos love
lots of cool air. You’ll
see debates on the forum as to which type is best -- I honestly don’t
know. I have the Neuspeed
foam filter now but maybe when I get to 20K miles I’ll get a K&N. You can clean some of these filters but I understand it’s a
real mess. They aren’t that
expensive so I’m intending to replace mine.
**"What are the pros and cons of 0.8 bar versus 1.0 bar chips?"
Well, I only know
what I read. The spring ‘99 issue of VWPower magazine says (I've
condensed it somewhat):
"The KKK K03 turbo on the 1.8T is small..... this smallness imposes
some restrictions on just how much boost one can pump through the turbo.
According to Turbonetics in Moorpark, California, the stock K03 is
happiest at about 12 pounds of boost because of the design of the blades.
Going much further doesn't produce any really usable power....The
blade pitch is not designed to sustain boost beyond that threshold.
This limits the 1.8T to about 200 hp with the stock K03
turbo."
What I interpret all this to mean is that the 1.0 bar chip only adds a
little bit to the stock 1.8T over the 0.8 bar chip.
Probably something like 1.0 produces 195-200 hp while 0.8 gets you
185-190 hp. Now... if you
want to go all out and go for the bigger K04 turbo ($$$$ via Greedspeed or
Neuspeed) that 1.0 bar chip would add quite a bit more enhanced potential
with more boost produced. But
remember, you might be spinning your wheel considerably with that upgrade!
Recently somebody asked on VWVortex about Passat owners with the
K04 upgrade and there was only one who contributes.
If I were serious about that upgrade, I would considerably enhance
the wheels, tires and suspension for maximum traction.
Like I said above, the quattro A4 can handle it better like with
the PES supercharger.
My 0.8 bar Neuspeed chip & filter gives me about 190hp, enough power
for my taste. If you want a
little more (maybe 5-10 hp more) out of the 1.8T, go for a 1.0 bar chip.
I think the 1.8 motor & turbo are pretty tough, there is a chip
survey being conducted by a www.A4.org member, I think I gave you the url
in the other long message. About
150 responses the last time I looked and only 2-3 turbo failures reported
- maybe not all directly related to the chip (?), early Audis &
Passats had a weakness in the turbo shaft design which is not found in
later models.
*** WARRANTY......??? Warranty,
Dealer response and the associated paranoia are much discussed and cussed
on the forums! Some dealers
are "Chip Friendly", a few actually facilitate chip
installations. This is the
exact text sent to me via e-mail from Wetterauer when I posed the warranty
question:
----------------
"As far as the
Factory Warranty is concerned: the
installation of our chip will not void your factory warranty.
Current U.S. laws support the consumer in the following manner: The
manufacturer's warranty cannot be void in the case of after market
modification (including chip installation) unless an automotive dealer is
able to prove that the modification in question caused the failure of a
stock engine component. If
this were to occur, then the dealer can only deny you warranty on that
specific failed component, not your entire warranty."
----------------
These chip upgrades
alone don't turn the Passat into a raging monster that will be likely to
blow up, For whatever reason,
the motor is really de-tuned at the stock 150 hp.
Some reports are that VW didn't want to produce more stock
horsepower than their non-turbo V6! This
same 1.8 motor has pushed up to 180 hp in the new Audi TT and will
eventually be 225 hp.
For more about warranties you can also look at the SEMA website
at:
www.sema.org
and in particular their "Consumer's Bill of Rights" page for
more info:
www.sema.org/fedleg/warranty
A couple of other websites with chip info:
www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/chicane/175/info/perform/testing.htm
donp.tzo.com/info/survey/survey-result.htm
www.detn8.org/powmotorsports/kb.asp
Also,
there have been endless discussions of pros/cons/options of chips on the
forums at both so you can use their search function with the word
"chip" and probably have more info & opinions that you can
digest!
|