[RagtopRon]

Just gotta 1.8 (150hp) and I was told I could put a chip in it that would boost it to 190hp. Was advised to add some sorta cold air-intake filter also. All totalling about $1000 incl. labor. Also said they would need it 3 days! Is this decent advise/price...and why 3 days?
Thanks

 

[Anaconda]

Shouldn't take 3 days by any means unless you're going to send your chip out by mail to the chip tuner. It will take them a couple of hours or so to get a chip reprogrammed. Then they'll have to ship it back out to you which would probably toll at about 3 days. Cold air filter shoudl only take about 15 minutes or so. You can do a drop in K&N filter into your stock airbox which is what alot of people do. Others will tell you different choices but that's what i'd do.

 

[paultakeda]

$1000 is waaaaay too much. A chip is $500 or less. An intake is $150-200.

Labor? Labor should be less than $100 to do both.

What chip? What intake?

 

[RagtopRon]

Okay...I ain't the best listener but I think he told me he had the chip in stock and that he would take the existing chip out and solder something onto another chip. (allowing me to keep the original in the event I needed some engine work done by VW and didn't want to void my warranty)...I do remember the guy reccommending the K&N filter though. Still don't know what he needs 3 days for? Thanks for your input.

 

[scrawnyirishboy]

yeah bro, wayyyy too much money. CAI's take like, 15 minutes of work, tops...but you might want to hold off on a CAI during the winter. i dunno what NC's like, but in nj it gets a little wet, and after all the gay weather, I'd hate to hear that you sucked a gallon of water into yer engine, hahah...

if you wanna really redneck it, all you need to make a CAI is some steel piping, a pool hose, and a K&N connical air filter...oh and some duct tape and screw clamps.

 

[paultakeda]

At this point three major chiptuners flash the ECU without having to take the chip out and solder it back on (the origins of "chipping"). They just plug directly into the diagnostics port of your car and upload the new program.

I would not go with a chip that requires taking out the ECU and soldering on a chip. Just go with APR, GIAC, or RevoTechnik. You cannot go wrong with any of the three, so find the one nearest you and have a ball for $500 + tax.

 

[NJ Turbo]

The ECU reflash takes about 10 minutes, and I agree, avoid having anyone remove and solder in a new chip. The most popular software companies load the software through the OBD2 port under the dash.

Don't bother with a CAI on our cars, they don't make any more power, just noise. You can get a K&N drop-in filter though, only @$45, and that takes 10 minutes to install also.

So more like $550 for reprogram and new filter.

 

[GENETIX RACING]

Absoultely Besides They Don't Make Cai For Us Anyways

 

[Billsbug]

What brand chip was he gonna install? APR, afaik, still has no 'vert chip (mine was kinda jerry-rigged), I know GIAC has one, dunno about REVO...

 

[v-dubed]

old skool soderon chips are gangsta!!!!!!!!!

 

[noR]

Yeah; don't let the shop sell you on all this stuff Ron. Do you own research and save yourself a ton of money.

I'm glad to see you found the org. You're makin' a few steps in the right direction for that New beetle of yours.

Cold-Air intake filter... um, yeah I think he meant a short-intake air filter. It's by no means 'cold' as its sitting in the engine bay next to a hot block of metal. And those don't really provide any gains except at high boost pressure during high rpms.... They DO make the engine alot louder if that's what you're really looking for. Otherwise keep your oem air filter, or replace the element w/a k&n element inside your stock air-box. There's few things you can do to make it better, like removing some of the snorkel/snowbox, improving the air-flow in the engine compartment, etc. But I'm going to stop there.

Chip, sure there's several that will improve your power, and most are very reliable. There's 3 or 4 big names now that are very well known and very safe. It's ALOT of power, and a great bang for the buck. Most of them increase your boost, and alter your timing, they redo the whole fuel/boost/timing maps in the computer so that everything keeps well-adjusted. Vs. shorting out a signal or something to 'fool' the computer into doing something it's not supposed to. It's actually a very smart way to do things.

Some companies that I've heard of and would recommend:
www.goapr.com
www.giacusa.com
www.revotechnik.com
dahlback racing
mtm tuning
upsolute has some nice diesel chips

 

[RagtopRon]

Thank you one and all...very helpful.

 

[v-dubed]

giac and dahlback are what i call hardcore programs... they produce some crazy numbers

 

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Just gotta 1.8 (150hp) and I was told I could put a chip in it that would boost it to 190hp. Was advised to add some sorta cold air-intake filter also. All totalling about $1000 incl. labor. Also said they would need it 3 days! Is this decent advise/price...and why 3 days?
Thanks

Yes, this car can be chip to about 190hp at the crank, thats an increase of about 40hp from stock.

Yes, that price is about right, figuring about $500 for the software, $200 to $300 for the CAI, tax if applicable and about 3 to 4 hours total labor at say $70 or $80 per hour for, just do the math.

Unless they are going to flash the program into your ECU through the OBDII port then they will have to remove the rear center dash panel, two levels of dash panels (left side), extract the ECU, open it up, Desolder the stock chip, solder in the performance chip and then reverse the above in order to put your car back together.

Now they have to remove the stock air box and install the CAI system and test everything once all is finished.

1. I would find out what brand software they are going use.

2. Find out if they are going to flash load the software through the on board diagnostic port or install it as I described above.

3. Find out which CAI system they plan to install.

This way you can check around at different place for the prices on the chip and CAI, you can also determine if their labor charge is correct base on which way they're going to install the software, this will give you a clear picture as to whether or not their $1000 price quote is on the up and up.

 

[gschumsky]

So, are you guys saying you can basically "chip" our cars without having to buy a chipped ecu, or modifed/soldered one on our existing one, and this can now be done with a basic software install and the stock chip?

 

[paultakeda]

Yes. Revo and APR have disputedly pioneered ECU flashing instead of chipping for VW/Audi.

You go to the shop. They take out a laptop and plug in to your car through the diagnostics port. They upload the new program to your car. You are done. It takes 5 minutes, including the time it takes for the guy to walk to and from the car and you giving them your credit card.

 

[paultakeda]

Here is a nifty comparison "video" by RevoTechnik:
http://revotechnik.com/aboutRevo/uploadTheDifference.aspx

 

[prettygood]

All the people here are on the right track.

I have a Neuspeed filter and didn't notice a huge gain, but I already had the drop in K&N installed. Looks nice in the engine bay and I rerouted the snorkel tubing so that fresh air is directed into the filter from the front.

My GIAC chip rocks. If you have an older NB, like my 2000, they may only be able to solder on a new chip. I had that done and it isn't a big deal. If you can have it flashed instead of swapped it probably is better, but not really anything you will notice.

This will definitely be a big improvement for you, but remember that an engine is like your lungs. You can only do as much as you breath in and out. If you have a stock exhaust but a free flowing intake and higher boost you are maximizing the efficiency. I would rather get the turbo back exhaust and then the intake than the other way around.

 

[Scarab_Beetle]

www.racespececu.com, or PM me and I'll hook you up with some more contact info

 

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

The ECU reflash takes about 10 minutes, and I agree, avoid having anyone remove and solder in a new chip. The most popular software companies load the software through the OBD2 port under the dash.

Don't bother with a CAI on our cars, they don't make any more power, just noise. You can get a K&N drop-in filter though, only @$45, and that takes 10 minutes to install also.

This is an awfully presumptous statement to make with so many variables to consider, maybe a CAI doesn't work for your setup but that doesn't mean that it won't work for others.

FYI, I first tried a K&N filter in my stock box and on my setup it was a waste of money, however the addition of my CAI reaped a very positive performance improvement even in ambient temperatures as high as 106 degrees going stop light to stop light, I wouldn't give my CAI up for anything.

Too many governing possibilities and conditions exist for someone to make this kind of general statement, the only way to know if a CAI will be effective or not on a given vehicle is to try one, this decision shouldn't be base on the experiences and opinions of some.