[Audi A3/S3] Chipping

[MartzA3]

Does anyone have a standard non turbo 1.8 20V A3? What extra kick do you get from chipping one? What chip would you recommend? What sort of pricing are they, I understand cost is abou £300 - £500. Are the newer engines (ie 1999) more powerful than the older ones?

[gambba]

Chipping any non-turbo car has only minimal gains in terms of power and torque, and normally I would say don't bother as you're only looking at around 10-15hp for the chip.

However, having said that I know that I would be looking to chip my A3 even if it wasn't turbo'd.

Just to save you a bit of time ploughing through the search engines I've put my updated choice of top/recognised tuners for Audi's (VAG), and although originally was aimed at chip tuning encompasses general tuning as well;

Most recognised within the UK:

APR - www.goapr.co.uk/dealer/index.html - Good maps and well respected, especially in the US. Just released OBD* tuning. Switchable options using cruise control.

REVO- www.revotechnik.com/uk/ukrevo.html - Good maps, first tuner to do OBD* tuning in UK. Switchable options using switch (Dongle).

AmD - www.auto-amd.com - More than just a chip tuner, they are a complete tuner unlike many others. Respect.

Jabbasport - www.jabbasport.com/Audi/Jabbachips/Contact/contact.html - For those that want to take their tuning that little bit further. Well respected.

Forge Motorsport - www.forgemotorsport.co.uk - No chip tuning of their own but they do offer a number of great tuning products for VAG cars.

* - OBD = On Board Diagnostic. Tuning which is done via the diagnostic serial port located on the vehicle, so no chip replacement is required.

Great German tuners:

Oettinger - www.oettinger.de or www.roadandsport.co.uk (UK dealer) - One of the longest running tuners for Audi's. A great tuner with a great range of products.

ABT- www.abtsportsline.co.uk/location.php3 - Again a long running tuner with good products. Official Audi chip tuning for The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium amongst other countries.

MTM- www.mtm-online.de or www.qstuning.com (UK dealer) - Well known for good maps with solid performance.

SKN- www.skn-tuning.com or contact SKN (UK) Ltd. on www.scottsmototune.co.uk - Not so well known but good products nonetheless

Other recognised tuners for chips mainly;

Superchips - www.superchips.co.uk - Regarded as a general tuner offering nothing special, but map on 1.8T does produce good results!

Wetterauer - www.wetterauer.de - Not so well known german tuner, but still heard of. Used in both the US and Europe.

DBM - www.dbmengineering.nl - Similar to Jabbasport but in Holland. Nice product range with carbon air boxes. Produced a 420bhp S3 for the road!!

Bullpower - www.bullpower.nl - Very little known about this tuner.

Sportec- www.sportec.ch (Even though covered by AmD) - Relatively new to the UK scene. Good torque figures produced with the maps and satisfied customers.

Powerchips- www.powerchipgroup.com - Hardly ever mentioned on the forums, like Superchips, but look to provide good results. The website is extremely good, and the detailed datasheets provided within minutes of an enquiry are full of info. Available through www.mongooseexhausts.com or www.motorsportworld.co.uk

All have their merits, and really it's a personal choice, and you have to check around before choosing in my opinion. There are many other smaller tuners who offer chips etc. but are not widely recognised, but can offer options cheaper than above. There are other big tuners such as GIAC ( www.giacusa.com ) that I have not mentioned because within Europe I do not know of a dealer and don't know of anyone running these chips other than Americans and Australians.

Do not think for one moment that the above is comprehensive, it is only my opinion and based on my knowledge of tuning, the products offered and comments I have picked up on my travels and is intended to be unbiased, but I do have a weak spot for Oettinger these days.

Gambba

[snez22]

i wouldn't bother with a non-turbo car chip. save up and get a turbo model instead. there are loads about for cheap.

[MartzA3]

Thanks mate, thats useful information there.