To Chip or not to Chip?!

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OVRA3

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Hi all,

I am very new here and certainly by no means a techie, so forgive me for my ignorance!

I have a 05 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Line and am considering a remap or a chip? Firstly whats the difference? Whats better and what can I expect from a tune?

As I said apologies if I sound stupid but thought that I might get more truthful answers here than perhaps being sold to by a tuning company.

Cheers

James
 
Welcome to the site fella.

I am no expert at tuning either, but basically, chipping your car is exactly that, a chip is added to give more power etc. IIRC the chip tricks your car into thinking that there is cold air flow therefor giving more power. Have you ever noticed that on cold mornings when first firing up the car seems more powerful.

Now a remap is when your engine ecu is reprogrammed to give more more torque, more power and also giving more bhp, and possibly more MPG!

A chip is a cheaper option and many hear are against it. Majority go for a remap as it is a more proffesional job and more reliable hence it being more expensive.

There are plenty of good mapping company's around and plenty that sponsor this site that would be more than happy to meet your needs.

Hope this helps, I am sure the experts will be along soon to help and advise.
 
I don't think you 'chip' cars nowadays, everything is controlled electronically via the ECU, cars are tuned up by remapping which is done 99% of the time via the OBD port i think.

When you first have your car remapped its brilliant, you'll soon get used to the power though. Remember when remapping you are putting extra strain on the engine and clutch/gearbox etc so have some brass set a side for possible repairs that you may need to do in the future or failing that, get a decent third party warranty.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
JamesO said:
Hi all,

I am very new here and certainly by no means a techie, so forgive me for my ignorance!

I have a 05 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Line and am considering a remap or a chip? Firstly whats the difference? Whats better and what can I expect from a tune?

As I said apologies if I sound stupid but thought that I might get more truthful answers here than perhaps being sold to by a tuning company.

Cheers

James
Click to expand...

Hi mate, I have the same car and am considering a remap also. I think I will take it to Revo as it has been recommended by others however it will put strain on your clutch so bear that in mind. A good discussion about remaps - http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/new-a3.../143537-2-0-tfsi-revo-superchips-bluefin.html
 
Depending on how you drive, then a stage 1 map should not put much strain on your clutch if you do normal sensoble driving. However if you decide you want more and decide for a stage 2, then you are looking at new clutch, exhaust system breaks etc.
 
Dannykn9 said:
Depending on how you drive, then a stage 1 map should not put much strain on your clutch if you do normal sensoble driving. However if you decide you want more and decide for a stage 2, then you are looking at new clutch, exhaust system breaks etc.
Click to expand...

It's the extra torque that can ruin the clutch, all the cars i have remapped have been TDI's/CDTI (on the SRI 150), the torque is much higher on these so maybe you are right on the petrol models it may not be that much of an issue, that said it's something to bear in mind because if you pay £300 for a remap and then you need another £1000 to fix the broken clutch and DMF, you've paid £1300 in total for the privilege of being able to drive slightly quicker.
 
Thanks guys for the response.. Sounds like the remap could be the way forward!! I first thought of it after having a Megane 225 glued to my bumper the other night, enough to make anyone think of a power upgrade!! There is a local place near me Clive Atherton (Norwich) that will do a before and after on their rolling road appartently. So I'll give them a bell.
 
Just spoke to the guy who does a Revo Remap and he is talking £499 for it? Expensive or about right?
 
cwitcombe said:
Hence why I am leaning towards the Revo.... although the link I posted have quite a few bluefin lovers.
Click to expand...

I can't comment on REVO etc but I can on Bluefin, because my 2.0 TFSI has it.

Not meaning to sound off, but anybody who makes a sweeping statement that bluefin is poor and not aggressive at all is just misleading people.
Take it from me, the difference in my car since the bluefin is very noticeable.

I don't know how well bluefin suits S3s, and TDIs... but for the 2.0T I'm just lost how anyone can say its poor.
 
RedDejavu said:
Why Bluefin :/. There are poor.... and not aggresive at all
Click to expand...
I also have a superchips Blufin remap and the difference is great. Lots more torque and nice smoth power delivery. I would recomend bluefin . plus its east to install at home and cheaper than Revo. Im not saying revo are not better or worse, just that my bluefin puts a silly grin on my face
 
I was looking at the bluefin with some interest but just saw a post about warning lights coming on and ECU problems so was a little put off. But I suppose it obviously doesnt happen in all cases but the bluefin power increase seems the same as a proffesional remap from what I can see?? Although I am no expert
 
Revo is a slightly different approach to Bluefin as one could be seen as bespoke to the others more off the shelf approach.

It depends on what you want....I chose Revo as I wanted the flexibility and the upgrade path to pretty serious bhp but I can see nothing against Bluefin if you don't need or want that.
 
Any cars can suffer issues as a result of a remap as it can accentuate pre-existing issues.

People wrongly assume the code is the issue when it is in 99% of conditions just exacerbating problems.

If you want to remap your car you want to keep it well serviced, maintained and have access to a good independent dealer to call on as Audi struggle to diagnose faults before you adjust the mapping tables!

I've been in Revo, MTM and Bluefin cars. Revo's feels fastest, Bluefin feels quick but in an OEM kind of way, MTM feels a tiny bit more urgent that Bluefin, but that said there isn't night and day between them, it just depends on how you like your car to feel and what equipment you prefer (Revo allows personal map tweaking in safe parameters / bluefin offers load on load off / MTM is just code).

There is also Shark, APR and GIAC to consider from the mainstream. I'd avoid anything ridiculously cheap as support and effort invested is likely to be low.
 
JamesO said:
I was looking at the bluefin with some interest but just saw a post about warning lights coming on and ECU problems so was a little put off. But I suppose it obviously doesnt happen in all cases but the bluefin power increase seems the same as a proffesional remap from what I can see?? Although I am no expert
Click to expand...

Yeah that's Farhan's 1.8TFSI that is having problems. He's not really sure what the problem is yet or what caused it, but he's gonna keep us updated on what he finds.

And yep, the figures quoted by all stage 1 remaps are pretty much the same. But these all have to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Speaking of farhan's 1.8 TFSI again... his is 160bhp stock, but since his bluefin we had a little run out against each other and he also took me for a spin in his car, and it is definitely as quick, probably quicker, than my 2.0T was as standard with its 200bhp.

I think what I like most about the bluefin is that the car feels totally standard when driving normally, but when you want to push on it really responds well.

My advice, try the bluefin, and if you're not impressed then you've got 7 days to get a full refund, no questions asked.
You could also get a REVO trial too and compare the two for yourself.
 
warren_cox said:
Any cars can suffer issues as a result of a remap as it can accentuate pre-existing issues.

People wrongly assume the code is the issue when it is in 99% of conditions just exacerbating problems.

If you want to remap your car you want to keep it well serviced, maintained and have access to a good independent dealer to call on as Audi struggle to diagnose faults before you adjust the mapping tables!

I've been in Revo, MTM and Bluefin cars. Revo's feels fastest, Bluefin feels quick but in an OEM kind of way, MTM feels a tiny bit more urgent that Bluefin, but that said there isn't night and day between them, it just depends on how you like your car to feel and what equipment you prefer (Revo allows personal map tweaking in safe parameters / bluefin offers load on load off / MTM is just code).

There is also Shark, APR and GIAC to consider from the mainstream. I'd avoid anything ridiculously cheap as support and effort invested is likely to be low.
Click to expand...

Thanks Warren, good advice there this is exactly what I was after people with genuine experience of different products, rather than opinion of whoever is doing the map.

I think I might wait as a my service is nearly due. I am friends with a mechanic so get him to do it and have a good look at the car. Once he has given me the thumbs up, I'll make my choice. I like the idea of the Revo because although pricey you have the support and the guy who I'd get to do it is just down the road from me.
 
warren_cox said:
Bluefin feels quick but in an OEM kind of way
Click to expand...

^^^This I agree with.

After the bluefin my car's power delivery feels the same as it did in stock form, but there's just more of it.
I get the same surge in the same places as I used to, but now they're just bigger.
 
Only issue with Revo trial is it only lasts a few hours and car won't adapt quickly enough to give you proper benefit. As many people won't have run 98 octane before a remap this makes things worse!

Also as its quick load it's not the full on code. It was originally designed years ago for when very few people understood what a remap could offer to give a taster, hence why full code takes about an hour to load via ODBC.
 
ive been trying to decide on whats the better option, think bluefin is the way i'll b going. only because my wife has the car monday to friday and if you carnt notice it when driving normal, i should get away with it without telling her, haha result!!! cheers guys
 
Jonny 2.0T said:
ive been trying to decide on whats the better option, think bluefin is the way i'll b going. only because my wife has the car monday to friday and if you carnt notice it when driving normal, i should get away with it without telling her, haha result!!! cheers guys
Click to expand...

Just to mention, not sure about yours but my car is DSG so it changes gears pretty low down the rev range when driving normally. This is probably why I can't sense the remap under gentle/normal acceleration. Not sure if the same can be said for manuals as people tend to stay in gear for longer and the extra power will probably be more noticeable.

But to make sure your wife doesn't notice the remap just switch it back to stock using the handheld device on a sunday evening. :eyebrows:
 
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