Change History

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while. You do have to maintain the car, of course, and parts may fail at a faster rate than left stock, but totally worth it to me. I can now outrun the newer modeled A4s, and have, and the tube tune also removes the speed limiter. I can also switch between tuned and stock modes when the wifey drives it (although I found out she even prefers the tuned mode)... Link below...
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html

There's only 27k miles on it now, so I'll let y'all know if the engine blows up!
[URL=http://s869.photobucket.com/user/iBoxtaboy/media/F3EA2B16-B6D6-49FA-B0B0-70F69CE63175_zpsxmagbxup.jpg.html][IMG]http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab252/iBoxtaboy/F3EA2B16-B6D6-49FA-B0B0-70F69CE63175_zpsxmagbxup.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while. You do have to maintain the car, of course, and parts may fail at a faster rate than left stock, but totally worth it to me. I can now outrun the newer modeled A4s, and have. , and the tube also removes the speed limiter. I can also switch between tuned and stock modes when the wifey drives it (although I found out she even prefers the tuned mode)... Link below...
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html

There's only 27k miles on it now, so I'll let y'all know if the engine blows up!
[URL=http://s869.photobucket.com/user/iBoxtaboy/media/F3EA2B16-B6D6-49FA-B0B0-70F69CE63175_zpsxmagbxup.jpg.html][IMG]http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab252/iBoxtaboy/F3EA2B16-B6D6-49FA-B0B0-70F69CE63175_zpsxmagbxup.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while. You do have to maintain the car, of course, and parts may fail at a faster rate than left stock, but totally worth it to me. I can now outrun the newer modeled A4s, and have. I can also switch between tuned and stock modes when the wifey drives it (although I found out she even prefers the tuned mode)... Link below...
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html

There's only 27k miles on it now, so I'll let y'all know if the engine blows up!
[URL=http://s869.photobucket.com/user/iBoxtaboy/media/F3EA2B16-B6D6-49FA-B0B0-70F69CE63175_zpsxmagbxup.jpg.html][IMG]http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab252/iBoxtaboy/F3EA2B16-B6D6-49FA-B0B0-70F69CE63175_zpsxmagbxup.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while. You do have to maintain the car, of course, and parts may fail at a faster rate than left stock, but totally worth it to me. I can now outrun the newer modeled A4s, and have. I can also switch between tuned and stock modes when the wifey drives it (although I found out she even prefers the tuned mode)... Link below...
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while. You do have to maintain the car, of course, and parts may fail at a faster rate than left stock, but totally worth it to me. I can also switch between tuned and stock modes when the wifey drives it. it (although I found out she even prefers the tuned mode)... Link below...
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while. You do have to maintain the car, of course, and parts may fail at a faster rate than left stock, but totally worth it to me. I can also switch between tuned and stock modes when the wifey drives it. Link below...
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while:
. You do have to maintain the car, of course, and parts may fail at a faster rate than left stock, but totally worth it to me. Link below...
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html

[quote=Roger987]
I've done a fair bit of research on performance software. I starting 'chipping' my engines with an E36 325i, back in the day when it actually meant I had to take the ECU apart and physically replace a computer chip with a modified one. This was way back, when Jim Conforti was modifying chips in his basement, and just beginning to build a customer base. Eventually, of course, he teamed with Turner Motorsport. Jim was THE man. But I digress.

My observations:

1. Bigger gains can be realized with a turbo engine. This is because the software will increase boost.

2. Increase boost enough, and the pistons will depart the engine. In pieces.

3. The actual honest-to-god performance gain is NEVER as large as the tuner asserts. In fact, more honest tuners will use expressions like 'gains of up to XX h.p.' A gain of even 1 h.p. comes within that description.

4. Anyone who thinks he can modify the engine software tuning with impunity, in terms of impairing/losing/voiding warranty, is not well-informed. google 'Audi TD1 flag'. Yes, maybe in a court of law, Audi would have to prove your tune caused or contributed to the engine failure, but, really, no one person has pockets deep enough to take on Audi in court.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b8-platform-discussion-128/any-chipped-a4-owners-have-td1-flag-yet-2824584/

In the end, against the increased performance of software modification, one has to consider warranty implications, and long-term effects on the engine. As to the latter, frequent oil changes, and judicious use of that extra power, will help.

I'd sooner Porsche give me the extra power up front, with full warranty.

quote=boxtaboy]
With turbos though, you can gain quite a bit from an ECU tune. I picked up 41hp and 85 torque from a simple Stage 1 flash on my daily commuter Audi.[/quote][/quote]

Agree for the most part. My Audi dealership actually performed my APR tune, as they offer it in their service department. The car now feels like a whole new car, and I know of folks who have over 200k miles and still running on these stage 1 tunes, as they've been around for a while:
http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tfsi_long.html