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Real cars. On my Audi it is a trivial operation to reflash the ECU to bypass less supercharger boost (or turbo boost on turbocharged Audis), which increases power as long as you are using high octane fuel. If you are not using high octane fuel, it will cause detonation which quickly melts pistons. APR is a popular vendor but there are around a dozen competing companies that have developed their own boost maps. An engine rated at 333 HP will put out somewhere around 390 HP with the majority of the increased power coming from the additional boost. Amazingly, it i proves MPG at the same time. https://www.goapr.com/products...

Yep. Check out APR for the chip he is probably using. (There are other chippers, but APR seems the most common for the 1.8T).

The example requested earlier in this thread is right here: VW uses the 1.8T engine in the Audi TT as well and detunes the VW version so you'll pay more for the admittedly just as pretty (I think Golfs look great) but less practical (GTIs and Golfs can hold a huge amount of stuff) Audi.

While the chip can cause you trouble when getting service (for which reason APR designs many of their chips to act like the stock chip when you enter an easter-egg sequence of buttons on the cruise control/turn signal stalk), APR has been doing this long enough that their chips are pretty safe to use.

I'm a VW Golf owner (2000 GLS) but I'm not a 1.8T owner, but I know a lot of people who are, and complaints are relatively rare.

actually, it's not just one button pressed to switch the programs...I know for the APR chip, you use a sequence of commands on the cruise control stalk to switch the programs, so that normal cruise control functions continue to work properly.

If you want to see an example, here's a video from APR's site:

And what do you do when you want "normal" cruise control?

You press the button. I have an APR chip in my car, and all you have to do is hold the cruise control button until the check engine light flashes. After you have the mode set, light goes off and the new software takes control. I like it since I don't have to put the extra stress my turbo when I don't need it.

-dk

I know for a fact that GM y-body, and V8 f-body cars can be [LT1,LT5, and LS1]. Or let me say it this way: there is software written and available to do it. It's a matter or demand. I don't know what other cars people have written such software for.

A little googling, and I can tell you that someone will do custom VW tuning ONLINE! Narf! You hook your car up OBDII->Puter, and a 'web interface' allows them to upload a new proggy for you.

In retrospect, ONSTAR, wow cool, and eeek scary...
Why that never occured to me before...

with many of these chip mods, your car will no longer pass emissions inspections.

Interestingly enough, I'm on my 3rd VW that I chipped, one OBDI car and two ODB2 cars. Since here in MA they do full emissions checks on all cars post-1983, I tend to keep my slips with the emissions outputs. Despite my initial suprise, all three cars did as well, or better with the chips.

With the exception of the newest car, a turbo, the change in gas milage was negligible, as well. The Turbo, on the other hand, as required a careful foot on the accelerator (chipped and non-chipped) in order to keep MPG down. Once that thing goes into positive pressure, even the OEM software dumps the gas in like crazy.

I honestly believe that a properly tuned and maintained engine is always going to get better emissions than one that has been treated poorly and not maintained. And, I've seen the slips that bear it out.

The only addendum I'd add is that I only know about VWs and I only deal with shops that have quite a bit of experience burning chips, such as APR and GIAC. There are plenty of other shops out there, especially in the Asian import market, who are more than happy to sell you cheap HP gains, without care for your emissions, or your engine.

Holy misleading analogy. I've seen so much misinformation and FUD in the comments that my head is spinning. Look folks, people have been "chipping" their cars for years, and there are many reputable companies selling ECU chips. For example, APR has been in the business for a long time and is well-respected. Their chip will give my VW Passat 1.8t an additional 45hp, and you don't even have to take anything apart since it can be directly programmed. And their chips are well tested and won't "burn out" your engine. Considering that the 1.8t engine is used in many cars and hp varies from 150-225, I think what APR does is well within the engines limits. All in all, it's rather conservative.

Some other pieces of helpful info: Chips frequently give you better gas milage and I've never heard of anyone (in the VW world) failing an emmission test because of it.

It may be more difficult to install some cheap gadget you buy at Kragen or somesuch junky auto supply store, agreed. Cars are getting more complex. But it's that very complexity that is making it more and more possible to get into the guts of the car with electronic/software mods. As some have mentioned here, Audis and VWs are prime examples.

In the past, if you wanted to change valve timing, turbo boost, etc., you had to buy and install more aggressive valve cams, more powerful turbos or other parts. You had to do intrusive surgery to your car to put in these aftermarket components.

Nowadays, drive-by-wire cars like Audis can be hacked, literally. Many of the engine performance characteristics are entirely software-controlled, so by changing the software you can achieve much in the way of performance improvements that used to only be possible by swapping engine parts. Not only can you modify performance, you can also modify the behavior of things like the door locks, radio, etc., with PC software that lets you configure your car's computer.

I have an Audi A4 1.8T that had a stock 170 HP engine. I bought an APR chip "upgrade" for the car's computer, and suddenly my car has 207 HP. Not only that, the torque curve has shot up to 250 foot-pounds at 3600 RPM - a 50% increase. That torque is dramatic, and lets me beat "more powerful" cars off the line consistently. And now that it's raining a lot here, I can beat *any* car off the line that only has two-wheel drive when the ground is wet.

All this achieved in a simple one-hour soldering procedure. There are limits, of course, beyond which you need better parts, but who says cars are less hackable nowadays?!

Besides, installing a remote car starter isn't my idea of a real hack. How is that any more of a "hack" than installing a new car radio? Obviously, you weren't able to bypass the security system, so you're not much of a hacker.

The 2.5 DOHC engine is a "stretched" design engine and is not recommended for more than 235hp.

http://www.goapr.com/Products/S4/S4.HTM:

• Stage 1: 307hp (375lb-ft) $599
• Stage 2: 319hp $1550
• Stage 3: ~400hp $???

There are a lot of great performing Subarus, unfortunately none of them are available in the US.