ok so i am trying to chip my car. i learned that i can't do it myself so i called a local shop. they asked me if the chip needs to be saudered in and i wasn't sure. i have never chipped a car before so i don't know anyhting about doing it. i asked him what the average cost of putting a chip on and he told me amywhere from 100 to 150 depending on the chip. is that a good price? sounds high to me. any advice would be greatly appreciated. i know i could send my ECU to APR and have them do it but i don't know how to remove it and it sounds like abad idea.

 

The early 2000-2001 models do not have enough memory on the stock ECU in order to flash through the OBD2 port and require a soldered chip. I had it done to mine and haven't had any problems in more than 3 years since doing it.

Some of the later cars were equipped with a "chastity belt" on the ECU box to allow Audi to tell if the ECU had been removed from the car in order to "void" warranty. But if you are out of warranty it really makes no difference. The ECU is located under the plastic cover at the base of the windshield. Detailed removal instructions are here.

The neat thing about the APR soldered chip is that the ECU will hold up to 4 different programs which you can switch between using your cruise control stalk. I've got three programs on mine... Stock (for Smog Test), 91 octane (my normal mode) and 100 octane (for race gas).

 

the shop you called dosent know what there talking about. you have to find someone near you that does chipping for audi's or vw's. look for apr dealers near you.

 

Its sounds like to me that your local tuning shop is used to ricers, as most of their chips along with chips for SUV's have to be soldered into place, if you dont find a local APR dealer in your area, check out other companys dealers, as for me, OKC was the closest chip dealer for GIAC. APR had one but it was three hours away and I didnt feel like driving that far just to get my car chipped. Good luck

 

If you only want one mode, I believe you can flash a new program over the stock one w/o a soldered chip. At least, thats what I was told by the shop that did my APR chip. I went with the 93/100 programs, so I ended up with a soldered chip anyway.

 

yeah thanks you answered some of my questions. i did find a shop off of APR's website that is about an hour away.they do APR chips. the shop i initially called is mostly a japanese shop, but they do have high credibility and do work on Skylines. i think i will just call the shop that i know does apr work, thats the best idea i think. I want to do it soon b/c i am getting a Grand off my old car and i want that to be one of my first mods. how does the 3 different programs work? do i need anything else other than the APR chip to make it work? also anyone on here live in the metro Atlanta area i would like to meet some other TT modders in person. i don't know any.
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Thanks

 

Now you've got it. Stay away from the ricer shops. These are European cars and they are much different than the Fast and Furious cars. Find yourself a good shop that works on Audis and VWs, sounds like you may have one with the APR dealer.

You buy the chip with the basic one program. Talk to them and see what they have vs. what you need. You can always go back in later and add programs to your setup. Once you are chipped the added programs are usually around $99-$150 for them to flash the new programs onto your chip.

The way the switching works is to put your PIN code into the system. Basically it works like this, say your PIN was 1234. You press the set button 1 time, flip the switch towards Cancel, press the set button twice, push switch toward cancel, push button 3 times, cancel, 4 times, cancel. Then you hold the set button down and watch the "Check Engine light" it will flash slowly once, once, once. (this is program 1).. then after a few seconds you will see a double flash, double flash (this is program 2).. depending upon how many programs you have it will cycle through them.

Single flash...........Program 1
Two flashes...........Program 2
Three flashes.........Program 3
Four flashes.........Program 4

I have mine set up so they are in this order... 1. Stock... 2. 91 Octane... 3. 100 Octane. Program 4 is open for now until I decide to get another program.

They have a couple of other good programs in there. One is the Anti-Theft which shuts down the ECU until you put in your PIN. The other is the Valet mode which limits RPM and Speed.

 

I'm actually PIN-less, did you have to request something to have it set up like that?

One of my fears is that mom borrows the car some afternoon, and accidently changes to 100oct, and blows the engine.

 

I don't recall exactly what it cost, but I think it is something they can add at anytime as an option. I elected to have it when I first got the chip and at the time I only had the stock and 91 programs.

 

Dont forget to get a new DV if you chip your car, a new intake hose would be a good idea also along with a intake to help your turbo breath better.