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Gents,

I have just purchased a 2000 model S4 and want to get it remapped/chipped. I have trawled through various previous posts and still can't come to a solution as too which one is the best option. I was initially going to take the car to Jabbasport as I have heard good reviews past and present from friends of mine with VW's, but unfortunately they are relocating their premises so won't be able to offer this service for at least another month.

The other options are:

APR - which I can have done fairly locally
Revo - As above
QST - MTM chip
AMD - Remap

The top three I believe are done without the car being rolling roaded as the software used is generic?. The AMD remap is done with the aid of the car being specifically set up on the RR.

I am tempted to go with AMD.

Are there any other advantages and disadvantages between the above Tuners?

Can S4 owners who have had their car chipped/remapped (without KO4's)let me know your experiences whether positive or negative.

Much appreciated
Julian.

I have the APR chip and like it for the ability to revert to std, valet mode, security lock-out etc ... all via the cruise control stalk, but if I had to do it again, I would be tempted to go REVO as they can reprogramme via the diagnostic port. AMD would probably be best for a highly modified car, but for stage 1 (chip only) I would stick with APR/REVO ... or MTM .....

The main advantage with the AmD (QST also rolling road the car) approach is that you know that it is all working correctly and that your MAF/TBB/F Hose etc are not split or faulty. I would seriously look at getting the work done at somewhere where it checked on a Rolling Road.

Nige, Jeff,

Thanks for your input.

I have heard positive reviews about the Revo set up, however, as I have just purchased the car and don't know it that well yet, I am a little apprehensive to go the Revo route. At least with AMD the car can be checked out as Jeff said for faults etc prior to being remapped. I would have thought that the gain in performance between the different types of chips/remaps is negligable? Is it just the delivery of the extra power that is different?


Can the AMD remap be detected during a service?

I had the Revo upgrade on my car last Friday - after being told they couldnt upgrade the car using the serial port by another agent I went to another Revo agent who said they could only to have this fail.

The agent had to call Revo who then tried to upload another file Revo had sent them - this failed. Revo were still positive they could upgrade (which eventually they did)

The 10 minute upgrade was now an hour and a half I was pretty angry and said dont worry about it. Sory sir your ECU is wipped you cant drive it away until we sort this out.

They then had to access the ECU directly and reload the original ECU programme, then upload the Revo upgrade.

3 hours latter my car was finally on the road - but I have experienced an intermitent miss under acceleration - Ive posted in this forum and most likely problem is a MAF which I will have to replace which didnt appear to be an issue on Friday.

I think I'm the exception but this was a c*!p customer experience and didnt leave me with a lot of confidence IMHO


scott

I can imagine that you were a bit worried when they were struggling to upload the Revo software and it kept failing.

The issue with your MAF has probably been highlighted due to the way it now has to function given the new parameters from the Revo software, this is one of the reasons why I prefer to go the AMD route and have items like the MAF, TBB and hose leaks checked prior to the remap. If there are any problems then i can have them sorted there and then and not have to worry that something might fail.

I know you are experiencing a bit of hesitancy, but how much of a difference has the Revo upgrade made to the performance of your car?

A significiant increase in performance - I dont know if its quicker off the line but in 2,3 & 4th it pulls a lot better with a large increase in torque

Can the AMD remap be detected during a service?

If you drive the car it is obvious that it's been chipped/remapped. Remember a remap will also shorten the life of the Turbos.

Jules,

You have been given most of the answers. I suggest you choose based on:

1) Peace of mind. This is probably the main reason many people go to AmD, to PROVE that their car is healthy on the RR before the remap, and to PROVE the performance gains afterwards.

2) Future modification route. AmD offer a CUSTOM remap service. Now although I had a custom remap on my stage I tune (and I understand that AmD do NOT always offer this to customers), I'm not convinced that the car truly benefits much at stage I. However I can say with 100% confidence that stage II or more REQUIRES a custom remap to gain full benefit. So if you are considering a full exhaust or modifications to the intake system in the future, it might make sense to go with AmD now.

Regarding QST, I believe that Kim now has a RR to he fulfils no 1. However I believe that the MTM chips are 'off-the-shelf' so I don't think they can do no 2.

Regarding APR (and REVO which was set up by APR UK staff), their system certainly offers significant advantages to those who can benefit from it. However whilst I suppose most of use would approve of (or at least 'turn a blind eye') to defrauding the dealers by not decalring the modification, I hope that we all agree that not declaring mods to your insurance company is selfish and potentially devastating to an innocent 3rd party.

However remember that the APR and REVO maps assume that your car is standard and healthy, so as others have found it can produce unexpected and undesireable results. Also unless things have changed a lot over the last year or two, there are still some ECUs that APR do not have the program for. Maybe REVO have more programs but maybe not.

Also, to correct Jeff (because I'm a git), a remap will reduce the mean time to fail of a turbo based on statistical calculations which include a measure of stress, but not car-specific data such as driving style. What this means is that a stock car may suffer turbo failure before a chipped car does, even if all other factors are identical (i.e. as theoretical situation). Scientifically this is known as tough <beep>.

In real life a remap will increase the workload on the Turbos and will shorten their life.......Dippy you G*T

Dippy, Jeff,

Thanks for your informative replies.

One more question :

My car is on the Longlife service schedule, do you think it's advisable to change onto a "normal" servicing schedule? I am apprehensive about the lack of regularity of the oil changes even though the oil used is meant to be longlife.

Jules,

The S4 incorporates a viscosity sensor so it can have variable servicing. I assume this is what you mean.

That's fine for a stock S4, although personally I like to give my S4 new oil more regularly than when the sensor says it's too thick. I change my oil every 5000 miles (give or take). A lot of people do the same and several well-known tuners I have spoken to agree that it's a good idea.

Cheers Dippy,

All cars I have had previously I have changed the oil at 6k.

Long life oil or not it will be getting changed asap.