MTM vs ABT vs APR vs AMD vs Superchips

[toasty]

Ok, superchips was a joke, but what about the others?

I missed the chipping boat a little as I could have had Joshie's old S4 Ecu for a steal (it's now sold)

I am looking at the possibility of going up to just past the 300bhp mark and all of the above (except souper chips) seem to offer this with just a remap for my S4.

If I remember correctly MTM and ABT are the most costly, but since they are all less than a grand(ish) I guess it doesn't really matter.

Some people say that MTM are more torquey (not to be confused with the home of fawlty towers) others say that AMD give you more BHP.

Personally I think I'd want more impressive overtaking and acceleration, so Torque is what I'd be looking for.
...but then BHP is nice too!

I guess there won't be a definitive answer, but I'd certainly be interested to hear people's views.

-Dan

[Thorney]

If you get the opportunity I'd see if you can have a go in cars with the different chip in and consider the Revo option (its a bit new though).

Wayside in MK seem to do quite a lot in modded Audi's they may even have a few you can try, talk to Colin in services there.

[Joshie]

Hi Dan, welcome.

If I was going for a remap again I would not go for the Abt one as it has increased in price hugely over their competitors. The reason for this apparently is that Abt is now an authorised audi tuner and as such is fully warranty friendly.

The Apr unit is probably the best value for money, is reprogrammable and I like their customer service. Why don't you call them for a chat. Mitchel was a regular contributer on the AS-Net site and he always came across very friendly and helpful. Look out for their Bi-pipe too which was the best thing I ever bought for my S4 (does away with the TBB)

Ohterwise, my mate in Denver (who convinced me to get the Abt chip about 2 years ago) hs gone for the OCT chip. When he gets it fitted he will send me a full report. Not sure if this is avauilable in the UK though. His S4 has the DP and Milltek cat back too.

There is also AmD of course where you will have the ECU optimised as well as any faulkts corrected too.

Good luck but above all go for the chip - it really transforms the car immensely.

[Bushy]

HI

My understanding is that the MTM chip may give you more torque but this will be higher up the rev band, whereas AmD offer a smother curve

Down to choice really

Ring up MTM and AmD and see who you are comfortable dealing with.

Both Scott and Kim are great guys

[Anonymous]

I think you should use MTM or Hohenester.

www.hohenester-sport.de They are very good and are also based in Ingolstadt.

[Dippy]

Dan,

Above all, you need to remember that the S4/RS4 engine is a complicated (and expensive) beast. For that reason I suggest you shy away from any 'plug and go' chip. There is always a chance that either something is wrong with your engine, or there is just something different about your engine, that the new chip wouldn't be set up properly. If it isn't right, the best case is that you won't get the performance you expected, but the worst case is that the engine could become damaged.

That's why I recommend having a chip fitted by a tuner who is going to do at least some diagnostics on the car before and after to check that it's OK. A rolling road is the best way to do this.

Years ago I did a stage 1 tune on my Capri (don't laugh) and then got it set up by a tuner with a RR. The tuner found something wrong with the distributor which (a) made the car underperform and (b) would have caused problems to the engine in the long run. Hence my advice is based on experience and not just opinion.

As to which chip you should choose, you have already wisely decided that your choice should be based on torque useability rather than peak power. So you can only make your choice by comparing torque curves.

I have compared torque curves from AmD and APR and find them broadly similar. This is what I would expect as they are both reputable tuners who do stage 1 remaps with a sensible balance of performance and 'reliability' (you know what I mean).

The only other map I have seen is MTMs. MTM tend to produce more peak torque than other tuners, however as a result it is lower both at the bottom and top of the rev range. This would undoubtedly make an MTM tuned car more 'fun' and potentially faster, but probably not so good for versatility and day-to-day driving. (And, I will dare to say, less reliable in the long term).

Lastly, don't forget that a chip will expose the weak parts of your car: You already know about the brakes and suspension, and of course the exhaust (the cats really restrict this engine, but don't forget that a stage 1 chip will NOT take full advantage of free-flow cats). I refer mainly to the air intake system. If you chip you should get all the pipes checked and tightened. You might want to get some more reliable DVs as well. Also as Joshie mentioned, if you have an original TBB, I strongly recommend that you fit APR's bipipe.

Cheers,
Dave

[Bushy]

Excellent post Dave

Good sound advice

Just what the site is about

Thanks

Let us hope we see more of you on here

[johneroberts]

Nice post Dippy,keep it up mate [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Cheers
jr

[Dippy]

Let us hope we see more of you on here

No doubt, I seem to have regained some of my lost enthusiasm buy the fact I wrote that post above.

However I must remember that I'm not being paid whilst I'm browsing car forums any more [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img], and I'm supposed to be checking some job sites right now!

Catch you all later...[img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Adam]

just a few points I would make:

look at the curves rather than the headline peak figures - you want a nice flat curve rather than a spike which tails off quickly = big kick than not much

All of the 4 you mention are good - AmD offer the before and after RR sessions which is useful (though the afters are strangely optimistic and I reckon their "custom tuning" is.. er.. an interesting claim). I preferred the APR approach which had 95% of the oomph but used just 1.35 bar v AmD 1.7 and it held the boost for longer (MTM cars come out with even higher boost!)

NB - this is all for an [img]images/graemlins/s3addict.gif[/img] rather than an S4 though

whoever you go for you won't regret it [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Bushy]

I can personally vouch that custom tuning is exactly what AmD do

My car has spent at least 12 hours on the rollers whilst they remap it

They DO do custom remaps to all cars. I admit they may have a generic starting point, but each car is altered to suit

[Andiroo]

Adam, good point re the torque curve characterisitcs. As soon as I get chance to figure out how to attach something you will see the OEM/Sportec/AmD/MTM RS4 torque plot comparisons we did some time ago. It shows exactly what you are saying [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

John/Bushy?? Helllllp!

Andiroo

[Bushy]

if you email it to me i will sort it out

At the moment we have no way in uploading images or files so they need to be hosted somewhere

Cheers

[johneroberts]

Host them in the gallery , then use the UBB codes to move them across, for the moment anyway.
Cheers
jr

[Dippy]

I too can assure everyone that AmD do CUSTOM maps. As Bushy says, their 'just a chip' map may well be their standard one. However as soon as you get some significant engine mods (e.g. exhaust), they will change the map to suit your car.