To chip or not to chip - and which is best?

[SuffolkD at aol.com]

Tom:
There are two ways to go about IMHO.
Both IA (NED) and other chip tunners are the longest running tunners to the 
200 20V.
Minhea is the latest and cheapest.  Several listers have done GP with all the 
manufacturers............. So here is my advice:
If you like this list... and want NED's chip since he chimes in with great 
info, buy his.
If you like the support SJM and other list contributors have, buy a Hoppen or 
other chip tunner chip through them.
If you want to do some work on the ECU yourself...........give Minhea a call.
-Scott by BOSTON I have one, but its your car.....you decide.......BUT get 
ready to change hoses, fix vacuum leaks and sensors etc....
In other words:  You car needs a tune up and should be running at ~100% 
efficiency or the upgrade won't reach its potential. YES there is a DIFFERENCE 
between 1.5 and 1.9 BAR and then the ECU on top of that.

> Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 20:09:27 -0800
> From: Tom Ellis <tom at tomellisphoto.com>
> Subject: To chip or not to chip - and which is best?
> To: <200q20v at audifans.com>
> Message-ID: <BC558277.1068B%tom at tomellisphoto.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> 
> I've only had my 200 20v for a bit over a year, but I've heard from many
> Audiphiles that I can't really appreciate the car until I've upped the
> performance with a new ECU chip.  I'd really like to hear what other 200 20v
> owners think about this.
> 
> The car is already pretty quick with the stock ECU - does the new chip
> really make all that much difference?  Realistically I don't ever expect to
> take this car out to a track, and may never get the opportunity to find out
> just what the REAL top end speed is.  But the chance to noticeably increase
> my acceleration in the 30-70 mph (OK, in the 30-90 mph range!) does have
> some appeal.
> 
> So whose chip is best?  I've heard about Hoppen, IA and several others.
> I've even seen some guy in Astoria OR selling a chip on eBay that he claims
> he's importing from Europe.  From what little research I've done, it looks
> like chips range from $250-$800+.  What is a reasonable price to pay?  Do
> you truly get what you pay for, or can you get a high-quality product
> without spending a bundle?  For the way I drive, I'd think that I want a
> chip that is going to maximize performance in the 3000-5000 RPM range, to
> give me that ability to punch it on the freeway onramp (and other places as
> well) and take the car to 70+ mph in a hurry.  Top end performance would be
> a plus, but not a necessity.
> 
> Am I foolish to even bother buying a chip with my somewhat conservative
> needs?  Or have any of you found that a new chip didn't perform as you
> expected, and that the chipped car's performance wasn't much different than
>