200TQ chip/spring mod info

[Alan Schneiderman <alan@ino.com>]

Folks,

I'm new to this list so please accept my apologies if this info has been
covered before. Here's my "story":

I owned an '89 90 that was totalled when I was rear-ended 2 weeks ago. Since
then, I've been shopping for my next car. I was almost sold on a Saab 900SE.
I've driven everything under the sun since my accident and couldn't decide what
I wanted. What finally turned my attention back to Audi was a little event
that happened last weekend while I was test driving a 96 VW Passat GLX (V6).
It was raining (keep in mind that I'm an old GTi owner/fan) and as I came
off an offramp at moderate speeds (the salesman was in the backseat) the
front end started to slide like it was on ice (it was 50 degrees). I immediately
reduced throttle which induced the complementary VW oversteer. Of course,
I walked the tail back into place gingerly (luckily). I want a Quattro! 

I live in MD so there aren't many Quattros around. I called *every* dealer
in the area (MD/VA). Nothing! Hmmm... now what to do? A friend lives in NH
and he has an 80 Quattro. Why not try looking in the classifieds in his area?
I guess it's off to the library for me... wait, what about the internet? Yep,
the Boston Globe has a web page (www.globe.com) and I searched their classifieds
and found a sweet 91 200TQ! I'm driving up this Friday (in a one way National
rental) to pick it up (my friend in the area has already driven it and approved)
Perhaps a network of "trusted" individuals could be setup to test drive Audis
in other parts of the country. I know, it's far out...

Now to the upgrade info. I've been corresponding with a list member about 
the turbos. He gave me Europart's name (not Europarts). [on vendor list w/ na ?]
I talked to Walter at Europart about the spring/chip upgrade. He told me
$1800!!! I was shocked at this price. After reading through the archives and
looking at the online info, I thought an upgrade for the 200 turbo would be in
the 400-500 range. He told me to be very careful of these upgrades. He mentioned
something about the 5th cylinder "burnt valve" problem. Has anyone out there
upgraded their 91 200TQ with the chip and spring? If so, I'd appreciate any
comments/information.

Many thanks,
Alan