Re: A4 1.8T CHIP (1.8T vs 2.8)

[Greg Ames <tga@ma.ultranet.com>]

"Daniel I. Manes" <danthman@umich.edu> wrote:
>I just joined this list because I'm considering buying an A4 1.8T fwd with
>manual transmission.  I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with
>the Abt Sportsline Stage 1 chip.  It is supposed to boost the power to 193
>HP and the torque to 237 lb-ft.  At just over $500, it seems like a pretty
>good deal to me.
>
>What I'm wondering about with the chip is if it will void the warranty, if
>it will be reliable, and if the numbers I was quoted are believable.  Also,
>I wonder if the car would feel considerably faster with the chip than
>without, and if fuel economy will suffer.

I, too, am faced with similar questions.  I am looking to buy an A4 in the
near future (<1 month), and am agonizing over the choice of engines.  I
have never owned a turbocharged car before, and am a bit scared of them.  I
am primarily concerned with the engine's reliability/life.  I drive >25k
miles/year, so I need to get a minimum of 150k miles on any new car I buy.
However, I don't really want to pay what amounts to a $4k surcharge for the
V6 (I don't care about wood trim, leather, etc, so I look at it as really
just $4k for the engine).

Any answers to this stream-of-consiousness would be greatly appreciated...

- How long has the 1.8T engine been shipping (to any part of the
    world).  Has it been around long enought to evaluate the
    long-term reliability?

- Are the turbo bearings water cooled?

- I have heard of after-market gizmos that store engine oil under
    pressure to provide bearing lube after shutdown.  If they aren't
    a load of BS, why aren't they standard equipment on all cars?

- How critical is a cool-down after normal, non-aggressive, shift-
    before-3000rpm drives to the grocery store (Not sure if I
    have the patience to wait 2 mins after every trip).

- How does chipping effect the engine's reliability/drivability?
    How much can you reasonably get out of this engine (Are TAP's
    high end, 250+hp kits reasonable for street use?, for example)

- How much extra torque can the clutch/man trans/quattro handle?

- How does one select from the many chip vendors?  Do they all have
    different torque curves?  Will they supply them for comparison?

I guess that's all for now,

Thanks,
Greg
tga@ma.ultranet.com