Re: I.A. vs TAP [200q comparison)

["Avi Meron" <avi@cosmoslink.net>]

About the lowered suspension........
I have a 5K Q Turbo with a Std. suspension  and a 5K Auto turbo with a
lowered suspension (both 86)

The auto with lowered suspension takes curves MUCH MUCH better than the
Q................

Nomex suit on and the halon extinguisher is ready (the hell with the ozone
layer!)

Avi





-----Original Message-----
From: Osman Parvez <oparvez1@nycap.rr.com>
To: quattro <quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 1998 6:06 PM
Subject: I.A. vs TAP [200q comparison)


>Hey folks,
>       I spent this afternoon down at a local performance shop where the
>owner had recently purchased a 89 200q with plenty o' mods on it and
>approx. 130K on the clock. He got the vehicle from a wholesaler down in
>Atlanta who really didn't know anything about the car except that "it's a
>bit faster than most other Audis". Well, after a close examination, it's a
>whole lot more.
>        The previous owner fitted the 200q with a lowered suspension
>(springs and struts), Euro lights, X-drilled Rotors, in dash VDO boost
>guage, new (not reman) rear calipers, and what appears to be an IA mod. We
>are assuming it's an IA mod because the boost guage goes up to 1.8 and
>there are no marking of any kind on or inside the computer casing.
>Unfortunately, the IA 200 was suffering from some kind of fuel suppresion
>so we couldn't do a back to back comparison. But we did swap boxes to see
>if the IA chip was the problem.
>         So, we took the TAP box out of my car and put in his IA box. Any
>question as to whether the chip was the culprit was quickly put to rest.
>The OEM boost guage (in trip computer) quickly came up to 1.8 in my car.
>"Seat of the Pants" acceleration tests didn't show much of a difference
>between the TAP mod and the IA mod. Acceleration was smooth without the
>sudden fuel starvation exibited in the donor car.
>          Whereas my friend's main interest was to see if the IA chip was
>bad, my main interest was in how the 200 would handle with a lowered
>performance suspension on it. Now, I didn't get a chance to check on which
>set-up my buddy had on his car but I did get a chance to drive it. Although
>the fuel was cutting out, the car handled amazingly well. Gone was the
>float and wallow I have with my car. Cornering was exceptionally flat and
>very tight.
>            The most remarkable difference between the two cars was the
>amount of corrosion found on engine components in my car compared with his
>200 from down south. Granted, his 200 had been de-greased, but there was
>absolutely no rusting of parts visible. His 200 was absolutely gorgeous
>under the hood, and I was amazed to see it. For instance, where my valve
>cover had turned a mixture of grey and light brown, his was shining black.
>Everything which had originally been coated with Cad was still shining
>nicely. Well, if anybody hasn't gotten a chance to compare a South-eastern
>car with a North eastern car.. I think you would be shocked, I sure was.
>            One item of interest is the rolled rear fenders on the IA car.
>Inside the rust-coating didn't look touched and only close examination
>revealed the difference between the right side and the left side of the
>car. The passenger side was rolled a bit further than the driver side for
>the crease was almost completely gone from the passenger side where a hint
>of it remained on the driver side. I wonder how they managed to keep from
>leaving marks on the rust-coating.
>            Both cars are Pearl and approximately 300 units apart from the
>line (mine being older). It was a bit disconcerting to have the two cars
>side by side, but a pleasurable experience none-the-less. I suggested to my
>buddy that he strap his intercooler and consider upgrading to a aftermarket
>upper IC hose.
>            Granted that I didn't swap the springs between the cars, but I
>found no difference between the IA chip and the TAP chip in seat of the
>pants acceleration. I'm not sure if others have had the opportunity to
>directly compare mods in this manner. Well, my buddy got the car for a
>song. The cost of the mods alone are higher than what he paid for the
>vehicle. Now if he can figure out where the fuel cut-off problem is. He's
>ordered a new fuel accumulator after finding that he had pressure at the
>pump but not at the engine.
>             Oh yeah.. wanna know what the owner traded the IA 200q in on?
>A Lexus... argh. For those of you car-shopping, I recommend giving a few
>extra points for cars found in non-rock-salt zones. The difference was
>amazing.
>Osman Parvez
>Albany, NY
>89 200q, TAP Chip, 170K
>
>