New Audi A3 owner- tell me about chipping

[igo4bmx]

I don't want to spend a million hours googling...
can you get chipped for free? is it reliable?

[gray1g]

Free chipping??? Nothing in life is free, however there are places in the area that can give you a trial version that will last for a day or so. This way you get to drive the car around in chipped mode to see if you really like it. I can recommend ARP. I have the 93 oct and stock mode on my car with no other mods and I like it. Now is the time to buy, since waterfest is right around the corner they are offering a fully loaded ecu for a very reasonable price I wanna say $549? Best bang for the buck!!!!!

[ein]

I guarantee if you call AWE in Willow Grove and ask to get the show price before the show they'd probably hook it up (because its this week). They get really jammed trying to chip all the cars @ the show, so getting local ones done before the show might be a good thing to them. I do know if you buy it at the show and don't feel like waiting, you can set up an appointment for the week after W-fest and they'll do it @ the shop. Anyway all the chips are pretty much the same I like the GAIC chips personally (they make power but are not tuned to the ragged edge of reliability) and are locally serviceable in the event that there is a problem (GAIC started with AWE as a development partner years ago in phila)

[gray1g]

There are some pros and cons to all manufacturers but you should really check out vortex to read everyones opinion on the different companies.

[John@20squared]

No you can not get chipped for free, but there are 4 or 5 chip tuners in the VW/Audi market with authorized dealers all over the U.S. Check out 20squared.com for $100 off a Unitronic Stage 1+ (93 octane) file.

[Elliott18t]

it shouldnt take you hours to google it lol.. or your doing something wrong. no its not free, but there are trials like said above. I would recommend GIAC or Unitronics.

[GTI_NY]

free? there are a few reputible brands APR, Giac, Revo, Unitronic. I believe all offer a 6 hr trial which will keep your car chipped for that long then go back to stock. If you have plans to go to waterfest or any other big euro show wait and get chipped there, Most vendors offer show prices. Another thing you would want to think about would be which vendor is closet to your house incase you need to get reflashed.

[G.T.]

first off,

is your A3 2.0T or 3.2?

if it is the latter, there is no significant performance increase with software.
if it is the former, then heed the reply posts already made.

regarding software, choosing one company over another can take into account several factors or just "brand loyalty". all software options arguably decrease reliability and longevity of stock components, but some push the envelope more than others. some offer power delivery in a more linear fashion. some have "cool options" (APR comes to mind).

i have been out of the vw/audi tuning scene for some time, but if you go with any of the well known brands, you should be good to go. they are all comparably priced.

several companies now offer OTS (off the shelf) big turbo kits. i realize this is a significant step up from just software but it may be something you want to consider. if someone says s/he does not "need" or "want" more power, well, it is usually not true.

[81rabbitd]

go apr or revo