Chipping a 2000 VW Passat

[cchardon]

Hey. Can anyone out there in Cowtown give me some advise on where to get my 2000 Passat 1.8T chipped.

[sputnik]

Concept-1 VW (specializes in VW/Audi)
www.concept1.ca

Tunerworks
www.tunerworks.com

[cchardon]

Thanks man.

[hjr]

there is also a guy on this board who is the alberta rep for upsolute.

But, do your reasearch first. Find out what companies make the best 1.8t chips then decide which one is best for your purpose. then phone one of those places to see if they carry the chip YOU want. Hit up www.vwvortex.com and go do a search in the 1.8t section. There are a million topics on this.

[sputnik]

For the recent 1.8T engines the UPSolute and GIAC (Garrett) chips perform about the same.

[Khyron]

Concept 1 is supposed to get APR sometime - whether it will happen or not in our lifetime...

Simon who does Upsolute is probably your best bet. I'm waiting for an APR/Revo dealer for warranty reasons.

Khyron

[hjr]

hmmm. both of which c1 doesnt sell... that was my only point. but really its up to him to buy it...

[cchardon]

Originally posted by Khyron
Concept 1 is supposed to get APR sometime - whether it will happen or not in our lifetime...

Simon who does Upsolute is probably your best bet. I'm waiting for an APR/Revo dealer for warranty reasons.

Khyron

Apparently, Simon is in the UK right now. Do you know anyone who uses the Upsolute chip. Do they like it?

[Khyron]

Depends how aggressive you go. Peter had it in his, and liked it a lot - but he had some surging issues cause he went with the most aggressive program.

Since I'm under warranty I need a stealth chip. Upsolute and GIAC replace a chip on the ECU so any dealership can see it. Revo and now APR have serial programming which uses the default chip - much harder to detect and has settings you can set with the cruise buttons (stock, 91 octane, valet etc). But it's also more than twice the price.

If you chip, expect to buy a new DV sooner or later, and there's another valve you have to upgrade if you experience surging.

Definately read up on Vortex - there's a ton of info.

Khyron

[cchardon]

Originally posted by Khyron
Depends how aggressive you go. Peter had it in his, and liked it a lot - but he had some surging issues cause he went with the most aggressive program.

Since I'm under warranty I need a stealth chip. Upsolute and GIAC replace a chip on the ECU so any dealership can see it. Revo and now APR have serial programming which uses the default chip - much harder to detect and has settings you can set with the cruise buttons (stock, 91 octane, valet etc). But it's also more than twice the price.

If you chip, expect to buy a new DV sooner or later, and there's another valve you have to upgrade if you experience surging.

Definately read up on Vortex - there's a ton of info.

Khyron

I have actually done tons of research lately. I am amazed at the different options out there regarding chips. Vortex and Club B5 have been the 2 major resources.

Do you do all your mods yourself?

[Khyron]

I've only done idiot mods like grills. shift knobs, lighting, gauges - anything major like suspension/exhaust I had done at C1.

See for 2001 and earlier, the warranty is only 2 years so who cares - chip away. But for us 2002+ they extended it to 4 years. So voiding that can have concequences. I will be chipping in the spring assuming I can get what I want now that I'm confident my car doesn't have anything majorly defective. And if I blow the turbo after chipping - well, good excuse for a bigger one.

Khyron

[sputnik]

With a 2000 Passat would the drivetrain still even be under warranty?

[Khyron]

Well technically increasing the boost would void all engine/powertrain aspects. However powertrain warrantys are so easy for the dealers to void if they want to even if you don't chip.( Hey you were 2 weeks late for your oil change - VOID!)

And if something really major blows up you can always switch the chip back to stock before taking it in (Simon does it for free I believe). It's just an extra hassle.

That said, the good mantra - if you can't afford to fix it, don't mess with it. Chips are common enough that we know that blowing engines is abnormal and improbable. But it's not impossible. Performance worth the risk? I think so, but some don't.

Khyron

[CalgaryB5]

I Upsolute my 00 TDI. It pulls like a MoFo. My Ssat is a 99 30V~V6 with some mods.

I would say there is no single company in Calgary knows a lot about that particular B5. Your best source is on the web and I strongly recommend ClubB5 for info. For chipping your car, I’d say go for it. The dealership knows what a chip can do and they know the chip company will not sell you a chip/program that will blowup the engine. They need to do specific tests to check if the boost on the car that alter to higher or not. Those tests take long time and beyond their control of how much time will spend to check on your car.