Chipping a MK4 Golf GTi 1.8T

I recently bought a Golf GTi 1.8T and am loving every minute of it. However, it could clearly do with a little more power. I've seen lots of websites offering tweaks that will boost the BHP from the standard

150 to 180, 195, 210 and beyond. It all sounds tempting, but I've got a few concerns.

First of all, I don't want to overcook the turbo or the engine by putting more power through it than it was intended to take. Secondly, I like smooth power delivery, so I don't want it to become a restless hotrod. I've been in cars like this and they are tiring to drive. Finally, I'd prefer an upgrade that is invisible to the garage, so I don't have to worry about my warranty or insurance being compromised.

Can anyone give me any advise on the pros and cons of having the car chipped and let me know if there are any services (preferably in the South of England) that would satisfy my requirements? Would a 30-40BHP increase be enough for what I want, or can you never get too much power? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

All the best, Russ.

Reply to
Tayles
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How much power does the enigne put out at the moment (IIRC there were 150 and a few 180bhp versions of the 1.8t fitted to the MK4)?

If you go for a chip, you'll not really alter the driving characteristics for the worse. You'll just get more boost and more power. If you start swapping turbos for big power increases, you will alter drivability. There are 20V engines that have managed 300bhp or so with standard bottom ends, but not all 20V bottom ends are alike. Some have forged conrods etc. The only way to check is to look up your engine code (there's someone clubgti.com/forum with a spreadsheet of all engine codes and what turbo & engine internals it has as stock).

AMD and Jabbasport are well known force induction VW tuners. 30 - 40 BHP would be very noticeable, particularly on the 150 horsepower car, it'd even be a bit faster than a MK2 16V :). Much above 200 is going to get difficult to drive in a FWD car and you'll start wanting a limited slip diff. AMD in Bicester will give you another 35 horses for £550 with a simple remap, to go much above that you need high flow exhausts and cats and it starts costing big money.

You need to tell your insurance, Brentacre are cheap and mod friendly.

Reply to
Doki

Thanks for the advice. Mine is an early 150bhp model. Like you say, I can't imagine that going over 200bhp is that advisable in a FWD car without further modifications. And I'd rather not spend that kind of money. Perhaps something like a 30-40bhp increase would be enough. I'm not looking to leave Type-Rs or Cupras for dead, but it would be nice to get some more torque and a little more grunt off the line.

Reply to
Tayles

One other question: is chipping replacing the old ECU with a new one, whereas remapping is just reprogramming your existing chip? Is there a difference in the results? Are there any pros and cons I should know about?

Thanks, Russ

Reply to
Tayles

The good news is the early cars have general speaking the stronger engines, (it's the conrods that will start to go at about 320-340bhp. The bad news is that the 150bhp engine had the K03 turbo and some of the early ones had a standard cable throttle (not as good on petrol as the later VVT with drive by wire). If you want more power there are normally 2nd hand K03 Sport or K04 turbots about on ebay from the Leon/S3 and with a K04 and S3 injectors you should be able to hit 275-280bhp (The Leon had IIRC 210 then 225 bhp through it's front wheels and there are plenty of them kicking round with chips).

Reply to
Depresion

Chipping may involve either remapping the existing ECU or adding a "piggy back" chip to the system. If you replace the ECU completely, that's not generally known as chipping, and costs a fair few quid.

Reply to
Doki

I see. Looks like a remap to around 180-195bhp would suit my needs. The one you mentioned in Bicester might be worth looking at. Are all companies much of a muchness or are there some to avoid?

Reply to
Tayles

My car is from August 98, so I imagine it has the K03 turbo. Obviously having 200-odd bhp is tempting, but I reckon a remap to the 190bhp mark would probably be enough for me.

Reply to
Tayles

If you are anywhere near Chesterfield I'd recommend JBS.

Reply to
Depresion

Both terms can apply to the same thing.

Depending on the design of the ECU, you may need to change the manufacturers one for an aftermarket if it can't be remapped or the main chip in it cannot be replaced.

Reply to
Conor

The thing about tuning is that there is an enormous amount of bullshit around. AMD have a fairly good name as far as I know, but I've never been there, let alone used them for work on my car. If you look on the AMD site, to go above a 30 horsepower increase, you need high flow exhausts fitted. In my book, anyone offering you a lot more than 30ish BHP without new exhausts is probably talking shit (the free flowing exhausts let the turbo spin easier). The fact is that there are very few accurate dynos on which to test power, and there are all sorts of fudge factors used to compensate for transmission losses to turn an "at the wheels" figure into an "estimated" flywheel power figure. The only true way to get a flywheel figure is to take the engine out of the car and test it on a bench. The only way to get a proper at the wheels measurement is to use the kind of dyno burgerman ran (a big heavy roller that's spun up by your car / bike wheels, weight of the roller is known, all the maths is simple and you can work out power easy and accurate). The more common kind of dyno uses braked rollers, which are much more variable.

The problem is that you can go and get a "40 horsepower" upgrade and then go and get it independently dynoed, and it come back as not making another 40 horses, and the tuner has umpteen excuses along the line of "his dyno must be out" "it's not a flywheel figure, ours is a flywheel figure" "there must be something wrong with your car" etc.

Reply to
Doki

[snip]

This must be why most modified GTI Turbos seem to have been boosted to

180bhp and no more. I'm guessing that any company worth its salt would only offer an extra 30bhp without recommending that new exhausts be fitted. Like you say, if I paid for an extra 50bhp, but wasn't getting that kind of performance in return, I'd be pretty pissed off.
Reply to
Tayles

I'll second that. Although they're not so close to you, their CustomCode stuff has a reputation for providing a more progressive 'component friendly' upgrade and it's not usually a chip, it's a remap so not visually noticable

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As you will see from the site, they do have authorised agents down south but I don't know of their customer service and their bespoke mapping abilities but the standard CustomCode Phase1 remap will be the same which ever dealer you go to

Ken

Reply to
Ken (the sane one)

Anyone wanting serious power would probably get a stainless performance zorst anyway.

Reply to
Conor

I've just looked at Custom Code's website and they seem to offer a good Phase 1 remap. They've got a franchise down south too, which is good. And their claim of smooth power delivery sounds like what I'm after. I also found a company called Revo

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who arecheaper and also have garages in my area. Anyone know about thiscompany? Are they a reputable outfit? Russ

Reply to
Tayles

Go and ask on clubgti.com/forum or one of the MK4 forums. Plenty of people meddling with 1.8Ts on there. I don't think there's anyone here with a VAG product they've meddled with much except for Depresion.

Reply to
Doki

I dunno. It's nice to have performance and a relatively standard looking / sounding car sometimes. OTOH QPE get 200 horses out of an AGU 1.8T with a standard MK2 Golf GTi exhaust system.

Reply to
Doki

I will do, thanks. One other general question: I've read some comments on the web about upgraded cars needing to run on top grade petrol, as opposed to the bog standard Shell Premium unleaded that I generally fill up with. Any truth in this? Can I still use normal fuel on a chipped car?

Russ

Reply to
Tayles

I understand there are a couple of versions of VAG 1.8T ecu which don't take kindly to remap but are chipable (replaced chips on the ecu board) These are usually sold on a 'hand over your old ecu when you get your new one' basis to replenish the company's stock

Ken

Reply to
Ken (the sane one)

If you intend to run right to the edge of the engines capablities then CustomCode, for example, can map it to fully utilise higher octane fuel. The basic phase1 should be fine on normal

Ken

Reply to
Ken (the sane one)

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