chipping a 1.8t bad for engine?

I'm about to purchase a 1998 Audi A4 1.8t Quattro. I've done some decent research on what I would like to do to the car to make it more...well....fun. I've seen a lot of chips out there, they all up the boost to about 14-15psi. I was just wondering...Is this bad for the engine? Can the stock internals withstand this up in boost and still remain...reliable? Any info would be great guys! Thank you!

Trav

well u could notice a small drop in mpg but the boost of 14 15 should not affect it chips also up the fuel intake air and etc. so that keeps it safe if it wasn't safe that wouldnt be the first thing on everyones list

ill tell ya one thing my friend has a 99 a4 1.8t and he got a pes chip and had pes install it and if u drive the car like its a fuckin race car every time u step in it you will fry that motor that stock turbo is way to small to handle 1 bar drive the car hard at night for 20 min and pop the hood and watch your turbo and exhaust manifold glow orange hahah its funny shit just lettin ya know from personal experience dont rip the piss outa it

I have the same model that your looking at. I WOULD NOT MOD THE CAR!! First off ask yourself this, "Why wouldn't Audi have added more to the car to get more power?" Maybe a small fact of they design the car to handle a certian amount and when you add more and more shit to get more power to end up breaking stuff and end up costing you thousands of dollars. Sure you might get some boost but continious pressure will end your cars lifetime much faster. Leave it stock, besides its pimp the way it is.

I disagree with Audi_A4 on this. I have a 98.5 A4 and I'm chipped with 50k on the clock. Zero problems thus far. A lot of people fail to realize how tough the 1.8T engine is. The thing is just about bullet proof. As far as a chip hurting your engine, I can say that it won't. As far as turbo life...thats all relative. The harder you drive your car the more stress you put on its components therefore causing greater wear, in turn shortening the life of the components.

I say chip it...you won't regret it. In fact you'll be wondering why you didn't do it sooner.

Oh and check out www.audizine.com

You minght not have problems, but to me its not worth the risk.. But hey, its your car :)

Even if he blows his engine...that's not really a bad thing...its an oportunity to put in stronger pistons and connecting rods and a big ass turbo! :lol:

Blow his engine!? bwahahahahahahaha....you're kidding right? I'd like to see one documented case of a blown engine from a car that was properly maintained with a 1.0 bar chip.

Blow his engine!? bwahahahahahahaha....you're kidding right? I'd like to see one documented case of a blown engine from a car that was properly maintained with a 1.0 bar chip.


what do you mean by properly maintained, servicing the car normally like it should or not driving the shit outa it cause if u want a blown engine case i know some1 and he maintained his car service wise excellent oil changes every 2500 plugs every 10thou let his car sit 5 min b4 shutoff brought into dealer EVERY 15000 for checkup if not sooner on all the above the prob is when people drive the hell outa the car hard every day and u keep cookin up your oil and engine parts every day it slowly breaks down....if not the internals u could cook your turbo or crack your manifold could do anything

Holla at ya boy whip. Finally someone who agrees with me :iceslolan

I think that u should go ahead and give the turbo a try. If u do, make sure u get the BOV..lol

Chips from different companies raise boost to different levels..
The chip from APR (http://www.goapr.com) gives 40hp/ 44tq
and raises only to 11.5psi I believe.. Perfectly safe range for stock turbo.. And to speak about beatin on the car and watchin the turbo glow.. you should never beat on any car like that as a daily driver.. Even thogh we all do .. lol

what do you mean by properly maintained, servicing the car normally like it should or not driving the shit outa it cause if u want a blown engine case i know some1 and he maintained his car service wise excellent oil changes every 2500 plugs every 10thou let his car sit 5 min b4 shutoff brought into dealer EVERY 15000 for checkup if not sooner on all the above the prob is when people drive the hell outa the car hard every day and u keep cookin up your oil and engine parts every day it slowly breaks down....if not the internals u could cook your turbo or crack your manifold could do anything


First of all, just because people get chipped doesn't mean they're going to drive the shit out of their car every time they get in it. Second, if you do that to ANY car its going to wear a hell of a lot faster. You make it sound as if by getting chipped the cars life span is cut in half.

When you chip it SYTHETIC OIL is a must. And the brand DOES matter i recommend Amsoil 0W-30

ehh i agree with the audi a4 and whippin... i personally have a 2.8 and i'm actually happy i bought it instead of the 1.8 because my ass would be modding it to 500+HP... not like i cant get on my way starting with chip, exhaust, and that little PES kit they like to call a supercharger HAHA... anyways, fellas, heres the deal - modding any car, especially german, should be ok jus depending on how u drive it... but there IS that factor of which can handle more of that "doggin"... my bro has an E36 M3(2nd generation for those unaware) with 125K miles and decent mods putting him around 300HP... he drives it almost as much as a daily driver, and gets on the gas anywhere from 4-5 times a week... the car is reliable, simple as that... on the other hand, if he had the 1.8T with some mods(chips, exhaust, intake, headers, or some combination etc.)doin the same thing, the car would have problems... not only because its turbo, but because the engine is small compared to most others... on a side note, i need some advice on what chip to put on my car: (1) TAP1: 18HP/18ft/lb for $500 (2) PES(has the GIAC chip): 10HP/10ft/lb for $300 (3) AWE tuning: 10HP/10ft/lb for $300 ....... help me pick fellas

That is not true. I have a chip and its 100% reliable. APR has a 335HPS STAGE 3 with over 50,000 miles of track use and testing. The owner of the shop drives it to work every day and has had no breakdowns of any kind. As long as you dont push it they are very reliable. 350hps is probably the reliable limit for 1.8t's, VR6 can take way more, but honestly the light weight of the 1.8t and the turbo boost make it a fun to drive car none the less.

no point is that upping the boost on such a small turbo and small engine can only go so far... yea, "as long as you dont push it, they are very reliable" no shit, tahts true for any car... but why else would u put a chip and aftermarket mods on ur car? to PUSH IT... and i can see u got the new one, thats even more weight ur luggin around... and yea, what did u think, the APR owner is gonna say his car isnt reliable? we're talkin about the generation BEFORE the new ones, meaning high miles of which u dont know how they've been driven... lastly, 350HP, not enough

hes running a Garret GT28RS turbo, he is making more torque than horsepower at 4,000rpms. His car pulls like mad i cant imagine having anymore power than that. And its true i see him driving to apr all the time its his everyday car he doesnt have a second car.

From an Audi tech!!!!! No the 1.8 is not bullet proof!!! If you do,do any mods use synthetic oil, its a good idea anyway. The 1.8 turbo get hot under the hood and if you go 8to 10k between changes the oil pickup clogs and things can go bad quick!!!!!! Also Timing Belts break, teeth strip off under really hard accel. Change them early if you are gonna run it hard. Other than that chip away!!!!

Oh I forgot, you might need to replace turbo, I'v seen them puke do to the added boost!!!

From an Audi tech!!!!! No the 1.8 is not bullet proof!!! If you do,do any mods use synthetic oil, its a good idea anyway. The 1.8 turbo get hot under the hood and if you go 8to 10k between changes the oil pickup clogs and things can go bad quick!!!!!! Also Timing Belts break, teeth strip off under really hard accel. Change them early if you are gonna run it hard. Other than that chip away!!!!

You should use synthetic oil in any car PERIOD! It surpases dino oil in every single way and provides excellent cold startup protection and quick warm up for less wear on the engine. But on a turbo vehicle it's even more important cus the turbine spins at 300,000rpms (K03).

Yeah 1.8T's run hot, and i like it in the winter it warms up by the time i get to the main road. Best warm up time i have ever seen.

Hmmm dont go 8-10,000 miles between oil changes. I changed my OE oil at 5,000 miles to Amsoil 0W-30 Severe Service synthetic oil.

Yeah the timing belt is cool cus its cheaper to change than a timing chain.

Oh I forgot, you might need to replace turbo, I'v seen them puke do to the added boost!!!

of course if u dont warm up or cool off u gonna blow it due to the added pressure. I have had no problems with mine! i take care of it.

If a car is naturally aspirated and you do oil changes every 3000 miles regular oil is fine!!!! Glad to hear you take care of your car.

First of all, any OEM car is design for long life and some amount of performance. Most cars are considerable de-tuned(especially in the US) for emissions. Chipping the car will not hurt it. Second there will always be some cars that break down for no reason except it was it's time to go. How the car is driven is a huge factor in reliability. You can't expect to race any car, JDM, German, or U.S., and expect it to last. Bottom line, you want more throttle response and higher performance, chip the car and be happy with the results. As with any upgrading, make sure to tune the car often and it will be reliable.