Chipwerk.com

[RyanGautier]

Anyone use one of these? I searched and couldn't find anything.

http://www.chipwerke.com/brand/audi-a5-2-0-tfsi-224-hp/

I would love to know the good, bad, ugly.

Thanks people

Ryan G

[mjfloyd1]

Search. There is a large thread. Chipwerke vs APR stage 1 vs stock. Search audizine member bhvrdr

[doug97gxe]

don't do it

[jmaddr]

If you want to keep your warranty, do it.

[doug97gxe]

If you want to keep your warranty, do it.

I'm Stage 2 with full intact warranty

[Rocket Tech]

I'm Stage 2 with full intact warranty

if you had an engine malfunction on the side of the road and had your car towed to the nearest Audi dealer do you think your warranty would remain intact? You're such an opponent of the chipwerke and continue to insist on letting others know what your value system is without taking into account anyone else's. Your reasons for disliking the chipwerke aren't even founded on personal experience. I've read your other forum posts and find you to be otherwise reasonable - but your stance on the chipwerke is lame, for lack of better word.

I hear apr users are still suffering from that shift lag issue that was going to be addressed last year, supposed to be another 2 weeks I think.

[Rocket Tech]

OP - love my chipwerke. Best bang for the buck power upgrade you can do. Super solid, can't recommend it enough :). This is all just my personal opinion after having owned it and daily driven it for about a year. Read up, some users have experienced some quirks and check engine lights - I've not experienced a CEL personally.

[jmaddr]

I'm Stage 2 with full intact warranty

If you blow your engine, I beg to differ. It's a standard risk thing, nothing is certain. Some people trust reflashed with counter reset, some people piggies, and some people nothing. It's all a matter of risk. Personally, I think overwriting system code can be detected. Unless it's a block for block rewrite, it's detectable in the computer world, and even then things like dates and temp logs would be wonky which could be used against you. Therefore, I certainly would think it's detectable in the automotive world. It's all a matter of how far they are willing to investigate. And if you think the burden of proof is on them, I wouldn't be so sure in the real world. They will deny it, you will take them to court, and then you will have to perjury yourself saying you didn't tune. Not a good situation for anybody.

Think they don't check these lists, think again. I had a friend blow his Panigale R engine at a track. Ducati found out it was at a track and denied him for racing based on his posts. Even piggies aren't immune. Dinan has a YouTube where he has a short bit explaining the differences. In that, he mentions that car companies are putting Easter eggs in the code to detect even piggies. The only way to be 100 safe is stock, then I think piggies, then a complete code rewrite. What risk level are you willing to accept?

[chrisdazzo]

If you blow your engine, I beg to differ. It's a standard risk thing, nothing is certain. Some people trust reflashed with counter reset, some people piggies, and some people nothing. It's all a matter of risk. Personally, I think overwriting system code can be detected. Unless it's a block for block rewrite, it's detectable in the computer world, and even then things like dates and temp logs would be wonky which could be used against you. Therefore, I certainly would think it's detectable in the automotive world. It's all a matter of how far they are willing to investigate. And if you think the burden of proof is on them, I wouldn't be so sure in the real world. They will deny it, you will take them to court, and then you will have to perjury yourself saying you didn't tune. Not a good situation for anybody.

Think they don't check these lists, think again. I had a friend blow his Panigale R engine at a track. Ducati found out it was at a track and denied him for racing based on his posts. Even piggies aren't immune. Dinan has a YouTube where he has a short bit explaining the differences. In that, he mentions that car companies are putting Easter eggs in the code to detect even piggies. The only way to be 100 safe is stock, then I think piggies, then a complete code rewrite. What risk level are you willing to accept?

Finally some common sense that isn't based on hearsay and anecdotes. Don't tune unless you're 100% ready to give up your warranty.

[doug97gxe]

If you blow your engine, I beg to differ. It's a standard risk thing, nothing is certain. Some people trust reflashed with counter reset, some people piggies, and some people nothing. It's all a matter of risk. Personally, I think overwriting system code can be detected. Unless it's a block for block rewrite, it's detectable in the computer world, and even then things like dates and temp logs would be wonky which could be used against you. Therefore, I certainly would think it's detectable in the automotive world. It's all a matter of how far they are willing to investigate. And if you think the burden of proof is on them, I wouldn't be so sure in the real world. They will deny it, you will take them to court, and then you will have to perjury yourself saying you didn't tune. Not a good situation for anybody.

Think they don't check these lists, think again. I had a friend blow his Panigale R engine at a track. Ducati found out it was at a track and denied him for racing based on his posts. Even piggies aren't immune. Dinan has a YouTube where he has a short bit explaining the differences. In that, he mentions that car companies are putting Easter eggs in the code to detect even piggies. The only way to be 100 safe is stock, then I think piggies, then a complete code rewrite. What risk level are you willing to accept?

i've already been in for service flashing back to stock.. i had no problems and my car was scanned..

to the Gentleman above Mr. Rocket.. i carry my laptop with me everywhere i go so i can remove my tune just as fast as you can remove your CW .. and if i was concerned i would take the car to an Indy shop before the dealer

To the others who feel i'm going off hearsay .. i'm merely quoting/echoing what CW owners have said after they gave up the device .. first off you have to have perfect 93 octane .. many have had problems using it with 91 .. and some with 93 .. others have also experienced jerky feeling and hesitation with this unit.

its not opinion or hearsay its actual facts ..

CW is a piggyback .. for those of you not familiar with how piggyback's work.. they lie to the ECU and report false values so the ECU will compensate and make more boost. Personally i would rather my ECU making that determination because at any point in time there is a communication problem with the CW .. or something happens your motor can go in an instant. Personally i would rather go with the ECU Tune that has proven to be rock solid for years.. NO ONE has ever blown their motor from a ECU Tune .. hey if you want to go with the CW that's fine .. i understand some of us are on a budget .. i would rather not cut corners with my car.. but we are all different .. good luck to you all.

OP you can pick up a CW Cheap in the classifieds from all the CW owners who are now switching over to real tunes.. feel free to PM them and ask them why.. i'm pretty sure the answer isn't going to be i finally came into some money to afford a real tune

[Rocket Tech]

OP - give it a shot or find someone who has one locally and go for a test ride. Doug talks about cutting corners and "not for his car" as though being on a budget is all CW users care about (hint - it's not). decidenfor yourself if it's right for you after reading all the CW threads. There are many many more satisfied users than there are those who had a negative experience. Piggies are going on sale because at some point users decided it was no longer for them because they didn't like the compromises (they are there) or decided they were willing to take the risk with their warranties and go full tune. If you're willing to drive around with your laptop at all times then you'll be even more secure in knowing you can reflash your car should it be needed (wonder how many other tuned users do that and why, I wouldn't want to drive around with a laptop at all times).

There are multiple folks who have gone full tune and disliked the product and either went with another tuner, got rid of the time altogether, or are just living with a compromised experience.

Yes, the CW works by taking the actual boost signal and manipulating it to show the car is making less boost thereby causing the ECU to hold the bypass closed for longer. The factory ECU programming and safeguards remain intact and are able to react fast enough (based on all logs examined to date) to accommodate the chip's manipulation.

One thing the cannot be denied is CW has great customer service and their money back guarantee is no hassles.

I'm a strong proponent of the CW because most members on here who are negative about it make it sound terrible and use boogeyman scare scenarios to put it down (without actually having any first hand experience). If I was a new member reading about the CW I might be convinced this was going to destroy my car and I would have passed up on an exceptionally well priced power upgrade. Hopefully more folks will go the way of the CW or similar and help bring these exorbitantly priced (and sometimes compromised or beta level tunes) down to a point where the value becomes more consistent with the rest of the tuner community.

My comments about compromised or beta level tunes may not be reflective of what's available on the market today but no one can deny that some initial releases for supposedly well tested tunes resulted in low power and compromised driving dynamics. There's an active thread right now where APR is working on shift hesitation issues which were reported last year and they are still working on a fix. Fact, not conjecture.

Lastly - pay to play, expect no matter what route you go if you modify your car in any way it's grounds for warranty or service denial. One member was denied electrical service/troubleshooting because they had an exhaust.

[Rocket Tech]

I should actually post about my own experience with the product:
- when the car is cold, there is some shift hesitation. Driving in S mode minimizes this. Once the car is warmed up the shift hesitation is undetectable/eliminated.
- when the weather is colder I run the car with the less aggressive setting to avoid the hesitation. Warmer weather, it gets kicked back up to the higher power setting. I run California 91 octane which is known to be terrible.
- I have not experienced a CEL. I have driven from near ocean level elevation through some local mountains and did not trip a CEL, some users who have driven from LA to Las Vegas have reported a CEL during this trip. I believe that user ultimately sold their CW because they made this trip frequently and didn't want to deal with the hassle of resetting their code, I may not have all the details of that correct.
- my traction control kicks in regularly when I floor it from a stop. I believe stage 2 users typically disable/neuter their traction control before going wot from a stop. This is something I've had to be mindful of, audi's TC, when engaged, is very aggressive. Nothing like expecting your ass to get pushed Ito the seat only to be thrown forward into your seat belt because engine power was cut.
- I'm one of the early adopters of the CW, purchased if right around the initial buyers were receiving theirs but before folks started to really get into it. Have since sent my CW back for a map upgrade, don't know that it did much of anything. As I said the shift hesitation is a known characteristic that you can adjust for quite easily - just don't be goosing it while the engine is cold.
- I recall having shift hesitation issues the few times I inadvertently ran the car hard before it was warmed up, not sure if the CW hesitation is more aggressive.

- I did not choose the CW based on price (at all) though I find it to be the best bang for buck mod I have done to the car; I've done the typical coilover, sway bar, end links, ak, intake, exhaust that most people seem to do on this platform. I enjoy driving my car spiritedly every time I get into it and the CW gives the car just the right power level to feel like it's a sportier luxury car. I don't think it detracts from the luxury aspect at all. The CW makes the car feel the way it should given these things are porky beasts. Not to take anything away from the Audi engineers/calibrator a because the car in stock form is pretty amazing. Love my car and the CW still makes me giggle.
- I don't feel as though I'm cutting corners by using the CW and I live in a world where cutting corners costs lives and hundred of millions.
- I don't have a superiority or Napoleon complex when it comes to stuff I've done to my car. Do what you want with your car but don't tell me I'm a fool for doing something to mine that has been shown to be a safe (and so far reliable) product.

Once I'm out of warranty I fully intend to go stage 2 or dual pulley if that gets well sorted. I can't be bothered to drive with a laptop all the time and I don't want the dealer to have a convenient excuse to deny me service if something should go wrong with my seats or electrical system. This last bit is a joke if you've read the thread I'm alluding to.

[Rocket Tech]

Apologies for typos I'm using my phone and can't be bothered to go back and correct, hopefully it all came out coherent. =P

[doug97gxe]

well said Mr. Rocket