Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 40 years, and is the founder and publisher of this magazine. Keith has also written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, has been an emcee for numerous concours, and had his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity. He has received many honors, including the Lee Iacocca Award, the Edward Herrmann Award, was inducted into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame, and more. He has served on the board of directors of The LeMay Museum and Oregon Ballet Theater, and was formerly the chair of the board of the Meguiar’s Award. Learn more about Keith here.
It’s not “doomscrolling” for a car guy, it’s cars for sale searching. Those of us who are addicted to finding “just one more car” can’t help ourselves. In addition to the usual suspects like Bring a Trailer or Cars & Bids, we look for slightly more obscure sites where “the buy of a lifetime” might be hiding. I’ve recently discovered Facebook user groups as a source of fellow fanatics, in my case Alfa Romeo S4 Spiders and U.S.-spec Lotus Elise S2 models. In addition to doing deep dives, on topics such as whether or not the shifter position indicator on an […]
It’s not “doomscrolling” for a car guy, it’s cars for sale searching.
Those of us who are addicted to finding “just one more car” can’t help ourselves. In addition to the usual suspects like Bring a Trailer or Cars & Bids, we look for slightly more obscure sites where “the buy of a lifetime” might be hiding.
I’ve recently discovered Facebook user groups as a source of fellow fanatics, in my case Alfa Romeo S4 Spiders and U.S.-spec Lotus Elise S2 models. In addition to doing deep dives, on topics such as whether or not the shifter position indicator on an S4 automatic has an indicator light (some say yes, some say no), I’ve also been trying to find out why the passenger side A/C outlet on our Elise isn’t working.
While poking around, I came a across an ad for an automatic S4, much like our own, with a link to the classified listing on Hemmings.
I enjoyed reading the ad, as it extolled the rarity and desirability of the auto-equipped Spiders. The seller claimed only 200 were built. (I have heard that less than 50 were brought to the U.S.)
Surely such a rare car must also be highly desirable?
The seller included a long list of modifications he had made. The one that caught my eye was an upgraded computer chip made by Squadra Tuning.
According to its website, for about $275 (shipped from Europe) you can expect an increase from 119 to 129 horsepower. There are YouTube videos that demonstrate the straightforward installation.
The videos mention that the chip does not turn the Alfa into a performance machine, but adds “a little sparkle” to it as you go through the gears.
So should we chip our S4?
Even if we do, we probably won’t have to come up with a new nickname for the car, affectionately known as “Sluggo” for its less-than-impressive acceleration.
We have already added a Centerline Stinger exhaust, which “makes the car sound like an Alfa,” says our tech Nasko.
Let’s assume the installed cost is less than $1,000. Is it worth it? Would we even notice it with the three-speed automatic? What sorts of problems might we be causing?
Have any of you chipped your S4?
I’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments.
We have the questions, does Facebook have the answers?
Would you actually be even able to feel/perceive/notice a 10hp increase? I say save your money!
Glenn in Brooklyn, NY
Forrest Schuck
Sadly, I don’t have an Alfa currently to compare, but as to chips for improvement, I can tell you that we “chipped” our VW Tiguan with a product from APR, and the lowest state of tune (Stage 1, 87 octane; it is a tin can daily driver after all) made a huge difference in driveability across the range and even picked up about 2mpg overall in ‘normal’ driving. Highly recommended. With an automatic, you might like to search for an item with a bit more initial gain, say 30 hp or so, but expect a tangible improvement with any of them.
Ken Swanstrom
Keith – not an Alfa Romeo or a Lotus, but I have chipped (and still own) a 2018 VW Golf R and at the same time increased the turbo boost pressure slightly – it went from a factory 292 hp to approximately 350 hp – very reliable, never had a problem – and surprises many BMWs.
Dave Hedderly-Smith
I doubt that you’ll get too many responses from folks whose chip switches didn’t go well.
I’d trust the engineers and tech at Alfa Romeo for having already figured out the best “all-around” chip for the car. There are plenty of way to get a few more horsepower out of an engine, but Alfa decided on the set-up it came with from the factory. You’ve probably already helped boosted the power a bit with the exhaust. But that alleged 10 extra horsepower from the chip just might take 20,000 miles off of the engine’s life.
If you want a quicker car, there are plenty of them out there, so sell the Alfa and buy something quicker.
anatoly arutunoff
my automatic sluggo turned out to be a screwed-up cam timing actuator. transformed the car when an experienced tech fixed it!
Rand Wintermute
Having owned two S4’s – one red , one yellow,
They are Led Sleds….I also looked into chipping both of them but the cost benefit of just gaining 11-12 Hp at the sacrifice of cam wear just isn’t there ; in your particular case of an S4 being an Automatic , I say absolutely save your money . Keeping your S4 original will make it more valuable when you or your son goes to sell it ! “Chipping” a car is akin to “Tracking” it !…. This devalues the S4 greatly as it would most any other car !
Jon Inge
Do it! My S3 Spider has always felt less eager than I think any 2-litre sports car should. I looked into various ways to pep it up a bit, but eventually swapped the engine for a tuned S2 with SPICA when one became available locally at a good price. Probably more work (and cost) than you want to get into, but it’s a major transformation in responsiveness!
Todd
Take it from a mechanic…NO!!
I fix engines all month long that were “chipped” – then ruined.
You should see what a “performance tune” can (and will) do to a diesel engine.
8 responses to “Keith’s Blog: Is It Chip Time for Sluggo?”
Keith,
Would you actually be even able to feel/perceive/notice a 10hp increase? I say save your money!
Glenn in Brooklyn, NY
Sadly, I don’t have an Alfa currently to compare, but as to chips for improvement, I can tell you that we “chipped” our VW Tiguan with a product from APR, and the lowest state of tune (Stage 1, 87 octane; it is a tin can daily driver after all) made a huge difference in driveability across the range and even picked up about 2mpg overall in ‘normal’ driving. Highly recommended. With an automatic, you might like to search for an item with a bit more initial gain, say 30 hp or so, but expect a tangible improvement with any of them.
Keith – not an Alfa Romeo or a Lotus, but I have chipped (and still own) a 2018 VW Golf R and at the same time increased the turbo boost pressure slightly – it went from a factory 292 hp to approximately 350 hp – very reliable, never had a problem – and surprises many BMWs.
I doubt that you’ll get too many responses from folks whose chip switches didn’t go well.
I’d trust the engineers and tech at Alfa Romeo for having already figured out the best “all-around” chip for the car. There are plenty of way to get a few more horsepower out of an engine, but Alfa decided on the set-up it came with from the factory. You’ve probably already helped boosted the power a bit with the exhaust. But that alleged 10 extra horsepower from the chip just might take 20,000 miles off of the engine’s life.
If you want a quicker car, there are plenty of them out there, so sell the Alfa and buy something quicker.
my automatic sluggo turned out to be a screwed-up cam timing actuator. transformed the car when an experienced tech fixed it!
Having owned two S4’s – one red , one yellow,
They are Led Sleds….I also looked into chipping both of them but the cost benefit of just gaining 11-12 Hp at the sacrifice of cam wear just isn’t there ; in your particular case of an S4 being an Automatic , I say absolutely save your money . Keeping your S4 original will make it more valuable when you or your son goes to sell it ! “Chipping” a car is akin to “Tracking” it !…. This devalues the S4 greatly as it would most any other car !
Do it! My S3 Spider has always felt less eager than I think any 2-litre sports car should. I looked into various ways to pep it up a bit, but eventually swapped the engine for a tuned S2 with SPICA when one became available locally at a good price. Probably more work (and cost) than you want to get into, but it’s a major transformation in responsiveness!
Take it from a mechanic…NO!!
I fix engines all month long that were “chipped” – then ruined.
You should see what a “performance tune” can (and will) do to a diesel engine.
DON’T DO IT!!