Do chips work?

[plrobbo]

I have a friend who bought a diode looking thing that goes into the lead to the Air Sensor. It's supposed to 'trick' the computor into giving the engine more fuel???
My friend says it has made her VVC 'fly'!
Does anyone know if these things are worth it or can damage the computor please?
Cheers Robbo

[Steve White]

They should be avoided like the plague. They basically cause the engine to overfuel, which reduces power rather then increasing it (even though the enigne may feel stornger, as well as causing increased piston/bore wear as the excess fuel washes away the lubrucating oil.

Rob has a bit more info on the damage they can cause on his site, under the engine tuning section and 'tuning gear to avoid'.
http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/

[James Curgenven]

Ahh the old ebay £0.99 resister. Guaranteed to kill you engine through overfueling.

Tell your friend to say hello to bore wash and the cost of a new engine.

In short. They Don't Work, and they WILL damage your engine in time.

[stux99]

Couldnt resist a post after reading the title
(Its a West Country thing)
Seriously though, avoid them at all costs.

[vain]

Mine is superchipped and feels really strong with no flatspots, but then again its the only one I've driven so they could all be like that

[talkingcars]

A super chip is different to the resistor mentioned above, it gives a new map to the ECU to give more power. However getting the car properly mapped is a better option as it will take in to account any mods you may have etc

[plrobbo]

WOW! How quick was that to get a response.
Thanks guys.
Yes, I'd say it is a resister that I'm talking about - a $5 touch.
I'll have to let my friend know ASAP as she's just spent AUST$14,000 putting a new engine in.
Does re-mapping the ECU mean you have to buy a 'superchip' OR just get the existing ECU re-mapped?
Many thanks - Robbo.

[Andrew Regens]

It depends what MEMs is fitted a later type 3 can be remapped mine in my 97 VVC cant so would benifet from a superchip.
$14000 for an new engine seems a bit over the top!

[Rob Bell]

Resistor in line with the inlet air temperature sensor is a pointless, damaging thing to do for all the reasons already mentioned by Steve, James and Stu!

And yes, there's the perception that the car drives better from low speed, but over all, over-fuelling drops mid to top end power (see power curve below - comparing a standard with a higher pressure and therefore over-fuelling fuel pressure regulator). Read more about this here, where I looked at upping the fuel line pressure on a fairly standard K-series engine... Needless to say, I've now got a standard fuel pressure regulator fitted once again!



Superchips do work - and on a 1.9 or 2J MEMS equipped engine, are a piggy-back device. But when I say "work" I mean that there is a power gain, but it isn't exactly huge - probably in the region of 5-8bhp. This is worth considering when you consider the cost of such a unit: the power gain for the money spent does not perhaps represent the greatest investment you could make. But for greater power gains with more extensive engine modifications, an ECU upgrade does become manditory as the standard fuel/ignition maps make no sense to the engine that you've spent much time and money upgrading...

[James Curgenven]

If it's not a turbo it's going to be costly to get a lot more power from most cars.

The main benefit of a Turbo Diesel (I know, I know) is that you can add extra fuel as there is usually enough air there to make use of it.

Plus you can increase the boost until the engine spectacularly detonates itself, there's no "upper limit" where you notice no benefit like on a petrol turbo.

On a normally aspirated petrol adding more fuel just means it's not burnt which causes the problems in the engine. If you really want to see gains you're going to have to start spending serious money.

[colintf]

stick to edible chips and you cant go wrong

[MG Ant]

stick to edible chips and you cant go wrong

Although the weight you'll gain will undoubtly lead to slower acceleration and added tyre wear!

[Rob Bell]

stick to edible chips and you cant go wrong

Although the weight you'll gain will undoubtly lead to slower acceleration and added tyre wear!

[Andrew Regens]

Resistor in line with the inlet air temperature sensor is a pointless, damaging thing to do for all the reasons already mentioned by Steve, James and Stu!

And yes, there's the perception that the car drives better from low speed, but over all, over-fuelling drops mid to top end power (see power curve below - comparing a standard with a higher pressure and therefore over-fuelling fuel pressure regulator). Read more about this here, where I looked at upping the fuel line pressure on a fairly standard K-series engine... Needless to say, I've now got a standard fuel pressure regulator fitted once again!



Superchips do work - and on a 1.9 or 2J MEMS equipped engine, are a piggy-back device. But when I say "work" I mean that there is a power gain, but it isn't exactly huge - probably in the region of 5-8bhp. This is worth considering when you consider the cost of such a unit: the power gain for the money spent does not perhaps represent the greatest investment you could make. But for greater power gains with more extensive engine modifications, an ECU upgrade does become manditory as the standard fuel/ignition maps make no sense to the engine that you've spent much time and money upgrading...

With my flowed and ported Trophy 160 head, new cam, Dave Andrews dowels, I am using a FSE FPR and after setting up on a rolling road it's just under 4.bar. To get the best from my set up I know I need to get an ECU up grade and am thinking of a Wolf which is a local product, the onlything that is stopping me is funds!

[plrobbo]

Thanks guys - it has generated alot of discussion and I'm sure others have benefitted by this as well.
I spoke to my friend and she's taken 'the resister' out of the Air Sensor Plug!
I like Colin's idea QUOTE: "stick to edible chips and you cant go wrong".
Cheers Robbo.

[Rob Bell]

With my flowed and ported Trophy 160 head, new cam, Dave Andrews dowels, I am using a FSE FPR and after setting up on a rolling road it's just under 4.bar. To get the best from my set up I know I need to get an ECU up grade and am thinking of a Wolf which is a local product, the onlything that is stopping me is funds!

Having the rolling road set up is the key here Andrew as you know. Unfortunately, not everyone who buys these fuel pressure regulators know to do this - and will have to set the pressure using nothing more sophisticated than a guess and a moistened finger to determine wind direction...

Thanks guys - it has generated alot of discussion and I'm sure others have benefitted by this as well.
I spoke to my friend and she's taken 'the resister' out of the Air Sensor Plug!

No worries - that's the best bit of these forums - there's always something for all of us to learn