20hp Gain With a Chip? Real Thing or Wishful Thinking?

[ALF1]

Some pretty fantastic claims being made in eBay auction #1876368588. Comments from our experts?

Jerry

[Guest Buick Mike]

No chip will give you 20hp on a 200hp engine. Notice he always says <span style="font-style: italic">up to</span> 20hp. Even if his chip loses power he's not falsely advertising.

Mike

[Guest Reatta1]

Hey guy, nice to see you back and looking good as ever.

I sure wouldn't complain about a 20hp increase but not from what most think is 'pie in the sky'. If it could be proven I'd maybe spring for it. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Reatta_Cruzin]

Alfster, glad to c ya back!!! Buick Mike is right in his post. But they do seem to help a little in gas milage. No huge gains but a little.

[padgett]

This one is even more amazing: will work in Firebirds. Does not seem to matter what year, engine, or trans.

Suspect it might be a resistor to go on the coolant temp sensor to make the engine think it is colder = richer mixture.

I can gen up a chip that will probably give up to 10% better MPG but you will have to run premium gas (cost: +20%)

Only way to really improve power is to upgrade the entire system: intake, heads, exhaust, & cam. The you might need a different chip.

BTW the latest change seems to have eliminated embedded HTML, <a href=... just comes up as test.

[2seater]

My best guess is about 5hp or about 3%. With a homemade CAI and cone filter, 160 deg. thermostat, opened up exhaust outlet, no catylitic converter and custom programmed Fastchip, my best estimate of resulting horsepower was 182. In real world driving I did not find much benefit,(never checked mileage), but it does seem to have a better top end charge. After many runs with a G-Tech, about 30) with stock chip, Fastchip and different engine temperatures, I found a slight decrease in 1/4 mile, .1 sec or so, but picked up an average of two mph. Best E.T.'s were at about 150 degree engine temps. In my opinion, the stock chip is pretty well optimized for 87 octane fuel and does a good job. I would occasionally see 1-2 knock counts at takeoff and sometimes at the 1-2 shift also. Premium fuel and the stock chip eliminated all knock but the car actually slowed down and was less responsive in real world driving. Premium fuel and the upgraded chip brought back the responsiveness. Please note: I sent the chip back to have the cooling fan turn on lowered to 172 degrees and I had more timing added (38 degrees @ 1900 rpm). Most are optimized for 91 octane and I run a little more than that (93), and it also runs cooler so it seems to want more advance to compensate. I still have no knock even with the new 9.1:1 compression ratio engine. I agree with Padgett in doing all the other things first as there seems to be better bang for the buck.

[Guest]

I'm no expert, but I've been around cars enough to know that chips, and gas line "magnets", and magic fluids and all the rest of that junk provide little, if any benefit.

If you want increased horsepower, start changing parts out!

Even when you change out parts, there's a price to pay. All passenger vehicles strive for the best compromise between performance, fuel economy, and driveability. If you monkey with this equation, you could possibly enhance performance in one area, but you'll lose somewhere else. Want more high end horsepower? be prepared to lose some street drivability, and maybe even fuel economy.

It's been said a million times, "there's no such thing as a free lunch".

John

[Guest]

Hey Jerry........................ nice to see you back. I've been very busy lately don't get here too often anymore.