a friend wants me to look into this for him

[alfa147x]

http://slrmotorsports.com/shop...?l=product_detail&p=30

for his 325i 2006

Would this "chip" really work? is it worth it? if it does how does it work?

Thanks.
Alfa

 

[shabby]

No it doesn't work, period.

 

[cheesehead]

Worthless chip is worthless.


http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/5/1946580/page=3

The "chip" is nothing but a resistor that fools the car into thinking it's receiving more air into the pistons than it really is. As a result, it sprays in more fuel. This may give a small boost in performance, but is more likely just to waste fuel.

If you want more horsepower cheap, an aftermarket air intake and/or exhaust kit might be the way to go. Proper chipping serves to alter the ECU air/fuel map (often in conjunction with dyno tuning) and will usually give the most benefit in cars that have either been heavily modified, or cars that have a turbo. Either way, it would be better to have the car dyno tuned, or better still, get a car with a bigger engine. Also consider reducing weight - if you get rid of all the thermal/noise insulation, rear seats, passenger seat, stereo, air conditioner, and other unimportant bits, your acceleration and fuel economy will skyrocket.

 

[halik]

Doubles the HP on a geo metro! Amazing!

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
Worthless chip is worthless.


http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/5/1946580/page=3

The "chip" is nothing but a sensor that fools the car into thinking it's receiving more air into the pistons than it really is. As a result, it sprays in more fuel. This may give a small boost in performance, but is more likely just to waste fuel.

If you want more horsepower cheap, an aftermarket air intake and/or exhaust kit might be the way to go. A chipped ECU will usually give the most benefit in cars that have either been heavily modified, or cars that have a turbo. Either way, it would be better to have the car dyno tuned, or better still, get a car with a bigger engine.

Other way around, it's a resistor placed on the MAF wire, which lowers the reading. ECU thinks it's got less air coming in, so it sprays less fuels and leans out the mixture. You get higher output at the cost of leaning out the engine and higher (read: unsafe) temperatures.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: halik

Other way around, it's a resistor placed on the MAF wire, which lowers the reading. ECU thinks it's got less air coming in, so it sprays less fuels and leans out the mixture. You get higher output at the cost of leaning out the engine and higher (read: unsafe) temperatures.

Hmm. I did not know that.

I presume that this is the major benefit of chipping - you can trade long-term durability for performance. If you have a second car which you only drive on the weekends - say, an old Miata - this might make some sense.

 

[alfa147x]

So what are some low budget non rice upgrades can he do?

Thanks for the quick replies BTW

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

Originally posted by: halik

Other way around, it's a resistor placed on the MAF wire, which lowers the reading. ECU thinks it's got less air coming in, so it sprays less fuels and leans out the mixture. You get higher output at the cost of leaning out the engine and higher (read: unsafe) temperatures.

Hmm. I did not know that.

I presume that this is the major benefit of chipping - you can trade long-term durability for performance. If you have a second car which you only drive on the weekends - say, an old Miata - this might make some sense.

No, it does not. This is not "chipping" a car, this is 20cent resistor that's fucking with the sensors. Chips change the fuel map, not screw with the inputs.

 

[T2urtle]

some are resistors for the Ambient temp sensor. makes car think its receiving colder air.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: halik

No, it does not. This is not "chipping" a car, this is 20cent resistor that's fucking with the sensors. Chips change the fuel map, not screw with the inputs.

I'm aware of this. However, changing the fuel map will often cause the engine to run a bit hotter.

Strictly speaking, the resistor does change the fuel map, but does so by using a sledgehammer for a job that's better done with a chisel.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: alfa147x
So what are some low budget non rice upgrades can he do?

Thanks for the quick replies BTW

As I said earlier, air intake, exhaust, and maybe a proper dyno tune if he's feeling flush.

However, the cheapest, easiest, 100%-guaranteed way to boost performance without harming reliability or even your factory warranty is to ditch weight. Stereos, air conditioners, and noise damping are overrated.

Honestly, if he really wants to go fast for cheap, he should build a Lotus 7 clone. (See Ron Chapman's "how to build a sports car for under 250 pounds.")

Edit: AAAGH! double-post!

 

[LTC8K6]

A bogus answer from SLR from another board:

This is what they said:

Hello, We guarantee you will see and feel gains of 50+ HP and 50+ Torque and
3-6+ MPG or your money back. The SLR chip is pre programmed to recognize
your specific engine size. Once the chip has recognized your engine size,
the chip will adjust to different conditions such as the fuel used and the
temperature. The SLR chip comes programmed with the software to recognize
your engine. If you have any more questions please let us know.

SLR Motorsports
SLR Motorsports

-----Original Message-----
From: SLR Contact Form [mailto:SLR Contact Form]
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 11:15 PM
To: customerservice@slrmotorsports.com
Subject: Customer Inquiry

SLR chip is just a resistor pack. They used the pack so they could legally call it a chip. It's really just the old resistor scam repackaged.

http://www.f150online.com/foru...orts-chip-exposed.html