getting "Chipped"

[mutley]

Hi all,

With regards to Paul's thread about the Spoon chip on ebay, the general concensus seems that for that little amount of money, something can't be right, and a simple "plug and play" chip would probably do more damage than good.

So my question is, has anyone had there car chipped by a specialist (eg Superchips etc) or otherwise, if so, what were the overall costs and benefits - if any?

Cheers
Jim

[AR]

If I was you I would either get the ECU tuned by a professional with their chip, get a custom ECU, or get a programable ECU like AEM EMS.

Something like this probably will suit your needs.

Cheers,

AR

[mutley]

What sort of prices am I looking at for one of those? when you say programably, I guess you mean by a tuning shop?

[Senninha]

Mutley,

I've copied my own response in the other thread



I think the guys managed to replicate the Mugen chip with good results but be warned, it does (as Darren suggests) remove the red line cut out which could be a costly oversight when the red mist comes in


Suggest you pm Kevin or wait for his input here?

regards

[AR]

I think the AEM is around £ 1000.00 from the States. I am not sure how much the tuning is or who could be good at it. Darren has an AEM if I remember correctly, and he can give you a better answer.

Cheers,

AR

[mutley]

Thanks all,

I think I'll probably put that further down the priority line, but still a mod worth thinking about. Maybe add a big flashing light at 8300 rpm as a reminder!!

[simonprelude]

I have an AEM for the S2000 and have just sold one from the Integra, personally I would wait until the USB derived version is produced if I were buying another one.

[Kevin]

I have had a Superchips chip. Big waste of time and money.

I don't know what my Mugen one actually does, but the recent dyno figures should give a clue.

You can get an AEM for £800 here. Thor Racing tune them, and they have been aroud for a while. I've been looking around at various places to tune them, and it scares me some shops have only been around for a couple of years!

[AR]

I have had a Superchips chip. Big waste of time and money.

I don't know what my Mugen one actually does, but the recent dyno figures should give a clue.

You can get an AEM for £800 here. Thor Racing tune them, and they have been aroud for a while. I've been looking around at various places to tune them, and it scares me some shops have only been around for a couple of years!

I hate it when ones asks a shop if they can do this or that on an NSX and they say yes, then you ask them how many they done and they reply none!!!

Cheers

AR

[Kevin]

Well if you want to have a play yourself, here is a ROM editor for the NSX PR7 ECU. :cool: (How cool am I?)

Included is the standard ROM map.

I've lost my Mugen file, but if Mo still has it and sends it to me, we could take a look, and have the Mugen power, but keep the revlimit.

You can see, some of the myths around the ECU. The VTEC map extends all the way down to 500rpm. So by moving the VTEC point won't result in incorrect fuelling. It won't always result in power, but you get my point.

The way to find the optimum VTEC point is to dyno with VTEC set really low, and dyno again with VTEC high. Then set the VTEC at the point where the torque figures crossover, thereby giving you the best of both. You would think that Honda has done this already, but changing parts, and I guess most importantly cams, there may be a better VTEC point.

I've read that adjustable cam gears make a big difference on Honda engines (not specifically NSX). However more power will be produced at a higher rev point, with less lower down, fine for a race engine. I've read that 20bhp can be had on a Prelude if the overlap is increased.

[mutley]

ooooooooooooo This is all gettting very technical!! But like everyone, I'm always hungry to get that bit extra power, although I know that I'l have to invest in a few extra mods to get there.

As always, all the info I get from here is invaluable

Thanks guys

Jim

[modarr]

[

I've lost my Mugen file, but if Mo still has it and sends it to me, we could take a look, and have the Mugen power, but keep the revlimit.

EH?

What file?
I have the chip in my car if that's what you want. Its on a chip holder thing so it can be unplugged and the original plugged back in.

I'm going to get a traffic light sized red plug in shift light from Halfwits. I've can assure you that the the limiter has been removed. I've seen more rpm than I care to mention. The damn thing just keeps pulling like a train.b

[Kevin]

Mo,

I thought I emailed you the file which is a dump of the chip? Leave the chip in your car alone.:D

If there is real demand, I can pull mine, and get it read somewhere, if there is demand.

[AR]

If you need it I can send you the one I gave to Lankstarr, and you can ship it back to him when you are finished.

Cheers,

AR

[UltraViolet]

Also something else to consider and be cautious of ..... there are loads of ROMS promoted on the internet claiming to be Mugan or Spoon or Jun etc etc ..... very in depth investigation on a lot of these applications (some of which are sold at silly cheap prices on Ebay, some are priced at a level where you may assume they are real) reveals that wirth many, they are not what they pertain to be.

As with many things in life, it is worth finding a dealer/tuner/whatever that you trust first, then discuss the options. There are a lot more people out to make a quick buck, or even many well intentioned people who believe what they are saying, but don't have the indepth knowledge to realise not all is as they believe.

Also from what I have seen and with my very limited experience in this area - ECU tuning is not a quick task nor one which has reached anything like the optimum yet. There isn't a slot in chip as yet I would use personally.

[modarr]

[QUOTE=Kevin]Mo,

I thought I emailed you the file which is a dump of the chip? Leave the chip in your car alone.:D

Sorry Kevin, no such file received.

Mo

[forumadmin]

Oh well.

Never mind, I am now the high bidder for a eprom programmer on ebay. Soon I'll be able to do my own.

[josewick]

I have been in the tuning game for Japanese sports for enough time and this is my view on this topic.

Those on ebay and stuff claims it improves performance and all that stuff are usually CRAP...
Some cheap one are a matter of resistors that fool the signal to the ECU to give more fueling which in a way has no benefits in performance at all.

What other claims to be chips and things are again a piggy back to take away the factory "saftey margins" i.e. more advance in timing, more fueling.. They to an extend will give a performance gain..

However, a full remap on a programmable ECU will always give the best results because they are MAPPED to your own car with your own setup and things, unlike a map that is on A car that suit the general market. Saying that the engine tuning stages on NSX is slightly different to most other japs as in the UK market, they are usually left untouched with nothing more than induction kit, exhaust, decat and may be header.. That way if a map on this setup might be good for another NSX with the same engine setup.

There are quite a few aftermarket ECU in the market that can be used now and most popular for NSX is still AEM, not sure if APEXI Power FC does the NSX application otherwise that can be a good one too.

Mapping price is usually about £ 300 - £ 400 per map.

Back to AR 's comment, it is hard to convince people that a shop can MAP an NSX but they have not done any.. But a good Engine Mapper / Tuner should be able to map any car as long as they have the correct software and things.. They are all based on the same principle achieving the best power with the least det and the correct AFR... So if Thor can map supras (thats what they are good at), then there is no reason why they cannot do NSX (I know you are not referring to that company, just an example)...

[mutley]

Thanks Josewick, So to sumerise. keep away from the cheap offers on places like ebay and for real results you have to splash out a few hundres quid and get the mapping done propperly. Well it has certainly moved a little down my proirity list, but i think AEM is worth looking at in the future.

Cheers
all

[josewick]

Mutley

thats right..

There is no "plug andy play" chip performs better than a real map to your own car unless you are running stocker than stock....

In UK, I feel that people do not tend to modify there NSX much really (performance or styling), engine wise, nothing much but filter and exhaust.. That way they are very identical so a map from one can be used for another without major issues..

However over in the states, almost every NSX is unique and different to another, pretty much like the Skylines and Supras here in the UK, they have there own preference in modifying there car and although they are similar, but not many are the same with the same setup (turbos, injectors, AFM, engine internal, cams, exhaust, induction, ECUs etc...)

I would Save up a few quid for an AEM... ;)