Mugen ECU chip

[Kevin]

Mo and myself tested our Mugen chips at Bedford yesterday. Although I would honestly say I can't 'feel' much difference, it must be there.

For the first time we could out drag a lot of cars that we couldn't before.

Any else to add Mo?

[modarr]

Yup, I could add I have a few for sale at 50 pounds each.

As Kevin says, the hp increase is not enough to give an obvious boost to acceleration, however the higher terminal speed on the long straight at Bedford and having out dragged a few newer 911's and a Scooby I am sure the performance hike is there.

A must if you're going to modify the exhaust, a 20bhp gain should be easily attainable.

[osiris_x11]

hmmm... I'd be very much interested in knowing more about this Mugen chip, that was allocated for the original NSX-R's.

Has anyone ever run a baseline performance dyno pull? And then run one after installation of headers/exhaust/chip? (I will omit the intake aspect as it gives neglible gains, if at all. 2-3hp from what I've heard w/ an aftermarket high-performance air filter)

For instance, my 1991 NSX 5spd is rated at 270bhp. On multiple dyno pulls, it showed 239-240rwhp. It has the original cast-iron manifold & stock exhaust. Other people who who have gone w/ aftermarket headers & performance exhaust have shown dyno pulls of 265rwhp (some are less, some are higher).

Do you think the Mugen chip would add any hp in addition to the ~25hp the H/E provide :?:

I know of a chip that Dali Racing has...

http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=438

Super Hot Chip Naked
For '91-'94 add 5-15HP and 5-12 ft/lbs. - depending upon supporting engine mods.

[Kevin]

We have not dyno'd the car with the chip. I'm not worried about numbers, but I know when the car is going quicker than it did before.

We both have standard I/H/E, and can feel the diff as well as keep up/overtake cars down the straight that we couldn't before.

[710]

About the way a chipped car will feel:
I remember back in the Cosworth Sierra days, when chips became available (and copy-able), an acquaintance of mine copied some of the brand name chips and was selling them. The dyno tests showed considerable power increases (it is a turbo engine, so increasing the boost really gave more power) of plus 100 hp - a really huge difference. But some customers came back and said they couldn’t feel the power difference and thought they had been ripped off. This was a common problem. They expected a NASA style launch. (well, yes you can feel an extra hundred horspower, I'm just saying what happened). Dyno tests (and other straight line tests against other cars) showed a real power gain.

So, as Kevin rightly says, it would be difficult to feel any small difference (especially because people have expectations that the car will pull a wheelie with the new chip). But test results should show the difference.
Also remember that noise is deceptive too. Really really deceptive. Open the window and suddenly you feel you are really moving.
Weight (or lack of) is vitally important. Taking the spare wheel and lots of other things (including your passenger) out will be the equivalent of adding many horsepower, more that a chip change can give (IMHO). I have, last weekend, just found out how very heavy the air scoops and the pillar covers are. I believe Dali-Racing has a page with part weight figures.
Yes, it’s
http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/info/weight_loss/weight_loss_cost_matrix.cfm

Kevin is right again when he says the dyno numbers don’t interest him. Pump the tyres up harder and the dyno will show very different power figures. Dynos are for comparison (before modification versus after modification), really.
Also, again with the Cossie (I haven’t chipped my NSX), even though the power is way higher after a chip change from stock to custom, the fuel mileage is much better (if I don’t put my foot in it too much of course. Power comes from burning more petrol). It uses a lot less fuel under normal driving conditions compared to the stock chip (again, for a Cossie).
So will you have all round improvement with NSX chips? The after-market chips seem to be better than the stock chips (generally, not specifically with the NSX). Why? I don’t know. I would assume the manufacturers like Honda have more money and resources than the after market chippers. So I don’t know why.

Also remember there is a huge amount of subjective opinion and BS when people talk about power. Tests are the best way. But, on the NSX sites, there seems to be a minimum of BS. It seems to me to be all pretty level headed, and that’s good (not typical of other car-makes sites).
So you may not feel the power increase, but you will feel the other guy looking at your tail lights if you pass a previously faster car!

Peter