got my ecu tuned by powerchip

[Bavarian Motorist]

This is all dandy. My main & primary concern, and I can not stress this enough, is that I do not want any power losses at any point in the powerband or @ any RPM.



How do I know? Well, I don't. It's hard to tell at low RPMs, but I can say w/ a bit of confidence that at high gear at low speeds (35mph in 3rd for example), the car jumps faster than before. It pulls me more. The seat will actually hit my back when I hit the gas.


What does this mean? I don't know. How do you really know?



Throttle response IS improved. I know this sounds a little LOL-worthy, but it does help in day-to-day driving. It's like the difference between having a strong clutch w/ a strong spring and a mushy clutch. You feel what you're doing more, allowing for more precise control.



I am pretty pleased w/ the product. I knew from the beginning the gains for my car would not be substantial. That doesn't need to be told to me.


I just want to couple it w/ the PSE that is coming out in April and see what that does




So make what you want of all of this technical stuff, but I can not say enough about the great service at Powerchip.


I must have called 50 times before and after I got the ECU back and they were happy to answer every single question. Trav is a great salesperson and is very easy to work with.


I actually memorized the phone # because I called so much.




PS: I just have to make a small defense to Trav. He did put some of his $$ where his mouth was. He sold another member & I both the product for $600.

It costs $900. That's a substantial price decrease which shows confidence in the product.


He is willing to sell any of us the product for just $600. If you are willing to take the $90 shipping loss (or $40 if you send it by 3-day mail), I recommend giving it a try, especially if you have other mods.


Special thanks to Jim for putting things into an objective and informational perspective

[super66]

if we are thinking the same chip here, it claims to bump from 240 to 259 with 93 octane gas......

so not being much of a horsepower and ll that jazz kind of guy, but shouldn't/wouldn't yuo cmopletely absolutely feel the jump with a gain of 19 horses???

The only reason I ask is that I saw the chip and claims and wanted it, also claimed to knock a half second of your 0-60 time.....but I just don't think you are giving it the most glowing endorsement.....a lot of back and forth....

I guess I'm staying away from it for now....

[Bavarian Motorist]

It does feel more powerful. It's difficult after a couple of weeks to remember how it USED to feel.



You adapt to the new power and then you are unsure. It feels normal again to you.



That's why HP is so addictive, like a drug

[dcporsche99]

"FINAL CONCLUSION


My now good friend, arenared, PMed me and brought light to my predicament.


If you notice my descriptions...Loss in 1st and 2nd gear, torquey in 5th gear, fast in 3rd gear, it leads to one conclusion: There is a loss at high RPM.


I would have never considered this. I always assumed that the high end yielded the most gains.


I am going to return this product A.S.A.P.



Meeting a girl Thursday night and have an auto-x Sunday but Monday I am going to...immediately.



Thanks to everyone for your insight and thanks especially to arenared for showing me what was right under my nose.


I no longer recommend this product for a 987 if it is your only mod."




Hey Bav,

Just wondering what made you change your mind?? I thought you were going to return it ASAP?? Customer service is one thing, but actually getting what you wanted is another.

Anyway, looks like you've made your decision to keep it. But, do keep us posted!

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

[super66]

Originally Posted by dcporsche99

Hey Bav,

Just wondering what made you change your mind?? I thought you were going to return it ASAP?? Customer service is one thing, but actually getting what you wanted is another.

Anyway, looks like you've made your decision to keep it. But, do keep us posted!

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

I kind of had the same take especially with the money where your mouth is...I mean money where your mouth is send it back here is your 600, not discounting a product....ummm....I'm staying away fo now but thanks for the info you've passed along on this chip......keep us posted for sure

[SD987]

If a chip gave me the improvement in fuel economy that you originally noted, I'd keep it for that reason alone.

[jinijazz]

Bav, you said the throttle response was improved.
How do you compare it with sport mode(Sport Chrono)?

[eslai]

If it was significant horsepower, you'd feel it without question. The fact that you're thinking a PSE would make any difference also indicates that you're the type of guy that would be easy to sell parts to.

Skepticism will keep your pocket fat, especially in the aftermarket parts arena where everyone and their brother is selling snake oil.

And, the thing I always ask is, "if all it took was this one little part to give me "X" amount of improvement, why wasn't it done this way at the factory?"

If this thing is really generating better fuel economy, what negative effect is it having that was tuned out at the factory? Everything's a compromise.

To get better fuel economy, you could be running leaner at idle or low throttle. Great, except for the increased emissions. As long as you're not hugging trees or give a crap about children, that's fine.

[Bavarian Motorist]

The gas mileage is definitely improved. There's no question about that. By how much? I can't really say, but it's steadily improved from 19.9 to 21, and this is including an auto-cross and some high performance "testing" of this chip.



The throttle I cannot compare to the sport mode because I don't have that





Eslai: Are you kidding? I've spent months and months trying to find a single product that guaranteed themselves so I would not have to waste $$.


I don't know if you remember when I joined but that was the first thing I asked about; Mods.


I am a very skeptical person but I also realized that spending months & months debating on whether or not I want to spend a few hundred dollars doesn't make any sense either, so I decided to take the bait and see what's up.


Sometimes that's the only way to really know...







Anyways, I think that instead of a PSE, I am going to buy a 1st gen. Miata for track driving and auto-crossing. My car keeps getting all dinged up.