How does a chip upgrade work

Hmmm isnt decatting illegal ? (not like anyone will check though)

anyways I ask because people where talking about chipping and people are going crazy for this:

http://www.unichip.us/21-what-is-the-unichip

and on dyno its shown to produce an extra 12kW at wheels
 
Its not only Audi that can detect how many flash cycles the ECU has had, they might just be more on the lookout for it.

Most, if not all can. A record of each flash gets logged into non-erasable memory of the ECU. Its just a case of the local dealer not being bothered / not having the know how to check. They don't benefit from checking as they are not the ones taking the hit on warranty claims, rather the ones making a profit. When its a bigger claim like a melted piston, there will be an investigation in which they would likely find evidence of flashing.

As for the actual flashing its a simple task, get yourself a cable off ebay. These revo stage x,y,z, dreamscience x,y,z, etc maps are pre-made maps which offer an increase in boost, they are not custom maps for your car specifically. So search the net for one, copy one off someone else car, buy direct. Just make a backup of your car's original first
 
a Person who re chip there car, normally wants it to go faster.

I saw a program on tv, where they blueprint and polish the outlet manifold on the engine, which gave 30% more kw.

If you ask this Q because you want to save on petrol, rather go to the mall and buy lighter shoes.
 
Robertvv said:
a Person who re chip there car, normally wants it to go faster.

I saw a program on tv, where they blueprint and polish the outlet manifold on the engine, which gave 30% more kw.

If you ask this Q because you want to save on petrol, rather go to the mall and buy lighter shoes.
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Blueprint simply means to adjust tolerances to manufacture defaults, like it should have come out of the factory.

Polishing the exhaust manifold is a small step which on its own wouldn't make any difference.

They probably reshaped the intake and outlet ports of the cylinder head, aka porting, aka gas flowing and then matched the intake and outlet manifolds to these larger ports. This would be in conjunction with longer duration, higher list cam shafts and possibly lightened, larger valve train. The increase in overlap of the cams would decrease dynamic compression ratio so increasing the static compression ratio, by skimming the head, block or fitting other pistons would also be necessary to bring that dynamic compression ratio back up. Add a less restrictive higher flow exhaust & intake system and remap.

That's in a nutshell what needs to be done to make an NA car more powerful, doing one or 2 steps is a waste of time, they all work together. None of this makes any financial sense unless you are doing professional racing. Upping the boost on a turbo car is the only cheep mod worth doing imho.
 
Naks said:
without a doubt. For example, the latest Audis have an ECU write flag, that keeps track of whether a map has been written to the ECU. As soon as they detect this, Audi will void your warranty.

Note that there is a difference between chipping and remapping.

The former usually entails soldering/cutting wires to add a physical chip to the ECU board, which then intercepts signals between the ECU and the engine and changes these. Chipping is generally a BAD idea, because in most cases all it does is overfuel the vehicle, which is just plain bad for reliability in the long run. For example, places like SAC and Dastek.
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Unichips installed by SAC are plug 'n play, the remapping is done on the unichip which can be removed prior to servicing so as not to interfere with warranties
 
Ol' Mean Bastid said:
Unichips installed by SAC are plug 'n play, the remapping is done on the unichip which can be removed prior to servicing so as not to interfere with warranties
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Where do get them from? How much would they cost?
 
Naks said:
DO NOT go the chip route, esp from SAC and the likes, unless you have a spare engine lying around. These chips just fool the ECU into overfuelling, which leads to higher EGTs and in the long run failure of exhaust manifold and other expensive issues.
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evidence?

if this is true how do they get away with it, and why is unichipping so popular?
 
DanH said:
Blueprint simply means to adjust tolerances to manufacture defaults, like it should have come out of the factory.

Polishing the exhaust manifold is a small step which on its own wouldn't make any difference.

They probably reshaped the intake and outlet ports of the cylinder head, aka porting, aka gas flowing and then matched the intake and outlet manifolds to these larger ports. This would be in conjunction with longer duration, higher list cam shafts and possibly lightened, larger valve train. The increase in overlap of the cams would decrease dynamic compression ratio so increasing the static compression ratio, by skimming the head, block or fitting other pistons would also be necessary to bring that dynamic compression ratio back up. Add a less restrictive higher flow exhaust & intake system and remap.

That's in a nutshell what needs to be done to make an NA car more powerful, doing one or 2 steps is a waste of time, they all work together. None of this makes any financial sense unless you are doing professional racing. Upping the boost on a turbo car is the only cheep mod worth doing imho.
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agree, saw it on ignition tv on a land cruiser, +30kw but just 1% petrol saving.
 
Haldex said:
Finding your little 86 a bit slow? :D
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not really. Im not modding my 86 till its warranty is over was just curious because people were talking about these chips. Obviously I will mod it later on when I have the energy to do so. The 86 is a car meant to be modded
 
Nothing wrong with a properly done unichip. It's not plug and play though. Lots of ecu harness cutting. And no it doesn't just overfuel.
 
RiaX said:
not really. Im not modding my 86 till its warranty is over was just curious because people were talking about these chips. Obviously I will mod it later on when I have the energy to do so. The 86 is a car meant to be modded
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Mmmmmm that's why there's more mods for an 86 than there is for a 99 vtec.
 
Chipping a standard NA road car is pretty stupid imho, as is cutting on a cars wiring harness.

Even if you do small mods, the car's standard engine management system has negative feedback loops which will compensate. There are knock sensors to allow for optimal ignition advancing, exhaust gas sensors to correct any inconsistencies in the measured mass of the air being inhaled, etc. This allows the management to fit each car's subtle variations perfectly and to cater for wearing service components and changing tolerances.

Having a mechanic run the car on a dyno a few times at a fixed load, temperature, air pressure, humidity etc at wide open throttle and then skewing the entire mapping to fit that tiny subset of possible conditions 2% better while disregarding all the other conditions is crazy.

More serious mods would obviously need some form of ecu remapping, but you will never get as comprehensive a map as the original simply because manufactures spend countless hours and serious $$$ developing those maps while the mechanic is going to do +-10 wide open throttle runs under fixed non-real world conditions before getting bored.
 
RiaX said:
Hmmm isnt decatting illegal ? (not like anyone will check though)
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Technically yes because the emissions won't be the same as the registration information for the car.

Realistically, no because nobody ever checks this stuff if a car is being tested for roadworthy compliance.

Also a catalytic converter costs in the region of R20 000 to replace so nobody ever does it.

Unleaded petrol is a sham as it stands anyway.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/10944
 
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Also not *every* chip voids your warranty - you can get factory approved.

Volvo use Polestar ... Audi has their DTM chip and I think BMW also has an approved brand
 
Naks said:
DO NOT go the chip route, esp from SAC and the likes, unless you have a spare engine lying around. These chips just fool the ECU into overfuelling, which leads to higher EGTs and in the long run failure of exhaust manifold and other expensive issues.
Click to expand...

That is the biggest load of BS ever. I have been running a Uniq+ for 170 000 km's, no issues. Remember, a chips is only as good as they guy that maps it.
 
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