WHat is the diffrence between a Hypertech chip or a custom burned chip? Price? Where can i get them? Please educate me on this. I was looking to get a 89 iroc with headers, exhaust, a chip, cold air, maybe some other stuff.

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no car, just savin for a fbody, i am 16 not to much money, I am shooting for a late 80's early 90's 350, iroc or z28. I may be only 16, but, just be glad i am no *****! Right now I am learning everything possible about camaros.

 

Any mail order chip will be generic in nature. they might change a few things, but nothing drastic, and sometimes nothing more then radiator fan temps. Kinda like buying a carb, and the jets aren't changeable.

Do It Yourself chips are taylored for exactly your engine combo., AND the way you drive.

 

CALIBRATION PROM CHIPS 101.

Are you looking to have your ecm match your engine combo?I will give you my views and you decide.The computer controlled vehicle uses sensors to read what your stats are incoming air,rpm,throttle position,burned fuel etc.Then the computer gives the correct fuel & spark for idle,part & wot.The prom chip has vital info pre programmed for the motor.Things like injector size and amount of air is what decides how much fuel and spark.
I will first explain how companies like hypertech burn chips.They take a stock chip and do minor adjustments.Most chips are only modified at wide open throttle.The "stage 2" chips are always legally sold for off road use.If they do modify part throttle it always requires a 160-165 thermostat and 92octane.Price range is roughly $125-$400.
Now I will tell you why all aftermarket chips are junk.When you add cold air kit & headers you add air.More air than you stock prom is programmed for.Now you're running lean.At idle and part throttle the ecm can adjust to a degree but at the major cost of power,gas milage and throttle response.At wide open throttle you will run very lean.The ecm at wot give a programmed amount of fuel and spark and ignore the O2 sensor.Aftermarket chips add more fuel at wot.But due to the fact the have to sell the same chip for engines that can have a range of mods,they can only add limited amounts of fuel.Therefor the proper amount of fuel and spark cannot be determined.

I have to edit my message to include this major thing.The only reason that companies like hypertech require 165 tstat and 92 octane is to cover thier rumps.They dont know your motor,therefor cannot program thier chips for your motor.They just program general things and hope it works for you.They know most people will never have hard numbers to back up improvements.Some people just think thier car is faster.
Lets say "wow that aftermarket chip does work",then you got lucky.The chip works now but add a few mods and your off again.Then there is the issue of part throttle and idle too.Even if the car runs good @wot the gas milage and power will never be as good as a custom chip.There is no way to get a chip right without having sensor info to tell how far your off from optimum.If you get different size injectors then aftermarket chips (like mail order ones)are out of the question.They are all set for your factory injector size.That is a major problem and your engine will suffer.
I burn my own chips because there are no chips made for a 400 sbc.My car ran with the stock chip.But at the cost of at least 50 hp.Custom (self burned)is the only way to go.You can change mods to you car and not pay $300 on a chip every time.I have a 87 formula with a 400 tpi and have managed to get 25 mpg in mixed driving.Thats better than my buddys new v6 grand am.It will cost you about $200 to get everything to burn your own chips.You can burn many times,the proms are erasable.Best of all people like me will help you every step of the way.

[This message has been edited by formula5 (edited December 11, 2001).]

 

What I want is somthing that will give me the best performance gain

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no car, just savin for a fbody, i am 16 not to much money, I am shooting for a late 80's early 90's 350, iroc or z28. I may be only 16, but, just be glad i am no *****! Right now I am learning everything possible about camaros.

 

jdhommert,

Read what formula5 wrote again!

If you want the best preformance from your engine you have to get a custom burnt chip and you have two options to get one.

1) Bring the car to a proffessional engine tuner and let him tune the custom prom for you. It will cost you $$$. The next time you modify something the calibration will be off and you have to bring the car back to the engine tuner again. More $$$. Then you do another mod again ...

2) Pay $ once for prom burning equipment and learn how to tune the prom yourself. The next time you do a mod you already have the equipment to adjust the calibration to match.

It's your money ...

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Jonas Bylund

 

I will be taking the "DIY" route. Like my previous post said..I will be getting a custom chip that I am getting off a guy for a good price..he is sending me the complete unit (ie: MEMCAL, basically the complete unit ready to plug in). If it works then I have gotten a great break! But his chip was programmed for his car with his mods. Our cars are identical in engine/year, but his has a better flowing intake and exhaust. So if it don't work so well I am not overly concerned. I will be picking up the knowledge and tools over the winter to do these things myself. I am new to it all but am willing to learn and from what I have seen from this board you guys are more than willing to share the knowledge!!

Plus I have my stock chip to put back in case I totally screw it up

You will be seeing a lot of me on this board in the future and I will be more than willing to share my sucesses and failures with everyone!! hehe

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1987 Camaro Iroc Z
T-Tops
Maui Medium Blue
5.7 L TPI
TH-700R-4 Tranny
Dynomax Super Turbo
Removed Cat

Check out my ride in the Readers Rides

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