Before getting this done i checked out the board here and found nothing good or detail about the powerchip. Hopefully this will help others.

Was done today, $890 fitted for the Gold98 software.

Before the nay-sayers begin bagging how unflexable the powerchip is, let it be known i have no intention on turboing, increasing cams or going down the CAI path. Comparing $890 to around $1450+ for unichip/greedy tuned&supplied (in Vic anyway), PLUS on-going dyno tuning expenses and time spent in a workshop etc etc...

What i was looking for with an ECU Modification/Assisting: All of the listed problems, at the best possible price in the longterm.

That aside, i went to the head-office in Victoria (Mount Waverly) to get it installed. When i arrived i handed over my keys for my car and rather them directing me to the waiting room, they gave me the keys to their Mazda MX-5 to drive around instead! :bowrofl: Best waiting service ever, especially in this good weather!

Install took about 2 hours due to complications with a faulty chip, luckily they had another one spare to use so i didnt walk away with nothing. The guy the was setting it all up modified the software to take into consideration the extractors, airfilter and exhaust. He wasnt too keen on the FSE FPR, reckons it might over-richen the mixture between idle and the point where the extractors kick in...

Before the Powerchip:

Idle : If left long enough (5 minutes) the revometer would dance like a mofo between 500 and 1000 rpm, also very rough and loud on the exhaust. The idle mixture was extremely rich (as noted in the exhaust gases) and totally inconsistent. Often at the lights (in neutral) the car would rattle unless i was giving it a bit of juice to keep past 1000rpm

Takeoffs : On cold nights often will launch nicely from idle. Other times (in the hot weather often ) i could barely get the car moving. I would be flooring it and it would grandpa its way from idle upto about 2500rpm when suddenly a MASSIVE surge of power would be delivered (extractors).

I was contantly dicking around with airfilters, block/unblock resonators in the induction piping trying to fix the above problems.

After 3000rpm when the extractors were kicking in the car has always been good, lowdown has always been a joke with the said extractors and since changing the t/b to a RPW high-flowed unit made it worse.

WITH the Powerchip installed.

- Idle perfectly at 700-750rpm. The car feels like new now.

- Drivable at low speeds without having to rev the **** out of it

- Much more seamless transition of power (at 2500-3000rpm mark) with the pacemakers extractors. Torque does exist below 3000rpm now.

- Induction/Engine sound louder under hard acceleration. Exhaust is more subtle when idling, but still plenty loud when rived, still gives off decent back-pressure burbling :D

- Much more steady cruising, improved economy. Noticable drop of about 0.5L/100 Kms when cruising at low speed (80Km/h)

- The car is quicker, no doubt. Im not planning on dynoing it, i can feel the power and the response immediately without requiring evidence to convince me of the fact.

Overall im very happy, i got what i wanted out of the chip. This is with the inclusion of 98 Octane rate fuel all the time.

As far as im concerned the ECU holds all the cards in the 3rd gen Magnas and is the single cause of all the flat spots, rough idles, etc once extractors/k&n filters, CAI's etc are done. The stock fuel/ignition maps are crap with some breathing mods and need to be overridden!

Good on you mate.

You achieved an end to your problems plus a nice increase in power and driveability.

A good result. :thumbsup:

Good to hear and well done for just doing it! great to hear the results and thanks for the info... makes me want to get my unit retuned more than ever now.

So don't they tune it using a dyno? just a recommended map or what? what do they do? they used a dyno for my EManage and I just asked them for the results afterwards.

these can be used in application with a supercharger, :D

Good to hear and well done for just doing it! great to hear the results and thanks for the info... makes me want to get my unit retuned more than ever now.

So don't they tune it using a dyno? just a recommended map or what? what do they do? they used a dyno for my EManage and I just asked them for the results afterwards.

They dont dyno tune it, its all pre-fabricated in that respect. Because its not specifically tuned to my engine its not the most effecient way to go about it. They program the chip to the car and setup, plug it in and thats it.

Nice one mate.

Really sounds awesome. Wish i could have that done. :cry: Got no $ at the moment lol.

When you say that you use 98 octane all the time... do you mean it was tuned to 98 octane and it 'MUST' be used, or would it still run the same on 95 or lower?

When you say that you use 98 octane all the time... do you mean it was tuned to 98 octane and it 'MUST' be used, or would it still run the same on 95 or lower?
Must. The chip will be set to advance the timing by 'x' degrees which will require the higher RON fuel. As these engines don't have knock sensors, they can't retard the timing themselves.

Interesting. I put the same thing in my TJ Sports. Gold98. Stuck it on a dyno 30mins before and then 30mins after. EXACT same power before and after, with a very tiny increase in torque (could only just see the line above the original one on the dyno comparision).

Sent all dyno sheets along with power chip back. They looked at it and said, woops sorry we put the wrong map on your chip, so, they sent me back another one. I went through the same crap again dyno before and after, same result.

In the end the apologised and gave me a refund. Sorry to say it mate, but i doubt weither its done much.

They might have better luck with commodores as with those, and many others, they actually remove the stock chip from the car and replace it with theres but it would seem these don't work on the Magna's

Interesting. I put the same thing in my TJ Sports. Gold98. Stuck it on a dyno 30mins before and then 30mins after. EXACT same power before and after, with a very tiny increase in torque (could only just see the line above the original one on the dyno comparision).

Sent all dyno sheets along with power chip back. They looked at it and said, woops sorry we put the wrong map on your chip, so, they sent me back another one. I went through the same crap again dyno before and after, same result.

In the end the apologised and gave me a refund. Sorry to say it mate, but i doubt weither its done much.
They might have better luck with commodores as with those, and many others, they actually remove the stock chip from the car and replace it with theres but it would seem these don't work on the Magna's

did you not read his post of all the things its improved? :nuts:

Interesting. I put the same thing in my TJ Sports. Gold98. Stuck it on a dyno 30mins before and then 30mins after. EXACT same power before and after, with a very tiny increase in torque (could only just see the line above the original one on the dyno comparision).

Sent all dyno sheets along with power chip back. They looked at it and said, woops sorry we put the wrong map on your chip, so, they sent me back another one. I went through the same crap again dyno before and after, same result.

In the end the apologised and gave me a refund. Sorry to say it mate, but i doubt weither its done much.

They might have better luck with commodores as with those, and many others, they actually remove the stock chip from the car and replace it with theres but it would seem these don't work on the Magna's

I seem to have had better luck then what you did. I remember reading your posts about your unpleasant experiences and decided to go ahead with it anyway.

ok here is a dyno to prove the chips work. bottom line is stock 2nd line extactors it shows a 12kw atw gain 3rd line is with chip and it shows a 8kw atw gain
so there is the proof they do work

I have a powerchip too and agree totally with trancer, I could really FEEL the difference!

I am very happy with it! :D

Please go and put your car on a dyno. Unplug the chip and run it and then run it again with the chip on the same day. I doubt pomejo ran it before and after on the same day & same dyno (i am only presuming that, sorry if im wrong) therefore his 8kw gain could be from differences in dyno's and/or weather conditions

I to thought i could FEEL the extra power

I was suprised to find it didnt give any more power because i was sure i could feel the extra grunt but it was all in my head

The powerchip has two wires that go to the car. A Greddy Emanage has like 14 or so. How could a unit that interfaces with the car with only two wires give more or similar power to a unit that has 14 or so wires running to the car?

I also love to know how you think the ideling was fixed by this unit. ALL it does is advance the timing. Ive never heard of advancing timing solving ideling problems. I think they might have just fixed that up for you while they had the car so that you didnt come back and complain that the car wont idel since the chip has gone in. Who really no's though.

Don't take offence please anyone by this, just trying to get the real story behind what these things can do.

looks like the power is in different spots aswell..


what else was done to the exhaust other than the extractors? im a firm believer that extractors on stock engine are pretty much a waste of money for the 2kw your going to gain

Gremlin, you will get varying results from different engines as no 2 are the same.

You are obviously pretty bitter about your experience.. The guy has explained what has improved for him, Pomejo has even shown a dyno sheet..

Your best bet is to just bow out of this thread and put it down to a difference of opinions rather than putting it politely that the thread starter and Pomejo are liars..

looks like the power is in different spots aswell..

what else was done to the exhaust other than the extractors? im a firm believer that extractors on stock engine are pretty much a waste of money for the 2kw your going to gain

:gtfo: Firm? do you mean thick?

The whole exhaust system has been replaced with 2.5" Free-flowing system, the airfilter also K&N'd. I swapped cars for an hour with a mate a weeks ago (who has stock 3.5 TH Manual) and he didnt want to give mine back.



I also love to know how you think the ideling was fixed by this unit. ALL it does is advance the timing. Ive never heard of advancing timing solving ideling problems. I think they might have just fixed that up for you while they had the car so that you didnt come back and complain that the car wont idel since the chip has gone in. Who really no's though."


I was assisting the tech to rev the car and inspect the idle rpm before the chip was hooked up. He said this had to be done, as the wiring for the Magna ECUs tend to change specs every few months and had to be checked manually. Gremlim, based on this advice maybe your powerchip installer plugged it into the wrong wires?

Once it was plugged in and the engine turned over, the idle was immediately different as though a switch had be turned on. there was no thinking involved on my behalf, the idle changed as noticed in the physical before and after. I let it sit there for 5 minutes on the 750rpm idle waiting for it to lose it, but didnt. This was when i still had a nearly empty tank of regular ULP instead PULP 98 like its supposed to have.

:gtfo: Firm? do you mean thick?

The whole exhaust system has been replaced with 2.5" Free-flowing system, the airfilter also K&N'd. I swapped cars for an hour with a mate a weeks ago (who has stock 3.5 TH Manual) and he didnt want to give mine back.

look at the gains yourself you toss, nothing more than a 2% increase in power or torque...... noticable? about as noticable as taking your spare tyre out of the car.....

as for your friends comments.. who knows? your the expert http://forums.eis.net.au/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif

Must. The chip will be set to advance the timing by 'x' degrees which will require the higher RON fuel. As these engines don't have knock sensors, they can't retard the timing themselves.
you can run normal fuel, just dont labour the engine or tow, normal everyday driving wouldn't see it ping i dont think.

"as the wiring for the Magna ECUs tend to change specs every few months and had to be checked manually"

rubbish.


you might feel extra power due to a re-arrangement of power delivery - but you simply can't accurately tune a vehicle without doing it in real time. It's tuning with a blindfold. This becomes doubly important on an NA car, as gains are already very hard to make.

companies like this have been debunked all over the world - it's not that hard to do the research and find out why.

my 2c - you would have been better off getting a tuneable ecu and getting a one-off tune.

you can say 'well my car is great now' - but you don't know what it could have been like with a proper tune

You get what you pay for, I suppose - but it seems awfully expensive for what it is

you can run normal fuel, just dont labour the engine or tow, normal everyday driving wouldn't see it ping i dont think.
And how many of us here drive like 'everyday driving' all the time?

And how many of us here drive like 'everyday driving' all the time?

What? I do! :bowrofl:

Seriously - why can't we have constructive posts in this forum! There is always somebody who starts the name-calling and then the whole subject changes. Try to keep this stuff "friendly". If Trancer reckons he got bang for his buck - good. What ever the fix for his idling problem was, it's running fine now (I personally reckon it was simply resetting ECU with battery disconnection...) so he is happy. Eh!?
It is ok to debate and so on - no b-dy need to tell people off (like I'm doing now :shock: ).
What comes to Powerchip - some time ago I lodged a request with them re my car. I actually did 2, one for standard set-up and one for current mods. They both produced the same power increase result, which basically is impossible if a chip is correctly tuned. Agree everybody on this one? Also, I definitely believe the only proper way to chip a donk is to dyno tune it. All donks and mods are slightly different as we know, tuning has to be tailored to maximise the output
Did somebody mention "not getting CAI and stuff"? Hu? CAI (proper one, that is!) is the very first mod one does, easiest and cheapest. Then go for dump (muffler) and headers.
Ok then. Seems like the storm in Sydney has passed, so I can leave the office and go home, enuff of this now.
And keep the peace guys (and gals). Ok? Thanks. Or else I'll take u's all behind the barn and shoot.... :cool: :)

And how many of us here drive like 'everyday driving' all the time?

normal driving is keeping it under half throttle, reving it out is no problem. its when you labour an engine and get it to produce torque when it will do damage if its pinging. reving an engine out is still possible to do without putting your foot down remember ;)

Gremlin, you will get varying results from different engines as no 2 are the same.

You are obviously pretty bitter about your experience.. The guy has explained what has improved for him, Pomejo has even shown a dyno sheet..

Your best bet is to just bow out of this thread and put it down to a difference of opinions rather than putting it politely that the thread starter and Pomejo are liars..

Yeah ok, fair enough, ill stay out of this one. Just dont want new comers to do a search of "powerchip" and find this thread that says its awesome when Powerchip handed me back my money cause they knew they couldnt make it work.

I'm the only person with a Magna who has actually unplugged, ran on dyno, plugged in again and ran it again within 15mins so i would have thought that would be the best test yet, not, it FEELS like the car is so much better. As for the dyno sheets, were these done on the same dyno and same day? I was also sent a replacement incase this one was faulty and i went through the same process with the same results. Newayz

Hope i was just an unlucky one and got two faulty units, dont like seeing ppl waste hard earned cash, Cheers

[QUOTE=gremlin]Please go and put your car on a dyno. Unplug the chip and run it and then run it again with the chip on the same day. I doubt pomejo ran it before and after on the same day & same dyno (i am only presuming that, sorry if im wrong) therefore his 8kw gain could be from differences in dyno's and/or weather condition



if you look at the dyno sheet all stats are on the same sheet as in, it is the same dyno
it was run stock .extractors put on then run again then the power chip put in and run on the dyno again thats why there is 3 diffrent sets of lines all on the same day,
you can not unplug a chip then run it on a dyno the stock ecu has to be reset by taking the battary lead of for an hour or so

and how about those gains from the extractors... huge :redface:

and how about those gains from the extractors... huge :redface:
Yeah, what headers are they?

eaze up turbo, lol

Yeah, what headers are they?
pacemaker

so the chip does work

so the chip does work


I dont know, im confused...

how much would a fully programmable chip that all you guys are talking about cost, say a G-REDDY one? im guessing they dont make any of these chips for TS's?