Hey I was just looking at getting a new Chip for my magna sports 2001 (gen 3) and I been looking at the power chip range here's the link http://www.powerchipgroup.com/index.asp they are all pretuned for your car, anyone tried them?? or recomend something better??

Oh the link lets you put in your cars specs and it does a little power thingo for your exact vehicle mods etc

A couple here have them and are happy with them. Generally speaking though, you should really get a chip tuned to your car as each car is different. I can't recall if a Powerchip is dyno tuned or not.

Powerchip's are simulation 'dyno tuned'

http://www.airpowersystems.com.au/unichip/unichip.htm

Unichip is the way to go check out the specs. i thin about $1200 or something last time i checked for my magna that includes dyno tuning. 10 15kw + gain prob.

I'd got GReddy before Unichip but only if you can get a good installer / tuner. Unichip is typically good for 6-10kW on our cars. Main difference is midrange torque and that's where most of our driving is.

I'd got GReddy before Unichip but only if you can get a good installer / tuner. Unichip is typically good for 6-10kW on our cars. Main difference is midrange torque and that's where most of our driving is.

I got a 11kW @wheels gain with a Unichip* :D

*note: 2.5" catbcak + K&N Panel filter were already installed

I got a 11kW @wheels gain with a Unichip* :D

*note: 2.5" catbcak + K&N Panel filter were already installed
Yeah, that's typically alright. Typically with typical mods you'll see gains typically higher than those typically stated without typical mods.

Ive gota Powerchip. I think its ok

Powerchip say expect between 172-177Kw at the flywheel for a standard 163Kw engine. Not bad for $850 i guess. Perhaps change the Air Filter and expect a few more noddies under the hood.

Powerchip say expect between 172-177Kw at the flywheel for a standard 163Kw engine. Not bad for $850 i guess. Perhaps change the Air Filter and expect a few more noddies under the hood.
Maybe, but it's entirely possible to leave your car in a state of tune that's not good for the car. There's a guy who was on MOGWA who had to remove his.

Yeah if i could do it over again i'd go for a Greddy i think, after what ive heard from Dave talking about them, they sound alot better

I'm interested in tweaking up my tj sports - what are the pros/cons of powerchip vs unichip vs greddy (vs others) ?

I noticed an improvement when i got the powerchip put it. Reason i now want a Greddy is cause i would like to do further mods (extractors for example) and i think the Greddy would suit me better as it can be tuned to my car

Do u want to buy my powerchip :D ?

is it a powerchip silver 95 or gold 98 ron and what is the claimed gain in kw for the magna?

Its the Gold with 98 ron fuel it's 177, with normal fuel its 172

I have the Gold98. Claimed 177kw.

Stay away from Power chips and any other pre-tuned 'chips'

Every engine is different. These chips have been tuned to get the most out of whichever car they designed the maps on.

If you have upgraded your intake system, exhaust, fuel - anything you'll want to make further changes to your engine management to get the full benifit from them.

Someone mentioned unichips, I have a unichip in my car and I'm not really impressed. The only reason it was installed was to get the car to idle (long story). The downside to the unichip is that if you want to make any tuning changes, you have to take it to your local unichip dealer and pay big $$ for dyno time.

For a little bit more $$ than a unichip, look at the EMS 8860 ECU. You get the software and serial cables with it so you can tune it yourself. Other popular Engine Management Systems are Haltech, Wolf and Motec.

Haltech has Valet mode (rev limiter) - Very nice if you dont trust who drives your car... :badgrin:

yeh well i was just reading their write up on the powerchip website, and i actually find it rather interesting, after i have my header sfitted etc, i may just get a powerchip or unichip and see what extra power i can get

something ill have to look into a bit more

Trav

This is doing my head in :headbange . there are so many different opinions about which way to go as far as an EMS. I am so close to buying one, but have had so many conflicting views.... I was going to go GReddy EManage, but then jumped to the idea of Unichip.
I would have started a poll on which way is better but i think it is coming down to opinion more than anything. We need a no BS, straight out fact and figure showdown on these damn things. :soapbox:

This is doing my head in :headbange . there are so many different opinions about which way to go as far as an EMS. I am so close to buying one, but have had so many conflicting views.... I was going to go GReddy EManage, but then jumped to the idea of Unichip.
I would have started a poll on which way is better but i think it is coming down to opinion more than anything. We need a no BS, straight out fact and figure showdown on these damn things. :soapbox:


What he said! /\
l

This is doing my head in :headbange . there are so many different opinions about which way to go as far as an EMS. I am so close to buying one, but have had so many conflicting views.... I was going to go GReddy EManage, but then jumped to the idea of Unichip.
I would have started a poll on which way is better but i think it is coming down to opinion more than anything. We need a no BS, straight out fact and figure showdown on these damn things. :soapbox:

Its pretty simple.

Power Chip (and similar): generic tuning, cant alter the maps- probably cheaper than the rest

Unichip: fullly programmable spark and fuel maps. can also control boost, n2o and some aux outputs. downside is that only an authorised unichip dealer can tune it. The unichip isnt an ECU, it is an auxillary computer which intercepts, calculates and alters Injector and Coil/Igniter output. And it has to be run in parrallel with your existing ECU

EMS8860: fully programmable spark/fuel. 8 ignitor outputs, 8 injector outputs (supports sequential injection), 6 aux out, 6 aux in. Comes with the software and leads, and you can program it yourself. Does also have some real time and offline datalogging facilities. The EMS is a full stand-alone ECU, although in most cases its wise to run it in parrallel with your factory ECU to maintain Auto Trans control and any other mundane jobs that it has. I'm not sure what relies on the ECU in these magnas.. but in falcons its required to keep the Instrument cluster, climate control, trip computer, auto trans and the factory imobilisation systesms functional.



Mitsiman said that you will lose drivability with an aftermarket ECU. Ive never heard of such thing, nor experienced it. An aftermarket ECU is capable of doing atleast the same, and usually always a better job than your factory ECU. Its job is to control spark and fuel - I'm not sure how an engine optimally tuned will lose drivability, but I'm interested to hear your thoughts and experiences here. Of course this would be dependant on who installs and tunes your aftermarket system.

For me, the Unichip increased my cars drivability. The cam is so wild that it would only idle for around 5 seconds on the factory ECU and then stall. The unichip gave me (err, my tuner) the ability to take LOTS of fuel out at 0 throttle/100-500rpm to stop it from running rich and stalling (yes, the cam has ALOT of overlap :D)

Thanks Waggin for the info, Just out of interest, I hope I am not being pedantic here but are you speaking from experince with Falcons and/or Magna's?

The way I see it,

The Unichip piggybacks to your existing ECU, allowing you to alter fuel/air mappings and maybe a bit more (ignition?). Unichip is also not as expensive as others. BUT! The downside is only authorised unichip installers can program the system, which brings the total cost much higher then we all thought.

Next comes the GReddy Emanage, similar to the Unichip as it piggybacks the existing ECU but with a lot more functionality, PLUS it can be programmed by any tuner, including yourself. Of course the Emanage is probably twice the cost. Although if you continue to change things in the car, it would be cheaper taking this route then if you had the Unichip. And you can have multiple mappings as well.

Then we sorta have a whole new ballgame. The EMS is a standalone computer, therefore you can do whatever you like. Again, the EMS would probably be twice as expensive as the Greddy again. Though we must remember the legality issues here in Ozland. Running a programmable ECU is illegal. Other problems is many newer cars like our Magna's require the factory ECU to control many convienient things in the car, ie. instrumentation, trip computer, climate control, cruise control (well im pretty sure), headlights (yes headlights, how do you think you are able to programme those auto-off timers?) and factory immoboliser.

So in the end you'd probably end up connecting the EMS along with the factory ECU, and therefore the EMS is doing the same work as the GReddy, thereby wasting the needs of the EMS.

Or you can disable all those convienence stuff and run the EMS standalone, and hope that you wont get defected. (I can just see all those wires and mods being ripped out and having the factory ECU to be put back in)

The EMS is a standalone ECU, so this is technically superior over to the piggyback systems. However from what Mitsiman says, the GReddy Emanage does the job very nicely and possibly still having some headroom tuning for our Magna's. And this is coming from a guy speaking from experience running a twin turbo in the Magna! (Mitsiman that is)


After i've said all these, im not really sure about the costs, but i think they're about right, from the last time i was checking them up. But to consider which system you'd want to use, you'll need to consider what you will be doing to your car in the long run, the funds that you'd like to spend, and how much you'd want to push the law.

Thanks Waggin for the info, Just out of interest, I hope I am not being pedantic here but are you speaking from experince with Falcons and/or Magna's?

100% experience with Falcons.

The information applies to all late model EFi cars.

if you want an emanage, start trawling the net and car forums. the cheapest i've seen for unit, injectors, and ignition harness is $450 brand new. but that was an exception. second hand, you're looking round $500 ish.

wtf- mitsiman why do u really love the microtec?, its nowhere in the same league of the greddy and haltech. if it lacks enough map points for a basic datsun race engine where drivability isnt much issue, how can it be adequate fora far more hi tech magna?

Hey I was just looking at getting a new Chip for my magna sports 2001 (gen 3) and I been looking at the power chip range here's the link http://www.powerchipgroup.com/index.asp they are all pretuned for your car, anyone tried them?? or recomend something better??

Oh the link lets you put in your cars specs and it does a little power thingo for your exact vehicle mods etc

I had a power chip gold did me fine ,good power mine is for sale $400 got supercharger now

I had a power chip gold did me fine ,good power mine is for sale $400 got supercharger now


Interesting. I put my car on a dyno today. Unplugged my Powerchip, got 129kw @ the wheels. Plugged the powerchip in and got 129kw @ the wheels.

Load of BS it is, dont bother with it

LOL LOL LOL
no comment.

Load of BS it is, dont bother with it

**** thats just piss poor. I would be asking for my money back, how long ago did you buy it!!

Ill be getting my money back.. Then ill get a unichip or Greddy

Go the greddy, if you need a hand installing it ... let me know :)

I'd love a hand!! Are you in Sydney though?!?

Go the Unichip, i had a good power increase and an improvement in all round drivability.

Plus, you have already taken your car to the place that installs and tunes them so you know the quality of their work !!!

Yeah very true, can't complain about there work! Unichip would be fine with me.. Ive gota get my money back from Powerchip yet. I spoke to them today and theyve asked for it to be returned to them along with the dyno print outs so they can "check it"

I'd love a hand!! Are you in Sydney though?!?
Nah Canberra, but the old man lives in sydney so I am always up there. :)

Go the Unichip, i had a good power increase and an improvement in all round drivability.

Hey how much did you pay for your unichip and where did you get it installed. Was the workmanship good quality, and did they give you an estimate for re-tuning after more mods??
Adam:flame:

Hey how much did you pay for your unichip and where did you get it installed. Was the workmanship good quality, and did they give you an estimate for re-tuning after more mods??
Adam:flame:


Just for a comparison (once RalliArt Boy responds) I got my Unichip fitted and Tunned a couple years ago for $1200, and for any retunning later on it would be around $300 per tune. I was happy with the results and the service. This was done in Melbourne mind you so prices could be different :D

My Unichip was installed and tuned by Superior Performance in Mona Vale (Sydney) and they did a damn good job.

Not sure how much a retune is worth as i made sure i completed all my mods before installing the chip. But, they said if i do anything in the futer, a quick run on the dyno will tell if a retune is in order.

Total cost = $1320 (but i did have a throttle body and short shifter installed at the same time so not sure how much of the total to subtract for the labour on those)

Greddy eManage anytime. so flexible, so much more things to play with, tuning points and if that doesn't interest you, it comes in a metallic ice blue colour. :bowrofl:

if you want more info........ (cut and paste job)
The GReddy eManage is one of the Least Complex Programmable Engine Computers. Instead of Creating a new engine harness for a stand alone system, the eManage is a piggy back computer that will intercept signals from the engine and allow you to make tuning corrections. The eManage can control numerous function and can take readings from GReddy Warning Gauges. The GReddy eManage will allow Tuners to Adjust for Fuel Injectors, Larger Turbos and Camshaft Changes through the E-01 Programmer or a Windows Based Laptop using The GReddy eManage Software.

Basic unit allows user to slightly alter factory injector duty cycle (20% at 5 preset RPM points) by intercepting and altering air flow or MAP sensor signals
Basic unit also allows altering of VTEC / Mivec camshaft timing
Upgrading of system allows increased adjustment to 16X16 air flow adjustment map, larger main injector correction map, upgraded air flow meter adjustment, boost limiter cut, anti engine stall, VTEC / Mivec fuel adjustment, real time map trace, real time display and basic date logging
Upgrading can also be taken further with optional Injector Harness and software that has the ability to control an additional 16*16 injector duty cycle and the controls for adding up to 2 Additional Sub-Injectors (Required where vehicle has forced induction fitted and stock air flow maps reach there limit of adjustment)
Upgrading can also be taken further with optional Ignition Timing Harness which allows control of 16*16 Ignition timing map. (Perfect for vehicles with turbocharger upgrades from N/A)
Other additional items like engine warning switches, shift lights etc can also be added to this system if you should so choose.

The emanage can be tuned using both the engines own sensors and an opitional map sensor to read boost. Therefore the emanage with all three opitions with be tuned to ignition, airflow map signal(fuel map), and also an extra map for boost. The first is tuned to rpm vs. airlow/map signal, and the second is tuned to rpm vs boost, there for having 2 different maps to to read from. see perfect. on top of all this it will also change injector sizing very very easy.

It is like an Apexi SAFC II but with much more tuning points, accuracy, flexibility and also tunes timing. It is going to be the next big thing in car engine management upgrads.

The Greddy sounds great, but how much does it cost to retune and how often :confused: ? (Hopefully this hasn't already been asked in the previous 4 pages, I went straight to page 5!)Are 'greddy ready' tuners common? I am in central Vic. and aren't aware of any in this area( not that I've tried too hard to find out;) ) I've always tended to think I'd end up with Unichip, but the Greddy is looking attractive :) :cool: !!

there shold be ppl around that can tune the greddy, usual cost is between $150 to $170 per hour. IT should only take about 1 hour to do so it seems it is a lot cheaper than the unichip to retune.