mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear your good review.

No all of our ECUs are identical.

darrinb

if it aint too hot out

Louie11

I have done dynos for the community. I did 3 pulls stock and then another 3 pulls with the first mapped chip. I was one of the four dyno charts that Jack had. I was just saying that because it's getting alittle pricey. Chip 608 + dyno75 +dyno75 = 758. then went to track 25 = $783. This is what the chip has cost me so far, thats why I'm alittle hesatiant. I'm also very curious about the new map I have so I'll probably be doing it anyway 783 + 75 = 858.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Email from Jack:

dj5

Here is what the Unichip tuner at GRD in Naperville had to say in an email to Jack about about the chip in my '02 TL-S. They tried to do a custom tune but were not able to upload a program. They advised pulling the chip and sending it back to Jack. Sent it back last week for a reflash. Will be going back to GRD to let them check the A/F again when I get it back.




Jack,

I was only able to run the car from 3000-4000 rpm before I started hearing some
det. The AFR were straightline of 14.7:1 AFR to 15:1 AFR. I would recommend
possible richening up the fuel to 13.5 or 13:1 at the full load sites.

Best regards,

Tuan Nguyen
www.grdperformance.com

Louie11

I don't think Jack is understanding this Mugen cooling mod I sent him this e-mail in regard to my new map.

Email to Jack:
I received my chip back yesterday. Will be putting in tomorrow. Just wanted to ask, since we modified my chip due to the dyno's I had at normal operating temps. Will getting the Mugen cooling mod affect this new Map that was generated? Thanks for all your help.

Louie,

Jacks reply: Louie,

No problem, thank you for working with us and for purchasing a Unichip. The Mugen mod will definitely make a difference and it’s something you’ll want to get retuned for. Something to think about, however, is that with a correctly tuned vehicle with the Unichip on it, the Mugen mod will not result in any more power; the basic mod is designed to take the car out of its normal operating temperature to lean it out. With the Unichip, you can make it as lean as needed, so “tricking” the car isn’t required any longer. There may be other reasons to want to run the car cooler, but you won’t get any more power assuming the tune is correct in the first place. Again, if you go that route, the Unichip will have to be retuned to get back the power you’ll lose by leaning the car out with the Mugen mod.

Either way, we’ll be happy to work with you. Please let me know if I can answer any additonal questions.


The new email I just sent:
I think you are mistaking why people are getting the mod. The reason for the mod is to keep the power you have and not to gain more. The car when hot(above operating temps) pulls timing and runs the car richer. This mod is to just keep the car cooler around operating temps in hotter climates or hotter seasons. A good example is my dyno charts. Since the facility did not have adiquate cooling you could see from the back to back runs how I lost from 3-5 horse stock and 2-3hp with your chip. Then once we let the car cool and run a last one the power was back.

Now I just have to wait for his reply. Am I right With what I said or was he right and I just fawked things up some more.

phipark

Wait a sec...so according to Jack. It's pointless to get the Mugen cooling mods if you have the UniChip?

phipark

Wait a sec...so according to Jack, it's pointless to get the Mugen cooling mods if you have the UniChip?

mattg

we need a scalbert intervention

Ant7701

OMG...please Jack hurry up w/ the damn uni-chip controller. I'm personally getting sick and tired of the bullshit ride that were ALL on!!!!!

EL_CLS

Something may have been missed in translation...

If you cool down your intake temps, you are going to have higher air density.

At a minimum, lowering the cooling temp is going to influence the air density, air intake temp, and cylinder head temps.

Scalbert and others have clearly shown more HP on the '03 CLS 6-speed with the thermo switch + thermostat mod.

If you have cooler air going through the car, you're going to get more power. It's really that simple. If you had some kind of “strange problem” with the engine’s controller, you could end up making less power, but that would normally presume to be a result of:

1. The temps were so cold as to put the ECU into a limp mode.
2. The temps influenced a set of tables in some odd way to move the A/F or timing in a direction that would reduce power.
3. Name your scenario here.

As for how it impacts mapping, etc…. I’ll let Scalbert expand on that – if he wishes too…

phipark

Looks like all this UniChip/Mugen talk belongs to the #2 choice above.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Looks like I need to install the Mugen mods I have sitting in the basement and have another dyno done to make some sense of all this new Mugen mod/Unichip talk. Since the UniChip custom tune I have installed the UR pulley set so the dyno numbers are going to be skewed any way you look at it, although I would think the A/F ratio should be nearly identical before and after the Mugen mods and the UR pulleys for that matter.

dj5

Got my chip back today (8/3/04). Really quick turnaround as they received the chip on 7/30/04.

I plan on reinstalling this weekend and see how it drives. I will make be making an appointment with GRD to have the A/F checked out again. They will also be installing the UR crank pulley. They gave me a price of $175 for the pulley (not including labor). Said it would take them less than an hour to install. Glad they are only about 5 miles from my office.

Will be getting a before dyno, unichip dyno, and a crank pulley dyno. Will be letting them do a custom tune on the chip if needed.

I also have the Mugen thermostat, cap, and fan switch... Jack asked if I had them when I sent the chip back.

Hopefully this version work a little better.

blader

you just said the same exact thing Jack said .. he said it makes the car run out of its normal operating temp (aka run cooler) which leans out the a\f. you said if the car runs hot then it runs richer. this is the same thing? cool=lean, hot=rich .. so you really werent correcting anything he said lol.

could gas be a difference also? I know all parts of the country dont get the same gas. if one cars gas has more oxygen in it like a winter blend won't the car run leaner than a car with less oxygen in the gas\summer blend?

Jack should have my chip by monday, he is going to remap it and have it bounced back to me 2nd day fedex. then I can hopefully hit the track next week with that and the UR pulley that I should receive tomorrow some time. or maybe I will hit the track with just the chip, then get pulley installed and hit it again in similiar temps .. thats probably the smarter idea. we'll see how it works out.

Louie11

I think I better get another dyno. I wonder now if my car is running too RICH. I am now getting better power, but am getting 1-2 mpg worse than stock with the new map.

Blader: the thing I didn't get was that he said he can make the car run the same no matter if it was hot or cold by playing with the fuel maps. He didn't take inconsideration the timing. When I had the first chip the a/f changed the same as the stock maps and lost power. Not as much, but still lost. I thought the mugen mod was to keep the engine in the right temp as to not pull timing and run richer.

dj5

I got my chip back yesterday and I sent a note to Jack asking him about the change they made to the map. Here is his response

"The revised fuel map has about 1/3 less fuel pulled above 4500 rpm. That should drop the A/F down to 13.0; below that, there are no changes."

I am having problems at the 3000-4000 rpm range so I am not sure this new map will resolve my problem. I am going back to GRD for a custom tune. If that doesn't work, I will be sending it back as a defective product and asking for a refund.

By the time it is said and done, I will have close to $900 invested. Best I could hope to get back would be $500. I would give this mod a thumbs down and would not recommend any other members to buy one.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

If the problems arised after 4000 rpm and they revised the map after 4500 rpm it should fix the problem entirely. I also have close to $900 invested in the UniChip, but I don't count my inital dyno as part of the UniChip investment. That dyno was going to happen regardless of any other factors. If the UniChip worked for you straight out of the box would you still consider your initial dyno part of the UniChip expense?

juice

I still think that we need to make a list of the 30 something people that purchased this thing and let everyone comment on the chip. That way we could all look on one page to see everyone's ups or downs.

I do not see how UniChip can get away with this if a large percentage of us are not happy at all.

blader

Jack has that almost exactly right, 4500 is right about where my A\F starts rising and I go lean. If he can fix that on my chip I should be just perfect. Everything below 4500 is great, these last few days running without the chip in definetly makes me miss it at part throttle. lost alot of low end torque without the chip.

Jonesi

If you think about it there's really only about 7 of us that post.. 7 out of 35 isn't enough to make a case really.. Maybe if everyone would chime in we'd have a better case..

NJTypeS

I've posted a few comments previously about the chip and I still honestly feel it was a waste of money. I have an intake, headers, pullies, and sway bars. Out of all of my mods, the chip is the only one in which I feel absolutely no gains whatsoever. I also don't feel the car pulling any harder from the CAI but at least i can hear it so I know its there. As I stated in my previous posts, there is absolutely no indication whatsoever that a chip is installed in my car. I followed the instructions exactly as they were written and even uninstalled it and had a friend reinstall it to see if I made a mistake installing it. I haven't had any problems that some of the other members had but I can't feel any gains at all. I really don't have time to take my car to a dyno too see if there are any differences, nor do I feel like paying for one. I purposely bought the chip because of the advertised +or -10hp and torque and I feel the chip is not providing the gains that were originally stated. I would not recommend this chip to anyone.

AuCLSman

i'm returning the chip today for adjustment. i have experianced some fluctuating/low idle problems. i have also felt the car is more responsive in low to mid range power, a noticable hesitation at 4k rpm then reduced response from 5k to redline . i have experianced cel's initially on (3) occations which i attributed to the unichip install i have not gotten any cels since the first week. (jack asked me to send the cel number back with the chip and they will adjust and return) mods: intake headers only

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Remember the gains are linear, so unlike a CAI or headers you won't notice a "kick" in power at any one point of the power band. I can't notice much of a difference in the butt dyno with the chip but on the dyno and at the track the gains are undisputable.

blader

This is important to note. I think this is a big problem why no one is "feeling" it.

I without a doubt feel a difference in low to midrange RPM with the chip. Definately can move the car with less gas and more torque on acceleration. We will see how the top end feels with the chip once I get it back with the new map.

I think most of us were spoiled by the headers. The headers do help the car feel a little less like its "laboring" at all RPMs, but you really get a strong top end kick out of them. Its very easy to feel the gain from the headers.

I think the gains from the intake are a little more linear as well. You can feel a slight gain from the intake, but I think it more or less gives you a gain all through the RPM band .. the gains will show up on a dyno but I honestly didnt feel a big difference at any certain rpm or rpm range like the headers. I think this is why alot of people arent feeling much from the chip. You won't really feel a "kick" from the chip but its more a flat, linear power gain. The best thing about my dyno with the chip was the torque curve. COMPLETELY FLAT from 3K rpm to almost 6200. With a flat torque delivery like that its hard to feel a gain .. even if its there. Can't wait to see how the remapped chip feels .. if he fixed the lean condition I have no doubt in my mind I will be seeing my best ET and trap speed to date with this chip installed at the track ... just my

withoutcomp1

iTrader: (1)

Well i still haven't put mine in cause i still didn't get my car back but i will let everyone know how mine works out when i do. Hopefully the end of the month! I miss my car it's only been 3 months without it (the whole summer!)

darrinb

imma turn my chip off in like a week or two to see if i notice a loss of power...

Ant7701

no new news??

Louie11

I won $80 bucks in poker this weekend. Looks like I will get a dyno this week of the new map. Plus I want to know what it's putting down before I get HOPE systems RES and TB.

darrinb

blader u get the new chip in??

juice

I was wondering the same thing. I can't believe that there is 30 something of us that what to eat $600.

dj5

I installed my chip with the new map this past Saturday. I can't tell much difference in the new map from the old. Will have to go back to the dyno.

Ant7701

OK...I just got off the phone w/ Todd. Turs out they are testing some more on a CL-S and will be shipping my kit out sometime within the next year or so Naw...I should see it next week. And then we'll take it from there. But trust me, i'm not eating $600!!!!

blader

No not yet. They received my chip, I'm actually going back and forth in email with Josh as we speak, he is the one who will be remapping my chip. Should be going out tomorrow and I'll see it by the end of the week. Tomorrow I will be going to the track to get a slip in these warmer temps. Then I will put the chip in when I get it back this week, drive it this weekend, and go to the track again next tuesday .. although Monday I am getting my UR pulley installed so we'll see what difference the chip and pulley makes vs my I\H\E run tomorrow.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I'm considering getting a dyno done too since I've installed my UR pulleys since my custom tune.

Maybe if Jonesi would get his ass down here we could go at the same time

blader

Yeah a dyno would be good but I'd rather do some real life testing on a track. Plus its about 1\10th the price I know I wont get 13's with the chip and pulleys in these temps but if I could come close to my cold weather time of 14.17 I'll be pretty happy .. because at least I'll know I can beat it once the cold weather rolls around.

seattle dale

Well I guess i'm one of the few that is very happy with my chip. I definatley feel the healthy gains. I feel more power, & another plus is that mpg has signifcantly improved. I went to portland & back on one tank of gas, 436 miles with a couple of gallons left. I've never come close to that in the past. I also was using my A/C most of the time. My earlier dynos look pretty good I think, although I'm no expert. I believe it was 285bhp & 217 ft. pounds torque. I have headers , k&N filter, & the unichip thats it. My car runs like a bastard, & i have had no problems CEL's or anythings. If anyone has my mods with even an intake, I would suggest to get the "E" Map. I'm delighted with mine. My 2 cents

mattg

my car is still running good.


and i agree w/ dale on the gas mileage, mine has improved significantly as well.


as soon as it gets cooler i will do some dyno testing. i would like to see what my gains are on a dynojet.

phipark

Mine is running well too. I'm waiting to install the Mugen cooling mods to see if it will make that much of a problem that Jack presumes..

Seattle Cl-S

Anyone have any suggestions on how to dump this UniChip on someone? I have a S/C now so never installed it. I should have just let them keep my deposit and defaulted on the sale...but NOOOO! I decide to be a responsible guy and then get sold a product that is less than the hype. Now I can't pawn the damn thing off on anyone!