mgothers

Anyone tried this on their TL ??
The shop closest to me that deals with them will nail me about $450 for install & Dyno which is non-refundable if I don't like the performance (but UniChip is refundable).

bobowah

GIMMICK on the accord site did an installation on a TL in Los Angeles. I think he works for a shop there.
http://www.acura-tl.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/008301.html

And Damn that's expensive... Does that include the unichip or just the labor...




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1999 3.2TL-NAVI Nighthawk Black Pearl
Comptech drop-in filter/'02 tail lights/Comptech exhaust/Hokuto Turugi 17x7/Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 225/45/17
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needs to be lowered soon (big wheel gap), maybe H&R Sport Springs?

mgothers

That includes the chip and labor. I think he said the chip was like 599, install was 5 hours to total around $340 and an hour's worth of Dyno to find tune the chip was $100.
Thus the total was $1040.
Seems expensive for this sort of thing compared to what folks can do with Civic's & Integra's and what not!

matt

drbeatty

$1040 for 10 extra HP? hmmm..... that's $104 for each Horse. Not for me....

mgothers

Where are ya getting that it only does 10 Extra HP? But HP aint what I'm worried about anyway...I'm worried about my Torque, the time it takes to shift when I tell it to, and something to handle things when I do add on a clean air intake, and revamp the exhaust.

matt

drbeatty

There was a post on here a couple of days ago regarding chips. The gain for the Unichip was quoted at 10 hp. It will get rid of the 1 second delay in sportshift, but I am was unaware that it did anything for torque. I'm not criticizing your decision, I just know its not for me...

GIMMICK

Let me make some corrections (before people start chewing my ass out). I do not work for the Racer's Group or any tuner shop. I'm a car enthusiast like yourself. When I talked to Tony from the Racer's Group in Sonoma, CA (Nor Cal), at the time they were working on a TL. I relayed that information here because I thought it would be of interest to you guys. The current unit they have in the market, which was put on the TL, gave about 10 hp max. Not that impressive, but if you take into account that power was increased through out the entire rev range, then you're looking at a significantly faster TL.

Now, the Racer's Group is working on a newer unit, that'll allow the Unichip to advance the timing on the direct ignition engines (distributor-less). You're looking at possibly 30+ ft-lb increase in torque as early as 2000 rpm. Just as an example of what advancing the timing could do . . . A SHO V6 Accord member had the Unichip installed on his 98 V6 Accord (which had a distributor), and gained 32 ft-lb torque at 1800 rpm. I'm waiting for the Racer's Group to release their new unit expected in August so that the timing can also be advanced on my '00 Accord (distributorless) which is more similar to the TL engine. Of course, with the larger displacement of the TL engine you should expect to see bigger gains.

Another thing to note, the V6 Accord members from SHO are making plans with the Racer's Group to organize an Open House at their facility (much like the Comptech) in August or whenever they have their new unit ready for the direct ignition V6. The Racer's Group is trying to get the word out on the Unichip especially into the import market. They've done a lot of work with European cars (BMW, Porsche). They're hoping that by hosting an Open House catering to the import market will help promote their product.

GIMMICK

By the way, I'd also like to add that the Unichip doesn't deal with the transmission, just the engine timing & air/fuel management. With the Unichip installed you will still experience the same characteristics with your sportshift.

NOVAwhiteTypeS

That sounds crazy, When i called my local dealer they said 499 for chip and 100 for tune and dyno. and 30 day satisfaction Guarantee and also free removal

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CL-S
White/Ebony/Navi/Spoiler/Visor/Full Bra/Mud Guards/Cargo Net/Acura Car Cover/Tint 20%,35%, Rockford 250a2 Amp w/JL10w6 / K&N Drop in Filter. Comptech Springs/Sway/Headers Polarg m-6.

songoku

You think you can really feel 10 more horses???

Edward'TLS

I hope Tony also mentioned that super premium gas (94+) must be used after advancing the ignition timing in order to get an increase in hp or torque or both.

It is true that advancing the timing will generate more horsepower using the gas of the same octane #. But it also makes the engine easier to ping (detonate) under load such as going up hills. Switching to higher octane gas will help. But there is a limit on the maximum degrees of advance at that even the highest octane gas will ping.

There are two ways to advance the timing. One is mechanical, but only on cars with distributers. But if you lend your car to a friend who put in lower octane gas, your engine is toasted. The other way is electrical. This is where the ECU comes in and is much safer for cars equiped with knock sensors. This is because the factory program will automatically retard the timing, (if the advance is not too extreme) if the knock sensors detects pinging.

So only high octane gas in combination with advanced timing will make some difference in hp/torque output.

The conventional way of increasing torque output is by turbocharging the engine. One example is the S4 which generates peak torque at merely 2000 rpm.

GIMMICK

Edward you're right about extracting more power from higher octane fuel by allowing more advance on the timing. I believe the V6 Accord that had the Unichip installed, they were able to advance the timing more at the lower rpm ranges, and little to no timing advance on the higher rpm range while still using regular unleaded. That's why his Accord got 30+ ft-lb torque at 1800 rpm.

mgothers

Hey NovaWhiteTypeS,
You had originally turned me on to the Unichip, I'm curious about your price quote cause I called the guy in Alexandria that was listed on the site and he gave me those nasty ass prices! Where did you find that 499 + 100 price you talk of near us? (I'm right next to you in Fairfax)
Thanx for the help
matt (mgothers@yahoo.com)