I have an 03 TL Type-S with a new ram air intake and cat back exhaust, I think the next thing I'll purchases will be a performance chip, I haven't really looked into them much so I don't know what is reasonably priced/ well made/ and safe for my engine. Do any of you guys have info about chips on your TL?

 

No such thing. If your referring to the ebay ones that you wire in, they aren't real. The ecu can not be flashed or a chip replaced.

 

No I'm pretty sure performance chips are real, you can get them professionally installed or install it yourself.

 

then go ahead. buy a fake chip for your car.



no bullshit tho; Honda's ECU's are very smart. there's nothing on the market that can trick the ECU into changing some of its parameters.
you're thinking of turbo cars where its very easy to add a "chip" and gain performance.
Not the case with this car.

 

Haha dude are you serious? There are real things called chips, you can get them for pretty much any car or truck, that's why I'm asking on which one to get. your no help. you obviously don't know what your talking about.

 

^

you came here looking for info. there are no performance chips for this platform.
go ahead and waste your money, as there are no viable tuning solutions for your car.


again, with turbo cars its easier to change engine parameters to get horsepower gains.
However; with N/A cars and especially HONDA cars, its hard to change engine parameters as ECU quickly reverts back to stock in a matter of milliseconds.

 

it's very obvious that you dont have a clue on programming/coding.
or what's involved in engine tuning.

you can try the AEM EMS or even the MegaSquirtIII, as these are piggy backs but you will still need to know basics of tuning as these arent full replacement ECU's...they are merely piggy backs that limit what you can and cannot do. dont expect major gains from them....for what they cost; they only deliver 5-10hp. and i'm being generous.

 

NoBull - you come in here and ask or help / opinions and then question the information provided??

 

I've tuned cars on a dyno with Megasquirt, AEM, Haltech, ECMlink, Hondata. I've studied ecm coding and functions. Trust me, the ebay "chips" are fake. All the chips are just boxes with a resistor in it to fool the ecm into thinking the air temp is colder to add fuel. I laugh at this. It does nothing but drain your wallet.

 

Yea, on diesel trucks.....

 

prove_it, is proving it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I didn't realize how Honda ECU's differed, thanks for the warning. I'll just go with headers and lowering springs instead, do you know any other decent performance upgrades that would be especially recommend for the TL-S?

 

^change of heart all of a sudden?

 

No, I just thought the other guy was a dumb ass telling me chips aren't real, I didn't see yours until after, sooo...

 

now that we have our ego's out of the way;

What are your goals for the TL?

 

and dont say, "To go faster"

 

Just trying to have a super clean TL that is well powered, I'm trying to be pushing around 310-340 hp, I should be getting new rims in a month or so and the OEM lip kit as well for the exterior

 

to get to 350hp, you need forced induction, ie: supercharger or turbocharger....which needs tuning...which on this platform is hard.

our moderator; fsttyms1 has a 350hp naturally aspirated engine; but he frankensteined it. different parts from different engines to raise compression and displacement.

 

Yeah I have looked into turbos for the TL and for this specific car I just don't want to mess with it, other than new headers I'm not exactly sure what I need to do first. I recently got the car so I just did some simple shit to start off, new ram air, window tint, new brakes, I also just flushed my tranny

 

maintenance over mods all day erry day. and with a 12 year old car; i'd bet there are tons of maintenance items you could take care of for years to come before you even touch modding.


ram air, that wouldnt be the short tube would it? because it's not helping you in the HP department.

 

Yeah it's the short tube, it doesn't add much hp if any. Makes the car sound better, engine looks cleaner. Maintenance wise it's pretty taken care of. I also just got new plugs and a couple other things that needed replacement, like 900 dollars worth of work last week

 

so, if your goal is to reach 350hp but knows the short ram intake loses power, then what is your real goal?

if i were you; i'd make the goal of the car; to look good and sound good. forget about the goal of 350hp, as its really hard to do.

 

I never said 350, in reality I just want to push over 300. 350 would be a dream�� I just need to know some decent performance upgrades, I pretty much have my exterior planned out. Sports mesh grille, oem lips, eibach springs, black headlight housing, maybe like gunmetal grey rims if not just chrome(17s or 18s)

 

300 is still hard to do.

and I spelled out how to get there. either go F/I or keep it ALL natural and build your engine using different parts from other engines, raising compression and displacement.

you wont even reach 250whp with just bolt ons.

 

I'm not a mechanic so I don't know for sure which parts would still fit on my engine, I think the 03 type s has 230 WHP and 260 HP. With new headers and exhaust I will be a little more satisfied.

 

You won't be able to break drag times, or be a really fast car without major engine work.

Best bet is to swap in a J35A3 or A4. Both will add loads of torque which is what makes you move. Headers will help a good amount and can be done at home by yourself. After that, your kinda limited. Pulleys will help, bigger throttle body, but after that your talking head work or other deeper mods to do that require more knowledge to perform correctly. The TL isn't a fast car, and it takes a lot to do that, do your bolt-ons, and cruise it.