Unichip/ Powerchip

[megamac83]

Hey guys before I get neck deep, can anyone give me an idea of how much of a gain I should expect from dropping in either a unichip or powerchip piggyback system? is it something I would notice? I would really love to get the rev lim and the speed lim taken off also with both of these do that?

[Eye8Pussies]

not much

the only time that I can see a chip or a piggyback system having much use on a mostly stock car is when it has some sort of variable valve system- then working with a custom a/f curve can make some gains for sure

also there's a rev limiter on an engine for a reason
and does the gen4 have a speed limiter? which engine do you have?

[megamac83]

oh k, I have the 5SFE engine, no rev lim taken off o well, the car can't pass 117, because of speed lim,

[Eye8Pussies]

for the 5sfe, I'm not sure if it's much there's a speed limiter, as much as it's the fact that the car runs out of power unless you're going downhill

and if you really do have a good number of bolt-on mods, you're most likely best off with an safc to squeeze out every bit of power you've got if you ask me

[RedPhoenix]

since we are speaking about speed limiter... how can u get rid of it on the 5sfe?

[Ken4]

Powerchip gold on my '00 camry 2.2L

Red line - stock with 98ron fuel
Purple line - with powerchip and 98ron fuel
Blue line - with powerchip and 98ron fuel + 20% toluene mix = 102ron



Low end power is awesome. Powerchip advances timing to get more power. It does not mess with AF ratio. It does not remove the speed limiter or the shift point limit. If your camry uses MAP sensor like mine, there is no point adjusting the AF ratio (which is what unichip does), bcos the MAP voltage peaks out at ~3.6v around 2500rpm (high load driving) and the ECU goes into Open Loop. Once in Open Loop, ECU ignores 02 sensor and MAP sensor. There is nothing the unichip can do to fool the MAP sensor anymore.

[megamac83]

Yo KEN4 If I am reading your graph correctly, there was a 2.5 horse power gain with Powerchip? is that normal, I thought they were suppose to give you better gains than that?

[megamac83]

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

for the 5sfe, I'm not sure if it's much there's a speed limiter, as much as it's the fact that the car runs out of power unless you're going downhill

and if you really do have a good number of bolt-on mods, you're most likely best off with an safc to squeeze out every bit of power you've got if you ask me

I have a 99 Le in line 4, I don't know if it ran out of power because once it hits 117 mph, it'll kick down to like 115 and continue doing that untill I take my foot off the gas, can that really be a loss of power?

[Eye8Pussies]

^ yeah, that sounds like a fuel cut off due to a speed limiter, or at least some sort of electronic limiter

and yes, that's about the kinds of gains that one would expect from just a chip on a stock engine...that's why it's usually not worth the amount of money that it costs to get it
- notice also that he's running 98octane fuel, and the gains that are noted are to the flywheel, not whp

though it is interesting to see that spike in low-end torque though, though not much at peak torque...


the biggest down-fall that I can see from advancing timing is the need to run higher octane fuel for a lower compression engine that usually doesn't need it to deal with pre-detonation

[Ken4]

I dont drive at 5600rpm often, so Im not too concerned with high-end power. But at 2300rpm, there is about a 15hp and 45Nm torque gain. And most importantly, there is no loss in power and torque over the entire rev range. Some mods like SRI, you get some gains in high-end, but some loss on the low-end.

[Ken4]

98ron is more or less equal to your 92pon in the US.

[terrastrife]

powerchip gold 98 makes around 15kw on the 3vz-fe (estimated fly)

which is about right as this is what other aftermarket solutions get on this motor (chiptorque/unichip etc make around 8-10fwkw).

ignition and fuel adjustments.

of course a motor with less power would yeild less results but yeah. to get those gains elsewhere is still very expensive.

[megamac83]

so is it in my best interst to go about getting the exhaust system done and underdrive crank pulley, before I try and get an ECU upgrade?