Dave Thomas

Well... maybe it's more like discussing sex; if you haven't tried it you might not get it. That's a friendly nudge in the ribs BTW, not a slam. I think if you were to drive a bone-stock late Carrera, then the same car with the exhaust system you mention, then the same car with a Steve Wong chip added, you'd clearly see the benefit. Even with just a premuffler and a sport muffler, the chip provides much improved driveability especially in the midrange.

Flame away if you must, Loren, but please provide some hard proof to back up your position.

Jay Laifman

Continuing with your FWIW, I've posted about this on this site before. I have my 73 911. Over the years I kept trying the new 911s - 75, 78, 80 and 84. With each one, I came away feeling that even if they were faster, turned quicker and stopped shorter, they didn't feel better than my 73. They felt heavier, less sporty, less responsive, more numb. So, after the '84 Carrera, I just stopped trying them. Just this year, I was helping a friend sell her '87 and I took it for a 30 minute spin to warm it up for a prospective buyer. That car was fantastic. I found it had all the spice and sportiness I found lacking in the earlier cars. In fact, if I had known how much I'd like it before buying my Boxster S a couple years ago, I'm pretty sure I would have bought an 87-89 instead. I commented about my discovery on this board and had some of the same folks above mention the dispute over the chips and other minor things.

So, I don't care what the truth is about the chips or posted hp. I don't care if that extra sportiness was because of more hp, or quicker advance curve, or some undiscovered fluke in the production line, or whatever. All I know is that it is there and it was enough to make a big difference in driving satisfaction to me.

Dave Thomas

Randy - some basic OEM chip info:

"357" chip (357 is the last 3 digits of the part number.) Standard in late Carreras through I think early to mid 88 production?

"358" - difference from 357 is chip is primarily in the full throttle maps, with everything else pretty much the same. The 358 chip injects about 2-3% more fuel above 6000 rpm, and the ignition timing is about 4-5 degrees more advanced from about 1000 rpm up. Rev limit is 6580 RPM. I think the 358 chip was standard in about 40-50% of the '88 and all of the '89 US Carreras.

"330" - Club Sport chip, same as 358 with revised rev limit of 6840 RPM.

Lorenfb

"but they had to map the chip for a 'lowest common denominator' in terms of quality of gas,"

That's not totally correct, as the 3.2 DME has a jumper (pin 10) which when grounded
retarded the ignition. So, basically the ignition timing was not set for the worst case
but for the nominal (average) octanes at the time. This is basically how most products
are designed for, i.e. the nominal market characteristics. Then for the worst case octane,
the jumper is used. Furthermore, the octane levels now are for the most part
effectively worse than the '80s.

Bottom line: We all need to agree to disagree and move on,
since we all made our points!

Dave Thomas

Well, some of us have yet to proove our points, but whatever.

imcarthur

Thanks for the breakdown of the chip differences, Dave. Interesting. I haven't poked inside my DME yet. My 'brain' - no smart comments now - as the PO (a nice lady & very honest) called it was replaced 4 yrs ago - no invoice however. It will be interesting to take a look & see what I have.

Ian

Dave Thomas

My '87 had a 357 chip, and I came across a 358 chip for cheap, so I gave that a try, made a nice little improvement. Of course Steve's chips are a big step beyond that.

KC911

Ian, if I were you, I'd take a look asap and see what you have installed. Although I (and most others) disagree with Loren in regards to Steve's chips, his point of view that some chips dangerously 'push the envelope' are absolutely valid, and it's better to be safe than sorry. I sure wouldn't want an Autothority chip (for example...raises the rev limit too high for me) in my car.
Loren, I concur: We'll all need to 'agree to disagree' and move on...everyone should do their own research (there is plenty of info in the archives on both of these boards) and make their own informed decisions. Although we 'disagree' on Steve W's chip, I do thank you for raising everyone's awareness about the potential issues at hand...I know I'm better informed due to your posts.

Keith
'88 CE coupe

imcarthur

Another thing to do when the BIG THAW comes & I bring my car home . . .

I went back into the records & I did have a bill. The PO spent $1150 on a new 'computer', $138 on a 'ref sensor' (O2 sensor maybe?) & $42 on 'comp. relay' (DME relay) in Aug 2003 - a year before I bought it. She was not a car person & the Poorsh was just her winter condo car since 2001 - Florida y'know - with only 3K miles over 5 years.

I'll find out what is in there & figure it from there. With the hysteria of the chip or not to chip debate & an all stock car, I'm in no rush.

Ian

KC911

As I posted before, there is someone on Pelican, who when installing a SW chip discovered that his car had been running an Autothority chip (unknown to him) for years. Although, I wouldn't want one in my car, it doesn't mean 'the sky is falling', and it really depends on how you drive. There's no need to rush, but if I didn't know what the rev limit was set to, I would be hesitant to push her near redline on most shifts (like I'm prone to do ). No need to stress those rod bolts unnecessarily...

Keith

imcarthur

Oh, I found the rev limiter one day in second gear . . . it works & seems to be about where it should be . . .

Ian

KC911

That's funny! I remember when I 'first found mine' after owning my car a few months...also in 2nd, I was like WTF was that...then a big 'ole grin took over when it hit me....