Vinobien

this was a funny thread to read....looks like this guy Loren doesn't know his **** ... but thinks he does. i've seen a lot of wasted energy in typing.

95won

I am a multi-year lurker here at Rennlist and have seen this same thread play out many times before...

That said, I am one of those in the neutral camp with the SW chips. I have an 88 with the aforementioned late "more aggressive" chip. I got one of his chips hoping to turn up my car to 11 (Spinal Tap reference here). SW's chip spent at total of 45 minutes in my DME. I had detonation problems under load in any gear, in ambient temps of 60 degrees, with fresh 92 octane gas. That was 2 years ago and this is the first time I have ever posted about it. Steve was gracious about these issues and promptly refunded my money after sending me a replacement chip that netted exactly the same results. We spoke on the phone, and while SW didn't say how often he'd seen this before, he clearly had in fact seen my problem before and said he believed that the car was already running on the lean side as is common in Carerras (apparently).

Because he was so good about helping me and then making it right when things just plain didn't work out I have been reluctant to ever say anything about this hot topic before. Not sure why I am saying this now, except to finally say there are those of us out there who have had less than fantastic results with SW chips.

Also, just for fun, imagine that your Motronic car suddenly starts acting up. You spend many, many hours and maybe hundreds of $$$ shooting in the dark in an attempt to isolate your problem(s). Finally, you know there there's something wrong with your DME.

Who you gonna call? Whether you like it or not, Lorenfb is your DME Ghostbuster.

Vinobien

Good writeup 95won.. I just installed my SW chip. I am not that impressed. I had an Autothority chip already installed. I cant really tell the diff. I do get more popping on decel... this bothers me. Although this has happened since installing cat bypass and MK muffler. Any ideas?

theiceman

On a somewhat related note i just recently had a problem with My Audi , ever since getting it it has popped and pinged in deceleration. I assumed it was an exhaust leak letting air in and igniting un burned fuel that tends to dump into the exhaust on rapide deceleration.
I just replaced the cats due to noise and discoverd my CTS were actually totally hollow , busted up a long time ago I guess. Put the new Cats on and still popped like crazy. But one of the cats wasn't on right ( air leak at cat- exhaust manifold ) . Did it again and no runs fine with no popping on decel. This car is factory all the way around. So the question is is the popping due to no CAT in there or due to an air leak ? who knows .. but aclue none the less.

Do oyu still have your original CAT and muffler ? try throwing them back on and se what happens. The popping may even be due changes in back pressure from original design. We really need an exhaust specialist to tell us.

95won

Same here. I have a Dansk premuffler and an M & K 1-in 1-out. Ben's stuff is awesome... super light and sounds great. I have occasional popping on deceleration (mostly a light burble), and sometimes pops between shifts during hard acceleration or after blipping the throttle. Most likely this is a pinhole exhaust leak somewhere, and popping will happen when you don't have a cat in the exhaust path to vaporize any combustibles before they reach a hot spot down the line. Mix unburned fuel with a small amount of O2 from a teeny tiny leak and some hot metal and BAM! Literally.

In your case it may have been popping all along but it was much quieter with the cat and stock banana muffler. At the track with my stock exhaust it would pop between shifts sometimes then too. Maybe the new muffler itself has a pinhole size leak in one of the welds somewhere (sorry Ben). I doubt Ben pressure tests these things before they ship. I also recently R & R'd my driver's side heat exchanger, and in my case one of those 3 gaskets may have a tiny leak as well. I

Bottom line... I'm not worried.

Lastly, I have a soft spot for a V8 rumble and I LOVE how my car sounds at idle. I recently sold my 65 Mustang 2+2 - it had a very, very mean 347 (a stroked 302) with the kind of percussive, lumpy idle that scared the crap out of everyone who knew what it meant at the stoplights. Ben's muffler is my favorite engine upgrade so far, hands down.

KC911

I think I may have been one of the very first to argue with Loren many years ago when he first appeared here on Rennlist, and although he is a "bit", opinionated, he does know his stuff. IMO, sometimes he gets passionate, and makes claims that are not believable, as was the case when he so adamantly maintained that there was no differences in chips (even for those of us who run 93 octane), and we were all idiots and only "feeling" the improvements. I can summarize Loren's view with his quote: "chips suck, case closed" . Now, having said that, I've always been of the opinion that a SW chip is a good "bang for the buck" upgrade (particularly for the '84-86s) but it most certainly is NOT a night & day difference, and in fact, when I compared my SW chip and stock in six back-to-back dyno runs, the differences at WOT were negligable. I've been running my SW chip for 4 1/2 years now, and am still a happy camper. One thing that Loren does do that seems a bit disingenuous imo, is to continually "imply" that Steve Wong pushes the mappings into "dangerous territory" without offering proof, but there is now a body of users that continually prove otherwise as the years go by. I don't agree with Loren on chips, but if I needed my DME repaired, I'd use him in a heart beat.

dshepp806

I'll stay on the conservative side as to maps,..with an '89....she'll stay stock......maybe the "push" in the maps can be done conservatively (below 40 deg)....but I'll not sway from the German's maps..engine's happy, as is,..me, too. No worries,..no problems..drives PLENTY fast for me.

Best to all...

KC911

There's certainly nothing wrong with that either. But if you do choose to run 93 octane (I notice your location), there is certainly a bit more performance to be had without venturing into potentially dangerous territory. Suspension mods are the way to go anyways, they're not dangerou$$$

Keith
'88 CE coupe