944MAX NA beta chip progress...
09-21-2008, 10:51 AM
#196
Rennlist Member
Hi all,
I received mine a couple of days ago and had the chance to drive the car a few times. The torque delivery is much smoother from the low through the mid-range rpms and the car does feel more powerful. I like that the redline was pushed to 7000 rpm because this will help me hold 4th gear on the longer straights at the track. Great job, Russell!
I received mine a couple of days ago and had the chance to drive the car a few times. The torque delivery is much smoother from the low through the mid-range rpms and the car does feel more powerful. I like that the redline was pushed to 7000 rpm because this will help me hold 4th gear on the longer straights at the track. Great job, Russell!
09-23-2008, 12:15 PM
#198
Pro
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Pittsburgh
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Have to chime in... Installed mine last evening.
Overall, it "modernizes" the drive of the car. Smoother idle, smoother power, better power, etc... Fantastic Job, this is worth every penny. Aside from the steal on the Weltmiester Swaybar set I got, this is bar none the best "cheap" money spent on my car.
What I really noticed was the swing of the MPG guage with the new chip. You get into the gas and it moves quick, while as soon as you back off, it's to 60MPG! As I understand it, the MPG guage basically follows the injector duty cycle, right? It's kinda cool watching the chip actually work... It gives the fule part throttle but not a ton, while letting off so much more than the factory. I do see how it can easily return better economy, but again, it's how much you can keep your foot out of it mostly! The responsiveness of the motor really has you working it in no time!
Thanks Russell, great product.
Overall, it "modernizes" the drive of the car. Smoother idle, smoother power, better power, etc... Fantastic Job, this is worth every penny. Aside from the steal on the Weltmiester Swaybar set I got, this is bar none the best "cheap" money spent on my car.
What I really noticed was the swing of the MPG guage with the new chip. You get into the gas and it moves quick, while as soon as you back off, it's to 60MPG! As I understand it, the MPG guage basically follows the injector duty cycle, right? It's kinda cool watching the chip actually work... It gives the fule part throttle but not a ton, while letting off so much more than the factory. I do see how it can easily return better economy, but again, it's how much you can keep your foot out of it mostly! The responsiveness of the motor really has you working it in no time!
Thanks Russell, great product.
09-23-2008, 11:49 PM
#200
Three Wheelin'
Hi Russell, was wondering if you were able to ID my euro chip. The chip number again is 1267355708.
Cheers!!
Cheers!!
09-24-2008, 11:43 AM
#201
7th Gear
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Staffordshire, UK
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Hi Russell.
Would this chip be ok for my early '85 running an '87 DME and AFM?
I'm in the UK and run minimum 95 octane. (98 octane for 9 out of 10 fill ups)
Some places even sell 102 pump gas as well!
Cheers,
Daz.
Would this chip be ok for my early '85 running an '87 DME and AFM?
I'm in the UK and run minimum 95 octane. (98 octane for 9 out of 10 fill ups)
Some places even sell 102 pump gas as well!
Cheers,
Daz.
09-25-2008, 02:03 PM
#202
Temprarily Banned per IB
Thread Starter
Yes, the later DME/AFM combo will work great, it has a socket and the chip will plug right in.
Regards,
Russell
09-26-2008, 12:23 PM
#203
7th Gear
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Great!
Will it definately work on a Euro spec car?
Not sure if I have an o2 sensor either.
A friend of mine is just installing a rolling road, so I'll be able to get before and after figures for you.
Where can I buy one from?
Will it definately work on a Euro spec car?
Not sure if I have an o2 sensor either.
A friend of mine is just installing a rolling road, so I'll be able to get before and after figures for you.
Where can I buy one from?
09-26-2008, 05:01 PM
#204
Temprarily Banned per IB
Thread Starter
09-29-2008, 02:50 AM
#207
Race Car
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Jacksonville, FL Duval County
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I can't say I've seen one, but yeah that's the idea. Look back a couple pages and russell mentions it.
Not sure if the switch is electrical or mechanical or whatnot, but it'd be nice for when you started having weird engine issues to see if running the stock map makes it clear up, or for people like me who run stock-class competitions where chipping is a no-no.
Not sure if the switch is electrical or mechanical or whatnot, but it'd be nice for when you started having weird engine issues to see if running the stock map makes it clear up, or for people like me who run stock-class competitions where chipping is a no-no.
10-03-2008, 08:05 PM
#208
Burning Brakes
Finally got around to putting the new chip in. First impressions are as follows:
The following message does not constitute a product endorsement, nor a guarantee, warranty or prediction.It is a subjective account of one customer's experience, and does not reflect any speculation upon the competence or character of the designer, manufacturer, or seller of this product, nor of any other person or entity.It does not represent the results of any scientific or statistical examination of the merits of any product, process, or technique, nor of the suitability of such for any purpose.Any individual who believes that their reputation, financial solvency, or mental and emotional well-being has been damaged by the following is therefore advised to put on their big-boy pants and deal with it.
The chip arrived inside a simple Farraday-cage chip box, stuffed into a priority mail envelope. The package did not include even an invoice, much less any instructions. While most customers, including myself, are unlikely to need such, a simple printed sheet or two describing installation and expected effects would have created a more professional appearance.
The chip itself did not have pin1 clearly marked, simply a notch which was to be aligned to a similar one from the stock chip. Again, marking pin1 and providing orientation diagrams would probably have been a good move, since there is no guarantee that the chip to replaced is stock.
Installation, however, was quite easy, since I am a software engineer and have taken apart more computer hardware than I care to remember. Purchasers would be well advised to have a chip puller on hand, since the pins on the stock chip are somewhat fragile. Don't use needle-nosed pliers.
Differences were immediately noticeable upon firing the engine. Idle is somewhat low when cold, a little higher than before when hot (perhaps 100 rpm each way).
Revving in neutral gives a smooth response. The engine is noticeably slower to heat from a cold start. This gives me some concern that the setup may cause engine wear in the long term, but I doubt the effect is pronounced.
Time to take it out on the road.
Now, there are, as I have pointed out, some rough edges to this chip. But once on the road, it is easy to realize where the effort and attention went.
Gone is the 'soggy' throttle response between 2k and 3k rpm; there is real power in this range now, not jerk-your-head-back power, but a vast improvement, and enough to get you up out of that area quickly and smoothly.
From 3k to 4k, gains are even more substantial. While the better lower range response eliminates that "turbo/VTEC/something just kicked in" transition that the stock vehicle has around 3.2k, the power continues to pile on smoothly from 3k to 4k, ramping up somewhat in the latter part of the range.
From 4k to 5k, gains become much less noticeable, and move towards converging with stock performance.
Above 5k, everything feels pretty much the same as stock.
This is not, however, to say that everything is in any way the same when you're going flat-out. The effect of the better response at low rpm is that one gets the tach up to the sweet spot much sooner, and this effects not only taking off, but every corner, every shift.
The 944's already-significant agility is enhanced by the much more rapid "bite" every time one gets back on throttle. One no longer has to wait to get a good head of speed back up, and this makes the 944 perform better where it really lives anyway... on curves.
When pushing hard, the chip only really appears to make a big difference for a very small percentage of the time, but it is those moments that count for a good deal, because they would otherwise be lost trying to get back up to the sweet spot.
Cars are often judged by their peak hp, because it's an easy number to quote, and people always want to simplify comparisons, to ask which car is "better, in a nutshell, for the five-second attention span, please". But what truly matters is the *average* hp, a number which depends not only on the integral of that entire power curve, but on the amount of time the vehicle spends on each part of that curve.
It is on both these factors that the MaxHP DME pays off. It doesn't turn a 944 into a 911, or even a 951, but in terms of performance payoff over (effort times money), it's a very high-yield modification indeed.
Test vehicle:
1986 944 N/A 2.5L w/cross-drilled crank and aftermarket exhaust
91 octane fuel.
The following message does not constitute a product endorsement, nor a guarantee, warranty or prediction.It is a subjective account of one customer's experience, and does not reflect any speculation upon the competence or character of the designer, manufacturer, or seller of this product, nor of any other person or entity.It does not represent the results of any scientific or statistical examination of the merits of any product, process, or technique, nor of the suitability of such for any purpose.Any individual who believes that their reputation, financial solvency, or mental and emotional well-being has been damaged by the following is therefore advised to put on their big-boy pants and deal with it.
The chip arrived inside a simple Farraday-cage chip box, stuffed into a priority mail envelope. The package did not include even an invoice, much less any instructions. While most customers, including myself, are unlikely to need such, a simple printed sheet or two describing installation and expected effects would have created a more professional appearance.
The chip itself did not have pin1 clearly marked, simply a notch which was to be aligned to a similar one from the stock chip. Again, marking pin1 and providing orientation diagrams would probably have been a good move, since there is no guarantee that the chip to replaced is stock.
Installation, however, was quite easy, since I am a software engineer and have taken apart more computer hardware than I care to remember. Purchasers would be well advised to have a chip puller on hand, since the pins on the stock chip are somewhat fragile. Don't use needle-nosed pliers.
Differences were immediately noticeable upon firing the engine. Idle is somewhat low when cold, a little higher than before when hot (perhaps 100 rpm each way).
Revving in neutral gives a smooth response. The engine is noticeably slower to heat from a cold start. This gives me some concern that the setup may cause engine wear in the long term, but I doubt the effect is pronounced.
Time to take it out on the road.
Now, there are, as I have pointed out, some rough edges to this chip. But once on the road, it is easy to realize where the effort and attention went.
Gone is the 'soggy' throttle response between 2k and 3k rpm; there is real power in this range now, not jerk-your-head-back power, but a vast improvement, and enough to get you up out of that area quickly and smoothly.
From 3k to 4k, gains are even more substantial. While the better lower range response eliminates that "turbo/VTEC/something just kicked in" transition that the stock vehicle has around 3.2k, the power continues to pile on smoothly from 3k to 4k, ramping up somewhat in the latter part of the range.
From 4k to 5k, gains become much less noticeable, and move towards converging with stock performance.
Above 5k, everything feels pretty much the same as stock.
This is not, however, to say that everything is in any way the same when you're going flat-out. The effect of the better response at low rpm is that one gets the tach up to the sweet spot much sooner, and this effects not only taking off, but every corner, every shift.
The 944's already-significant agility is enhanced by the much more rapid "bite" every time one gets back on throttle. One no longer has to wait to get a good head of speed back up, and this makes the 944 perform better where it really lives anyway... on curves.
When pushing hard, the chip only really appears to make a big difference for a very small percentage of the time, but it is those moments that count for a good deal, because they would otherwise be lost trying to get back up to the sweet spot.
Cars are often judged by their peak hp, because it's an easy number to quote, and people always want to simplify comparisons, to ask which car is "better, in a nutshell, for the five-second attention span, please". But what truly matters is the *average* hp, a number which depends not only on the integral of that entire power curve, but on the amount of time the vehicle spends on each part of that curve.
It is on both these factors that the MaxHP DME pays off. It doesn't turn a 944 into a 911, or even a 951, but in terms of performance payoff over (effort times money), it's a very high-yield modification indeed.
Test vehicle:
1986 944 N/A 2.5L w/cross-drilled crank and aftermarket exhaust
91 octane fuel.
10-10-2008, 07:44 PM
#210
Rennlist Member
Ok - 944Max chip installed and my initial impressions pretty much echo what has been observed here already. Smoother idle than the Autothority chip and subjectively better butt dyno numbers pretty uniformly thru the RPM range, but more noticeable in the lower to mid revolutions. I have noticed a slightly higher idle when hot. I think the best thing about the chip is that the partial throttle response seems "fatter" and the response quicker. So far I'm a happy camper. Thanks Russell!