Damian in NJ

My Promax chip arrived today from the UK, one week after ordering, $145 inclusive of shipping. Although a few cars have had Check Engine Light issues, many more have not, so I guess I'll know over the weekend. (They're working on a fix in the code). From the 9 Magazine chip test this was the winner, except it did trigger the light on the test cars so it was excluded from the results. It gave almost 16hp gain over stock and 8 or so lb/ft of torque, without shifting the peaks too far to the right. I'll report on the *** dyno soon, and do a back to back with Raj's yellow coupe which runs the chip with a stock exhaust, opposed to my setup.

RajDatta

Congrats, you will be very pleased with the chip. Swapping this is right up your alley as it requires more precision that wrenching. Let me know how you make out.
Raj

SMuCK007

Good luck! Keep us updated of any problems!

BruceWard

I look forward to hearing how much you are enjoying the chip!

flash968

that is a misquote - while the chip shows promise, assuming they finish the development, and i will see the new chips this week, it was NOT the winner - the promax did not do nearly as well in the low end, or as well at the top end, and did not have enough headroom beyond peak horsepower - it only made 14, just below the winner, and not 16 peak horsepower increase - the lack of headroom though cuts you off of over 20% of the useable peak horsepower - making that 14 more like 12, which was well below the winner - it did, however, do a little bit better in the middle than the winner

the high redline of the winner is of concern to some people though, so a compromise in max power, in exchange for that confrot zone, may be the correct answer for those people - if they fix the warning indicator, and nothing else changes, this would be an adequate chip - if they create a bit more top end headroom, it would be an excellent chip

Damian in NJ

From the article, 'the performance of the Promax chip was almost identical to the winning chip, with a 1hp and 1lb/ft bump from 3300-4300rpm, and nearly identical from there up, however it left a Check Engine light on.' 'Peak power was at 6700 and fell off fast, with redline at only 7100, leaving little headroom for overrevving.'

As I don't redline the car in street driving what a chip does above that is of no use to me.

For what I want in a chip, it is the winner-and I'm sure this would hold true for many others who like to keep their engines in fine fettle, not revving way past what the factory has redlined on the tach (6600).

flash968

i agree completely with that thinking - it is certainly the "safe" thing to do - it just means you don't get to use everything the chip has to offer - it is still safer if over-revving is a concern

if they correct the warning light, it will be a good chip - if they create a 500rpm minimum distance between peak power and redline (wherever they put those two points) it will be a great chip

different people need different things in a chip - as i have maintained, this one shows really good promise - i look forward to testing their new versions shortly - i am very impressed with the company so far - they have been responsible, responsive, and forthright - their pricing is fair and their product looks like it will turn out to be a very good one - what more can you ask for?

Damian in NJ

5 of 30 owners have reported the CEL issue in the US, excluding the CA test. Any chip that offers big gains 500 revs past redline is a grenade waiting to happen, if you expect to use it.

flash968

it isn't an issue of offering anything 500 past the redline

how can i get this across? - wherever the peak power point is on any chip, stock or otherwise, for our gearing, you MUST have at least 500 more revs free after that available to be able use all the power that chip has to offer - even the stock chip does this - i am nut suggesting that they raise the redline - they could lower the peak power point and get there too - whichever way any designer goes, a properly designed chip has a useable 500 rpms past the power peak - you need that for maximum accelleration and for decelleration headroom

by the way, over a year and 15000 miles later and revving well past 7k on a very frequent basis, and no issues at all so far - this is not an endorsement of this behavior, just a comment that i have had no issues, and the engine is more than capable of it, without problems, as long as the belts stay put

7300-7400 would be a good redline for the existing curve on the promax

rpm's S2

My lord, on how many threads on how many forums will this argument happen?


How is this for an idea:
1. Buy the 9Magazine article and read the posts here and on 968.net.
2. Buy the chip you want and report on how you like it once installed - particularly if you have problems.
3. If you disagree with someone else's choice keep it to yourself.

Damian in NJ

Goes like hell, big improvement-I think it works very sympathetically with the tuned exhaust. I am getting the CEL, so a new chip will be on its way with the upgrade.

SMuCK007

Damian,

whew! i'm not alone on the east coast then! Did ProMax already fix the CEL problem? I haven't heard from Andrew about the issue since I reported it to him.

-chris

RajDatta

Man, darn it!
I was really hoping you don't get that CEL. I guess I should consider myself lucky. Steve didn't get it either when he put it in his car. It is a very nice chip and I raved about it from the moment I put it in.
Raj

Macca

Hi There,

Does anyone know if it (CEL with Promax) affects just the US cars with catalytic converters and extra O2 senor or is early ROW cars are ok?

Cheers

RajDatta

I am running it on my US spec M030 coupe without any CEL. It seems to effect only some of the cars, not all.
Raj