How to Take Advantage of
a Performance Chip
Boost the power & mileage you get from your car or truck
How to Take Advantage of a Performance Chip
Modifying a vehicle to enhance its speed, power, and on-road performance in general can be a real hassle, particularly because it's often so time consuming. The installation of turbochargers, cat back exhaust components, and other major upgraded parts can provide substantial improvements in track times and vehicular functionality, but they can be prohibitively expensive and take hours of installation over several days to complete (depending on your automobile mechanical skill level). A popular alternative to physical modification projects in recent years has been the installation of performance chips, computer chip add-ons designed to provide a wide range of vehicular enhancements to several of a car's systems. Below, we'll go over some of the factors you can consider before deciding to install a performance chip on your own car.
Installation Time
Many performance computer chips can be installed in under 15 minutes, a half hour tops. Instead of being forced to disassemble entire pieces of your vehicle in order to ensure proper installation, you’ll simply need to do some simple wire cutting and chip mounting within the engine bay. Once the engine’s off and the battery’s been unplugged, you’ll just need to find the car’s IAT (Intake Temperature Sensor), sever the wires protruding from the rear of the IAT plug, and connect the new chip. You can even do mounting within the engine bay with double-sided tape, provided it’s heat resistant, which is a real time saver.
PLEASE Note: Be sure to follow specific manufacturer’s guidelines for a step-by-step installation process that’s specific to your make/model/year vehicle.
Installation Readiness
Almost as crucial to the ease of installation as how long it ends up taking, is how chip-ready a car is. Cars made in the past several decades should be readily equipped for a simple installation process. The chip comes with an adjustment component that enables maximum power and greater fuel efficiency upon switching modes, so you won’t have to worry about performing large physical modifications every time you want to adjust that setting. It’s also a quick plug-in installation on many vehicles, so you won’t need any complicated tools to complete the installation.
Performance Results
This is clearly the part the real car enthusiasts will care about the most: the effects of the chip. The processing power of the chip addition allows your car to fine-tune its functions, providing for greater fuel efficiency and power usage. Vehicles can gain up to 50-60 HP from a computer chip add-on, and when the settings are in place for fuel efficiency, 4-7 MPG of fuel costs can be saved. The chip is generally compatible with nitrous systems, superchargers, and aftermarket turbochargers, so if you’ve already tricked out your vehicle, there’s no impediment to this additional installation.