chip it. - Honda Prelude Forum

yohan420 · 02-24-2003, 01:09 PM

I recently ran into a friend at an auto show i used to work with.

They custom tune ECU's and program them etc. I can probably get one hellofadeal for my H23 ..

Anybody know what I can expect if i get my car tuned & chipped by this shop, they're very reputable and if the price is right ..

Im thinking I should just drive my H23 into the ground then drop in a JDM h22 w/ better pistons & cams ..

What do you guys figure? It is my daily driver..

they had a 1st gen supra with a . i dont know the gen so im not gonna say but .. one of the newest generation motors puttin 575HP w/ 30MPG ... lots of afermarket mods of course - crazy fast.

marcucci · 02-24-2003, 02:12 PM

It's your DD and you want to run it into the ground???! If it's your DD I suggest you save your money and buy something as a DD or a racer!

yohan420 · 02-24-2003, 04:35 PM

but as you may recall from my other post about how much oil im consuming ... I think it'd be a worthy investment to upkeep the body suspension etc. and then juts replace the motor when the time comes.

I have access to other vehicles i can use for the downtime so I won't be inconvenienced much other than financially so ...

will the chip really give me much more, how about mileage etc? .. any good links on chipping or ?

71dsp · 02-24-2003, 04:46 PM

Uh, call me crazy, but if your current engine is consuming a lot of oil (leaking, burning, or whatever), I would think it's a rather silly idea to spend money on a chip, even if it were just a few bucks.

yohan420 · 02-24-2003, 06:47 PM

its burnin not leakin ..

but even still, what kind of gains ? .. and how long will it make my engine not last ?

71dsp · 02-24-2003, 06:55 PM

The gains all depend on what kind of tuning is done, the current state of the engine, the modifications that are done, etc. etc. There are too many variables, and any claim of 5 HP, 10 HP or whatever isn't much more than a shot in the dark.

Preyluder · 02-24-2003, 06:56 PM

I think it's a waste of money, unless you have fuel upgrades as well.... engine work would yield better gains too.

How do they "tune" these ECUs??

2Longfour · 02-25-2003, 08:46 PM

i agree with the other guys. sounds like your engine is already hurtin...I"d be thinking of saving for a new project man.

yohan420 · 02-27-2003, 09:21 AM

im not sure how they tune the ecu's but im pretty sure they do a custom job and re-program using computers and sensors etc.

I dont know enough about terminology to get into it ..

But sure i know my engine is hurtin, still drives tight and fast ... rips it up and wins me piddly civic street races still so ... (not like its a huge accomplishment .. silly civics :P)

But if my engine is hurtin i might as well take it down hard if its not gonna cost me even 100bux and give me gains ..

Then i have more of an excuse to blow the cash to upgrade to vtec

Anybody else who can post some more info on how they chip or point out other articles/links would be cool too.

71dsp · 02-27-2003, 09:39 AM

Just chip it and be happy. You've already made up your mind, so I don't know why your asking us what we think.

yohan420 · 03-03-2003, 10:27 AM

just because im wondering what gains im going to get ...
i dont know anything about chipping and what advantages it will give me ..
plus will it burn my motor out faster ? ...

schwett · 03-03-2003, 11:34 PM

it depends what the "chip" is going to do. usually they advance the timing, and sometimes they lean the fuel curve out. the latter is better accomplished with a safc and some dyno time imo. the former is of questionable wisdom unless you are running relatively high octane gas and pay close attention to your motor.

in any case, you are probably not going to get more than 5-10hp. i can imagine a very extreme case getting 15whp from these kinds of changes, but that would be the exception in my opinion, not the rule.

in any case, find out what they do. do they run the car on a dyno to custom tune it?

Vapor · 03-04-2003, 08:51 AM

lol, why not use the 100 bucks to buy the engine now? Any more money spent on the current engine is a total waste if its burning large amounts of oil.

yohan420 · 03-04-2003, 01:13 PM

.... yeah .. get this ...
I just tossed in 2 qt's and thats after getting 1qt more about 3 weeks after i got the change.

3qt's in 3000miles. Time for another change but geezuz..