the chips
December-2nd-2003, 07:49 PM
#1
Protege Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 15
the chips
Hi all,
I got a chip which connects with ECU and air intake. the describtion said that it can tell the ecu to get much more air to engine. and it also can add 10 to 20 horse power. does it really work? or it doesnt work.
I got a chip which connects with ECU and air intake. the describtion said that it can tell the ecu to get much more air to engine. and it also can add 10 to 20 horse power. does it really work? or it doesnt work.
December-3rd-2003, 12:25 AM
#2
Protege Newbie
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Posts: 13
well , it depends on if its an actual chip. On Ebay they sell alot of super cheap things they claim are "chips" that richen your air and fuel mixture. What they ACTUALLY are , are resistors.
you see, the IAT sensor in your car reads the temperature of of the air coming through your air box. it uses this information to tell the fuel injection how much fuel to match with the air, since colder air is denser and is , therefore, technicaly MORE air, then hotter air.
The IAT tho, is just a variable resistor, and the colder the air gets the more resistance (or less? im not gonna look it up) the resistor gives, altering the electrical signal to the computer.
What you get online is a 3.3 KiloOhm reisister, which is equal to 32 degrees farenheit to your cars computer. So when you put that in place of your IAT sensor, you computer thinks its getting cold air all the time. and at times when the air your car is warmer than 32 degrees, it makes the fuel air mixture much richer, and promises horsepower gains and whatnot
in actuality, the horespower gains are next to nonexistant. what you will gain hower is a modicum of low end torque, and you will lose fuel economy, since you're using more gas than normal.
HOWEVER, if you have an automatic transmission on the 2nd gen protege, there is a fun side effect to doing this tho. when you put the 3.3KiloOhm resister in the place of your IAT sensor, it forces your transmision to rev higher. In mine for example, with the pedal floorer, with the IAT hooked up, it upshifted around 5000 rpm out of 2nd nd 3rd, now with the resistor in, it upshifts around 6500 rpm out of 2nd and 3rd. For automatic drivers this is great, theres alot of great top end ponies between 5000 and 6500, and the the shift from 3rd into 4th kicks from that high a rev.
So yeah, i would do it. But you dont need to buy the thing from ebay or wherever... go to radio shack and ask for a 3.3 kilo-Ohm resistor. then come back here and i'll tell you where to install it, in fact i may even take pictures of mine, if enough people wanna see...
-the lyonhart
you see, the IAT sensor in your car reads the temperature of of the air coming through your air box. it uses this information to tell the fuel injection how much fuel to match with the air, since colder air is denser and is , therefore, technicaly MORE air, then hotter air.
The IAT tho, is just a variable resistor, and the colder the air gets the more resistance (or less? im not gonna look it up) the resistor gives, altering the electrical signal to the computer.
What you get online is a 3.3 KiloOhm reisister, which is equal to 32 degrees farenheit to your cars computer. So when you put that in place of your IAT sensor, you computer thinks its getting cold air all the time. and at times when the air your car is warmer than 32 degrees, it makes the fuel air mixture much richer, and promises horsepower gains and whatnot
in actuality, the horespower gains are next to nonexistant. what you will gain hower is a modicum of low end torque, and you will lose fuel economy, since you're using more gas than normal.
HOWEVER, if you have an automatic transmission on the 2nd gen protege, there is a fun side effect to doing this tho. when you put the 3.3KiloOhm resister in the place of your IAT sensor, it forces your transmision to rev higher. In mine for example, with the pedal floorer, with the IAT hooked up, it upshifted around 5000 rpm out of 2nd nd 3rd, now with the resistor in, it upshifts around 6500 rpm out of 2nd and 3rd. For automatic drivers this is great, theres alot of great top end ponies between 5000 and 6500, and the the shift from 3rd into 4th kicks from that high a rev.
So yeah, i would do it. But you dont need to buy the thing from ebay or wherever... go to radio shack and ask for a 3.3 kilo-Ohm resistor. then come back here and i'll tell you where to install it, in fact i may even take pictures of mine, if enough people wanna see...
-the lyonhart
December-3rd-2003, 08:53 AM
#5
Protege Newbie
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Posts: 13
yeah dude, thats exactly it
later on i'll pull out the digi cam and show you were to hook that up, you know, just for ***** and giggles. i hate how people on ebay sell that like its something great, and expensive, and then you get it in the mail and its just that litlte thing haha.
later on i'll pull out the digi cam and show you were to hook that up, you know, just for ***** and giggles. i hate how people on ebay sell that like its something great, and expensive, and then you get it in the mail and its just that litlte thing haha.
December-4th-2003, 10:49 PM
#13
Protege Newbie
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 5
wow... a lot of misinformation... well, sort of, more like a few half truths there....
lets see, first and foremost, setting up a resistor right in the iat plug and just taping it up with electrical tape is the biggest hack job in the world.
second, putting in a resistor that allows for the computer to read 32 degrees is a really bad idea.. that temp is way too cold and will cause more problems with the engine then anything else. you will be running too rich and this will result in catalytic failure as well as emission problems.
third, the only reason this works is that you are fooling your car into thinking that it is in a somewhat relative open loop operation.
fourth, to get the best gains, you need to fool the iat and ect sensors for a better power band, making the computer function in proper open loop operation.
now, let me explain all this to the average people out there in mazda land....
the iat sensor measures the temp of the air coming into the intake, this temperature equals specific air densities that are preprogrammed into your pcm. furthermore, the iat is a ntc sensor, as temp goes up, resistance goes down, and as temp goes down, resistance goes up.
have you ever gotten into your car when the engine is not at operating temperature and low and behold, when you floor it, it takes off with more power and torque? well, this is an open loop operation in the engine. the pcm tells the fuel system to dump more fuel into the mix so that you can get up to operating temperature faster. once the ect or cto sensor (engine coolant temperature sensor or coolant temperature sensor) say the engine is at operating temp, the car goes into closed loop. now, hacking the iat sensor only adjusts the a/f mix, and can work for decent gains, but, it has to be done right.
the 32 degree resistor is way too low, as stated above. it will be detramental to your exhaust system. if you want to do it right, you need to have one set for around 55-65 degrees. this will be the safest setting for the sensor if you are going to hardwire it in.
personally, i have always opted for the two way switch wired inline, where flipping it one way will put the iat at work and flipping it to the other side will put the resistor to work. this works for almost every car where this is a possible $5 mod.
the ect sensor is also a great mod to do and works well with this, as putting a resistor in place of the ect will put the pcm in true open loop function. this does not harm the engine while driving, but it is good to turn them off now and then as it will set a code on the obdII system.
only thing is, while the ect is set for open loop, it will shut off your cooling fans, so there is a potential for overheating when sitting at a light or something, while driving you are in a good position as ambiant air will cool your engine, as long as your cooling system is functional.
most car computer systems will adjust to the constant readings from the iat or ect temps. this will show up as a malfunction in the car, and the computer will start to adjust to it. hence, it is highly recommended to have switches for hardwired resistors.
any questions? feel free to ask... these are some of the easiest mods to do for todays cars.
lets see, first and foremost, setting up a resistor right in the iat plug and just taping it up with electrical tape is the biggest hack job in the world.
second, putting in a resistor that allows for the computer to read 32 degrees is a really bad idea.. that temp is way too cold and will cause more problems with the engine then anything else. you will be running too rich and this will result in catalytic failure as well as emission problems.
third, the only reason this works is that you are fooling your car into thinking that it is in a somewhat relative open loop operation.
fourth, to get the best gains, you need to fool the iat and ect sensors for a better power band, making the computer function in proper open loop operation.
now, let me explain all this to the average people out there in mazda land....
the iat sensor measures the temp of the air coming into the intake, this temperature equals specific air densities that are preprogrammed into your pcm. furthermore, the iat is a ntc sensor, as temp goes up, resistance goes down, and as temp goes down, resistance goes up.
have you ever gotten into your car when the engine is not at operating temperature and low and behold, when you floor it, it takes off with more power and torque? well, this is an open loop operation in the engine. the pcm tells the fuel system to dump more fuel into the mix so that you can get up to operating temperature faster. once the ect or cto sensor (engine coolant temperature sensor or coolant temperature sensor) say the engine is at operating temp, the car goes into closed loop. now, hacking the iat sensor only adjusts the a/f mix, and can work for decent gains, but, it has to be done right.
the 32 degree resistor is way too low, as stated above. it will be detramental to your exhaust system. if you want to do it right, you need to have one set for around 55-65 degrees. this will be the safest setting for the sensor if you are going to hardwire it in.
personally, i have always opted for the two way switch wired inline, where flipping it one way will put the iat at work and flipping it to the other side will put the resistor to work. this works for almost every car where this is a possible $5 mod.
the ect sensor is also a great mod to do and works well with this, as putting a resistor in place of the ect will put the pcm in true open loop function. this does not harm the engine while driving, but it is good to turn them off now and then as it will set a code on the obdII system.
only thing is, while the ect is set for open loop, it will shut off your cooling fans, so there is a potential for overheating when sitting at a light or something, while driving you are in a good position as ambiant air will cool your engine, as long as your cooling system is functional.
most car computer systems will adjust to the constant readings from the iat or ect temps. this will show up as a malfunction in the car, and the computer will start to adjust to it. hence, it is highly recommended to have switches for hardwired resistors.
any questions? feel free to ask... these are some of the easiest mods to do for todays cars.
December-5th-2003, 12:33 AM
#14
Protege Newbie
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Posts: 13
oh i know this is bad for the car, and i also know there are way better ways to do this, and for that matter way better things to do, but he asked what he just bought on , or was about to buy , on ebay, so i told him. i know for a fact they ship 32 degree resistors, and the instructions they send include the use of electrical tape. i just didnt want this guy to spend like 30 bucks , so i figured id show him how to do it himself, and tell him what actually to expect out of it.
