Powerchip for OBDII owners
 

I read svx1997 thread. He mentioned his 97 SVX was chipped by powerchip. I contacted them about their online catalog listing the same part number for all years of the SVX. I was worried about OBDII compatibility. Here is the response I received.

Thank you for inquring. You are absolutely correct. They do have different control modules. Our part number is actually more for an internal reference. Since each software is written on a case by case basis (keeping in mind the modifications, fuel , and region), you do not need to worry about ordering the wrong product.

Kind Regards,

Joel Ayson
Power Consultant

So each ECU is different for each and every SVX?

Each chip they make is supposedly on an individual car basis - depending on the car's state of tune. (exhaust, intake, etc)

Doug (Mohrds) has the powerhcip. IIRC he wasn't impressed with it.

Re: Powerchip for OBDII owners
 

Mmmmm

Sounds interesting.

I am wondering if Joel and co would configure a chip for a supercharged SVX then? Since it's on a car by car basis?

Might be worthwhile talking to these boys.

Incidentally, as I understand it, OBDII is more about the output from the ECU having a set global format for reading codes by garage monitors. Somebody no doubt will correct me if I am wrong in this.

The point I am making, it is pretty likely that the ECU still retains the same or very similar timing and fuelling map as the OBDI variants. I say this because I have never seen anything on here or elsewhere to suggest that the engine has had any major changes of components or modifications in its life-cycle.

So a chip to delimit the engine and optimise the tuning should not need radically different code.


Feel free to disagree with me.

Joe:)

Re: Powerchip for OBDII owners
 

Victor,

Great minds think alike! :p

I was thinking about svx1997's post and his top speed results do suggest that this chip has some beneficial impact on power...

I looked our the SVX datasheet and found no real useful information - just marketing pratter. :rolleyes: Just this evening I received an e-mail from Joel thanking me for my interest and asking me if I had any specific questions about the Gold 93 upgrade for the SVX 3.3. I sent him the following e-mail:

"Joel,

Thanks for the e-mail. I do have a few specific questions about the Powerchip group Gold 93 upgrade for my '96 SVX. In responding to my questions, there's no need to explain concepts in 'layman's terms' as I'm very familiar with performance tuning after having owned a '90 300ZX TT and a '00 SVT Lightning.

1. I checked out the datasheet for the SVX 3.3 and found no useful information - just marketing lingo. My relatively stock SVX made approx 165hp and 174ft-lbs at the wheels on an awd dyno at Altered Atmosphere (www.alteredatmoshpere.com/) in Gaithersburg, MD on 12/15 with an air fuel ratio centered around 13.4:1 in the upper rev band. With the Gold 93 upgrade, what kinda improvements in at the wheel power can I expect? Where would the 'modified' afr be in the upper rev band? How many degrees is timing advanced?

2. I live in VA (zip code 22932). I see your chip costs $490. Above this price, what would I need to pay for shipping + installation? Where's the nearest installer to my location?

3. Do you have any specials for group buys? What kinda numbers would you need to offer volume discounts? 5, 10, 20 buyers?

4. Will this product work in the '96-'97 SVXs which have an OBDII compatible ECU as opposed to the OBDI system used in the '92-'95 SVXs?

Thanks. I look forward to your response."

I'll post his reply in this thread.

-Chike

Hey Chike, be happy you can do the gold 93. We have 91 craptane in California. $490 is on the steep side, but my guess is LAN was going to charge around the same price.

Honestly Vic, at this price point, I may not be able to get the chip until Xmas '05 (guessing shipping + instal will bring total price closer to $600).

But I may just take the plunge. They do have a money back guarantee (less shipping + install costs) and I plan to put the car on a dyno if I do in fact buy the chip.

Also, if they're willing to do a group buy at 5 people with some discount in pricing, we may be able to get that number of OBDII SVXers to sign up... :)

-Chike

P.S. BTW, I installed the phenolic spacers on my car today with SVXfiles. Actual install took 3 hours, but should have been closer to 2. We ran into a hitch with the ac pipe and a curved piece of the intake manifold that lies just below it. However, a little 5 minute filing of that curved piece with a $4 file solved probelm. Otherwise the install was a charm. We deatched my egr pipe but the gaskets were in good condition and could be re-used. There were no leaks afterwards and my resting idle is still a stock 600 rpms. :)

P.P.S. Should have a brief write-up with pics by Sunday night. No check-engine lights or any problems on my 3 hour drive back home from Tom's place...

Chike

Keep us posted about the chip, OK

Thanks

Joe

Absolutely Joe! :)

-Chike

Thanks Chike.

Maybe you could ask him one more thing; you live in Vancouver, I live in Ireland. Would it be feasable for them to fit the chip to the ECU if I was to post the ECU controller to their best agent?

Or do they need the whole car so they can run dyno tests or something?

Joe

When he responds to my e-mail, I'll definitely ask that question for you! ;) Personally, I don't think it should be an issue as their software board is installed inside of the ECU casing...

-Chike

P.S. BTW, my location is in Virginia not Vancouver. I guess both states/provinces use a similar abbreviation.

I just sent them an email askign if they could make me a chip for my turbo car

Thanks Chike

Sorry about misreading your address.

It's late at night here, and I'm not firing on all cylinders

;) :D

It's all good. ;)

-Chike

Now that would be a cool chip to get if they could make one! :)

-Chike