Unichip piggy back ECU

[JCBalunsat]

They gave me a brochure of the Unichip Piggyback ECU that can improve a cars performance.

Has anyone tried this already? According to the brochure it can give a 30% overall performance either stock or modified. Dyno sheets were included on the brochure and I must say they are impressive.

How much is this and is it really worth it?

TIA

[ghosthunter]

"Niky" has one fitted on his FORD Lynx 2.0L RS and swears by it's flexibilty and tuning potential even on his hard-to-tune engine.

The gains would depend on the mods you have done on your engine. The advantage of the UNICHIP is it's a programable system so if you have future upgrades, it can be re-tuned to take advantage of those upgrades.

[niky]

Friend just did it to his engine. 124 hp to 136 hp at peak. Even better, midrange at around 3000 rpm improved by 15 hp.

Unichip works on modern engines that are hard to tune, that have computers that are not receptive to the more common AFCs or E-manage chips. It can work on gas, turbocharged gas or CRDi engines.

If your car is older, there are cheaper engine management systems that can still work. Ghosthunter's Apexi AFC gives similar gains on the dyno on his car (actually, better... but he's got a better engine than me, the rat... ). BUT, you still need to dyno-tune these things for maximum effect. The unichip's price already covers installation and dyno-tuning.

I've seen 20 plus hp for modern CRDi diesel engines with nothing but a Unichip and dyno-tuning. And the Unichip can be used for turbo-installs to run a fifth injector, or as a nitrous controller, or as a intercooler spray controller, or as an alcohol spray controller... the possibilities are endless.

[JCBalunsat]

And how much will it cost me? I've seen it on the website. 30k?

[speedyfix]

30% might be a bit high. realistically about 5% for a stock car and maybe 10-15% on a heavily modified car.

[niky]

Yup. 30k, all in.

30%, depending on where in the rpm range. I've seen 15-20 whp at certain rev ranges... if your car is making just 50hp at 3000 rpm, an extra 15hp is darn close to 30%. And this is for non-turbo cars. For turbo cars, the gains are even better.

But yeah, 30% is a big number. All I can say is, it's a guaranteed 5-20hp up and down the rev range, whatever your car. Typically, for stock cars, just 5-10whp at redline, and about 10-15hp in the midrange. You're paying the extra for this midrange, as this is what you use most when driving.

[JCBalunsat]

Little bit pricey. I think I'll invest in I/H/E and look for the darn thing that causes my car to idle down whenever the car just started. Also, since I have a Vti, rechipping can do the same thing with this. Well, I still think this thing is pretty impressive.

[speedyfix]

if you have a vti you can't rechip that straight away. you need to rewire the harness to accept a d15b ecu and that's what you can have tuned.

cheaper than the piggyback and much much more functions built it.

[JPG111]

Im planning to chip my '05 Nissan Patrol 3.0 4X2 M/T .. Im choosing between DPChip & UNICHIP..

DPChip: http://www.dpchip.com/
- 60K 5 years warranty
UNICHIP: http://www.unichip.us/
- cheaper 30K 1 year warranty
(the fastest Santa Fe 2.2 here in the phils is equipped with UNICHIP .. dynoed at 175hp and 330lbs of torque)

[niky]

Actually, though I'm a firm believer in the Unichip... I don't know if that one will be the fastest... Kevin Limjoco's Santa Fe is chipped, and he claims that the 0-100 time went down from eleven and a half to around nine and a half seconds.... hmmm... drag race the two?

But personally, a chip that's progarmmed on the spot, to your specific vehicle, is worth the money. I think what you're getting with the DPChip is the plug-and-play harness, which makes installaton, tuning and removal much less of a hassle, and provides a neater installation. Unichip also has a plug and play harness, but you have to order it, and the extra cost will make it cost as much as the DPChip.

If the plug-and-play harness matters to you, the DPChip is a good buy, provided that dyno-tuning on installation is included in the package. Otherwise, personally, I'd go for the Unichip, since it includes dyno-tuning and optimizing in the package.

[JPG111]

Actually, though I'm a firm believer in the Unichip... I don't know if that one will be the fastest... Kevin Limjoco's Santa Fe is chipped, and he claims that the 0-100 time went down from eleven and a half to around nine and a half seconds.... hmmm... drag race the two?

But personally, a chip that's progarmmed on the spot, to your specific vehicle, is worth the money. I think what you're getting with the DPChip is the plug-and-play harness, which makes installaton, tuning and removal much less of a hassle, and provides a neater installation. Unichip also has a plug and play harness, but you have to order it, and the extra cost will make it cost as much as the DPChip.

If the plug-and-play harness matters to you, the DPChip is a good buy, provided that dyno-tuning on installation is included in the package. Otherwise, personally, I'd go for the Unichip, since it includes dyno-tuning and optimizing in the package.

Thanks for your inputs nicky..

[obrut renut]

Guys,

I have been using the dpchip on my fort for over a year now with no problems and it took 2 secs easy off my 0-100km/h times.

It does have the advantage of being taken in and out of the vehicle whenever you need to, eg to the casa for pms etc.

However, once you start to further modify your vehicle, it does become not so flexable, which is why i will be switching to the unichip system sometime in the future.

The unichip also has the advantage of being able to be transfered to another vehicle as required and the retune being carried out, where as the dpchip cannot be used on a different vehicle unless it is covered in the range.

[roadwarrior]

sirs:

can i install the unichip in a gen2 strada?

[j0hans0n]

hmm.. the chip gives power.. but does it also mean taking in more fuel?

thanks..

[ghosthunter]

hmm.. the chip gives power.. but does it also mean taking in more fuel?

Takes more fuel to make more power.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

[j0hans0n]

Takes more fuel to make more power.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

hahaha.. eco 101.. thanks

[ghosthunter]

hahaha.. eco 101.. thanks

BTW, it's also easy to burn more fuel for even less power. Make sure the mods you do to your car actually make more power.

[niky]

sirs:

can i install the unichip in a gen2 strada?

You can only use it on CRDi diesels or any diessel with computer controlled injection.

[roadwarrior]

You can only use it on CRDi diesels or any diessel with computer controlled injection.

thanks niky.

[speedyfix]

in some applications though that run extra rich, removing some fuel from the fuel map will give extra power and yet still conserve you fuel.

it really depends on the application.

on some evos, as they approach the redline, the a/f goes down to almost 10:1. leaning it out a bit improves how they run.