Just curious if anyone had any experience with the below performance chip which claims to increase HP and MPG. With stuff like this I always assume it does NOT work until proven otherwise.

http://www.amazon.com/Innovative-Performance-Power-Programmer-LS600h/dp/B00WFIKT2E

 

For gasoline cars these modules etc are not effective. On a diesel however, they work very well. For example, I had an Edge Programmer that added about 150 HP and 200 ft/lbs of torque to my F350 Powerstroke Diesel. Others like Bullydog, Diablo and Superchips had similar numbers.

Save your money.

 

The problem is nobody's has cracked Toyotas ECU programming to gain access to the fuel maps, timing, ect. Gasoline engines can be tweaked quite a bit if you have access. I did this with my Mustang GT and when combined with headers, an intake, and full cat-back exhaust it equaled a little over 80hp more than stock. My tuner, made by SCT, actually reprogrammed the computer based on the octane I was running. You could removed the rev limter, speed limiter, change shift points on an automatic, all kinds of things.

As mentioned, all those gimicky chips do is trick the throttle body to think you are pressing the gas pedal harder then you really are. You don't actually gain a thing. That's why they never show you a dyno. With turbos it opens a whole different world as Roadfrog mentioned. For those that put turbos or a supercharger on various LS models they have to run a separate engine management system.

 

The only ones that actually work and can give you significant gains are for engines where they purposely turn off the cars potential and sell it as a lesser model.
Case in point is the VWs/ Audi and the BMWs where they use identical engines but the computers maps are different. The difference between an older N52 525i and a 530i is almost 50hp purposely de-tuned because it's cheaper to build one motor then two motors like they did in the past.

For cars like our Lexus any kind of tuning is just taking the car to the edge of reliability and it can burn out the emissions systems for gains you will not feel.

This device is most likely some kind of resister in a box that does absolutely nothing.

 

They are a scam, you would probably void all your engine warranty as well if something were to go wrong.

I would really be interested in a intake/header upgrade for these cars , but so far they seem to be unavailable.

 

You really need to be able to tune the car to take advantage of the increased airflow. Often with headers, the O2 sensors are located further away than stock and if not corrected in the ECU you actually will cause the engine to run worse. Same story on the 400 and 430. Believe me, I would love to do the same thing to my 430. Headers are available for the 430 but without a tune 2 grand is not worth the nominal gain.

 

Yes even on my C5 vette its pretty much the same story, you will get some gain but it wont come alive until you give it a tune.

 

It's not a case of it being gas or diesel. It's forced induction or not. The F350 PowerJoke you mentioned is turbocharged. Turbos are very easily manipulated for MORE AIR (more boost). If an engine has easy access to more air, adding fuel via means of the computer is not difficult. Most fuel injectors can easily increase duty cycle. So on turbo-diesels, it's not difficult.

On engines like our LS 460's, it can add more fuel by manipulating the mapping. But if there is no more air availalble, there is little to no advantage to the extra fuel. And if it's enough extra fuel, of course it's going to cause issues and likely run worse, too rich.

My Cummins has been ... modified. The BHAF makes it easy for the turbo to spool. The turbo blows darn near 30 psi. The "box" I have on it matches that air with fuel. The bigger injectors deliver the extra fuel. The straight exhaust (no muffler / no cat / no resonator) sounds great freeing the exhaust. The combination is more than a PowerJoke, Duradud or my clutch can handle (under certain situations).

Forget the "performance chip." It will likely do nothing good. When I hit rock bottom, I will add a NOS system to the LS.

Just playing with you roadfrog about PowerJoke. I have nothing against Navistar or Isuzu, there's plenty of other engines that suck too!


7milesout

 

No offence taken. It's the norm among truck owners.

That said, I never had engine issues, despite severe towing duties (7500 lb 32 ft trailer) through the Rockies, desert, high heat, etc. Tranny and diff however.....

Yes, I'm aware of the turbo being the key ingredient for the improved perfromance and was simply referring to diesels, since 99% of diesels are turbocharged and diesels are mostly unaffected by altitude like gas engines.

 

Glad you took it the right way. I like the ole 7.3L. I bought my Cummins before the 6.0h no came out. Since the 6.0h no, I've not been interested in the Ford. Have never been interested in the Duramin.

My Cummins has given me really good service even modified. It's not crazy powerful like some are. And actually because it's a 6 speed manual, it's slow since I lose boost at every shift. But it sounds awesome rolling through the gears with the turbo silencer removed and straight exhaust.

Now, back to the original topic.


7milesout