Chips for car Performance

Car performance chips are aftermarket accessories that car owners can use to increase the efficiency and power of their cars. A result of modern technology, car performance chips impact many key mechanical and electronic functions within a car’s systems. The aim of an aftermarket performance chip is to replace the manufacturers’ pre-installed chip that is designed for average fuel consumption and car maintenance. Drivers that value unleashing the full potential of their cars can couple adding a new performance chip to their cars with choosing higher octane fuel and routine service to achieve greater performance.

Before purchasing a car performance chip, buyers should research how performance chips are designed to get an understanding of how the chips work. Car performance chips are sold in a number of different types, which will impact how much power they can release, as well as how they need to be maintained. Car owners should also understand the impact a performance chip will have on a car’s components and other performance-enhancing modifications a car owner might choose for their cars. Installing a car performance chip is a relatively easy process that handy car owners can perform themselves if they follow a few basic installation practices.

How Car Performance Chips Work

Within modern cars, there is a computerized engine control unit (ECU) that sends signals to the engine’s components, directing the components to perform certain functions. These functions can range from opening the engine’s throttle valve when a driver steps on the gas pedal to adjusting the temperature within a car when a driver turns on the car’s air conditioning system. To control a car, the ECU is outfitted with a performance chip and sensors that monitor a wide range of functions throughout the car’s system. These sensors employ sophisticated algorithms to maintain appropriate preset levels throughout a car’s systems.

Changing Performance

Since car manufacturers must release cars that can perform well for the general public and meet government regulations for efficiency, they use chips in their ECUs that factor in average fuel input and car maintenance to sustain the pre-set levels of the ECU. Aftermarket car performance chips are designed to replace the chips used by manufacturers to increase a car’s performance. This could result in changes to the fuel efficiency of a car, depending on a number of factors. Aftermarket car performance chips can also alter the spark timing of a car’s engine to increase performance.

Types of Car Performance Chips

Since different car owners might want to make different changes to their cars, car performance chip manufacturers produce a number of types of performance chips to match the demands of their customers. In general, there are two types of car performance chips offered on the market.

Control module and power programmer performance chips vary in how much customization drivers have over the performance of their cars. Therefore, it is critical that drivers seriously consider the level of customization and convenience they would prefer in a car performance chip before deciding which model to purchase.

Control Modules

A control module-type performance chip is permanently installed into a car’s electrical system under the hood of a car. Placed between the car’s sensors and ECU, a control module chip modifies the information sent from the car’s sensors before the information reaches the ECU. When the information reaches the control module chip, the information is changed to correspond to increasing the car’s power. The altered information is then forwarded to the car’s ECU, which acts on the new information by changing the air-to-fuel ratio of the engine, the spark timing, or other critical functions, to increase performance.

Power Programmers

Power programmer-type performance chips also operate by intercepting the information sent from a car’s sensors to its ECU, but are not permanently installed under the hood of a car. To operate this type of performance chip, drivers can plug a power programmer unit into the OBD-II port that is located under the dashboard of most modern cars. The power programmer unit has a screen that prompts drivers to answer questions related to the performance changes they desire. To achieve correct adjustments to the car’s system, the power programmer unit also asks questions related to a driver’s driving practices and the type of fuel that is in the tank of the car. Once the power programmer unit has the information it needs, it modifies information going from the sensors to a car’s ECU.

Impact of Using a Car Performance Chip

Many car owners might be worried about the implications of adding a car performance chip to their cars. Luckily, car performance chips will have no adverse effects on a car’s systems and can, in some cases, keep serious issues from occurring.

Car Drive Train

A car’s drive train will not be adversely affected by the use of a car performance chip. This is because the performance chip impacts the horsepower and engine output by maximizing the latent power the engine or transmission contains that is typically not being used. To do this, the performance chip optimizes the fuel ratio or timing of the ignition. In some cases, a performance chip can actually safeguard against damage occurring to a car’s components because the chip corrects inconsistencies in the car’s air-to-fuel ratio.

Gas Mileage

Unless there are serious mechanical issues with a car, a car performance chip will increase a car’s gas mileage. By constantly monitoring an engine’s fuel ratios and timing issues, a performance chip increases efficiency by lowering the amount of power an engine needs to generate during combustion. This causes less gas to be burned while driving.

Other Performance Modifications

Adding an aftermarket performance chip to a car that has other performance modifications is a great way to get the most out of the car’s modifications. Typically, keeping a manufacturer’s ECU chip operational limits the changes performance modifications can support because the original ECU chip cannot stray from the presets added by the car’s manufacturer. Aftermarket performance chips will register the changes that modifications exert on a car’s sensors and allow the engine to respond accordingly. Without adding an aftermarket performance chip, modifications like better tires or exhaust systems are limited from achieving their peak levels.

Installing a Car Performance Chip

Before installing a car performance chip of any type, car owners should carefully read the manufacturer’s instructions that accompany the chip. To install a power programmer-type performance chip unit, drivers simply need to connect the unit to the OBD-II port under the dashboard and turn on the unit. Control module-type performance chips take a little more skill, however, to be added to an ECU.

Control Module Installation

After lifting the hood of a car, owners must locate the car’s ECU. The control module performance chip unit is connected directly to the car’s onboard computer by connecting the wires as instructed by the unit’s manufacturer. Typically, there is no use for drilling or soldering. The control module unit is left under the hood permanently, unless a car owner would like to activate the car’s factory settings again.