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Makes sense to me,but what dio i know?

as much as me apparently

Well, I've gone through my first tank of gas, so now I've put about 260 miles on it. Nearly all of the idling problems are gone. I still get a bit of RPM oscillation when the cooling fans click on, but it seems to be happening less and less.

Also, the car pulls VERY nicely. Gas mileage has gone up from 19.5 to 21. I'm sure it'll be even better on this next tank!

I'm assuming the MPG rating is with you putting your foot in it once in a while too?

Good to see some others are having less problems with this.At this point i am a bit dissapointed.I am now at the 500 mile point and have seen some overall improvement but most of that improvement happened in the first hour .

At this point i have this to report:

Cold idle = shit,fumbles between 500-1500.This hasnt changed.

Idle when warm = ok - just dont turn off the car and restart or it acts like its cold?

Boost = my gauge (which sucks) and butt dyno suggest its all over depending on the day,although power is impressive when all is well.

Deceleration = retarded,i feel my gas pedal is an ON-OFF switch either floor it or let off and push the clutch in.Any degree of let off causes either extreme engine braking or at least a nasty hiccup.

I also have this issue of near stalling power loss upon my first acceleration after starting,this happens whether warm or cold,the first time i take off i will have to be ginger to keep it from bucking too badly and then its ok untill the car is restarted.The only CEL i have had was in the the first 10 miles of breaking in my engine and it was a knock sensor code.It happened once breifly ( probably remaining year old gas in the tank) and i have had no other codes since. i think i just need to get a laptop and needed logging stuff to see whats up,or let someone else decode the info rather.

gijonas, it sounds like you have the same problems that I initially had.

I have probably 3000 miles on total since I first got the chip, including the time period that the switch was wired wrong (and then Revtronix fixed their install guide).

One of the problems with these cars is that they are so old and many of the sensors and wiring are degrading. I don't know how much you have changed out in your swap, but believe me, freshening everything in the vaccum/intake system made the biggest difference for me.

Over time, I have replaced the gaskets on the throttle body and manifold, replaced all the hoses, replaced all the injector seals and rings, fixed all the sensor wires that looked sketchy, and installed oil catches from the PCV valve to eliminate the oil that was getting blown back into the intake and coating the MAF. I also have replaced the alternator and put 6ga ground wire to a lot of items.

All that has turned my car from a stumbling, sensitive annoyance into a very smooth driver.

Now, with the chip, the performance tuning accentuates any degradation of sensors. My car was OK to drive with the stock ECU (not 100% perfect, but reasonably so), but the addition of the chip brought to my attention further issues, which upon addressing have made the car very drivable in spite of the things that need to be addressed on the programming side.

My idle is actually pretty decent, but even if it ocsillates a little I don't care, as long as it can't just quit at stoplights, which it doesn't - the idle settles to about 1000rpm at current settings.

Boost - the chip can't seem to figure out my wastegate, it pulses at full boost, so I am using a manual controller and it is fine. Any serious boost issues are on your end.

Deceleration - this is clearly a programming issue that is brought out by variations between cars. Mine was as bad as yours until I swapped out my throttle body with another one I had on hand. I think my TPS sensor was getting out of whack, because it smoothed everything up, including compared to pre-chip driving. Right now, there is still the fast transition to engine braking, but the hiccups are gone. They used to be REALLY bad.

I would say, before you go farther:

1. Verify that your vacuum system is tight - gaskets, IC hoses, lines, etc.

2. Then make sure you have a correctly functioning boost gauge.

3. Then clean your MAF element REALLY well with electronics cleaner/degreaser. Check the intake around the MAF for oil residue - if there is any, find the source and fix it (if you are running the stock plastic boxes, it probably can't get back to the MAF from the PCV line though).

4. Then check the knock sensor wire and see if it is starting to separate at the connector - if so, fix it correctly with solder, not crimping.

Also, if you are in an engine break-in period, I would think that there is a procedure for that before you start tuning anything.

ScottyS wrote: 3. Then clean your MAF element REALLY well with brake cleaner or electronics cleaner/degreaser. Check the intake around the MAF for oil residue - if there is any, find the source and fix it (if you are running the stock plastic boxes, it probably can't get back to the MAF from the PCV line though).

Use actual MAF cleaner! Its not the same as brake cleaner and works better!

smh0101 wrote:

ScottyS wrote: 3. Then clean your MAF element REALLY well with brake cleaner or electronics cleaner/degreaser. Check the intake around the MAF for oil residue - if there is any, find the source and fix it (if you are running the stock plastic boxes, it probably can't get back to the MAF from the PCV line though).

Use actual MAF cleaner! Its not the same as brake cleaner and works better!

+1. Brake cleaner is a BAD idea...it can (and quite often does) destroy a MAF sensor. If you don't have any MAF cleaner or electronic parts cleaner, you can at least use low-pressure compressed air, like in those little cans.

Duly noted. The idea is to get oil residue off the element.

kimokalihi wrote:I'm assuming the MPG rating is with you putting your foot in it once in a while too?

But of course

Instructions for getting the update just went out! I submitted my info, can't wait to try Stage 2 v.2.....

ScottyS wrote:Instructions for getting the update just went out! I submitted my info, can't wait to try Stage 2 v.2.....

me too with my new SS. *sigh*.

Got the chip update in the mail today, will be installing and testing over the weekend.

my revtronix has had none of these symptoms, i only hit fuel cut at the very beginning on wot hills

Yes, but are you running 440's and stage 2?

no, but mike uses the same format for his tuning

So, even though the MAF is different, the injectors are different, and the boost targets are different, the tune is the same? Unlikely.

Running Stage2 v.2 and after a couple hundred miles I'm happy.

The Normal Mode oscillation, cold/warmup hesitation, and warm idle (just me?) issues are (so far) gone.

ScottyS wrote:So, even though the MAF is different, the injectors are different, and the boost targets are different, the tune is the same? Unlikely.

i'm not saying the tune is the same, just that his format for coming up with where his targets lye would be similar.

hmm i just put the update in and the oscillations are completely gone but the warmup lean issue is still there although it seemed to go away faster.
idle is a bit high so i've been turning it down slowly and so far its smooth.
throttle let off at 2-4 psi seems very abrupt like fuel cut but at higher psi's its gone.
i've only driven it a half hour or so tho so i'll give it a bit.

-Alex

Cant wait for my update to show up as my car is running REALLY crappy and the chip is the only thing i havnt fucked with 500 times yet.

Haven't driven the car more than 1 mile with the v2 Stage 2 chip yet. Cold/lean issues are better -- noticed right away the AFR was 10-11. Drove 0.2 mi down a hill, then back up it while things were still 'cold'. Got way too lean driving up the hill; around 18-19 AFR.

Time will tell about the other issues it 'fixed'.

Install successful, DID NOT reset the ECU. Put the factory BCS back in line. I let it warm up fully before taking it out.

Was not lean at any time, drove for about 15min before taking it to full boost. WOT AFR's are hanging at 10.8-11.2, I had asked for this specifically.

Driveability using the BCS has improved 110%. It is actually pretty smooth. It is still hunting for peak boost, but I'm going to wait for a couple tanks of fuel to see if it figures it out. It's already showing signs of settling after a 30min drive.

Right now it is as good or better than using the MBC, so I'm leaving things as-is.

So is resetting the ecu not needed when installing the updated chip?

joshw02 wrote:So is resetting the ecu not needed when installing the updated chip?

NO.

Install instructions clearly state it's not needed.