Memcal Upgrade #3 from PUK

[Manuelin]

I upgraded my 95s4s Memcal from PUK with the #3 chip. I do have a very noticeable torque improvement on 2nd and 3rd gear, but 1st gear seams weaker than before. The boost seems to be coming slower. I have run the car quite a bit since the upgrade, so the new program is in effect. Anybody out there had this experience with this upgrade?

[windsorlotus]

Don't have an answer to you're question sorry but I was considering the same #3 chip. Does the engine run much smoother than before the chip ,either at idle or under acceleration ? They claim it feels like a more expensive car with this chip.

SGB

[jconsta6]

From what you said, it seems like you bought the chip from Marcus. The chip is obviously working, as from experience, these things either work or they don't.

I'm no expert but what I'd say is that it may be highlighting other problems that may not have been noticable before? Just a thoguht...

Anyway, my advice would be to speak to Marcus. He is EXTREMELY approachable, and knows his stuff, and may have heard of this before.
I've only ever communicated through email, but he has always answered me and gone out of his way to help in the past.

Cheers,

John.

[Manuelin]

Thank for the great advice. I will contact him for sure to see what he thinks. The car does run a lot smother than before. It is definetely a nice improvement. There is no engine light or anything like that. It may well be that something else is not working right.
Thanks again. I will let you know what I find.

[Manuelin]

Just got a nice repply from Marcus. This seems to make sense.
What you are experiencing is a subjective effect. The boost buildup depends on the engine load. In 1st gear the load is not very much. Thats why the boost and torque buildup behaves almost like stock. In 2nd and 3rd gear the load is much more and the boost addition is bigger. What you are noticing is the huge difference and that seems like the 1st gear is weaker than before, but it isn´t ;o)

[Mark91SE]

Manuelin said:

Just got a nice repply from Marcus. This seems to make sense. What you are experiencing is a subjective effect. What you are noticing is the huge difference and that seems like the 1st gear is weaker than before, but it isn´t ;o)

I confer with this. I did notice the higher torque. But, I also noticed the apparent lack of high acceleration in 3rd when reaching high rpms, which made the rear wheels dance a bit from that acceleration rate. The key is, that, due to the torque, you are already there at lower rpms (due to the torque).
I noticed a good example of this when I played back the mpeg recordings I made of the differences between my change from a Flowmaster to Magnaflow muffler system. Doing the same 1st-2rd run, at full throttle in each, the Magnaflow version gets there quicker. On the Flowmaster I had an S4s chip... on the Magnaflow, the #3 Hi-Torque chip;

www.voicecrystal.com/Esprit/Mufflers/index.htm

3.2 vs 2.7 seconds and the 2nd one ends up at a higher rpm as well!

I will say, I do kinda miss the hi rpm (non LSD) wheel dance sometimes. But, I also now feel more confident in passing other cars on 2-lane roads, when the situation requires it.

I was tempted to get the 110BHP #4 chip which increases the horsepower a tad and apparently reduces the boost by a mere 4% at lower rpm compared to the Hi-Torque #3, but increases it 4% at higher rpm, with an additional .1 bar max (1.1 bar vs hi-torque 1.0 bar), depending on which version you have. The Hi-Torque checksum of 23FCC6 is for the 1.0 bar max version.

This would (again apparently) bring back some of that hi rpm acceleration experience. But, safety to the motor is a concern too... as I'm still just 'thinking' about it.

One thing I do regarding 1st gear, is that due to the higher torque, you don't have to stay in 1st gear so long. I generally try to get into 2nd gear a bit sooner than before, then things pickup real nice, becuse you've got the torque to do it with.

- Mark91SE