How to Increase a Car's Mileage With a Chip
From idle speed to octane tolerance, computers control almost every aspect of a fuel-injected engine. Although most of an engine's fuel economy is determined by its size and basic architecture, an aftermarket performance chip (or computer re-programmer for cars that don't use a plug-in chip) can alter a few of its basic parameters to improve performance, fuel economy or octane tolerance. Such changes always come with a bit of compromise, so buy your chip from an established manufacturer who has extensive experience with your engine.
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Things You'll Need
- Aftermarket computer chip
- Full set of screwdrivers
- Full set of metric and standard sockets
Instructions
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1
Determine whether your car uses a plug-in PROM (programmable read-only memory) chip. PROM chips are like vinyl records; once you record something on it, the medium cannot be erased and recorded upon again. Most modern cars use a reprogrammable computer whose parameters can be altered with a "power tuner" that plugs into the diagnostic port. PROM chips are most commonly found on pre-1996 vehicles that use OBD-I (on-board diagnostic, series one) computer programming.
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Contact a performance chip manufacturer and tell them that you want a PROM chip with a fuel economy tune. The manufacturer will load a program that will increase spark advance, reduce the amount of fuel in your air/fuel ratio and alter injection timing to optimize fuel economy. If your car uses a more modern reprogrammable computer, you can order a power tuner with such a program preloaded on it or purchase an adjustable tuner that will allow you to adjust the parameters yourself.
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3
Locate your car's fuel injection computer. You can normally find it behind the plastic "kick panels" on the right-hand wall of the passenger-side foot-well or the left-hand wall of the driver-side foot-well. You may also find the computer under the dashboard, behind the glove compartment, in the center console, under the seats or in the engine compartment.
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Identify the plastic port plug on the back of your computer (the "front" being the end that the wiring harness plugs into). Remove the plastic plug or factory computer chip from the back of your computer. This may involve removing tabs, cutting a glued seam or plastic seal or unscrewing a number of retaining screws.
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Remove the protective covering from the terminals of your aftermarket chip and plug the chip in place of your factory unit. You can secure it with tabs or screws if possible, but you might want to consider wrapping a piece of duct tape around the chip and over the computer case. This will ease removal if you decide to install a different chip or go back to the stock tune.
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Reinstall the trim panels and hardware and start the car. It should immediately recognize the new programming parameters and begin running on them immediately.
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Tips & Warnings
For truly huge gains in fuel economy, consider an aftermarket fuel management unit and a wide-band oxygen (O2) sensor. This arrangement will allow you to lean the air/fuel ratio out far beyond what the stock computer can handle and will give you the option of switching from a performance tune to a fuel-economy tune in seconds. But be forewarned: you may need to upgrade your cooling system and switch to premium fuel to handle the higher combustion chamber temperatures resulting from a very lean air/fuel ratio.
References
- Photo Credit chip image by JCVSTOCK-ES from Fotolia.com
