Performance Modules and Chips

snowbrom21snowbrom21 Member Posts: 21
edited March 2014 in Subaru
So I've got a '07 Subaru Outback XT that I would like to spend a little money on. The thing is pretty quick off the lot with 245hp from a turbocharged 2.5L boxter engine. I was clicking around on Ebay and saw a great deal of posts for "Performanc Modules" and "Chips" that people are selling for around $10.

Now I'm not technical genius, but I know that it took a lot more than $10 to squeeze horsepower out of my '67 Mustang Fastback.

Has anyone ever tried any of these products? I'm curious on how well they work, or if they work at all.

Thoughts? Comments? Jokes?
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Comments

  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    They are bogus.

    I have an 05 Legacy GT which essentially is the same car as you have.

    Before I did/do any power upgrades, you will want to address upgrading your brakes, and suspension. These aren't $10 mods either.

    -mike
  • snowbrom21snowbrom21 Member Posts: 21
    That's what I figured. where would you recommend i start? any specific manufacturers you would recommend?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    depends what you want to do with your car. Street? Track? Auto-x? Drag? etc.

    From there we can really hone in on what items would be most beneficial.

    What kind of tires do you have? Stock? All Season? etc.

    That's a great place to start, cause tires will effect your handling and speed in a huge way.

    -mike
  • bench5bench5 Member Posts: 1
    what about older cars? I have a 84 528e that could use a little bump just for fun. I cant find a chip (cheap or expensive) fro my ECU. can I switch out ecu? I have seen items that attach at oxygen sensor . Any opinion on those?
  • b33tl3boyb33tl3boy Member Posts: 3
    i have an 01 beetle sport with a 1.8t. i am looking for a web site to get it chiped asap i have a race in 3 weeks that i need to win
  • azlee1azlee1 Member Posts: 2
    I own a 2007 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition, It has a 4.6 V8 engine with 6 Spd Auto, and has 18" tires on it. does anybody know how to squeak out any extra MPG out of it. With current gas prices it is really a burden. am getting approx.12 around town and approx 19 on the road. I have looked into Superchips and Hypertech chips but will they do the trick for me or not ????
    I hate to put out that kind of cash and find out that it did not do anything for my investment????? I already had the air in my tires replaced with Nitrogen and it seems like it helped a little but it is to soon to tell just had it done the other day???

    Thanks
    AzLee1
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    No don't waste your money on gas-saving chips. If gas saving were so easily accomplished, every truck rolling out of Detroit would have had them installed by now. Automakers spend HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars trying to design more efficient engines and gain even 1 mpg edge over the competition. So would they pass on a $29.95 chip they could make for $5? Doubt it. Chips can add power by changing engine mapping, shift points and fuel delivery, but you can't get MORE power AND save gas at the same time without really sophisticated and drastic engineering.

    You could switch to synthetic oil,which might get you 1-3% better mileage---not much but could possibly boost you to 13 mpg in the city. Driving habits can help a lot,which would include, for city driving, "keeping the truck moving", that is, coasting to stop lights rather than rushing up to them and then braking and then restarting. Every time you can keep those tires rolling, you are saving gas. You could pump up the tires another 5 lbs or so.

    It's a heavy vehicle, and it needs to get moving from standstill, and the laws of physics are not easily defeated.

    But try the synthetic. Your truck will like it.
  • azlee1azlee1 Member Posts: 2
    Mr. Shiftright:
    What is the synthetic that you would recommend??? Also I am a little leary about running my tires up over 35 pounds, I live in Az. and it gets pretty hot and I would not care to have a blowout due to too much air after I have been driving on the hwy. ????

    What are your thoughts on a K/N Low Restriction air cleaner system over the factory installed system????

    Also I failed to mention that I have a 4x2.

    Another possibility may be the exhaust system ????
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Hope you still have the 67 Fastback. Does it have the 390 or 289? :)
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well if you are concerned about tire pressure you can fill the tires when warm rather than cold--that way you'll be sure that the pressure will not go appreciably higher. It's pretty hard to blow up a modern tire by adding 5 lbs of air to it IMO.

    K&N filters will give you lots of noise but that's about all. You have to look at your car's engine as one long tube---if you open one end but don't do anything to the middle or the other end, you aren't really doing anything of significance. Not just the intake, but the fuel system, the engine itself, the computer mapping, the turbo if equipped, and the exhaust needs modification to make any kind of payback worth the effort.

    Modern engines are pretty much locked into their gas mileage. The automakers do make some compromises for comfort and safety and reliability, of course, but they have these engines pretty well dialed in by 2008. They do not leave much on the table for tinkerers unless you want to add serious horsepower for serious dollars and a loss of fuel economy and reliability for that 'fun factor".

    There is no "bolt-on device" for $29, no magic fluid, oil and gas additive, turbonator, hydrogen generator, chemical, acetone, or whatever that's going to give you better fuel mileage.

    5 quarts of Mobil One synthetic oil would do more good than a whole boatload of them IMO and even that's going to be minimal.

    Good tire pressure, driving habits, synthetic oil, alignment, brake check, good tune-up, new air filter, good gasoline---that's about all you can do on a modern car.

    Well possibly you could add overdrive gears, change differential gearing, etc, but that ain't cheap.

    Visiting Host
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Gitzennsnorkels and Flackinstackers don't do a damn thing.
  • darnell3darnell3 Member Posts: 3
    Try the Hypertech ECON programmer for your Explorer and see if it works for you. If it doesn't you have 30 days to return it for a full refund. The extra power a programmer will give your explorer will come from it making your engine more efficient. Better efficiency equals better fuel economy. I know a lot of people have a hard time wrapping their minds around the concept of more power and better fuel economy, but once you look and see what it really is things become clearer.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yep I'm one of those people. I don't see how raising shift points and rev limiter or lowering cooling fan temps gives you better MPG. Also buzz on the 'net seems to indicate "improvements" in mpg that are well within statistical variation. Also the sources of the dyno tests are not given on the website, that is, were they done by totally independent sources?

    I could see how this device might make your truck/car more responsive but beyond that, the website's "evidence" is pretty slim pickins IMO.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Aggreed. Generally you can have your car tuned for more power, but even then a chip can only do so much. Usually you will see the most gains on turbo cars, as you can make the piping bigger to pull through more air and raise the boost levels. This will make your milage go down though. Inversely you can also have the boost turned down by the ECU, saving milage but making the car have less power etc.

    -mike
  • abbydoabbydo Member Posts: 2
    hi l meet different type of daewoo . l check dtc on ecu no dtc car its start some time its not start , l need to flush ecu what l can do?,and which tool l can use?. thanks :)
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