Engine Chipping

[VWRob]

Hi there

 

I purchased one of these plug in chips last Year and the diffrence it made to the van was great and I must say the overall improvement and our attitude has improved towards touring because it is less a strain working the gears etc getting up hills and overtaking

 

Rob

[Vernon B]

Tell me. I have a 3.85t A Class powered by a 2003 Fiat 2.8JTD. It will cruise happily at 70 mph in 5th, in extremes ranges of temperature and altitude, until it encounters serious inclines when I have to drop to 4th, (big deal) and it returns 25 mpg on average (28/9 wind assisted) - so why chip?

 

Compared with just a few years ago this remarkable performance, offered within an engine and chassis configuration which if left as the manufacturer supplied it is likely to give over 200,000 miles of trouble free and safe motoring, was simply unbelievable.

 

Me thinks this chipping business has more to do with a pre-occupation with the size of ones ***** than any practical need for more power or torque! Unless of course you are intent upon operating your 'van beyond its design capability and if that's the case perhaps you should also consider "brake and suspension chipping".

 

Vernon B

[Brian Kirby]

Possibly Vernon, just possibly, because those who have installed chips, have not been so satisfied with the performance of their motorhomes as you clearly are. 

I think it becomes clear, if you read all of the above posts, that some of the engines were underpowered in relationship to van weight or frontal area, and struggled to provide a satisfactory driving experience for their drivers.

For your van; where, when and how you drive it, you think its power about right.  However, that is you.  Surely it does not automatically follow that because you are happily satisfied with the performance of your van, everyone else, driving their different vans in different places, at different times, and in different ways, will be equally satisfied - or that they are mere speed-freaks or posers - as you seem to imply, because they are not?

[VWRob]

 

 

Verson, I think you van size/weight fits with the Fiat 2.8 my van is 5ton and 28ft and its just not enough

 

On the flat things are fine and I cruise at a steady 60 to 65 and she can get to 75 to 80 with a long build up

 

I don't need speed I just need constant drive through when over taking and not to keep dropping down in to 2nd gear quite as much

 

Rob

[Vernon B]

I accept the points and rebukes Brian and Rob and I also confess to an amount of tongue in cheek but I do wonder if folks consider the full implications of taking on more power.

 

As I said I have a bog standard 2.8JTD, which I think delivers something around 130 bhp (the diesel heads will correct me if that's way out) and the 'van has a gross weight of 3850t. Fiat (who don't throw their money around) decided that the potential energy of this combination required four wheel disc brakes and ABS. Now we're told that chipping can increase power by 30 to 40% and that being the case its my guess that some folks are increasing their bhp well above mine; so its quite possible that some of them will have much heavier 'vans and may well be relying upon the stopping power of a non-ABS braking system with drums at the rear.

 

Now I'm not suggesting your in this situation Rob and I may be overstating the potential risks, but I'd certainly like anyone who is to carry a bumper sticker saying "I've been chipped - buggar the brakes" so that I can keep out of their way.

 

Veron

 

 

 

 

[Don Madge]

By fitting the Smart Box my bog standard 2.8jtd had the Power raised from: 127 Bhp to 147 Bhp

 

I don't drive any faster, it just cruises up hill and down dale at 90kph (56mph)

 

Don

[Brian Kirby]

I think the main power increase of value comes in the form of torque.  I'd doubt that Don's extra gee gees are really there at 90kph in fifth gear, but the torque will be.  I'd expect the extra hp to come into play at around 4,000rpm, by which time Don should be streaking along at somewhere well over 130kph!

Since diesel engines are governed, the maximum speed actually attainable is unlikely to increase beyond the design parameters of the brakes.  I therefore don't think the chipped vans will actually achieve higher maximum speeds than the design caters for.  They should be able cruise a bit quicker than before chipping, but most motorhomers seem generally to drive at less than 70mph (because the vans do start to guzzle if you whack them along at higher speeds), and any of the base vehicle variants can quite readily exceed that speed, so the brakes should be up to the job.

I think, as Don says, the real benefit is more relaxed cruising, including up gradients, rather than raw speed.  Ours is a "Power" version of the Ducato with ABS and 146hp, and it cruises happiest at around 65mph, but will pull until I get scared!  I did briefly run it up to 85mph in France, just to see, and it was still pulling like a train: but in the end the thought of 3.5 tonnes heading for 90mph (and the French fuzz!) was a bit too much for my courage so, I slowed down again!  However, in sane and normal use it climbs inclines and hills in a relaxed way, it will pull away from a standstill in second, it keeps up with most traffic, it is fairly quiet and smooth cruising in fith, it has enough power to safely overtake the odd truck on two way roads, and it always does 25mpg wherever or whatever!  That, I think, is what the chippers are really trying to achieve.

[panagah]

Vernon B - 2007-06-07 8:02 PM

 

Tell me. I have a 3.85t A Class powered by a 2003 Fiat 2.8JTD. It will cruise happily at 70 mph in 5th, in extremes ranges of temperature and altitude, until it encounters serious inclines when I have to drop to 4th, (big deal) and it returns 25 mpg on average (28/9 wind assisted) - so why chip?

 

Compared with just a few years ago this remarkable performance, offered within an engine and chassis configuration which if left as the manufacturer supplied it is likely to give over 200,000 miles of trouble free and safe motoring, was simply unbelievable.

 

Me thinks this chipping business has more to do with a pre-occupation with the size of ones ***** than any practical need for more power or torque! Unless of course you are intent upon operating your 'van beyond its design capability and if that's the case perhaps you should also consider "brake and suspension chipping".

 

Vernon B

 

Well a poser I am deffinately not. :D If I was i would of taken the extreme ammount of cash I paid on my mothorhome and gotmeself a sports car.

 

The fact is that you have a 2.8 jtd, compared to the 2-0jtd there is no comparison. The quest is merely for more torque, however coupled with more torque tends to be the gain of more speed. :-D

[Clive]

Some years back I had a diesel Landrover "tuned" and it produced significantly more torque and increased RPM. It went like a train. To keep it stable I had to have stiffer anti-roll bars fitted back and front. To handle the torque I had to fit a heavier bigger diameter clutch as the standard one would slip at full throttle. Next came brake improvement mods etc.

Then there were the environmental considerations. It would pass an MOT - just! it was shall we say fully fueled and very much over blown. No where as clean as the manufacturer intended or was required by legiuslation when it was a new vehicle.

Today its easy to implement many of the engine permance enhancing mods in software by re-mapping the CPU fuel/air look up table. Or as some do by fitting a black box between the sensors and the existing CPU that tells lies to achieve the same result.

Insurance companies viewpoint of these black boxes differ considerably.

But it was sure fun to drive!

Today I just go for the biggest diesel engine option available for the vehicle I am interested in.

 

Think on

 

C.