Car Tuning,Car Finance,Auto Loans

Posts Tagged ‘Cars Trucks’

Hey, look under the hood!

It’s a bird!

It’s a plane!

It’s SUPERCHIP!

With apologies to Superman, performance computer chips or superchips are quickly becoming a popular way for auto enthusiasts to squeeze out more power from their cars. Basically what a superchip mod does is to store a new engine management program in your car’s computer. Noticeable increases in horsepower and torque as well as improvements in driveability are the chief benefits of this type of chip. Installation is easy and the price is right…we’ll examine just how easy and cost effective a superchip is below.

Depending on the make/model of your car or truck, a superchip can help your vehicle crank out from 9 to 60 more horsepower. Not too shabby when you consider some compact cars barely make it to 115 horses. Yeah, you could have elected for the more powerful engine with some cars but the $1000 or better mark up in price dwarfs the price of a superchip. Better to go with the superchip and pocket the savings.

So, how hard is it to install a superchip? Actually, it is really a simple procedure:

1. Locate your car’s computer chip [usually found in your dashboard].

2. Remove the factory installed chip and replace it with the superchip…one chip slides out and the other slides in.

3. Place a cover over the chip to keep it in place and to keep dirt and dust out.

That’s it! The hardest part will be to remove the dash, but even that job isn’t all that difficult.

As I said previously, the price of installing a superchip can be done for a lot less than an engine upgrade. Prices start below $300, so it ends up being one the cheaper performance enhancing mods out there.

You can also find other types of performance computer chips that will work well including Jet Chips and the Hypertech performance chip. With either chip you stand to wring out additional performance from your car for a reasonably priced mod. Hey, if it is increased performance you want then one of these chips is for you!

A Few Considerations

When choosing an RC car there are a few considerations you need to take into account first. Do you have open land or a large parking lot that is flat where an RC car can be driven? RC cars can quickly get destroyed if you race over uneven land – one bump and you may be out a hefty price! If you live in the city are there any rules restricting these vehicles or neighbors that may complain about the noise gas powered RC cars make? If so you may need a muffler on your exhaust or a lower-powered engine.

Picking A Kit Or RTR RC Car

Gas powered RC cars run on a nitro methane fuel that you can refill for unlimited running time and 80+ mph isn’t out of the question! These cars or trucks are typically powered by a small two-stroke engine burning nitro methane, giving them the moniker of a NITRO car or truck. Different engines burn different mixtures of fuel, however, so that’s something you want to watch for when purchasing your car. Speaking of purchasing your RC vehicle there are two big questions you need to ask yourself. Do I want to build the car myself or do I want to purchase a RTR or “ready to run” vehicle? The DIY kits are a lot more expensive and unless you know what your doing then a RTR RC car is probably more inline with what your looking for.

The Little Engine That Could

Can gas powered RC cars really go 80+MPH? Yes! Most nitro methane burning cars have what is called a two-stroke “glow” engine. The two-stroke engine is equivalent to a weed-eater motor which can pump out up to 5HP which is a LOT considering the size of an RC car. The “glow” refers to how the engine gets its spark to ignite the fuel. A “glow starter” heats up a “glow plug” which in turn causes the fuel to ignite and WHAM, you get your breakneck speeds.

Not All Fuels Are The Same!

The next thing that you have to worry about is what kind of fuel mixture you are going to be using in your car. The type of engine that you choose will dictate what kind of mixture the manufacturer will recommend. Typically in gas powered RC cars the mixture is between 10-40%. Once you have your car up and running you can experiment with different mixtures in your engine to get the kind of performance that compliments how you race your car.