S13DUG

Hi guys,booked into powerstation 2 sept for unichip on my93 wrx full de-cat blitz induction,any one had this fitted on there scoob?interested to here any coments.my mates gtir was much improved after having it done.cheers Dug.

Elmer Fudpucker

dug,sorry its not a constructive reply...
i was considering a unichip for my 96 car with similar mods{260bhp}
but,im slightly concerned about putting extra stresses on an older engine!....would be extremely interested to find out how you get on cheers

Shaun

If you want to see what difference it makes....

Take a look at my power graphs under "Powerstation" on :
(It's my Scooby one, not my Cossie one)

dyno.scoobynet.co.uk

Regards,
Shaun.

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Older engine?? The older engine will have a stronger block, and all the same bits as many newer engines. If anything, there seems to be more newer engines blowing up than old ones anyway.
Havent heard much about Unichip either way, but the tech info about it reads well.

[Edited by ustolemyname??stevieturbo - 8/19/2002 1:18:24 AM]

Mo

Dug,

I wouldn't bother. Once the Unichip is combined with some sort of boost controller it'll cost you nearly as much as a Link.

The Unichip will only allow you to alter the fuel and ignition map by 10% eitherway and you'll have to return to PS for a remap whenever you change anything else. Ask PS how much they would want for this service, it soon adds up.

Fitting a Link will allow you to alter the map as and when you require at no additional cost.

TBMeech

I had a unichip on my STI-V, didnt like it much, then went to Link for the money the Link is far superior, more power across the board, acceleration is up etc, given the choice again I wouldnt bother with unichip personally but it is better than standard.

Mo

Compare similar cars on the dyno site with Unichip then Link. The Link equipped cars always produce more torque.

TelBoy

I had a Unichip and Dawes fitted recently at Powerstation.

Total cost was in the region of £600.

I've driven cars with a Link, and they are quicker, but there's not much in it, IMO. The Unichip has given me about 25bhp and 30 lbs/ft extra, and it's certainly noticeable on the road.

In fact, this weekend, with the hot weather, it made the difference between me switching off the A/C when i was going to need exra power, which i used to have to do, and leaving it on.

Only downside i've noticed so far is slight hesitation on pickup on about two or three occasions, but really nothing serious. For the money i'd say it is well worth it, but if you own your "ultimate" Scoob and know you'll own it forever, then a more comprehensively engineered package like the Link might be the way to go, albeit at a higher price. Hope that helps,

Terry

Mo

Terry,

Did you get a before and after dyno run? What were/are you figures?

I thought the Unichip fitted and mapped was over £700 including the VAT.

Pavlo

I'have heard no great things about unichips. And part of the problem is they are affected by the standard ECU, which do tend to vary from year to year and jap to uk etc.

Depends what you are after, a fuel cut defender and dawes device will do wonders, but I wouldn't be so keen on a jap spec car. That said the very early jap cars seem less aggresive with their ignition timing etc.

I have successfully altered the factory map on my 94 legacy, see the DIY ECU remap thread on Drivetrain.

Failing that, the link seems like a very good value tool, and the unichip and expensive gizmo.

Paul

Deep Singh

Swapped mine for a Link.Unichip caused me nothing but problems

TelBoy

Mo, yes they did a before and after. Power now at 252bhp and torque at 253 lbs/ft, on a 97 WRX wagon.

The cost of the Unichip is £495 fitted, and the Dawes was an extra £35 IIRC. So £625-odd with the VAT.

My remit to them was not to go over the top; mine's a family car and i wanted zero reliability issues, which is what i've got, although at the expense of maybe an extra 10bhp if they had wrung out the Unichip. Now fast enough to see off 95% of what's out there...

Terry

Deep Singh

Telboy a couple of things.If you have a 97 WRX that has gained 25BHP to get circa 250BHP that means it was making 225BHP in the first place? Seems a bit low for a WRX.Also what boost are you now running,its easy to increase power by just cranking up the boost.Have you got a knocklink to monitor det? You say that you need a reliable power upgrade,but it was a Unichip with dastek BC mapped by the very same people that had my engine detting like mad.If I had'nt had a Knocklink I would have almost certainly suffered terminal engine failure.
I know we are all constrained by different budgets,but I have found that MOST of the time cheap usually does mean ****e.

Mo

Deep,

my sentiments exactly. All the Unichip mapper did with mine was up the boost to 17psi and wack a **** load of fuel in. If only I understood what they were doing at the time

All my car had at the time was a SS b/box, decat centre pipe and induction kit. I've have since fitted a decat downpipe and ported the headers and asked them to remap the Unichip only to be told that it doesn't need remapping. Mmmmm...

Terry, what were your figures prior to the Unichip?

[Edited by Mo - 8/21/2002 8:38:03 AM]

TelBoy

Yep, i agree, i was expecting a bigger output, but it was a hot day, so maybe that affected it. The wagons weren't as powerful as many imagine, to my dismay, but i was disappointed nevertheless. But i imagine there wasn't an error on PS's dyno.

We gained 23bhp and 27lbs/ft, meaning i had 229bhp and 226lbs/ft before we began. That was with optimax but no octane booster, a SS downpipe and "quiet" ie slightly restricted SS backbox, and an ITG panel filter.

No, i don't have a knock sensor. I guess i'm trusting Rich at Powerstation on this one, but he assured me it's nowhere near detting, and the fuel mixture is set pretty lean. Normally he sees Scoobs seriously over-fuelled, but mine wasn't, probably due to the exhaust, as it was never re-mapped or anything after that.

Of course, it could go bang. Would give me an excuse to buy an STi if it did! But it's not a high mileage car, and i don't use full power very often, so i reckon it's the right mod for me.

What i'm still scratching my head on though, is how a UK car can get to 260bhp just with an exhaust and induction kit. Assuming it started off at 210 or something, that's 50bhp from that combo, which just seems too high. Or does the larger earlier turbo mean there are that many locked up horses waiting to get out? Maybe a bigger turbo's an option i need to consider, although as i mentioned, i'd consider my car "quick" now, in comparison to what it was before the mod, and in comparison with other Imprezas i've driven.

Terry

TelBoy

That last paragraph is in relation to HKSubaru's thread "How do i get WRX power from a UK car" below this. I'm geting my threads mixed up...!

Mo

that sounds about right. All rollers will produce a different output; there are so many variables and the operator can tailor figures to suit

If you look at the dyno site you will see that PEs rollers always read higher than PS'; who's right?

Ultimately it's what it feels like on the road that counts and if it works for you then great.

I'd still like to swap mine for a Link though

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Its what it feel like on the road, and if using the rolling road as a reference, then the back to back gains regardless of initial horsepower readings. Fitting the various bits increased power by XX amount.
Besides, I highly doubt any of the wrx's actually have the 280bhp that they claim. I have lost count of how many my UK legacy estate has smoked, some of them even tuned.
The gains are what is important. If I was spending my money, I would go for a complete management system, rather than a half shot job.

Deep Singh

Telboy,I honestly wish you the best of luck with it but please invest in a Knocklink!

5 Type R

MO

I think you have hit the nail on the head

Any mapping whether it be full mapp for a complete ECU or just a piggyback item is only ever as good as the engineer doing the mapping.

I have heard , many horror stories about the Unichip at various places.
However I had one fitted to my 94 Mr2 Turbo 3 years ago and it was the best mod I had done in 10 years of tuning .
In fact the mr2 is now with a friend and won the fastest MR2 shootout at Silverstone for a recent mag feature. 0-60 = 4.6 , 1/4 mile = 13.2
Running 1.3 Bar its still kicking out 343bhp and 297lbft

I am having a Unichip fitted to my Type R in the next few weeks after having the Water Injection fitted.
Again solely because I am 100% confident in the guy doing the mapping.

Owen Developments in Oxfordshire.
I have heard that the Powerstation have a good reputation though.

Also this may be wrong but I thought that the Link only had about 4 boost sets whereas the latest Unichip has 10 and the GEMS 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just my 2p..........