How does a Superchip really work?
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: North Carolina
How does a Superchip really work?
I have seen many post on this board about how great a Superchip is but I want to know how it works. Everyone talks about how the shifting is firmer but how does a chip do this? Why do you have to run premium octane? How does it give your engine more horsepower and torque? I understand the concept of free-flowing intakes and exhausts but this chip thing is a little confusing to me.
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Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi SweetSilver,
What the Superchip does is to unlock additional horsepower and torque by specifically retuning the engine for the use of good quality premium gasoline, 91 thru 94 octane. That allows us to use more timing (spark advance), which increases power and that is just one of many things that are altered.
There are issues such as various delays and retards that are built into the factory program that hurt performance. They are there to make the vehicle feel smoother, as the automakers are trying to make them more appealing to what they think female buyers want. Those delays & retards slow down the powertrain's response, cause increased slippage in the automatic transmission models and hurt performance all around. There is a full power onset delay, for example, that hurts acceleration. Removing that helps get more power to the ground quicker.
For the automatic transmissions, to make them shift firmer and quicker, that is mainly an issue of removing or modifying various parameters like upshift delays, downshift delays, transional spark retards that reduce engine power dramatically during upshifts, etc. We also raise the line pressure in the program, but only slightly, we're not trying to make these transmissions shift harshly, just firmer and quicker to reduce slippage, improve performance and extend the service life of the bands & clutches inside the transmission.
There are many different things that are changed in the powertrain program, and the end result is a more powerful vehicle that is more fun to drive because it's more responsive and willing, and no longer heavily compromised as they are from the factory.
These are a few of the basics and should help you to understand this a bit bettter. If you would like to go over this in detail, feel free to give us a call, we'll be happy to speak with you!
What the Superchip does is to unlock additional horsepower and torque by specifically retuning the engine for the use of good quality premium gasoline, 91 thru 94 octane. That allows us to use more timing (spark advance), which increases power and that is just one of many things that are altered.
There are issues such as various delays and retards that are built into the factory program that hurt performance. They are there to make the vehicle feel smoother, as the automakers are trying to make them more appealing to what they think female buyers want. Those delays & retards slow down the powertrain's response, cause increased slippage in the automatic transmission models and hurt performance all around. There is a full power onset delay, for example, that hurts acceleration. Removing that helps get more power to the ground quicker.
For the automatic transmissions, to make them shift firmer and quicker, that is mainly an issue of removing or modifying various parameters like upshift delays, downshift delays, transional spark retards that reduce engine power dramatically during upshifts, etc. We also raise the line pressure in the program, but only slightly, we're not trying to make these transmissions shift harshly, just firmer and quicker to reduce slippage, improve performance and extend the service life of the bands & clutches inside the transmission.
There are many different things that are changed in the powertrain program, and the end result is a more powerful vehicle that is more fun to drive because it's more responsive and willing, and no longer heavily compromised as they are from the factory.
These are a few of the basics and should help you to understand this a bit bettter. If you would like to go over this in detail, feel free to give us a call, we'll be happy to speak with you!