[Beadybc]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

The generic chips contain fuel and ignition maps that have been found to work with almost every tuned engine, however like the original manufacturer fitted chips, there are compromises to ensure the safety and longevity of the engine they are controlling.

With custom chips, these are programmed to optimise the specific engine they are running. This can give improved performance and economy without compromising certain things as a safety measure because the engine is capable of withstanding more in a particular parameter than others.
That said, until you've built your engine, you won't know whether a custom or generic chip-set will be better for you in the wallet department and performance. Ideally, a custom set is the way to go as it can be tweaked to your individual engine.

Despite everything the manufacturers will tell us, all engines are different even though they are built from the same components and tolerances.

Are you planning any head work in terms of porting and port-matching? That is usually a good way of (relatively) cheaply releasing power, improving smoothness and economy and provides a good foundation for the other mods you have planned.

My Dad found this on an older thread:

"Just be careful that you use a good quality boost gauge, and don't go over 12 psi on a standard engine - you'll have a very good chance of melting the pistons.

For info, this is what I did to my '97 Classic a few years ago -

Boost gauge (£35 new, autojumble)
MBC spring & ball type (£15 ebay)

Running at around 10psi should give you around 190bhp. This is plenty to be honest, but for even more fun...

iPD antisway bars (£400 (?), iPD via forum group buy)
531 cylinderhead (£50, ebay) This head has better breathing exhaust ports, is otherwise same as the standard 530 head. Reconditioning and mild reworking cost £400 locally.
'A' pattern camshaft (£35, forum member) very mild upgrade, but useful.
2.5" stainless performance exhaust with competition spec cat (£600 powerflow) BIG improvement in responsiveness and turbo spoolup.
Remapped chips (£250, Fredrik on turbobricks forum)
Mustang 5 litre V8 injectors (£forgotten, US ebay)
Fully synthetic trans fluid (Amsoil)
Mobil 1 engine oil
Halfords premium coolant
K&N panel air filter

All the above is prep for running higher boost...and a bigger turbo

15G turbo (£70, ebay) From early 850 T5 car
turbo recondition kit (£50, ebay)

Running the above at 15psi i reckon i was well on the way to 220-240bhp. It was certainly a monster with wheelspin readily available in any gear except 5th! MPG was down to 18 though - even without thrashing it.

If you do decide to do something similar, make sure you get the chips and injectors before going over 12psi - they will provide the extra fuel required to prevent you running excessively lean."


He mentions getting a 531 head and paying to have it reconditioned. Do you think this method would be better than having it done to the car's current head?