Diesel Chips

Reply By: Mick O - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 18:34

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 18:34

Mal,

You should really be considering adding the cip as one part of a suite of modifications to up performance. Your first consideration should be a superior exhaust system such as a 3” mandrell bent system. Most fuel chips work by simply dumping more fuel into the engine. This can have some pretty negative side effects. Firstly, an increase in exhaust gasses needs to be able to escape so if they can’t, the benefit of the chip is outweighed. Both extra fuel and a build-up of exhaust gasses will cause extra heat build up in the motor, particularly when towing and under load. This can cause them to go BANG in a big way so I’d also recommend having an EGT gauge fitted at the same time. Not essential but could be an engine saver by letting you know what’s going on inside the motor temperature wise.

I’m against the standard plug and play type fuel pulse and control type chips. I’ve had the DP in my Nissan Patrol and yes, it gave improvement but it also went bang (No EGT gauge). I’d prefer an integrated system that adjusts the tuning of your vehicle to suit the chip. A few hours on the dyno will ensure that the chip is tuned perfectly with the vehicles tuning and fuel systems and this will help prevent over fuelling, excessive temperatures and the “BANG”. I wrote up the results on chipping my Toyota V8T/D and I found the improvements in power to be very impressive. The write-up is HERE - UTE PERFORMANCE

There was also a very good article/compare in respect to chips in a more recent 4x4Action magazine. I’ve done a bit of a search on the 4x4A site but can’t find the reference. Someone else on the EO site will know it and may post up the Volume Number. A lot to consider and fortunately there are a lot more on the forum more knowledgeable than myself.

Cheers Mick

''We knew from the experience of well-known travelers that the
trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
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Follow Up By: Member - Tony H (touring oz) - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 19:50

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 19:50

Ditto on Mick O's comments

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Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:14

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:14

"I’ve had the DP in my Nissan Patrol and yes, it gave improvement but it also went bang (No EGT gauge)"" ZD30 comes to mind ??? Steinbourer do a chip which has a lot of safety features built into it so it doesnt just throw in extra fuel, It actually goes after the factory module not before like others. It also has a cut out feature built into which at full throttle say pulling up a hill it will cut the chip out and revert back to the factory chip if the temps etc excede the settings. The steinbourer doesnt give the most amount of power or torque compared to some others (roughly 20%) but I think is probably the most reliable that I have read about and from a couple of friends that have them installed.............

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Follow Up By: Mick O - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:21

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:21

Not overly familiar with the Steinbauer but the 4x4Action comparo rated it very highly. Mal, those are the safety features (as outlined by Kimba) that you need to consider so a bit mkore time spent on research may be well worth it.

''We knew from the experience of well-known travelers that the
trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
Richard Maurice - 1903

Lifetime Member
My Profile My Blog My Position Send Message

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Follow Up By: Member - Captain (WA) - Wednesday, Dec 14, 2011 at 11:40

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2011 at 11:40

Hi Kimba,

Are you sure its the Steinbauer chip that reverts back to standard settings if the EGT is exceeded? I thought only the ChipIt chip had that option, I have it on my ChipIt as I also have the EGT guage and at the time I installed it no-one else did, though this may have changed.

Cheers

Captain

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Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Wednesday, Dec 14, 2011 at 13:34

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2011 at 13:34

Hi Captain, thats what they told me ?? Not sure wether there is different setups depending on vehicle ?? but it was one of his big selling points to me as far as not damaging the engine while towing up hills especially where you normally have your foot buried to the floor. I never had EGT guage fitted so have no idea what temps it was running with out even having a chip installed(possibly why the heads go on the 1kz) I never actually had one fitted but a couple of mates did and were extremly impressed with them. I had driven there veicles and could really feel the pulling power difference. I was going to get one fitted but then the head went (cost me 4g) so after it was fixed I bleep it off as there was no guarantee it wouldnt happen again, couldnt afford the D4D without borrowing money so went the 120 4L V6 auto. If I was towing all the time (retired) then definately would go the turbo diesel for economy and have it chipped up but for the maximum 4 weeks a year that I would tow I'll cop the extra fuel costs.

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Reply By: RobAck - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 19:04

Reply By: Member - Minty (SA) - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 20:21

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 20:21

Hi Mal

I think (stand to be corrected) the 'can has a nice stainless steel exhaust system so try these ideas first.
The simplest modifications are:
- remove the muffler...very little change in noise levels
- remove the plastic engine shroud and add a 10" Davies-Craig slimline fan to the intercooler...good for low speed power increase
- add a "power box"...most are pretty good, Chip It"n" Go and DP Chip. Steinbauer probably better. For the cheaper variety ($150) which only increase the rail pressure...keep these wound back a bit...still effective...just not as much
- a snorkel helps with cleaner and cooler air
- go here and look and ask under the Terracan sub-forum.

Cheers
Brad

AnswerID: 472457

Follow Up By: AlbyNSW - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 20:51

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 20:51

I was recently advised similar by a chip manufacturer , I don't know anything about your particular vehicle but his general comments were that replacing the muffler with a high flow one gives good results in conjunction with a chip. Having too big an exhaust diameter actually reduces ( baffles) airflow as velocity is lost so any potential benefit is lost.

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Follow Up By: Member - Minty (SA) - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 21:01

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 21:01

It looks like the Terracan has about a 2" (50mm) exhaust.
2.9 litre motor could probably handle a little bit larger exhaust...but is it worth it for the gain? Probably not.
The other modifications work well...including the muffler replacement, either with a high flow muffler or pipe.

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Follow Up By: Member - Alan W (QLD) - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:16

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:16

Hi Mal,

I had a Terracan with the Steinbauer chip, no other mod. The improvement was marked and fuel economy improved marginally as well .9ltr Km around town better. I now have a Dp chip in my common rail Patrol and although the the two vehicles are obviousy different. i reckon the steinbauer is better than the dp which i feel is overfueling the motor a bit with the black soot on the rear of the vehicle an indication, even though it is set at the factory setting.

When i sold the Terracan, i sold it to another terracan owner who was not happy with a chip he had installed. When he installed the Steinbauer, he coldnt believe the difference it made-loved it Between dp and steinbauer, I would go steinbauer, other chips I cant comment on.
Hope this helps,

Alan

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Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:28

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011 at 22:28

I spoke directly with the manager of Steinbourer and I informed him I was looking at the Taipan or Beaudesert for my 01 T/D prado 1kz, told me I was totally wasting my money, would probably gain about 2kw at the wheels as the prado already has a decent size exhaust, he said to gain the same as the above exhaust was to remove the centre muffler and get a free flow muffler fitted.I asked about bigger dump pipe at the rear of the turbo, again said for the extra couple of mills in diameter and having to replace the whole system (cant just replace dump pipe) it would result in nothing ?? I would imagine if getting a bigger exhaust was going to increase the power considerably he would have been pushing for me to get one and make the chip look better as well I suppose. Maybe the terracan needs a slight increase in size ?? wouldnt know but as above would be worth checking out the link and see what they say there. My mate added a chip to his 1kz 120 prado, all it did was blow black smoke and crap all over the camper and back of prado so he had to turn it back down anyway which defeated the point in having it, (wont say the brand) and he spent over 1g on exhaust, reckons it was the biggest waste of money he spent. He replaced the chip with a steinbourer and is wrapped in its performance and has had a tiny gain in economy (not worth bragging about) but said with camper on pulls heaps better up hills without excess black smoke like before.........

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