Stock Turbo..and getting Chips

[Black1986Beast]

Hey..I'm considering getting a new chip for my GN..NO, not a racing chip, lol..just one that I can have for my car which is a daily driver.
Now one question I have is that, the chip I have in now is 18psi...but is it possible to get that 18psi without adjusting the wastegate? I don't think my wg is adjustable..but ya never know.
I have an aftermarket boost guage..but it doesnt respond to boost and I can't figure out how to see if it's hooked up. (when I turn the lights on the back lights up.)
I know there are several different chip vendors and so many chips to choose from.
I'd like to have boost slightly above stock, where I can safely run Sunoco 94 octane pump gas and still be kinda quick..so I'm guessing 16-18psi would be about right?
Remember this is a daily driver so I don't want a race chip.Thanks

 

[TURBOV6]

Thrasher make a good chip for stock turbos. The boost is around 17-18 lbs of boost and you won't need to adjust the wastegate actuator.

 

[86brick]

I would call and speak with one of the various chip burners like Red Armstrong @ Quad Air for a RA93 chip, Jim Testa, Joe Lubrant @ PTE (although I don't think he's burning chips for them any longer???), and there's always the Thrasher chips like the Thrasher 92 which many guys seem to like. If you are really set on running 18lbs of boost on pump gas I would consider an SMC Alky kit cause you could be running 20-22lbs of boost (about the max you want to run with a stock turbo) and this will insure you don't have any detonation.

 

[TURBOV6]

If you're running 18lbs of boost 94 Sunoco will be safe. The Chip burners that 86Brick mentioned are very good chips also, BUT you can't beat a $25 chip.

 

[86brick]

I wish we had Sunoco 94 octane cause all we got down here for pump gas is 93 and various tests have shown it to be more like 91 octane, so were pretty much limited to 15-16lbs of boost max with str8 pump gas. I still think the alky kit would be nice to have though cause believe it or not the difference between 18lbs and 22lbs is pretty big from what I've seen with my TE44 turbo (not sure if there would be that big of a difference with the stocker).

 

[Black1986Beast]

So, should I get a new chip custom made from someone like testa for my specific combo? OR just put in Sunoco 94 from now on and keep this chip??
If I can run 18lbs on Sunoco 94 with minimal KR then I'll be happy..

 

[TURBOV6]

Who made you chip? IMO 94 octane should be adequate for around 16-18lbs of boost, with proper fuel pressure. Are there any knock right noq with the 94?

 

[Black1986Beast]

Well right now I have Exxon Supreme in there..I've only filled the tank once since I got it, but once I need to fill it'll be 94 octance for now on..
I have yet to really be able to "test" my car with the scanmaster hooked up..it's hooked up now and I get my license (hopefully) tuesday so we'll know more once I drive it more..

 

[Weazel]

I think in MOST cases 18 psi will be fine with 94. I ran just under 18 psi with 93 octane and have had no problems. That was of course BEFORE I cleaned out the intercooler, which really needed it. Then it would get more air, and would have knocked had I not turned the wastegate down. Point is, I would suggest cleaning out the intercooler and checking your wastegate. You said you didn't know if it was adjustable or not? Just check for threaded connections running into the pipe coupler in the "middle" of the wastegate rod. I adjusted mine for the first time after the intercooler flush, it's pretty simple.
For your gauge, I would check the wires in back of it. There should be four wires. Two coming from the fuse box (one powering the light, one powering the gauge) and two grounds. Hopefully you've just got a bad connection. If not, I can't help, because I've never hooked up a boost gauge.

 

[gofstbuick]

If you're concerned about passing the emissions tes in NJ, you may want to stay away from open loop chips. Thrasher is an open loop chip. I know there is another, but I don't remember which one. I recently passed with Reds93 and the car performs pretty good. But as others have stated, talk to a bunch of vendors before making a decision. I did like the way the thrasher idled, but my R93 chip seem to have a comparable idle. I just didn't like the smell coming from the exhaust when using the thrasher. Also, I like the security feature of the thrasher (some don't, but it's just my humble opinion).

 

[Black1986Beast]

Ok...I got a plan

I THINK I know why I get detionation when the boost get's kinda high..
WELL for starters I have an external fuel pump that whines like a b*tch..this leaves me wondering if the stocker is still in the tank or whatever..and I don't believe that this external pump is hotwired so what I'm gonna do is get a new pump and a hotwire kit.
I recently saw a post about hot-wire kits and alot of people reccommend the "plug and play" (I think that's what it's called) if I got the plug and play kit, would this give me all I needed for fuel delivery?? If I don't plan on racing, do I still need an Adjustable FPR?? I might have one of those..I don't even know.
But that kit is around $150 and If that comes with everything I need, I might as well get it.
I'll be happy as hell if I can go 18psi with no knock at all!! Then I could really get to know this car without worrying about blowin a headgasket!

 

[Black1986Beast]

Anyone have an idea??

 

[Danster]

RACETRONIX is running a special right now for a Walbro 340 pump with the plug and play kit (aka hot wire kit).


Dannyo

 

[GN-231]

gofstbuick,
I noticed the trasher 92 chip makes my exhause smell pretty bad at idle also, but man that chip is awesome for only $25. I think the chip just runs pig rich at idle...is that what the smell you are talking about?
Do most people run really rich at idle with trasher chips? I know my BLM's seem to be around 109 without the trasher chip...so when the trasher locks in the BLM's at 128...it just seems to make idle way too rich.

 

[dhauser]

My car runs rich at idle with the Thrasher 92 as well.

 

[GN-231]

Does having a very rich car at idle do any damage to the cylinder walls? I remember seeing something about running rich and washing down the cylinder walls with a lot of gas....does this statement hold any water?

 

[d0n_3d]

you should consider getting a chip burnt "specifically" for your car and mods...i don't really care for pre-burned chips because you just never know if your car will like it or not...me and a friend of mine with the same exact modded cars had problems with thrasher chips...

i called up PTE and asked them to burn me a chip for my specific mods and they did...car has never ran better on the street with it....it's a 93 chip with 20 degrees of timing and 18 lbs of boost...i rarely see knock with it...

red armstrong i believe burns custom chips too...that would be my best route is to get a custom burnt chip...but then again some cars love thrashers (not mine)

you won't be able to be 100% fast on the street with these cars unless you are running either an alky kit or race gas all the time....kinda sucks but these cars whoop @$$ at the track

good luck

-Don

 

[gofstbuick]

Sorry I didn't get back to you right away, I was in a meeting all day. The reason for the smell is that the chip will idle the car in open loop. Basically a preset parameter that the computer uses during warm-up. Open loop allows the cat to warm up by adding addtional fuel to get the cat to light off. Well if you idle alot in open loop the cat will surely light off and possibly melt it down. I would say a new cat is probably good for 90000, but if you stress it that way, it reduces its life. If you look in a cat, you'll see a honeycomb material, that material is coated with platinum or paladium and another compound to attract O2. You need 3 things for combustion, air, fuel and ignition. Well the heat created during the cat process give you ignition, and the extra fuel and O2 attracting substance give you the balance. If you continue to pack the cat with fuel, it will just continue to burn until that honeycomb material either disentigrates (you hope) or melts and plugs (you hope not, because then you have a plugged exhaust system).