Technical Apparently simple engine mod!

[rodanmk2]

right

I need some advice - I bought a resistor chip in ebay that is supposed to increase your BHP - it basically tricks the ECU into thinking that the air intake into the engine is cold, and subsequently advances the timing,. and in theory, lets the engine produce more power.

To fit it you unplug the IAT (Intake Air Temperature) Sensor and hook the resistor up to the plug, then tape it shut from the elements and away you go.

Before I do this, anyone got any feelings? I mean, it seems sensible enough, but is this REALLY going to make much of a difference to my performance? and does anyone think it could potentially damage my car?

As usual, I expect sound advice from fixitagaintomorrow, and plenty of comments from the rest of you as to should I/shouldn't I!!!


Graham

[email protected]

 

[Donz]

out of interest how much did it cost?
and you any idea what size the resistor is?

GONE IN 60 MINS​

 

[John H]

I wouldn't have though fooling the ECU that the engine never warms up is going to help much:

I understand you will get a richer mixture to cope with the cold - initially at least. A decent ECU will decide it's a faulty CTS after a while and assume warm engine values.

ISTR the original instance of this bodge was on early American cars which were ECU'd lean to pass the emission figures: they ran richer when cold, just to keep going - hence the additional resistor in series with the CTS to richen things up a bit, and get some of the "go" back
I'm not a tuning expert, but I'd guess best power is _just_ on the rich side of 14.7 to 1 - but you (presumably) have the CAT to feed, which needs average "correct" mixture to survive.

All things considered it's probably not the way to go

BTW how much did you pay for your 2p resistor [:0]

Take care.


John H

 

[John H]

My mistake above:
for CTS read ATS, but the principle is the same :I

John H

 

[rodanmk2]

it cost me £4.50 + £1 P&P so I didn't expect much, but it was well packaged and the instructions are good - it looks pretty pro, and the reaction of other people who bought it seemed ok too.

No idea what size it is if you are talking electrically, small though! prob about 2 cm long.

Graham

[email protected]

 

[rodanmk2]

I did figure that it would probably be worth like 2p, but it had a good write up from people that had bought it before (it was on ebay so I checked the guys feedback from selling the same item).

The decription was very.......non-desript! so it figured that it was just a resistor, without ACTUALLY saying that it was! here is the description:

You are buying a Fiat performance modification. The part and easy to follow step-by-step instructions are included with all modifications. The part is a resistor chip that will modify your air/fuel ratio and advance your engine timing to run stronger, and increase the power of your car or truck. This modification will modify your stock ECU system with a resistor. This mod tells your ECU that the air coming in through the intake is cold air; this advances the timing, letting the engine produce more power. Release the horsepower of your engine. This generic modification is a fraction of the cost of those expensive ECU upgrades, is extremely easy to install, and does the same thing; adds UP TO 20 HP to your car or truck! Actual horsepower gain will vary depending on engine size and other factors. This is the same modification. YES!! The same performance modification that many others are selling for much more! This modification will fit most fuel-injected models (non-turbo) and non-diesel engine cars and trucks from 1989 and up. No tools, cutting or soldering are required and this modification will not damage your car in anyway. I have installed this myself in less than 10 minutes and it works perfectly, YES!! It does work!! You will DEFINATELY notice the difference with this modification. It is more responsive, more powerful, and you will love that extra power! Your car will accelerate faster and have a higher top end speed. This is a great modification for any car, and will definitely increase your power by up to 20 HP. Your 1/4-mile times will decrease and your 1/4-mile MPH will improve as well. This generic mod is very easy to install, and just as easy to remove in 10 minutes or less and you can replace it if you want at a later time. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!

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[RiB]

you can tell the size by reading the coloured bands from left to right
dont ask me to do it for you but i think someone will have the charts to convert it for you.
when you do this mod with your resistor if the engine thinks is running cold it will in run on choke all the time you MPG will drop a hell of a lot me thinks...Dhoo.

RiB​

 

[HP]

Righto fellas - this is how I see it.

SPI Cinq's & seis use 2 temp sensors, one for water temp mounted on the bottom of the inlet manifold, and one for air temp mounted in the top of the throttle body. The air temp sensor looks like a tiny brown bead with a little hoop over the top to protect it.

The water temp sensor is used by the ecu to tell if the car has warmed up yet, and the air temp sensor to give the ecu an idea of air density - the colder the air, the more oxygen by volume in it. These readings give the ecu some basic guidelines as to how much fuel to put in to get the right mixture.

The big problem with this type of fiddle is the last part of the fuelling control - the Lambda sensor. If your air temp sensor says 'real cold' it will try to richen the mixture up, but then the lambda sensor will say 'too rich' and back it off again. It's a bit like raising the fuel pressure - it'll only work until the ecu adapts and reprograms itself with new running values.

I've actually tried this mod - for those of you who want a bit of tech info here goes: at 5'c the air temp sensor has a resistance of approx. 7K ohms, dropping with increasing temperature (NTC). I tried wiring a 10K pot in series with the air temp sensor, and tried varying settings under different conditions from steady 90mph to town queue traffic. To be honest I noticed absolutely no difference in power at all.

It's not all bad news though, one thing I have found is that if the water temp is high (e.g. 100'c on my gauge) then the power is rather noticeably less than at an indicated 80'c. My development from the air temp fiddle ended up with a switch to allow you to turn the radiator fan on at will to try to keep things cool - I did this with queuing up at Santa Pod in mind.

All these things though are really just bodges, but for a fiver it's worth a try, innit? you're not gonna bust anything, but you might get a slight boost, and maybe lose 1-2 mpg.

so really, it's worth a go - let us know if you find any change. Maybe it wasn't hot enough outside when I was experimenting......

Pete.
Cinq sporting 1242cc
http://mysite.freeserve.com/close_to_cracking_up/

 

[Jonna83]

Fixit U kno the 2 wires from the standard air box where did u put them when u fitted ur induction kit bcos mine r jus cable tied around the cold air feed pipe.

FIAT CinqueCento = Recycled Ferrari

 

[John H]

Thanks for that FixItAgainTomorrow: rather better than my half remembered bits :I

Also, isn't the ECU cunning [?] - to reduce the maximum fuel supplied when the cooling is struggling [8D]

 

[HP]

<blockquote id="quote"> face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Jonna83
Fixit U kno the 2 wires from the standard air box where did u put them when u fitted ur induction kit bcos mine r jus cable tied around the cold air feed pipe.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

There's three pipes connected to the standard air box - the big 19mm diameter one on the left, and the two tiny ones which go underneath. The 2 tiny ones go from the carb to the air temp sensor in the airbox and from that to the hot/cold air selection actuator mounted near the front of the engine bay.

My setup has the 19mm open end with an ITG breather filter stuck on it, and if you've removed the standard airbox then you should really plug the first small pipe coming from the back of the carb and remove the rest.

Any more questions and I could post a pic if you like.

Pete.
Cinq sporting 1242cc
http://mysite.freeserve.com/close_to_cracking_up/

 

[Donz]

don't give pete an excuse to take photo's of his engine bay, we all know how much joy he gets out of doing it!!

GONE IN 60 MINS​

 

[HP]

[^][8D]

Pete.
Cinq sporting 1242cc
http://mysite.freeserve.com/close_to_cracking_up/

 

[Donz]

told you so!!

GONE IN 60 MINS​