Review: Intake sensor chip off ebay

[BlairSpeed]

Okay, so i see these "Speed chips" for sale on ebay and I figure its only a few dollars so I buy it for $15, shipped to my door. Im very skeptical considering the claims of up to 100% legal and safe and its gives you up to 20hp.

So, a few days later it comes in the mail and i see its just this small resister that connects to your intake temp. sensor and its taped to the instructions.

So this is quoted exactly from the instructions that came with it:

What does it do?
This mod will modify your stock ECU with a Timing Advace Resistor. This resistor connects to the ECU by replacing the Intake Airflow Temperature (IAT) Sensor. Once this resistor is installed, the ECU will read the the air coming in through the intake is cold air; think of it as a "deault" setting on the ECU. When the ECU reads this, it leans out the air/fuel mixture-in other words, it will take in more air and then adding more fuel to compensate for the extra air coming in, thus, producing more power and advancing timing 1 to 2 degrees. Beccuase the engine is creating more power, it will need more fuel; so the fuel economy on the car will decrease 1 to 2 miles per gallon, but not more then 2 MPG.

So i install it in like 3 minutes on my lunch break and head to work. I actually notice a smoother power band and it seems to pull harder through out the gears. I was amazed. When im in second gear, i can start off at 1000rpms and it pulls smoothly to redline. Before this mod, the car would hesitate until about 2000rpms. 1st gear seems to pull harder as well. So far im really happy with this mod, just thought I would share this with you guys. Its definitely NOT Hondata in anyway but its a cheap alternative for a few extra HP.

Ebay link (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2472710702&category=42604&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWN%3AIT&rd=1)

[Civicvtec1ps]

Good Review but i still won't buy it.
:D

[Gearhead Geek]

just remember to take it off before you have it towed to Honda when you blow a piston or rings.

[amctmg]

I have the same chip but I only paid 1 cent for resitor and 99 cents for shipping. There is a little bit more power that you can feel believe it or not, and hey for a dollar you can't beat it. I checked at a local electronics store and they have them for like 10 cents each. Not a bad way to make money on ebay especially for 15.00 bucks each :eek:

[chubbychu]

im kind of opposed to tricking my car in order to get half a hp.

[esmith13]

someone needs to run one of these on a dyno. not to determine HP gains, but to get a wideband O2 sensor up the pipe and see HOW much leaner it is. I have my s-afc tuned to a 13.5:1 A/F ratio. 13:1 is ideal, but on colder days the car would run too lean and risks damage. Stock, newer hondas including the Si run approx. 18:1 so they are still safe in the dead of winter with no risk of running lean. I wonder what A/F ratio this mod would read as on a stock Si...

Then you'll know if it's safe or not.

Eric

[Tenacious G]

Originally posted by esmith13
someone needs to run one of these on a dyno. not to determine HP gains, but to get a wideband O2 sensor up the pipe and see HOW much leaner it is. I have my s-afc tuned to a 13.5:1 A/F ratio. 13:1 is ideal, but on colder days the car would run too lean and risks damage. Stock, newer hondas including the Si run approx. 18:1 so they are still safe in the dead of winter with no risk of running lean. I wonder what A/F ratio this mod would read as on a stock Si...

Then you'll know if it's safe or not.

Eric

i'd suspect it'd be dangerously lean. without proper R&D and tuning, i don't see this product as being too particularly safe. but i could be proven wrong.

[esmith13]

Based on my electronics knowledge and my newly learned car know-how, I'm assuming it preserves the existing fuel map and by lying about air temp it just consistantly removes a few percent of fuel from the stock values. That is essentially what an AFC does for someone with a stock setup or mild bolt ons. The question soley is - what A/F ratio do you wind up with???

Eric

[amctmg]

I may be wrong but if it wasn't safe you would get a check engine light.

[darkvibe]

umm
it should run rich not lean, right? The car adds more fuel because it thinks there is more air (because of the density difference) coming in than there really is. So you get the same amount of air as always but more fuel? Or does it make the ecu think the air coming in is hotter so it adds less fuel, leaning out the mixture?

[amctmg]

I'm not sure but sometimes I take it off and it seems to use more fuel

[esmith13]

it should make the car think the air is hotter and less dense. that way it leans it out and makes more power. Adding fuel versus our stock fuel map would make the car lag and bog. Lean is more power and rich is bogging.

Eric

[amctmg]

Ok I did a little test and the resistance on the chip is 3.32 at 20k ohms. The iat sensor after a lighter was held under it for like five seconds read 1.06 and then on an ice cube for a minute read 6.53 and before those tests at room temp around 73 read 2.15 so you can make from that info what you want:p

[esmith13]

now we just need to know if lower voltage means more or less fuel... Then we'll have an answer.

I still wish someone would get a wide band O2 test with this installed... That would answer all the questions flat out.

Eric

[darkvibe]

Originally posted by esmith13
it should make the car think the air is hotter and less dense. that way it leans it out and makes more power. Adding fuel versus our stock fuel map would make the car lag and bog. Lean is more power and rich is bogging.

Eric

Thats what I was thinking but the description said it makes the ecu think the air is colder. Your way makes more sense to me.

[DavidT]

The IAT is a negative coefficient sensor. The higher the voltage the colder the air. With the resistor hooked up, you got 1.06v with a lighter and 6.53vs with a cube? I'm surprised you didn't get a check engine light because the max voltage you can have on that sensor is 5v. Anymore and you risk damaging the ECU because the ECU is only designed to work with a 5v reference and signal system.

I'm guessing it's going to trick the ECU into thinking it's getting colder air, richening up the mixture for no good reason. But that's my guess, I'd need to have the resister here with me to actually find out.

[amctmg]

I was not measuring voltage I was measuring resitance in ohms. And the point of the experiment was to see what hot and cold resitance was on the IAT sensor. hot was more resistant and cold was less and the resitor was 3.32 on an ohm meter set at 20k the IAT sensor at room temp was 2.something so the resistor is basically telling the ecu that the temp is a constant temp all the time I'm guessing somewhere in the mid 60's. Now, I don't know if it is rich or lean or what the timing is but I do know you can actually feel more power how much I don't know. And here is something correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the ecu read from the o2 sensor to determine rich and lean?:confused:


Oh and by the way I have no idea what I'm talking about, So don't assume I think I do;) But I do like to hear from the people that do know, so advise away!

[esmith13]

the O2 sensor is responsible for determining rich/lean conditions - however, the IAT sensor is responsible for determining how much fuel is needed for the air coming in. That means the IAT sensor can be the CAUSE of a rich/lean condition and the O2 Sensor's job it to let the computer know if it went rich/lean after the fact.

Eric

[BlairSpeed]

I just installed this IAT sensor resistor to advance my timing and my car seems pull harder, with no CEL's or engine check lights. But why didnt our cars come stock like this? Why does the car retard the timing in the first place? just curious.

[the JigGa mAn]

Originally posted by BlairSpeed
I just installed this IAT sensor resistor to advance my timing and my car seems pull harder, with no CEL's or engine check lights. But why didnt our cars come stock like this? Why does the car retard the timing in the first place? just curious.

uhhhh...CEL's or engine check lights is that same thing....you should dyno this see if it does in fact add "20hp" i mean its pretty simple to put on and take off

[BlairSpeed]

LOL, i dont need a dyno to know it didnt give me 20hp, more like 2-4hp but it can feel it across the whole power band. I just wish I would of known it was a simple resistor you can buy at Radio shack and saved myself $14, but whatever, im happy with it. And if something does go wrong, it only takes 1.5 minutes to put back the way it was.

[2002HondaSi]

what kind, size of resistor is it so i can pick one up.

[BlairSpeed]

It's basicly just a metal wire with a small cylinder in the center. The cylinder has 4 or 5 colored stripes around it.

[esmith13]

if you tell everyone what colors in what order, we would all know what resistor to buy... mention which end your starting from if you do - the end with the longer or shorter lead...


Eric

[jandetuning]

The IAT sensor is a Thermistor, a thermally controlled variable resistor. Tricking the ECU into thinking the air is colder than it is is a poor way to increase performance. Your car will run richer increasing the load on the catalytic convertor, be less efficient in general, pollute the enviornment more, and there is an increased possibility for the formation of carbon deposits in the engine. But if 2-4 horsepower is that important, go for it.

I've only posted this like six times now. How about making this a sticky????

Read: IAT Timing Tricker (http://www.installuniversity.com/install_university/installu_pages/sophomore_year/timing_tricker_mod.htm)

[esmith13]

I think it leans out the mix - not the other way around. That's exactly how the S-AFC gives N/A cars their 10-20HP average boost of power. Richening up the mix on a car that runs about 18:1 stock will only make it slower... as well as cause all the problems you mentioned.

The ECU is reading a lower voltage with the resistor and lower voltages should mean hotter air which means LESS fuel - which means this is a jury-rigged way of doing what a S-AFC does. Since the resistor should make it a consistant drop in voltage the fuel should be trimmed a consistant amount as well which is ideal to do the job right. The question STILL is - does it drop it too much for the sake of safety for your engine??

Eric

[Tenacious G]

OK, now i'm confused. i thought making the A/F richer wouldn't create power because there's still the same amount of air going in. i thought this resistor would lean out the mix, trying to get it closer to the stoichiometric (sp?) ratio of 13.7:1 or whatever it is. am i way off base?

[VividDreams]

Originally posted by darkvibe
umm
it should run rich not lean, right? The car adds more fuel because it thinks there is more air (because of the density difference) coming in than there really is. So you get the same amount of air as always but more fuel? Or does it make the ecu think the air coming in is hotter so it adds less fuel, leaning out the mixture?


i was thinking this too, till Erick said this:


it should make the car think the air is hotter and less dense. that way it leans it out and makes more power. Adding fuel versus our stock fuel map would make the car lag and bog. Lean is more power and rich is bogging.

which i agree with seeing that it makes more sense.

i think the directions were worded wrong

erick, im gonna do a little searching on something, then i might send you a PM, just a heads up

[esmith13]

schaweeet.

Eric

[2002HondaSi]

tells us the colors of the resistor!!!!!!!!!!!

[amctmg]

Originally posted by 2002HondaSi
tells us the colors of the resistor!!!!!!!!!!!


The one I bought was painted black but I measured 33k ohms 1/2 watt

[esmith13]

smart fuckers for paintin it.

Securing their income....


Eric

[fsugatorbait]

Originally posted by esmith13
smart fuckers for paintin it.

Securing their income....


Eric

haha, i was thinking the same thing.

[BlairSpeed]

this is what it looks like, i have to pop the hood, take the tape off and then take it out to read the colors, and im at work right now, but ill do it today and post tomorrow if you guys still want to know the colors.
http://www.warpig.com/paintball/technical/electronics/basic_electronics/resistors.jpg

[esmith13]

yes please. make sure you note which direction your reading from.

Long wire side to short wire side or vice versa

Eric

[SiRacer03]

Originally posted by amctmg
The one I bought was painted black but I measured 33k ohms 1/2 watt

I'm confused as to which resistor is being used. The one on that page that was posted was at 4.7k ohms 1/2 watt and you're saying 33k ohms 1/2 watt. Which one is best suited? Right now, I'm using a 33k ohms 1/2 watt seems to be no problem. Since this is tricking the ECU, is this not suitable to be used on turbo/supercharged/nitrous equipped cars?

[amctmg]

Originally posted by SiRacer03
I'm confused as to which resistor is being used. The one on that page that was posted was at 4.7k ohms 1/2 watt and you're saying 33k ohms 1/2 watt. Which one is best suited? Right now, I'm using a 33k ohms 1/2 watt seems to be no problem. Since this is tricking the ECU, is this not suitable to be used on turbo/supercharged/nitrous equipped cars?


I have tried 100k and it bogs a little and really drinks your fuel. Right now I am using a 10k and it seems to feel a little better than the 33k But I don't know how low we can go and still be safe (no cel). If your runing FI or nos I would think you would want to run a little richer like say a 51k maybe even 100k. If I had access to a dyno I would buy a bunch of different resistors and do some trial and error.

[esmith13]

Originally posted by SiRacer03
...Since this is tricking the ECU, is this not suitable to be used on turbo/supercharged/nitrous equipped cars?

Turbo - irrelivant - that sensor is non functional/ignored on a turbo'd EP

SC - I would NOT recommend it AT ALL. It's cool for stock cause the car runs FAT stock. I SC's fuel map should be gainfully leaned out already and leaning out more would at that point be VERY bad.

Nitrous - Not sure about this one. But if it was me i would assume it's not ok. If hondata isn't nitrous compatible - this probably isn't either...


Eric

[Retrophusion]

so let me get this clear. Do i unplug the IAT sensor from the connector and stick the resistor in the connector or do I kinda put the resistor in parallel. with the IAT sensor? just wanna make sure i do it right when i try it out tonight. I paid $1 for five resistors from my local radiocrack. SO it wont kill me to try it out. I got 10K ohm 1/2 watt resistors.

[amctmg]

Originally posted by retrophuison
so let me get this clear. Do i unplug the IAT sensor from the connector and stick the resistor in the connector or do I kinda put the resistor in parallel. with the IAT sensor? just wanna make sure i do it right when i try it out tonight. I paid $1 for five resistors from my local radiocrack. SO it wont kill me to try it out. I got 10K ohm 1/2 watt resistors.


Just plug it in to the connector. No sensor needed. Oh and let me know if you feel a difference in power or gas mileage.

[Retrophusion]

Ok I will post my results later tonight after i get off of work! Anything in the name of research and helping out my fellow ephatchers!!!!

[SiRacer03]

It doesn't seem to feel any different. Just maybe a bit smoother. I can't really tell though, having completed bolt ons doesn't help that,lol. I'm using the 33k one and I don't know if it's just me but it seems to have used up more fuel.

[Retrophusion]

I am currently using the 10K resistor. It seems to pull a little nicer, and the power delivery seems smoother to me too. I am not sure on the fuel savings yet as i only put it in last night.... Not bad for a 20cent mod though

[Laz's EP]

Post picks to see how it turns out and where exactly it goes.

[rs_1101]

what i dont understand is if your intake sensor sees that the air is colder, it makes the af pig rich, and that should in theory make you slower!?

[esmith13]

Makes it see the air as hotter. Dumb idiots that wrote the instructions for the $0.05 resistor got it backwards....

Eric

[VividDreams]

on a side note, erick, i love your new avatar/user text combo

lmao:D

[esmith13]

HAHAHAHA - Thanks! ;)

This thread prompted the change: CLICK ME (http://ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36573)

:D

Eric:angel:

[Slip_Angle]

retrophuison: Were you able to find out what a/f ratio is in effect with the resister?

Thanks.

[rs_1101]

were doing some tests on this at mazdaforums.. if you really need to know, get a multimeter and measure voltage on the sensor wire! its really easy.. just a 4.4 ohm resistor usually does it.. were trying to see if results are positive right now, but not sure its worth it.. might as well spring for safc2 right now.