[Sankar]

Went to Spitfire Performance at coimbatore and got my car unichipped on the very last day of 2012. J. Balamurugan (aka sapl in tbhp) at Autozone, a Bosch Service Centre, is the guy to meet and he himself did the tuning of my car. Very down to earth person and explains everything well and very committed too. He and his guys didn't even have lunch that day when i was there since he wanted to get my car ready by evening since i was to leave Coimbatore that day itself.

Now about the chip, it looks almost as big as the Car's ECU and is quite heavy too. I got the Q+ version even though i needed only the Q since the car isn't a turbo. The chip has been setup to alter the AFR and ignition timing in my car, its intercepting TPS, CPS and i guess one more sensor to achieve this. The chip can also alter the drive by wire setting and also the variable valve timing settings if need be in addition to a host of other things which is not of importance currently. Drive by wire and VVT settings weren't touched since these aren't do able in a day since JB will need some days to optimise and test the reliability of these two things.

After the tune up the car gained about 5BHP and about 5NM of torque, it may not look like much but there is a very very noticeable difference in performance which i noticed on the drive back to Kerala. Overtaking in 2nd and 3rd gear is quicker than before. The car responds well to throttle inputs even in 5th gear while cruising. This wasn't the case before. Overall i'm very pleased with this mod. A fringe benefit is that i'm getting a better fuel economy, probably due to the advanced ignition. I'm not sure if the AVG displayed in the MID is to be trusted, but even without that i can see the needle not dropping as much as it used to in the same highway routes that i know well enough.

With better breathing by installing a headers and a freer flowing filter the chip can get the engine to a better state of tune. I intend to get the car tuned once again after i install an exhaust and intake setup. Even though i knew that the chip will give better results after few mods I got the chip installed in my stock car (save for the Denso Iridium power plugs) so that i will get a reference point for all the mods that are to follow.

The car's setup on the Dyno day:
KM reading: About 6000KM
Fuel: IOC Xtra Premium
Tyres: Michelin Energy XM2 185/70/14
Front tyre pressure: Around 38PSI
Wheels: Stock Steelies
Engine: Stock, except for Denso Iridium Power plugs.
Engine Oil & filter: Mineral Oil, MGP. Changed about 3000KMs back.
Air filter: Stock, not new and done as many KMs as the car. Wanted to get new filter didn't happen.

Pic of the Unichip


Power and Torque Graphs

[sgiitk]

It is the improved torque in the 2000-2500rpm range which is making all the difference.

[Sankar]

Yes, and i like the after torque graph compared to stock, it keeps on increasing linearly till 5500RPM.

The ignition timing at 6000RPM is not advanced like the rest of band so as not to strain the engine too much at WOT. Thats the reason for the dip when the graph nears the redline.

As per the tuner the dip at 3000RPM is caused by the breathing issues of the engine. A better intake and exhaust job might help with that.

[Rehaan]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Why are you running 38 psi at the front tyres??

cya,
R

[Sankar]

38PSI front and 36PSI rear. Car handles better and higher pressure (38 isn't too high anyway) is safer than lower pressure. Has been doing the same on my ex AStar too. Only downside is that the ride is a bit harsh on bad roads.

[Sankar]

The car's MID is showing awesome figures after i put the Unichip, on the drive back from Coimbatore the fuel average the MID was showing is 22.6KMPL and once inside the city the average has fallen down to 19.x KMPL. These figures may look too good to be true (finger's crossed) but the fuel economy has increased, the car has run more than it should on the 500 bucks worth of regular i filled from Alapuzha. I will do a measured run and post the actual figures sometime soon.

Avg displayed after Coimbatore - Cherthala drive where i had a stopover.

[Safari_Beast]

This is way above the normal pressure in car , i maintain 32 psi front and 31 psi at back in my swift Zdi . Since diesel swift is heavier then petrol swift so pressure you maintain is way above normal .

Originally Posted by Sankar

38PSI front and 36PSI rear. Car handles better and higher pressure (38 isn't too high anyway) is safer than lower pressure. Has been doing the same on my ex AStar too. Only downside is that the ride is a bit harsh on bad roads.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Safari_Beast

This is way above the normal pressure in car , i maintain 32 psi front and 31 psi at back in my swift Zdi . Since diesel swift is heavier then petrol swift so pressure you maintain is way above normal .

38PSI is not too high, has worked well for me so far on different cars. High is where the pressure is in excess of near the maximum limit of the pressure the tyre can handle. Better to run a few PSI higher than run low, safer that way.

[F150]

Never knew there was tuning box for petrol too.

Phenomenal FE figures. Will wait for further reports on FE.

38 PSI is high by any measure.

28 PSI - Comfort

32 - Regular

34 - Stiff

38 -

[Sankar]

Its not a tuning box, but a fully programmable piggy back ECU. It will work with both Diesels and Petrols, can work on any vehicle with an ECU. Has to be programmed/tuned for that particular vehicle. So if i upgrade to another vehicle in the future i will just put it in my new ride and get it tuned for it. If installed in CRDI Turbo Diesels it can control Rail pressure, Pulse Width and Boost; unlike regular tuning boxes.


Recommended tyre pressure for a foreign market Swift: 36 front, 32 rear.
Swift (AZG/AZH) 10 – 12 85 175/65R15 36 32
Swift (AZG/AZH) 10 – 12 85 185/55R16 36 32
38 is not very high. What is too high is sidewall pressures, which is the maximum the tyre can take under load.

There is no hard and fast rule for tyre inflation. Manufacturer recommendation is a reference point. Thats all. Works for all but not optimised for any particular style of driving. It doesn't suit my driving. Just like the stock cars bought from the showroom. Good for regular usage.

Originally Posted by carbibles

What's the "correct" tyre pressure?

How long is a piece of string?
Seriously though, you'll be more likely to get a sensible answer to the length of a piece of string than you will to the question of tyres pressures. Lets just say a good starting point is the pressure indicated in the owner's manual, or the sticker inside the driver's side door pillar. I say 'starting point' because on every car I've owned, I've ended up deviating from those figures for one reason or another. On my Subaru Impreza, as outlined above, I got much better gas mileage and no difference in tyre wear by increasing my pressures to 40psi. On my Honda Element, I cured the vague handling and outer-tyre-edge wear by increasing the pressures from the manufacturer-recommended 32/34psi front and rear respectively, to 37psi all round. On my Audi Coupe I cured some squirrelly braking problems by increasing the pressure at the front from 32psi to 36psi. On my really old VW Golf, I cured bad fuel economy and vague steering by increasing the pressures all-round to 33psi.
So what can you, dear reader, learn from my anecdotes? Not much really. It's pub-science. Ask ten Subaru Impreza owners what they run their tyres at and you'll get ten different answers. It depends on how they drive, what size wheels they have, what type of tyres they have, the required comfort vs. handling levels and so on and so forth. That's why I said the sticker in the door pillar is a good starting point. It's really up to you to search the internet and ask around for information specific to your car.

[1self]

Sankar, awesome mod man! Do make a filter change asap.

Your emergency braking distances will be severly affected by these pressures. I run Michelins too (PP2) & the recommended tyre pressure is 30 psi. I do 10% above that on all tyres.

[pradyblr]

Sankar,
This is fabulous. Exactly the kind of upgrade I am looking for my Swift 1.2 too.
How much did this cost you and would you by any chance know anyone who does this in Bangalore?

[thoma]

I'm a complete noob on chipping, but have a question. Does the lower torque from 1500 to say 1800 RPM in any way affect drivebality in stop-go situations?

[deetjohn]

Sankar, impressive gains on the graph. How much for the box, the installation, the dyno run etc? And if you know, please post the breakup for DDiS as well.

I am sure your 38PSI is helping the F.E. immensely.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by 1self

Sankar, awesome mod man! Do make a filter change asap.

Your emergency braking distances will be severly affected by these pressures. I run Michelins too (PP2) & the recommended tyre pressure is 30 psi. I do 10% above that on all tyres.

Thanks man. Next up in the list is a header and air intake setup and then go for another retune on the dyno.

Originally Posted by pradyblr

Sankar,
This is fabulous. Exactly the kind of upgrade I am looking for my Swift 1.2 too.
How much did this cost you and would you by any chance know anyone who does this in Bangalore?

None in Bangalore, afaik the only people who does Unichip in India is Sptifire in Coimbatore. Get in touch with them if you're interested, cost of the Q version is around 20k, installation and tuning is charged extra.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Sankar, impressive gains on the graph. How much for the box, the installation, the dyno run etc? And if you know, please post the breakup for DDiS as well.

I am sure your 38PSI is helping the F.E. immensely.

The chip is the same for both petrol and diesel, so there shouldn't be any difference in price.

38PSI isn't the only thing man, earlier the MID was showing 14.8 inside the city and used to show around 17 max on the highways. Again on 38psi. I'm not a mileage oriented driver, thats why i never checked the actual FE of my car yet since i only needed a ballaprk figure as shown on the MID. I don't know the exact FE of my old AStar either, never checked, had a vague idea that's all. The reason why i'm high about this new better FE is because this came as a complete surprise. This is possible due to the better torque figures and the advanced ignition timing.

The fuel light has come up this morning at 6513KMs, will post the actual figures when the light comes up next.

Originally Posted by thoma

I'm a complete noob on chipping, but have a question. Does the lower torque from 1500 to say 1800 RPM in any way affect drivebality in stop-go situations?

No issues, the drive-ability has only increased compared to before. The torque is really great now all through the range even from 1500 to 1800. The tune is customisable, engine can be tuned like how you need it, the remap can be based on your input.
--

Next time when i go there these settings will be further optimised, this time they didn't get enough time post installation to fine tune the settings since i was to leave the Coimbatore back to Kerala that evening itself.

Another feature i missed earlier is the multi map capability. Upto 5 maps can be programmed in memory and these can be changed on the fly with a switch or via bluetooth phone using a proprietary bluetooth module connected to the chip. I haven't got these done now, maybe next time. It makes more sense to have multiple maps on a TC car. But we can set a valet map with limited power/speed and that interests me can be handy sometimes Next time maybe!