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Performance chip

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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
has anyone ever put this on there car? i have an 08 honda civic no mods just stock lookin for a little more juice out of it. does it really work and does it take off warranty? also do you have to put other mods on the car also if you put a chip in
Nov 4 2008 12:37PM
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e.will
Posts: 1981 - Karma: 967
you're car already has an ECU. You don't buy one, it isnt an add on. You get your ECU reflashed.


yes it voids warranty, if they can find it, which they will if your car ever breaks down or something, becuase to find issues with cars, the dealers, or mechanic's for that matter, use software on the ECU to diagnose.



you're car will also run at a higher temperature, making it more prone to breaking down. heavy traffic jams could be the death of you.

and you will need to put 93 octane in there(depending on the type of software), so keep that in mind as far as your gas bill....

Nov 4 2008 1:05PM
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ISkiSwitch
Posts: 3157 - Karma: 22
A chip in a civic is useless. Most mods to a base civic are going to be useless. If you want a little extra pep and better gas mileage, grab a Short Ram intake and a mellow full exhaust and be done with it.
Nov 4 2008 1:39PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
there are so many other bolt on parts that you should add before you mess with your electronics.  id look in to an intake, header, throttle body, intake manifold, cat, exhaust, cam gears, & pulleys before you even think about tweakin' your computer.  if you tweak your ecu with stock everything you are wasting your money.
Nov 4 2008 1:42PM
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C.R.E.A.M
Posts: 2987 - Karma: 4,575
true mang, a even 7% increase through mods to your horsepower will still only be like an additional 7 or 8 horses which is not gonna be much, and u run a huge risk of breaking down. secondly get other stuff done like the kats above me suggested, cold air intakes are like 300? and they are so easy to install and make ur car sound so mmuch better and give you +2 or 3 more mpg
Nov 4 2008 1:59PM
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A.P.
Posts: 667 - Karma: 136
if you want more power you should have just gone with a 07 si with warranty. but id get a intake first just for sound you wont really notice any performance difference.   just dont rice it out considering you have a new car.
Nov 4 2008 2:24PM
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user098123
Posts: 6072 - Karma: 18
if you do that you NEED to reflash your ECU. You really can't do many mods without reflashing your ECU. You need the cars engine to be tuned to what you have exactly, your changed engine volume, your engine temperature, etc etc. That's the only way it will work properly.

Also, I don't know how much it costs for an ECU reflash for a civic, but for my subaru it is around $700. You can buy a tactrix cable but then you have to do it yourself with your laptop which is risky. If you want to mod your car at all, mod it's handling first, then get some performance mods with an ecu reflash. Expect to pay some big money though.
Nov 4 2008 2:53PM
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ripthis
Posts: 137 - Karma: 10
just get a cherry bomb and euro lights. that adds like 30hp right away
Nov 4 2008 3:09PM
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0123456789
Posts: 9226 - Karma: 148

dude sick euro lights on a civic! thats like 100+HP at least on its own.

also id do basic shit ebfore dropping cash on a reflash, and do bigger mods, adn reflash at the same time. also iif you relfash on youre own, at least with my saab, somepeople have  written out the maps i think theyre called, and they have been shown safe with the nesscairy upgrades like exhaust, intake and such, for basic staging, ie,1 2 3, that give more hp as you go higher stages,a dn wtih the lower stages its going to be less harmful on youre engine and shit. but

Nov 4 2008 3:17PM
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ripthis
Posts: 137 - Karma: 10
dont forge a spoiler and a bodykit!
Nov 4 2008 3:22PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
Honestly you NEVER reflash a cars chip unless your using it for a specific purpose other than normal driving.  Unless your getting significant other performance upgrades like a new engine, drivetrain, or charger, then the chip is a waste of money.
Nov 4 2008 5:40PM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
Do the driver mod first....


http://www.scca.com/newtoscca.aspx

Go there, find the local SCCA and participate in an auto-x. Learn to drive your car properly with the power it currently has before adding more.
Nov 4 2008 5:44PM
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4frnt_or_die
Posts: 780 - Karma: 3
x2

cams shaft adds A LOT!  I had a 98 civic and replaced the engine with a ZC (JDM engine found in the first SI's i think but very close the the one i had) and the only great difference was the camshaft, which added 40hp approximately.

but when you change performance parts, you have to think about breaking power and handling, which is a never ending circle....
Nov 4 2008 6:35PM
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notime_for_jokes
Posts: 554 - Karma: 11

as far as i know, it does completly void the warranty and probly wont make a huge difference for you,

im no expert or anything near one but i would say dont get one just incase some goes wrong( like if a speaker blows because it was just set up wrong) or anything like that

Nov 4 2008 6:40PM
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A.P.
Posts: 667 - Karma: 136
get these its dyno proven to add 145 whp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnzw_i4YmKk
Nov 4 2008 10:57PM
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A.P.
Posts: 667 - Karma: 136
^
Nov 4 2008 10:58PM
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JQ89
Posts: 432 - Karma: 10
yes it will void the warrantee, basically anything that will result in a big increase in power will void your warrantee, ex: turbo etc. if you want a noticeable increase in power throw a turbo in it, youre gonna have to reflash your ecu after that anyway all the other things that you can put on, exhaust intake, cam, aluminum heads, etc will add power dont get me wrong, but theyre expensive and dont add very much power, im not sure how much power youre looking for but a turbo is probably the best power youre gonna get for your money. the only downfall is that it is kind of expensive especially if you cant install it yourself, and it also will void the warrantee.
Nov 5 2008 1:47AM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Slandis is confused by automobiles.
Nov 5 2008 2:11AM
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zerospinskier
Posts: 4867 - Karma: 350
Your car isn't turboed. You can't raise boost or anything. A new tune isn't going to change anything
Nov 5 2008 2:29AM
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JQ89
Posts: 432 - Karma: 10
not true, chips can do more than just change your boost, although putting a chip in a stock engine doesnt do much for the horsepower gains it can increase your gas mileage by making your engine more efficient, by changing your air/fuel ratio, or changing the timing on your engine as well. for a performance gain that you will notice, throw a turbo on there, research what the stock civic engine will withstand for boost/horsepower, and just make sure you stay under that line. its a new car so you dont have to really worry about putting a rod through the side of the block because of it, but you could always look into forged internals which will almost eliminate this problem. or you could always do an engine swap with an si or a cylinder head swap and make it vtech...
Nov 5 2008 3:02AM
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zerospinskier
Posts: 4867 - Karma: 350

Yeah, I know, I meant "won't do anything" loosely. I have DSMLink with my DSM, which is a piggyback system, but pretty much acts like a stand alone, in that I can change everything with my laptop, so I always felt like reflashing is a waste of time if you're going to be modding your car anything more that basic stuff. I know there isn't a dsmlink for every car but there are still a lot of options like Hondata and crap. But then again I guess if you really are just looking to get stuff like an exhaust/intake and call it quits, it could be a good idea

Nov 5 2008 3:17AM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
Thank you for reposting Bub Rubb and Lil Sis, I almost forgot about the whistle tips!
Nov 5 2008 9:15AM
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0123456789
Posts: 9226 - Karma: 148
you dont "just throw a turbo on there" you need many a new parts, basically on a N/A car you need a new engine, internalss and shit headers, probs a good idea to do mad other shit like exhaust and sch at the same time, no to mention fuel systems. i dont have much experiance turboing a n/a car, my car is stock turboed, amke it easier to upgrade. but it can be done for id guess 8K+ on an N/A car. also isnt there "better" honda engines that handle being turboed betterthan others? im not knowledgeable on honda shit at all engine wise
Nov 5 2008 11:26PM
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JQ89
Posts: 432 - Karma: 10
you most certainly do not need a new engine to put a turbo on your car. if its a new engine (he has an 08 civic) with not very many miles on it you can put a turbo on as long as you dont exceed the maximum horsepower rating for the car. if you wanted to you could always put in forged internals (connecting rods, pistons, crank etc) which would make the engine much stronger and could withstand more boost. and yes when you buy a turbo kit for your car it usually comes with all the necessary hardware that needs to be replaced such as fuel injectors, fuel pump, etc etc etc. and yes there are better honda engines that you could put in that would withstand more boost but if youre running too much power you run the risk of damaging other components in your car such as the clutch driveshaft etc which arent made to withstand this much power. as for the exhaust goes, you dont need to replace it, you can if you want to but its not going to give you a significant horsepower gain, same with the headers. replacing the stock manifolds will result in a slight power increase but not a significant one
Nov 6 2008 1:13AM
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0123456789
Posts: 9226 - Karma: 148
i know you dont need an engine, i meant say you have a 033 civic, out ofwarenttee, you wana boost it, but can/have the money to do a swap as well. you would choose to do a swap for a engine that handles boost better, and is stronger, o as youre sayin, has a higher horsepower ratig. but with his i wouldnt turbo it till it was out of warentee, cause itll just void the warentee anyways...
Nov 6 2008 1:29AM
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