GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

It is hard not to get excited over the anticipation of what it might be able to do. I was disappointed when I got the N/A preprogrammed e-manage from MWR. I barely felt any difference vs. without it. So, I am expecting the Unichip to show me more gains. I don't want to expect too much though or I will be disappointed again. I just have to think that if it helps a little bit at all, I will be happy. Every little bit counts.On the downside. Our local dynoshop was not able to make it to the last Unichip classroom training of the year. So, They said they may try next spring. Otherwise I will have to drive to Chicago next spring for a custom tune.

I thought you go rid of the Vibe when you bought the Legacy, or do you still have it (VibeGT). BTW, I was told if the CEL comes on to switch to the other setting (A to B) or (B to A). It should take care of the problem. I was told it has something to do with the air gas mix.

i did get rid of the vibe GT. however, Mav still has his vibe and we'll probably keep it even after we upgrade his daily driver to an STI next year. he finally sent off the unichip to have it retuned for his car and we got it back last thurs and installed it Fri eve. BC, you should notice enough of a difference with/without the unichip on the car. again, it's not like it's going to put you in your seat back by all means, however a nice steady 5-7 hp increase all the way up is very noticeable, especially when you put your foot on the gas. not sure how much it will help on the AT and also you have an AWD so your low end pretty much sucks (removed) as it stands. just about ANYTHING could help that! LOL let us know if/how much of a difference you can feel.

Remember, I got mine soon after you got yours for The VGT. Its still going strong, and it has adapted to my driving style. Actually, my VGT is still performing well since the upgrade. And yes the additional power is to the low and midrange. My new wife wants us to get a family car. She is talking mini-van. Yeah right!! But the VGT will not go anywhere.

hehe.... well buy a van and chip it

mini van?? just say NO! LOL

Ha Ha Ha, chip a mini van. Ya'll have jokes. But the Nissan Quest does look nice. If we get it then we would need to get some kids to put in it.

my cousins have 5, i'm sure they'll let you borrow one! LOL

I put the Camcon in with the boomslang harness. It is not tuned yet. I used some number someone gave that has pretty much the same mods I have. I feels quite stronger throughout entire rpm range. I run 89 octane. I helps to keep MAF sensor cleaned to.

Great to hear, Bob! I'm running the Camcon (hardwired) and am finding very nice gains as well. I have used Dominator's (9thGenCorolla) numbers and am currently trying out RWE HMYT's (newcelica.org) settings. Both have given nice gains. I can't wait to dyno so I can have my own settings to share. I am also running 89 octane.

so Im thinking about getting a perf. chip...Id like to be able to tune it my self on the street, so Im semi set/thinking of the camcon. I just want 2 maps though, one for economy and one for performance. I will/do have a laptop in my car so thats not a big deal to reflash if it doesnt take long..but just wondering on some suggestions?? I think I will be staying NA for at least 2 more years and I drive the car a lot for work so it cant be to crazy..oh yeah and I want it to be Plug n play.

If you looking for 2 maps with PnP, the Unichip is the one you want. One map will be for regular fuel and the other will be for high octane fuel with timing advance.

yeah but then I have to pay like 150-200 to get it tuned.... I can get a camcon alone for that much. With the camcon I could just have a list of settings in the car and change them to that when i need right? it just seems like the camcon is the cheap and semi easy one to use allowing the most bang for your buck.... i saw a v-manage but thats pretty expensive too..

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »If you looking for 2 maps with PnP, the Unichip is the one you want. One map will be for regular fuel and the other will be for high octane fuel with timing advance.I have to agree with him on this one.Plus,to get the full benefits of the camcon or v-manage you need a tune.

well you can do the street tuning with does a meh job. So far I think id need a wideband, chip and a tune which is now a little more than what I want to spend..with that much i should just sc and stay with the trd stock ecu.....

It depends on how much you can do yourself. I was able to get a used Camcon for $195 shipped to me from Ebay(saved $100+ over retail), Hard wired it myself(saved $200+/-), Got a free($5 shipping) digital narrowband from Satur9(saved $70) and will be intalling that myself(saving $70+/-). So, if I have paid full price for everything and had others install it, it would have cost me $640+/-. Instead I have only paid $200. So a ton of money can be saved by finding deals and installing them yourself.

Hmm...i installed my unichip yesterday and although i noticed a power gain in the lower ranges in Map A, the Map B gives me less power....maybe the car can't take the more aggressive settings? My CEL also came on, and when i try to start the car, it starts up then dies and i have to try again one more time and it works. Also, my rev range will not go above 3000 rpm. Once the needle hits 3000, the car shakes and jolts and i am forced to let off the gas and bring it down. I can't floor it like i want to, and i'm just really confused with all this. Any suggestions on what to do? I'm all out of ideas.

Quote, originally posted by THE VIBERATOR »Hmm...i installed my unichip yesterday and although i noticed a power gain in the lower ranges in Map A, the Map B gives me less power....maybe the car can't take the more aggressive settings? My CEL also came on, and when i try to start the car, it starts up then dies and i have to try again one more time and it works. Also, my rev range will not go above 3000 rpm. Once the needle hits 3000, the car shakes and jolts and i am forced to let off the gas and bring it down. I can't floor it like i want to, and i'm just really confused with all this. Any suggestions on what to do? I'm all out of ideas. did you buy it new or used? They come with a base map for what you pick out for your mods, ie. cai, exhaust, headers etc. If you got it used maybe its for something crazy. To really take advantage of the unichip you need to bring it to a unichip certified tuner and get it tuned.

Quote, originally posted by THE VIBERATOR »Hmm...i installed my unichip yesterday and although i noticed a power gain in the lower ranges in Map A, the Map B gives me less power....maybe the car can't take the more aggressive settings? My CEL also came on, and when i try to start the car, it starts up then dies and i have to try again one more time and it works. Also, my rev range will not go above 3000 rpm. Once the needle hits 3000, the car shakes and jolts and i am forced to let off the gas and bring it down. I can't floor it like i want to, and i'm just really confused with all this. Any suggestions on what to do? I'm all out of ideas. Like North said,is it the right unichip??Also did you disconnect your battery before you installed it.Because your Vibe is in "Limp" mode,not being able to rev over the 3 grand mark.Did you recheck all your connections,are they good and tight.More info means we can help you a little more.

Well i bought the chip brand new from Unichip for $550. And all i have on my car at the moment is a K and N short ram intake. I checked all my connections and they were nice and tight. And the negative was unhooked when i first put the chip in. I took the chip out today and drove around with the stock ecu and i plan on reinstalling it sometime over the weekend. If that doesnt work, and i still have this problem, i'll have to find a Unichip tuner around here. I live in Webster, New York, so it may be tougher than it sounds to find someone around these parts. But just in case the chip is still restricting my power when i reinstall it, how much does it cost for me to have it retuned?I've ordered a throttle body spacer (the helix power tower plus) for my intake and its on the way. If i cant get the chip to work, and i dont find a tuner around here, i'll sell the chip or send it back for a new one. In the meantime, i'll be installing the spacer.

what "pre" tune did you get on the chip?

You have a 03' to 04' vibe right?Did you but it tuned for a CAI or cat back,because if you did,and you have a short ram or no exhaust,that may be your problem.You're better off undertuned,than overtuned.

The throttle body spacer does nothing, it's an expensive paperweight.

Quote, originally posted by Raven »The throttle body spacer does nothing, it's an expensive paperweight. That and the crazy (removed) whistling noise drove me crazy,took mine off after only a week and gave it away.

No i ordered the chip to be tuned for a stock vibe, which shouldnt be such a huge problem. I checked the intake and it was working fine. But yes i have an '03 Vibe. So the spacer does nothing? Not even a bit of power gain? That sucks. I thought it would be good because i found the link from genvibe.

Just send the chip to an authorized dealer and have it re-flashed for your car. it should cost about 20 bucks. Just mail it. You should get it back within a week. BTW if its not flashed correctly it will not perform as well, as if you did not have it installed at all. Sometimes it makes things worse.

Yeah, what does the spacer do again?

Quote, originally posted by Dezz1 »Yeah, what does the spacer do again?From my experience,absolutely nothing but drive you crazy with that damn whistling.

ok thanks a lot guys for your help. I'm going to bring the chip on Monday to my nearby Auto Finishers and ask them if they know someone that can tune it for me.

Quote, originally posted by kevera »Like North said,is it the right unichip??Also did you disconnect your battery before you installed it.Because your Vibe is in "Limp" mode,not being able to rev over the 3 grand mark.Did you recheck all your connections,are they good and tight.More info means we can help you a little more.Could the MAF sensor be shot? Just a thought....

Well i'm not exactly sure whats up. Auto finishers isnt open on Sundays so i will wait till tomorrow and call them. If they have someone that can help me, then we will know very shortly whats wrong with the chip. It could be the MAF sensor, but this is the second chip i've gotten (the first one was defective as well, the car wouldnt even start). I'll let you guys know whats up though.

Good luck. Hope all turns out well.....

Thanks.

I got my throttle body I took it to race an '01 celica gt (stock) and with my upgrades i beat it from a 40mph roll all the way till when we stopped at 95 mph....had a car and a half on him the whole way. Then we dragged it out officially and the same thing happened. My Vibe pulled ahead by a car and a half off the line, doing 8.5 seconds from 0-60, while the celica did 9. Stayed in front by that much till the finish. So the spacer is actually helpful!!! I'm so glad. Now, the chip. I took it to Auto Finishers finally and they said they dont deal with Unichip, so i just gotta send it to my closest Unichip dealer. Oh well. Its worth the wait though.

Just added the Unichip install instruction PDF to the bottom of the first post. I also just found out that the Unichip is still available thru Unichip for $492 + shipping.

A quick scan of the Unichip site and I can only see the 1.8L 1ZZ-FED engine from the MR2 from '00-'05... However, the 2ZR-FE 1.8L from the Corolla '09-'10 and 2AZ-FE 2.4 from the XB '09-'10 have units made for them!!!I've sent them a message asking if the 1.8 unit will work on the Vibe!

Can we get the OP updated to include that the Unichip for the 2.4L 08-10 Scion XB 2.4L 2AZ-FE works with the 09+ Vibes that have the 2.4L. I am currently running mine with a custom TC tune for I/H/E @ 93 Octane and couldn't be happier.