GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I have no idea about a performance chip, i hear they are good and worth the buy, but have no idea how they work or what exactly they truly do to make the car more powerful. Does anyone have a chip in there cars? Have you noticed anything in ur car? What type of chip should i get?

Check out this sticky for performance chips: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=20250

I have a unichip and can honestly say its not work $700.00, Although others say that are awesome. I see a little better performance around the 3000 rpm range and thats about it. I have yet to have it dyno-tuned, which I will do in April, maybe I will see some better gains then.

the chips i think bluecrush will agree, are really only fully utilized when using a S/C or turbo. If your not boosting your not using the chip for all its worth.

You can get quite a bit from performance chips if you can get them dyno tuned. If you are going to stay N/A get the Camcon or the Unichip. If you are going to be going FI get the E-manage or the Unichip.

The problem with chips is that unless you have the exact add ons (or none) that the chip was tuned for, gains will be minimal. I think that's what iinan is experiencing without a custom tune. I had a unichip in a stock 03 and it tranformed the car. Freinds that drove the car with and without that didn't know I chipped it wondered what I had done to get more performance without promps.

heya,Yeah, I purchased the Unichip from Goodvibe and although the first day didn't notice squat, the next day out, I barked the tires without even trying. I would have to admit though that I don't think I would have been as impressed for $700 but for what I paid, I'm extremely happy with the end results. Seems to make my Vibe perform like I would have expected a 180 HP engine to perform. No complaints at all (except for the sliced finger from the ecu bracket thing)Dave

Quote, originally posted by iinan »I have a unichip and can honestly say its not work $700.00, Although others say that are awesome. I see a little better performance around the 3000 rpm range and thats about it. I have yet to have it dyno-tuned, which I will do in April, maybe I will see some better gains then.Did you reset the ECU? And yes, a custom tune will do it wonders. I haven't CT'd my Unichip, but I still felt substantial gains.

Hey Dave, How do like the progress bar. Just loved mine. Have you ever had to remove the Uni. It will freak you out how used to it you got.

Hiya goodvibe...I have not had to take it out though I was concerned a few months ago when I had to bring it in for a 60,000 check-up. I decided to have the work done at a Toyota place instead of Pontiac, since nothing would have been warrany work or anything.There is a slight difference between the a/b settings. I have it on the one you recommended but tried the other just for the h*ll of it. There is a slight difference but I'm not sure what the effect difference was. As to stay on topic, resetting the ecu should normally occur when installing the unit, right? I mean you shouldn't install it without conecting the battery anyway. I honestly wouldn't consider it worth the cost at $700 or so for a new one. Look for a used Unichip system and get a bargain. Now, back to the sway bar... It firmed everything up a bit. I'd compare it to feeling like the rear end felt heavier in a turn. More solidly placed on the road. The same happened with the Vibrant Strut Tower. Less (none really)creaking when turning into driveways and such and a sense that the vehicle is more firmly planted on twisty turns. Want to drop my Vibe an inch or so with new springs next. That would be it for suspension upgrades.Dave

Quote, originally posted by goodvibe »The problem with chips is that unless you have the exact add ons (or none) that the chip was tuned for, gains will be minimal. I think that's what iinan is experiencing without a custom tune. I had a unichip in a stock 03 and it tranformed the car. Freinds that drove the car with and without that didn't know I chipped it wondered what I had done to get more performance without promps.bingo ! and bingo was his name-o !

The more 'stuff' you add to the engine, the more the Unichip will help. You should not expect great performance with just an intake or just a muffler and the Unichip. But once you get a complete system (intake, larger throttle body and/or spacer, port &polished head, header, exhaust, Unichip) you WILL see and feel really nice performance gains. The Unichip will even smooth out your shifting in automatics.