unichip Q's

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:01 am

I was looking into the unichip for the vibe and have a few questions.Does this unit sit in the glovebox,or is it mounted somewhere.Is it worth the gains for the price.I would like some of the guys that have the unichip to hollar with some feedback.Thanks

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:11 am

The Unichip can be mounted in several locations. I had mine velcroed to the bottom of the main ecu. but you could mount it in or behind the glove box. I felt it was worth the gains for the price. You will feel a nice increase in torque and hp thruout the entire rpm range. My shifting felt smoother as well. I would recommend it.

CAN-AWD-VIBE · Post by **CAN-AWD-VIBE** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:20 am

x2 or +1whatever... they are good things. Mine is also velcroed to the ecu

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:41 am

I know they custom tune it from a few maf settings.I have an cai but no exhaust,what happens when I put a cat back on,can they adjust for this and do I send it to them to get reprogrammed.Roughly how much horepower gains should I expect.Bluecrush-I read one of your threads on the camcon-these are relatively cheap but does it need to be tuned on the car or pretuned like the unichip.

CAN-AWD-VIBE · Post by **CAN-AWD-VIBE** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:46 am

i would wait until you have the mods on before you order it. That way its ready to go out of the box and you wont have to retune it right away. I got mine as the supercharged version tuned only for a CAI and catback, then when I finally do get the sc I can ship it out and have it retuned... or ideally find a dyno shop that can tune it in town on vehicle. But I do already have the extra module installed just not on boost.I think the Unichip site has a dyno with the hp gains... I can't remember the #'s

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:57 am

first off, if all you are looking at are dyno gains, you won't be impressed. the gains are minimal at best. however, in real world gains, your (removed) dyno will tell you it's worth it. you'll have more power and torque throughout your powerbands, smoother acceleration and shifting, etc. are you gonna have instant super power to your vibe? no. as long as you understand the unichip is mainly to give your daily driver some added oomph, help maximize your mods you've done to your car and give you a nice smile on your face, that's what it's for. don't expect to be taking a second off your 1/4 mile times... that would require a s/c or turbo. i have always felt the unichip to be worth the money. it's a 15 min install and the gains and smiles you receive far outweigh the cost. having my unichip in my vibe gt with just the CAI, vs Phil's base 5 spd with CAI and exhaust, i can say the gains on the GT are much greater felt than in his base. it still is felt and still is better, however, it doesn't seem to add near as much oomph as it did with my GT.i would agree with CAV though and wait til you get an exhaust before ordering your chip. they do have to tune it, so if you add more mods to your car, you will need to have it retuned by unichip or an authorized tuner for them.

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:03 am

I know it's not blow my mind power gains,considering that it's a 1.8l sewing machine motor.My target was around 150hp.With the CAI and cat-back with the unichip is that # attainable.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:18 am

at the crank, probably running about that, yes - i would think. what model do you have? Phil would be better able to answer your questions as his set up would be basicly the same as what you are looking to do. you have 5mt or auto?

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:19 am

LOL. besides, in a few months from now, we'll probably be selling his and parting out the car anyways...

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:36 am

Quote, originally posted by kevera Â»I know they custom tune it from a few maf settings.I have an cai but no exhaust,what happens when I put a cat back on,can they adjust for this and do I send it to them to get reprogrammed.Roughly how much horepower gains should I expect.Bluecrush-I read one of your threads on the camcon-these are relatively cheap but does it need to be tuned on the car or pretuned like the unichip.Unichip - If you plan on getting your catback soon after the Unichip then go ahead and get it pre-programmed for the intake and exhaust. If not then wait until you have your catback before buying the Unichip. As far as 150hp? Crank?=maybe. To the wheels?=No. If you are looking for 150hp to the wheels then you will need more mods like pulleys, cam and a custom tune by an authorize Unichip tuner.Camcon - Power Enterprise provides one base map for Cams and A/F for all 1ZZ-FE engines. To get the most out of it you will need to get it dyno tuned via trial and error. Camcon will take a while and cost more in the long run than the Unichip since you will need the Boomslang Harness(to make it PnP like the Unichip and longer custom dyno tuning to get the most out of it.Good Luck! Let us know what you decide to do.

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:47 am

Well I have a base with auto.Wow,I thought 150hp would be no problem.130hp-7-9(CAI),10hp(cat-back)-?(unichip).So,you guys don't think 150 is possible with these mods.I might have to rethink.Now,how much horses does the supercharger add,maybe the route to go.

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:01 am

The Vibes are 130+/- hp at the crank depending on the year. To the Wheels we are approx. 112+/- hp. My AWD was 107hp to the wheels when I dynoed last year.You may be at 150hp to the crank with those mods but not the the wheels. If you want 150 to the wheels then you will need add pulleys and cams or go with the supercharger. Supercharger will get you to your 150+ wheel horsepower goal.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:04 am

(removed). you don't just add bolt on #'s together to get the total. a catback will maybe add 3-4 hp but best results will be with the CAI. CAI is your best gains, probably about 7-10 hp AT THE CRANK at best. without a unichip or other ECM mod, you would be looking on the auto, maybe 140 hp TOTAL at the crank for both mods. you can probably get to about 150 hp AT THE CRANK with a unichip tuned for that, but the best results would be with a protune.even with a s/c, you are looking at maybe 170 hp at the crank for about $3K installed. for the price and money, going I/E/U is more cost effective and will still put a smile on your face. like i said, don't look at the dyno #'s because that's just on paper. real world and real life numbers are completely different. and why put a s/c on the base auto? that auto sucks imo. it's slow slow slow and you will still have that slow lag even with a turbo or a s/c. just the downside of the toyota auto they gave the vibe/trix/corolla. unless you are willing to spend some serious money to make your vibe auto go fast when you put your foot down on the gas, then (totally my opinion) this route you're talking about is your best option for the price and for the quality of what you get. that's just me. i would not spend $3K in a supercharger just to get to the STOCK #'s of a vibe GT. that's me, and this is you, so what does it matter what i think? LOL

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:38 am

Thanks for your input.Hope,you make great sense,I think your right about the auto-I was going to buy a street grafitti vibe that was in the showroom when I was buying the vibe-it was beautiful,but it was 6 speed and the g/f at the time didn't want to learn stick-she drives the vibe most times-I put a lot of ks on my cars so she drives maybe 30kms a day so we figured the vibe would last longer,now we are at 41k and the warranty is done so we were trying to get some more performance out of her.I think the I/E/U is the best bang for the buck-thanks for putting that into perstective.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:02 am

no prob. just depends on what your priorities are really.

CAN-AWD-VIBE · Post by **CAN-AWD-VIBE** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:50 am

to be honest I'm just going the s/c route for 2 reasons. 1) the AWD is so slow it NEEDS it. 2) you are not supposed to.and making it into a liveable peppy AWD wagon... it will need boost to do this. The AWD only comes auto and I think that is the worst fate of all.I have a I/E/U setup now. I need more. Thats what I will do. If I were you go the I/E/U... if thats enough then your gold, if you are still wanting more you know what is out there.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:03 pm

the awd vibe is a whole different story anyways. it's a complete dog. but really, why s/c it and spend all that money? just me, but that puppy would be traded in for an impreza wagon. a lot more get up and go just to start for about the same $$$ as an awd vibe. plus you can get it in a 5 spd vs just the auto. seriously, that is the biggest downfall of the AWDV. auto only and they put in a major slushbox. if you are looking for oomph, you're just not gonna get it in the AWDV.that is why i bought the VGT vs the AWD back in 03.

CAN-AWD-VIBE · Post by **CAN-AWD-VIBE** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:11 pm

cause the vibe is paid and i am in no position to go THAT far into debt right now. A few grand I can handle but I cant trade the vibe and get into another 20-30k for a questionable used impreza... or even a turbo forester I dont want to cheap out and get a beat on car that I dont know the history on. This vibe has been in the family since new, i know the records and until I can do the same on a NEW Subaru... I have what I have. I will be getting a new Subaru.I will be replacing my Forester next anyway, it has done very well with 200k kms just rolled onto it she owes me very little. The vibe was/is going to be the wifes car but thats not for a while yet. So I will have to make it tolerable to drive for now = sc. I like my wagons, but I like fast wagons better. this one needs more help then most but when it's done.... well.... its gonna be slow still but it will be WAY better then most any AWD Vibe out there. but i know where i stand in the universe Hope... I know.sorry to rob your thread kevin

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:31 pm

Werd

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:54 pm

well CANAWD, if it helps any, i can say (and most people would agree) the vibe looks much cooler than an impreza ever will any way.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:07 am

aw, i see... that's completely different. that makes a lot more sense now. if you didn't owe anything at all, totally paid for, then ya, you don't have an extra car payment = mod money why trade no car payment for a car payment if the car is satisfactory and you like it. besides most of the fun of modding, is doing it yourself! or at least making the decisions of what is to be done to the car.and sorry, DM, only on THIS site you might find that people MAY find the vibe looks "cooler" than an impreza wagon (because i do and i've never been a fan of subaru's body styles like the impreza or forrester), but the rest of the world seems to prefer them over the Vibe. and if you were to compare a NEW AWD vibe to a NEW AWD Impreza wagon, for the price, the Impreza (sorry you AWD vibe guys) wins out.I bought my vibe gt back in 03 because i loved how it looked and i wanted to stay with the toyota engines. i still love the 03/04 vibes, however, when it does come to performance and cost to get the car there, i'm still a little disappointed at GM/Toyota's lack of response. so what if we got some lame supercharger that only gets the base vibe up to the stock GT #'s (albeit torque, but still), or turbo kits that are an insane amount of money. whereas the a/m support and manufacturer support (like Camaro's and Corvettes have) for the subes is amazing! if i could stuff my LGT into the body of my old Vibe GT, that would make me happy.

actually, if i could have both.... then i could have my cake and eat it too!

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:02 am

i don't want to get into the whole subie vs the world thing, but for what it's worth, noone anywhere near here drives subarus, yet i see vibes all the time. it may seem that "the rest of the world" is more into them, but keep in mind, you live in alaska where AWD is a hot commotity. around here, people have solstices that they can drive in the winter.sure, subies are pretty nifty with the power and AWD and whatnot, but i believe they suffer from the same thing my car suffers from: loss of sales due to ugliness.

Mavrik · Post by **Mavrik** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:19 am

Quote, originally posted by kevera Â»I know it's not blow my mind power gains,considering that it's a 1.8l sewing machine motor.My target was around 150hp.With the CAI and cat-back with the unichip is that # attainable.I would say it is an obtainable number according to the dyno chart readings I've seen for our fwd base 5spd with those mods.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:57 am

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx Â»i don't want to get into the whole subie vs the world thing, but for what it's worth, noone anywhere near here drives subarus, yet i see vibes all the time. it may seem that "the rest of the world" is more into them, but keep in mind, you live in alaska where AWD is a hot commotity. around here, people have solstices that they can drive in the winter.sure, subies are pretty nifty with the power and AWD and whatnot, but i believe they suffer from the same thing my car suffers from: loss of sales due to ugliness.no reply i think we've gone off topic enough...

CAN-AWD-VIBE · Post by **CAN-AWD-VIBE** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:01 am

uh-huh agreedback ot150 with the mods you listed Kev should be a good estimate. But you will be smiling the same either way.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:24 am

as we've said before, if you are looking at crank hp numbers, you should be able to hit 150 hp and probably about 140-150 tq. if you are looking at the wheels, then no. remember, you have an AT, so you are gonna have a little bit of additional power loss to the 5MT. i have to deal with the same thing on my car too.

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:40 am

actually, i think 150tq would be pretty tough to reach. 150 horses is totally doable though.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:59 am

what does the base vibe tq have? i don't remember. isn't about 126 or 130 to start? 150 tq would be tough, but i think it could be done. hp with the i/e/u and you're pretty much there. just don't know on the tq #'s.

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 6:14 am

Vibe base w/5 speed manual tranny:126hp@6000rpm122ftlbs@4200rpm

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 6:22 am

aha! i was close! ok, so 150 tq might be pushing it, but i think you'd still have enough all around the powerband for a nice happy smile.

DiveNut · Post by **DiveNut** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:05 pm

Hey kevera, I have had the Unichip on my base Vibe Auto for almost a year now and love it. As many have suggested, it won't make our base Vibes street screamers, but it definitely improves the over all driving experience through out most of the RPM range. I had mine mapped for my Injen CAI. I can't justify poop canning my stock exhaust until it starts falling apart (especially with a wife and kids to support!), at which time I'll install a Catback system, maybe a light weight crank pulley, and have it re-mapped again In any case, you won't have any regrets.

Dezz1 · Post by **Dezz1** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:15 pm

The unichip is a modest mod, i've had it for years. You feel the gains throughout the entire powerband. But the unichip works as a modification modifier, and the more modifications you add the better it works collectively. Its works decently by itself, but I will suggest first adding your intakes, exhausts, gasses, pulleys etc before the unichip purchase because it has to be programmed for the mods.

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:22 am

Kev, looks like you'll need to send the chip into Unichip to have it retuned. you should contact them and see if you can get away with it on your auto, but doubtful as I'm sure the shift points would not be the same.

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