Some words about chips... (archive)

I'd be careful about any claims made by manufacturers about what their chip does and does not do versus the competition. Here's why. (note: what I am saying here is not based on information specific to any particular chip, it's based on an understanding of the underlying technology and a belief that anything that is good that can easily be copied, will be!)

Reverse engineering one of these chips is about the most simple thing in the world for any manufacturer who has the ability to program and manufacture chips. All the chip is is a memory with a simple program (map) stored in it. BMW sets the standard for what technology can be used and what programs the DME will understand. There is NO opportunity for any brand specific innovation in terms of the chip or a fancier program. All that can be done is change the values of the engine and tranny's parameters as a function of the inputs (RPM, temp, throttle opening etc). Reading the program back out of a competitor's chip is a piece of cake.

Given this, each manufacturer knows exactly what the other guy is selling. If one manufacturer has done something that really makes its chip better, you can bet that the other guy will know about it and copy it pronto. There is absolutely no barrier to keep these guys from producing product with exactly the same characteristics under their own brands... IMO... if you are in the market for a chip, buy according to price... if you buy according to brand, that is what you are paying for... the marketing and hype the goes into the brand... I seriously doubt there will be any "real" performance differences other than those related to the "personality" of the engine that the chip manufacturer was actually trying to achieve.

Kevin

Conforti and Dinan both claim the same maximum hp and torque increases. I've read that Dinan chip is programmed to increase power only during full throttle acceleration, while the Conforti chip mapping increases power throughout the throttle range. I don't really know if this is true, but Dinan's literature implies that that is how their chip works.

I went with the Conforti chip in my '91 735 and have been very happy with it. You still have to rev the engine to feel the difference, but with the chip my car pulls much stronger all the way to redline.

I am getting ready to install a chip, not sure which yet. Can someone help me decide? Which has more horse power and torque? And does the chip really make a difference on a '88 735i 3.5L.

Thanks,

Anthony

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