performance chips

so my 98 taco has started suffering mpg and power as of late and im not looking at replacing the motor quite yet, i want to push that thing till it blows, but i have heard chips can help with mpgs and slight power gains, a good freind of mine has recommended a chip he got for decently cheap, and his buddy also has the same deal, im just looking for any consolation on the topic as im not quite convinced yet that it helps at all.

if it helps any, the chip he recomended was a pcr revamp chip, they go for about 60$ and he was quite happy with it, but im not sure hes not just getting a placebo effect

 

Sigh....


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2002-3-4l-prerunning-performance-tune-chip-question.748204/

td;dr your friends got scammed if they put them on 1st gens; there are no chips for these trucks

 

I just looked up PCR Revamp and that's quite a convincing scam they're running.... wow, just wow.

 

Save your money, give your high mileage engine some well deserved and proven TLC/tune up to help it along without wasting money on snake oil products.

 

i figured out that the pcr chips were junk a little atfer posting this, ive heard good things about bully dog chips but again, it could just be snake oil

 

Yes, those actually work, just not for this truck of yours

 

oh shit man that makes me sad asf

 

If you're really invested, there are options, but they're not cheap or easy.
Start by skimming that thread I linked

 

Snake oil. Do a compression test and leak down. Keep up with the maintenance. OEM parts only.

 

PCR Revamp -hahahahahahahahahaha!!!

2 wires hot glued to some cheap sort of circuit board material, with what looks like a resistor. The wires are not even attached to the 'electronics', just hot glued.

$60??? Hahahahahahahahaha. This is bigger snake oil than the 'tornado' throttle body spacers of yesteryear.

 

I can always get a little mileage and performance boost on an old engine with over 150,000 miles with new Denso/OEM O2 sensors -- and -- new correct NGK or Denso plugs.

I install the O2 sensors first to feel any performance/MPG gains and install the new plugs second. Clean the MAF and perform other often overlooked maintenance items.

It's always surprising to see how well an engine performs when everything is in spec like it was when new.

 

I found this site last night breaking down how these "performance" chips work.

https://www.performancechipguide.co...p-iat-performance-chip-tuner-review-teardown/

Even if it does provide more power to some makes/models, it seems like it would put your cats at risk of being fouled by running rich for extended periods. Auto engineers aren't stupid and OEMs spend millions trying to squeeze out every last HP/MPG. If there was an easy way to generate more power without consequences they would have already done it.

 

That's not entirely correct. There's usually a decent safety gap they leave - CIP: +50-60HP on my Golf with just a tune

 

I guess I don't understand why manufacturers would leave that much power on the table if there's no downsides. Seems like that would give them a competitive advantage if they could squeeze out that extra power without harming reliability or emissions.

 

MPGs/emissions and meeting EPA requirements most likely

 

I just did the same thing, read through the testimonials, can't believe that many people actually bought into this and they received those kind of gains. I'd spend 60 bucks to get 60 hp if it really worked.

 

I don't think they're real testimonials tbh

 

I found this just googling, wonder how this would work out on a stock engine. I wouldn't do it to mine, but maybe someone else has already gone down this road.

https://www.carid.com/nitrous-oxide...-05134nos.html?singleid=524773707&url=5941401

 

In the 90's for JDM cars it was a gentleman's agreement.

 

Stock engine is good for >400WHP so it'd take it in theory lol