Im notice that Jet is offering a ECU reprograming for the Prius, has anyone tried this or would I be the first here? David
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 16 2006, 12:35 AM) [snapback]320430[/snapback]</div> www.jetchip.com me thinks. They make aftermarket mods for computer chips. Had one for a GMC pick up helped more with burning gas then changing the power band. Some folks love them . (shell,b.p. , citgo, ect)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ Sep 16 2006, 05:43 AM) [snapback]320482[/snapback]</div> They have the Prius listed HERE, but it doesn't list any programming that's specific to the Prius, only a general description of tuning improvements throughout the entire powerband. I doubt it would have any significant impact, and they may be just assuming they can do it since they have the Prius ECU upgrade clumped into the 2001-2006 production years. Unless they list specific Prius performance increases, I'd wager a guess that there isn't anything major that they can do to our ECU.
I had a chip from JET for my Explorer. It made more power WITHOUT it. I switched to one from Superchips and it was a huge improvement. Maybe it was only a problem with my particular model, but I'm not too impressed with JET products.
When I had my Prius on the chassis dyno at work the air/fuel ratio was very lean. It was aprox 15.5:1 so I suspect that richening up the fuel mixture can definately result in more power/torque at the expense of fuel economy. My personal experience with aftermarket "chips" has been poor however YMMV.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BT Tech @ Sep 16 2006, 06:39 PM) [snapback]320623[/snapback]</div> Yes, there were about 5 chips available for my model Explorer, and three of them were complete crap. Like I said, mine ran better WITHOUT the JET chip. Two others though, Diablo and one other I can't remember offhand actually made some real power. Still three out of five is pretty bad odds. I wasted $300 on one, paid another $300 for a second, which was pretty good, then spent another $450 for a really good one. I'll sit this one out...
The proper way to have a car "tuned" for maximum performance would be to have it put on a load generating chassis dyno like the one I use everyday at work. I use a Dynojet 248c with load generating to simulate rear world driving conditions. Using propriatary software I am able to adjust just about everything from torque management, ignition timing througout the entire RPM range, Injector flow rates, MAF conversions, A/F ratio..etc..etc..etc.. Unfortuantely this is for LS-1, LS-2, LS-6 and LS-7 based engines and NOT the Prius... It was a lot of fun putting the Prius on the dyno that day though!! I had to figure out how to get around the traction control to be able to do a few runs though.. If I could get my hands on the software that communicates with the PCM in the Prius then THAT would be the ticket and we could make some real power gains however this would be at the expense of fuel mileage. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ Sep 16 2006, 06:48 PM) [snapback]320624[/snapback]</div>
well... that sounds like an option at times. I wouldn't mind lower fuel economy numbers for a couples hours of playing around. My brother has a programming module on his F350. it's a Huge performance increase. there is econo mode, tow mode, and performance mode. each mode has 3 levels. there is also a manual configuration, so you can select your own preferences.. even shifting timing... I think his was Edge products
I must be really old. If I had a chip mod like that I would want it to make the Pri even more economical *not* faster!
I'll gladly take some extra power gains at the expense of mileage. If it's a like a switch that could be turned on/off, it'd be great for those fun jaunts through the mountains.
Why do people want to figure out how to get more power out of the ICE when there is a lot of unused torque available from the electric motor? The cleanmpg folks who tested the factory phev-6 reported a lot better "performance" with the ecu reflash which allows for more draw from the pack. Figure out how to reprogram/trick the ecu to pull more from the pack in short bursts, then turn it off and let the computer regen as normal.
The reason about the the better performance is the factory PHEV has double battery pack and more battery power than the normal Prius. The ECU reflash on the normal Prius does not mean improving battery performance. Ken@Japan
