Chips

If your car has fuel injection and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) the next simplest step at reasonable cost is to fit a performance chip. Power gains for a non-turbo are around 10% and are a staggering 25-30bhp for a turbo. Especially in turbo applications you can't do better in terms of power per pound. Modern turbo-diesel engines such as the Audi 1.9 TDi respond particularly well to chipping. We sell Powerchips at £150 for non-turbo cars and £250 for turbocharged cars. For most applications you need to post your ECU to Powerchips who will chip it and send it back to you the same day but in some applications such as most Fords, a module can be sent in the post which is simply plugged into the ECU.

In naturally aspirated cars (non-turbos) a chip advances the ignition and puts in more fuel. In turbo applications the chip increases the boost pressure or removes the boost limit to allow manual increase of the boost. Companies who program these chips make sure that these alterations are still within the design limits of the engine but they do point out that servicing the engine regularly is even more important than normal.


Camshafts
Next up is a cam (or pair of cams in the case of most modern engines). The most popular option for road applications is a cam of around 270 degrees duration which Piper Cams call a 'Fast Road' cam and Kent Cams call a 'Sports' cam. These still idle OK and can give around 12bhp extra at the higher end of the rev range. The trade-off is usually a decrease in torque at the bottom end but this varies between applications. Usually a chip combined with a performance cam will maintain torque at the low end as well as increased power over the whole range, so this is a great combination. Note that you do need to be a proficient home mechanic to fit a cam, so if you are not, you will need to get it fitted at a garage - allow around 2 hours for labour - most garages charge about £30 per hour.

Power Boost Valves
There's only one name in the market for Power Boost Valves and that's FSE Glencoe. Contrary to popular belief these do not increase the power of your car but they do usually give you better throttle response. A Power Boost Valve is a replacement for the fuel pressure regulator in the fuel line which is found in the return fuel line to the fuel tank, so it is actually a back-pressure regulator. This often confuses people when fitting them because its more natural to think of controlling the pressure downstream of something than upstream. What the Boost Valve does is allow the pressure in the fuel rail to recover more quickly to the required pressure when a sudden demand is made upon it when you put your foot down. FSE quote a figure of 1.7 times faster than standard. If you know what you are doing you can adjust the fuel line pressure with the Boost Valve - there is a screw in the top and you can purchase a fuel pressure gauge that attaches to the side of the valve. Its kind of like playing around with jet sizes in a carburettor. We must point out though that you really do need to know what you are doing if you are going to adjust the fuel pressure. If you make it too low, the engine will run lean and this can cause things to melt such as pistons. Boost Valves come pre-set at the correct pressure for each engine.

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