ive seen sites that sell IAT (intake air temperature) chips. One of my friends installed one on his cavallier and he said he noticed a really nice increase in power. I've heard from some people that they work... but then can cause problems in the future. I was just wondering what people think/know about these things. ( Im just planning on installing one until August, then taking it out)

 

I think its a bad idea. We are talking about the "chips" which fool your computer into thinking its like 40 degrees colder or so outside right? (thus this chip is simply a resistor). There is a reason your cars fuel map is programmed like it is. Honda Engineers spent countless hours testing different fuel curves to get the most optimal map for stock/near stock trim, so why mess with it? Blindly changing the ECUs fuel curve without tuning is never a good idea.

anyway: if im right in thinking that it makes the ECU think its colder, then it would dump more fuel into the engine causing it to run rich and lose power
If it fools the ECU into thinking its hotter outside it would lean the fuel curve possibly causing increased power, but also rasing the chance of detonation.

I would honestly believe your friends noticeable increase in power is more of a mental thing.

 

red, white, gold, gold
That is the color code of the resistor they are selling on ebay. Go to the Radio Shack and ask them for that resistor. If they don't have this value resistor get something close to that value like less than 1 ohm. Stick it in to your air sensor and ENJOY. Tell us if you saw a major power gain and if your quarter mile time went down by a second.

 

It does slightly give a little boost but not much.., Sacicons should step in on this one... hell tell you the skinny on those BS resistors. In a nut shell, they destroy your engine. I talked to one guy who had one in his neon.... it caught fire becasue of it.

 

ok, without getting into the long version of how an engine works, we all know that colder air is better, right? well thats because it denser and keeps the AF mixture from detonating. when its cold out, the engine senses that and advances the timing and leans out the AF ratios. normally, this isnt a good idea because both of those things can cause detonation. but, at the brink of detonation is where the most power is. if the computer is giving the AF ratios and timing maps for 50 degree ambient temps, and its 90-100 gegrees out, then detonation is a sure thing. so, that little chip makes the ecu think that its cooler outside than it really is. you can draw your own conclusion as to what can happen.[:@]

 

Pronouncing IAT chip almost makes me wanna say "Idiot chip" [sm=happybounce.gif]