someone tell me what is up with these eBay power modules

[khartley]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7914036535&category=33598

ok, what's the scam here? what's up with these stupid things...there is no way that they even work.

 

[herovueboi]

waste of money, it tricks the engine into running rich as hell and ur gas miliage will suck ass. heck, your car will run like ass!!! oh yea, and they do work though...just not a good way to make power, what you get is a register in a package and says...plug this here and your done....it's ghey!!!

 

[khartley]

so if they work, but make your car run like ass, then how do they work? it doesn't make sense.

 

[awd4g63]

You don't gain horsepower by injecting more fuel, you gain it by taking away as much fuel as safely (without knock) possible.

 

[98RedGs]

It dosen't work.
It is a waste of money.
Close the window and don't look back.

 

[khartley]

i wasn't going to get one, I was just wondering what is up with them. it seemed scketchy, but alot of people said it was worth the money - doesn't take much to make it worth 5 bucks tho I guess

 

[LaserDad91]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7914036535&category=33598

ok, what's the scam here? what's up with these stupid things...there is no way that they even work.

Not sure if they work or not, but in theory, they could. Very crude and simple explanation below:

Most all the sensors on a car, create an electrical signal that the ECU receives and then makes adjustments to “tune” the engine to the current conditions. The signal is usual in tenths of a volt or smaller. This “tuning” is by adjusting timing, fuel, etc. If a turbo, there may be some boost changes, depending on the ECU system.

So, what this chip is supposed to do is trick the ECU into thinking it is colder outside than it really is……….. The colder the temp, the more dense the air (ie, more air is “compacted” per unit area, so more enters the engine). Remember chemistry and how temperature affects a “GAS”.

The more dense the air, the more fuel required to keep the proper mix. MORE AIR + MORE FULE => MORE POWER!! Not real sure if timing is advanced or not, cannot verify. The ECU may advanced it slightly to take into account the above.

Timing advanced means the spark plug will fire before the piston reaches TDC. Firing sooner ignites the fuel air mix sooner, allowing a more complete “burn”. The piston meanwhile is compressing the mix the whole time. After TDC, (piston is moving down), the high pressure explosive mix releases, and you get more power. To much advance, you destroy your pistons!!

So, by changing the resistance in the electrics, you are changing the signal that the ECU sees, and thus, changing the outputs based on that signal!!!

Here is the key to all of this, and any engine mods is:

MORE AIR + MORE FULE => MORE POWER!!

The mix must be BALENCED to give you more power. This is what the ECU is tuning. Yes, you can gain more power by adding more air to the mix, to “lean” the fuel/air mixture. Why?? Well, by adding more air into the combustion chamber, which is a fixed volume, the “mix” is being COMPRESSED more, increasing the internal PRESSURE, increasing the POWER. Liquid gas does not burn, only the “fumes” burn. Therefore, if you have no extra air to mix with the extra gas, you gain nothing.

Note: Increased power, increases stress to engine components.

So, if you are adding more fuel, but the air is not dense enough to evaporate that fuel, you are wasting fuel. But, if you do adjust the timing slightly, (advancing it so the spark fires sooner before TDC), you could gain a little increase in power, since you would be allowing more time for that extra fuel to burn…..

Frankly, I don’t trust it. I have seen “kits” where you can turn this feature on and off, and adjust it. That would be interesting.
That is what all the little puters guys put on their cars do, allow you to trick the ECU, and add more fuel, to all the extra air that is being shoved into the motor by the bigger turbo!

What would worry me on these ebay kits is if the timing is changing, how much? To much advance, detonation!!! More critical if you have a turbo. Do you want to run that setting all the time, cause yes, your fuel mileage will go down. If you can turn it on and off, can you do this while the car is going down the highway, or would you break something, cause, the timing changed??

I concluded, it was not worth the risk. All my years of snowmobiling taught me the ins and outs of fuel mixes. I have many souvenir pistons to prove it!!

Sorry so long of a post! Hope this helps.

 

[khartley]

awesome, thanks laserdad!!!

 

[LaserDad91]

awesome, thanks laserdad!!!

Your welcome! Basic theory of engine mods is easy, making it all work is something else. I may not be totally techy correcty, but, I do understand the basics.

I don't understand all the puter stuff right now, (just hooking it all up and learing the technology, u know) and being a Dad, I don't have time to mess with it.............yet!!

I miss the days with my old Cuda, and all the time I had to mess with her!! But, those days are coming..........again!

 

[Defiant]

Not sure if they work or not, but in theory, they could.

Ah, but in reality, they don't.

At all.

 

[Tallen]

If its too good to be true, its not true. Going of ebay, I could get a downpipe, add 20hp, an intake adding 20hp, and this chip addding 20hp. Thats $60 HP for around $200. How about no.

 

[LaserDad91]

Ah, but in reality, they don't.

At all.

My intention was not to try to indicate that they did work at all. Just some basic "engine logic" to consider.