Increased power without consequences

[LiquidVX]

I was originally writing a reply with a question then I realized maybe it should have its own thread.

BeeVenom asked about a chip in another thread which he found to be a scam.

My question is; are there any legitimate companies that can remap the ECU for our engines?

Ideally I am looking for increased performance without significantly shortening the lifespan of other components. I come from building turbo cars and really have no experience with superchargers. Solid heads and remapping the ECU were a must for my turbo cars. If I am able to find a supercharger should I take these precautions to prevent lean conditions and detonation, or is the pressure low enough to not worry about it?

Scenario 2 is where I do not find a supercharger and just go with cold air intake and dual exhaust front to back. In this scenario I think modifying the ECU would still have benefits.

Has anyone DYNOed the results of my second scenario, and if so what was the gains?

[Triathlete]

I think in previous discussions it was found that Isuzu did a pretty good job in mapping our ECU's and there was a not room for very much improvement (someone correct me if I am wrong). There were a few people who looked into this in the past.
As far as dual exhaust...IF done right it can give a HP boost. If done incorrectly it can cause HP decrease. The VX is not set up to well for a true cold air intake. You can open it up so that it breaths a little better though.
I am sure the power junkies will pitch in here shortly.:bwgy:

[Marlin]

The concept of getting a money worth it gain without risk of damaging components is not realistic. No pain, no gain. You may get a few out of intake and exhaust, but as Billy said, the intake is pretty good. if you look at where the suction is, its actually in the wheel well outside the engine compartment. Short of a ram air, I cannot see the difference. I have the Injen intake, I don't know if its faster or not, but it sounds a lot cooler;)

[Mile High VX]

I put a K&N on my Accord that picks up in front of the driver side wheel well along with custom dual exhaust. Gave me another 30 HP, but it reduced my gas mileage by 5 mpg as well (and this was after I quit enjoying the sound of the new flow)...:smilewink:bwgy::bgwo::bgwb:

[Ldub]

My question is; are there any legitimate companies that can remap the ECU for our engines?

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=14000&highlight=HP+heaven

http://hpheaven.street-directory.com.au/

[LiquidVX]

Excellent. So it seems keeping it naturally aspirated and giving it a free flow exhaust is the way to go. Thanks guys.

[Ldub]

Here is a power programmer from Jet...says for Accura, but we all know what motor they mean when they refer to 6VE1...:smilewink

Don't know a thing about it, just throwin' it out there...

http://www.familycar.com/store/?Ntt=acura+slx+power+programmer&oes=true

[blacksambo]

Any power increase = lower gas mileage. Power=reduced efficiency. End of story. That's what engineering is all about. Heck engineers don't even need proof of concept to earn a patent. Said differently, they worked it a long time ago.

[Moncha]

We've even had members (Mainly Tone, God Bless Him!) try to polish and go as far as ceramic coat his intake manifold to improve in-flow. I've seen ceramic coated exhaust, exhausts with minimal bends, duals set up different ways, different mufflers, different tips, different cats, no cats, just about anything you could imagine, it's been done. Results were verified by actual and 1/4 times with computations while being hooked to equipment dyno not just by how it feels or the "Butt Dyno" and guess what, Isuzu got it right. There was very little improvement without major sacrifice in economy.

The best power improvement was/is (if you ever find a kit again) the Supercharger. But again, the economy goes out the door.

The end result is, the VX is what it is.

[blacksambo]

We've even had members (Mainly Tone, God Bless Him!) try to polish and go as far as ceramic coat his intake manifold to improve in-flow. I've seen ceramic coated exhaust, exhausts with minimal bends, duals set up different ways, different mufflers, different tips, different cats, no cats, just about anything you could imagine, it's been done. Results were verified by actual and 1/4 times with computations while being hooked to equipment dyno not just by how it feels or the "Butt Dyno" and guess what, Isuzu got it right. There was very little improvement without major sacrifice in economy.

The best power improvement was/is (if you ever find a kit again) the Supercharger. But again, the economy goes out the door.

The end result is, the VX is what it is.

Well said!

[Chopper]

short of an entire driveline transplant....we're stuck with the anemic wheezy setup we have.....we're only 120bhp and about 100 torques away from state of the art.....for a modern 4 banger (boosted) or a 3litre normally aspirated six pot engine.....a 1984 engine hooked to a 1978 transmission :( at least the body looks kinda cool

[Marlin]

Any power increase = lower gas mileage. Power=reduced efficiency. End of story. That's what engineering is all about. Heck engineers don't even need proof of concept to earn a patent. Said differently, they worked it a long time ago.

Hmm, not 100% true. Maximum power transfer actually occurs at 50% efficiency. Most large engines/motors are designed for 50% efficiency in order to achieve max power transfer. Engines such as this monster:http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/emma-maersk-engine/

[blacksambo]

short of an entire driveline transplant....we're stuck with the anemic wheezy setup we have.....we're only 120bhp and about 100 torques away from state of the art.....for a modern 4 banger (boosted) or a 3litre normally aspirated six pot engine.....a 1984 engine hooked to a 1978 transmission :( at least the body looks kinda cool

Well, you've got to remember the VX is technically more than 27 years old. And maybe older than that, since the edition hit the Tokyo Auto Show in 1993, and it had to be on the drawing board before that. Enjoy your VX like the venerable antique it is.

[vt_maverick]

2010 - 1993 = 17

;)

[Gussie2000]

Isuzu is probably the only japanese automarker that never were eager to produce high performance vehicules.

With the exception of couple of cars Isuzu wasn't into the high performance market like other jap automarkers such as toyota,honda & nissan.

I always considered that with such outstanding SUV isuzu also had to drop into the VX an unique engine & not this 3.5L. Period :mad:

[blacksambo]

2010 - 1993 = 17

;)

Of course that's a typo. But the point is the same. You guts can't escape the fact that the VX is only seven years away from AACA official antique auto status. But the design was even closer at the original '93 launch point. Wake up and smell the coffee, dreamers, and love this vehicle for the outstanding design merit that it exhibits. It was a design excersise that came true. That alone is pretty special.

[BigMeatVX]

The trannys an old deisign...but where do you get the engine 1984 idea?:upsetgray
In 1984 things were mostly still carburated and pushrod....:winkgray:

What era are you from?:confused:

[blacksambo]

The trannys an old deisign...but where do you get the engine 1984 idea?:upsetgray
In 1984 things were mostly still carburated and pushrod....:winkgray:

What era are you from?:confused:

1993 was was 17 years ago. That was the VX launch era, not 1984. Although, it was on the drawing board before 1993, probably at least three years before. Now we're debating whether it should be a performance upgrade candidate? That's like thinking you should be boosting performance on a Mercury Sable, or something. It's just passe technology-wise.

And your very right the transmission was a huge weak spot. If the VX was meant to really perform they would have offered a standard transmission. But they didn't, although it shows up in the parts book due to the fact that Isuzu built five VX's that way for Rally Racing.

[BigMeatVX]

My VX now has a Manual tranny!!! and your right it is more performace adept now., than the sluishbox ever was..(but at least it had power and winter modes)...However, the engine on the VX was ADVANCED for its day (either '93 or 99') however you want to look at it, from the six coils, to the Vairable length intake manifold.4 heated oxygen sensors..Isuzu was at the forfront of engine technology 98-04..... look at the direct injection Axiom engine....Years ahead of its time, as just recently other automakers are starting to mass produce such rare, Isuzu normalness...LOL
Only quite recently, have other manufactures surpassed the 2004 axiom 250Hp point, on naturally assperated 3.5 DOHC V6s....:yesy:

[Triathlete]

I am still looking at the GM 700 as an auto replacement when my tranny dies. More replacement and aftermarket parts and can get them pretty cheap. I out grew the manual thing long ago.

[Gussie2000]

My VX now has a Manual tranny!!! and your right it is more performace adept now., than the sluishbox ever was..(but at least it had power and winter modes)...However, the engine on the VX was ADVANCED for its day (either '93 or 99') however you want to look at it, from the six coils, to the Vairable length intake manifold.4 heated oxygen sensors..Isuzu was at the forfront of engine technology 98-04..... look at the direct injection Axiom engine....Years ahead of its time, as just recently other automakers are starting to mass produce such rare, Isuzu normalness...LOL
Only quite recently, have other manufactures surpassed the 2004 axiom 250Hp point, on naturally assperated 3.5 DOHC V6s....:yesy:

You got all the fact together buddy ! :)

[LiquidVX]

so then CIA, manual tranny like BigMeatVX, and dual exhaust. I really only wanted maybe 30 extra hp. I understand more than that will be costly in the long run. I had a Mitsubishi Starion back in the day and it seemed I was constantly building and rebuilding the car after modifications. First the turbo, then the engine, then the trans... Eventually the entire drive line was replaced and really only the body was the same.

I love the VX for what it is, just wanted a few extra hp without the near endless cycle of modification. But then that's really half the fun isn't it.