Performance Chip = better gas mileage?

[elbasha]

Hey there,
I have heard some people saying that when you have a performance chip on a sedan it will save you on gas because of the extra tork you will have that won't make the engine need as much pressure to move the car from idle to driving. Any ideas?

[bubba966]

I got a good 3mpg increase on freeway mileage after I installed a Dinan chip on my M-Sport. City mileage is about 1.5 mpg or so better.

I've talked to other people that have also had mpg increases after a chip install. Not sure if it's the added torque. Or the tune for a specific octane. Something else entirely. Or a combination of reasons.

A friend of mine has a '95 525iT. And it could certainly use a torque boost to help with getting going easier. In fact she gets sightly worse mileage than I do in my M-Sport. It kinda annoys her as my engine is a good bit bigger and a lot more powerful. Told her the size of the engine doesn't always equate to gas mileage. Gotta have enough torque to get the car moving efficiently. And the M50B25 in an E34 just doesn't have the torque to do it well enough. Have heard that the 525 does better on gas after chipping. Haven't tried it yet...

[Sam-Son]

ive noticed a def increase in fuel economy with the chip

[Russell]

I "believe" I get slightly better mileage with my chip which I have had for about 3 years. I run mostly Chevron 93 octane. However, I have over 100,000 miles on my o2 sensor so I suspect is is dragging it down a bit.

At 70 MPH I get 27-28 mpg, at 55 to 60 mph or so, 30-31 mpg. Hard to tell in town as I usually get 15 or so in stop and go traffic. Better if taffic is moving well. I generally average 23-24 overall.

[shogun]

It all depends on the chip layout. Nowadays more economy / less fuel consumption is the top priority, some time ago it was higher RPM limit, more HP, more Nm and so on.

I would never buy a chip which promises xxx more HP at RPM's which I seldom use in daily driving routine.

In the end you can also save fuel by throwing out all the unneccesary stuff from the trunk, have the tire pressure always correct and drive not like Ronny Ramjet in his best days from signal light to signal light. Use the engine brake instead of brake, and so on.

[elbasha]

Well I am still thinking of buying the one listed in the main website here for $250. I mean I am not buying it to save on gas, but at the same time I don't want to buy it and actually drop down on the MPG I already have (17 MPG in town mostly). What do you think? is it worth the buy? I mean if I buy it I do want to feel the difference, that's the main reason I want it.

[ScottyWM]

I've had my EAT chip for years now. When I first got it my mileage improved by about 1-2 mpg city. Just make sure you don't offset the mpg gain by sticking your foot in it more often because you will 'feel' an increase in performance (although our wagons are still dogs....). And it does seem to need premium grade, knocks pretty bad when I've tried regular. But you say your only getting 17mpg now? Sounds like you might have other problems. I get 23 city, 28-30 highway. You have the stock M50tu?

[elbasha]

Well I usually speed up at the beginning every time I stop on a traffic light, it is just a habit and that is why I asked a question before about the chip to see if it makes a difference there, I don't really speed at any other time except once in a while when I go in the high way

[93AlpineII]

Hey there,
I have heard some people saying that when you have a performance chip on a sedan it will save you on gas because of the extra tork you will have that won't make the engine need as much pressure to move the car from idle to driving. Any ideas?

An Autothority chip (usually used for Porsche?) was in my M5 upon purchase--and had been for years. Behaves very consistently with over 10K miles of my own now (91K total). I don't have anything to compare it to, but I average 18.4 mpg with a mix of highway / city, and 22.5 on highway. Those numbers, in my opinion, are great for a 16 yr old high compression 6 weighing in at 3800 lbs...

Also, I test drove a Dinan e34 M5 before purchasing mine, which seemed to have noticeably less torque. Of course, that's simply two random cars and not knowing the true history and no dyno test, not a valid comparison. I can say that the Autothority is reliable and strong in my car.

[///Sniper535]

I thought you have to bump up to at least 91 octane with any chip?