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Post by mutch on Apr 21, 2006 8:55:51 GMT -6
I read on here about an online shop that sold performance chips for the rora. I clicked on the link in that the fourm to take a look and see what this guys had available. Once at the page I noticed that the phone number on his page had a matching area code for Alberta. Since I live in Calgary I figured I'd give him a call and see where this guy is located. Turns out that he owns a garage in a small town about an hour and a half away from the city. I called him up and drove out last night to take a look and see what the scoop would be. He took my computer apart, removed the chip, reprogramed it, tossed it back in and said take it for a rip. I fired it back up- no error codes- and hit the secondary highway to see if there was a difference. I stopped at the beginning of an 8 mile straight run and romped on it. Tires chirped and I took off- 1gear, 65km/h, shift- 2nd gear, 130km/h, shift- 3rd gear, @ just over 4500 rpm- 180km/h and still climbing like nothing. I let off the pedal and slowed back down to highway speeds and went wow!! I still had another entire gear to eat up, but didn't bother testing that one out as the first three were more than enough at this point. I first wanted to visit to see if this reprogram would fix the shifting in my tranny, and it did. At about 1500 in 3rd I would begin to accel and the motor would respond and hit to 2000 and then immediatly fall right back to 1500 and have no more rpm increase untill I hit the kickdown. He explained that this was in the programming from GM and that it would be fixed with this mod. This shifting is tighter, there is no kickdown lag (IMMEDIATE POWER) and the legs are much longer- as he altered the shift points. He said to expect about a 2-4 MPG increase in fuel econmy and anywhere from 15-25% in HP. I can tell you that if you are at all interested in taking "sleeper" to the next level- get this chip. It fixes all of those small annoyances that you notice when you are driving that no one seems to know how to address. I was up till 1 a.m. last night just driving around testing out- can't wait untill I get off work today to return the the streets. Trust me it is worth the $329.00. If anyone has any questions, I'll be more than happy to fill you in.
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Post by SupaStealth on Apr 21, 2006 9:14:19 GMT -6
yeah, what year auroras is this for. 38-63hp just from a chip, especially for the aurora seems a little hard to believe, but dyno sheets never lie  |
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Post by mutch on Apr 21, 2006 9:42:45 GMT -6
Mine is a '95. Same color as yours posted. Have some Helo 18's with Z-rated, WAI, new flomaster system- I'll post pics when I take some. But yea, I was seriously suprised! For one, with the wheels and rubber I have on it right now, I've never broke traction, but last night turning onto our main highway I left some rubber behind- about the length of the car. I didn't get this for the performance end of things per se- more for the tranny issues I was encountering, which it did fix. The performance perks of the chip just came as an added bonus. This guys shop is really wild and has cars lined up to get in for custom tuning. He has been doing this for 20 years and has a really good understanding of fine tuning EFI Computers. I'll try and get some video for the site here with some good performance footage.
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Post by stevensolds on Apr 21, 2006 9:59:39 GMT -6
Please get us some video mutch. I was debating on whether or not I should do this before. If my PCM ever blows in this thing I'm replacing it with that one for sure. This is the only good thing about the 1995 model. Do you have the autobahn package or not? Since you got this done now and have experienced the results that is more than enough to sell someone one it.
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Post by SupaStealth on Apr 21, 2006 10:11:06 GMT -6
if he can do OBDII chips i'd be interested after someone else has a good experience with him , its too bad that the OBDI was only for the 95 aurora. |
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Post by Aurora40 on Apr 21, 2006 10:43:25 GMT -6
For one, with the wheels and rubber I have on it right now, I've never broke traction, but last night turning onto our main highway I left some rubber behind- about the length of the car. At least on the 2nd gen cars, the PCM applies torque management at a start, which is why you can't do much of a burnout. Removing this probably won't reduce ET's but will probably reduce tranny life. GM put it in there for a reason. Glad you are happy with the chip, but simply putting a shift kit in a car can make it feel faster, though it doesn't add a single horsepower. If there is 25% more horsepower to be had in the tune of a stock car, then GM's calibration engineers should all be fired. |
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Post by mutch on Apr 21, 2006 11:11:52 GMT -6
He had just given me a range on the HP according to the specs of the chip on a computer model. I'm more interested in the MPG compared across the change. The most impressive part was the expanded range of the shifting. When pulled up and he said that he enjoyed these cars because its a "poster child" of sleeper cars.
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Post by 95mushroom on Apr 21, 2006 11:23:32 GMT -6
It's a reprogram of the chip, not an additional chip? I was thinking maybe of a back to back track comparison, as $329 is more attractive then $429.
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Post by JimW on Apr 21, 2006 11:37:33 GMT -6
Sounds interesting. There will definitely be naysayers when something like this is mentioned. We Aurora owners tend to be skeptical people, simply because the aftermarket is so tiny and uncharted.
If he ever wants or can do OBD2, he'd have a few customers.
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Post by Wacko on Apr 21, 2006 11:41:18 GMT -6
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Post by Aurora40 on Apr 21, 2006 13:32:02 GMT -6
Sounds interesting. There will definitely be naysayers when something like this is mentioned. We Aurora owners tend to be skeptical people, simply because the aftermarket is so tiny and uncharted. Not trying to naysay. It just seems very unlikely. There are things that can improve I'm sure. Maybe the factory calibration is a bit rich, you might get a little power leaning it out a tad. Bumping the shift points maybe, etc. But 25% power? How could anyone explain that on a stock car? I don't feel chips are pointless, but they work with other mods or change other behaviors. They don't tend to add much power. If you burned one specific for your car, then that might help. But you'd need a dyno and wideband or something to do that. Maybe it helps with and exhaust mod and an intake or something though. I dunno. You could always take it to the track and shut us all up. |
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Post by mutch on Apr 21, 2006 13:45:39 GMT -6
Each chip is programmed specifically to the car, and what you would like it to do- which is why he requires your VIN and chip number. I'm not overly concerned about other thoughts on the chip/ performance side of things- I'm very happy with the purchase and thought that I would share the info with others as they might be interested in similar improvements. As JimW mentioned these aren't exactly your typical tuner cars, and people begin to shutter with discussion of mods as the rora is often known for having certain issues from the get go without tinkering with them. My intention is not to claim that this chip is going to make you car the be all-end all, but it will certainly make very noticable improvments of the performance of your car, and IMO very worth the money for the re-programming of the chip.
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Post by Marc on Apr 21, 2006 13:58:44 GMT -6
At least on the 2nd gen cars, the PCM applies torque management at a start, which is why you can't do much of a burnout. I have thought for a long time that programming like torque management holds back the Aurora's performance potential a lot. I really don't think that the 4T80E is so fragile that it needs that. |
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Post by stevensolds on Apr 22, 2006 23:11:45 GMT -6
Marc i agree with you on that but a vehicle with a lot of miles may be a different story It always bugged me about the TM issue because we arent even using the full torque rating of the gearbox, its something like 305 or 320 lb. ft max. why in the world would you need TM? |
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Post by 95mushroom on Apr 23, 2006 0:26:15 GMT -6
Any luck with some video yet?
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Post by JimW on Apr 23, 2006 7:33:45 GMT -6
Steve, TM is there to prolong the life of the 4T80, and to retain the "luxury" of the car. Remember the target market when the car was introduced was probably aimed at a buyer that would appreciate torque management.
I'd also say it has a lot to do with fuel efficiency, keeping the tq down will do that...a 3800 S/C goes through a LOT of gas thanks to gobs of low end tq and what seems to be very little TM.
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Post by Letitroll98 on Apr 23, 2006 10:11:40 GMT -6
And mutch, I'm quite certain that A40 wasn't saying the purchase of a chip for the '95 is not worth the money. If you're happy with the change and the customer service from a good shop owner, then we want to hear it. But I have to agree that a 15-25% increase in hp is unlikely. An improved shift program and a few extra hp from leaning out the mix and moving the retardation map would feel like a 15-25% increase in hp, and that's what you're buying. Enjoy, and thanks for the report.
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Post by unirok on Apr 23, 2006 12:40:54 GMT -6
I think my car is pretty peppy already. Cant imaging how it would feel with the chip. I know my F150 came stock with a 5.4 and 300 hp and was a dog then had the computer reprogrammed and it flies like a different truck.
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Post by vojtazbrna on Apr 24, 2006 20:46:35 GMT -6
I was just gonna ask about that. My friend has a F250 diesel and told me he got some kinda chip and now it has over 500 hp. You can tell the difference just when he steps on the gas. First you see a cloud of smoke from the tires and then you see the truck flying outta there.
How is it possible that they can make a chip(that works) like that for a truck and not for the Aurora?
Mutch, do you think he could do this for the OBDII then? It would be nice to at least get rid of the speed limiter.
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Post by testosterone1 on Apr 25, 2006 0:33:12 GMT -6
What happens to your gas mileage when you use chips like the Wester chip?
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Post by Aurora40 on Apr 25, 2006 8:13:42 GMT -6
I was just gonna ask about that. My friend has a F250 diesel and told me he got some kinda chip and now it has over 500 hp. You can tell the difference just when he steps on the gas. First you see a cloud of smoke from the tires and then you see the truck flying outta there. How is it possible that they can make a chip(that works) like that for a truck and not for the Aurora? Most diesels are turbos. Most modern turbos have boost that is controlled by the PCM. Thus, it's not too hard to boost power on them with a chip change... Diesels in general might be more conservatively tuned than gasoline vehicles. I dunno, I'm not a diesel guy. I did figure the cloud of smoke you were going to mention was from out of the tailpipe, though. It seems like diesels that have been chipped leave a smokescreen when the driver steps on it. And yes, like Dan said, I'm not saying it's not worth the money. It's totally worth it if you are happy with it for the price. I'd certainly like a reprogram so my car would shift at 6,400 in all gears at WOT, not just the 1-2 shift. I don't expect it would raise the horsepower, but I'd still be willing to pay for it. |
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Post by unirok on Apr 25, 2006 9:34:46 GMT -6
Yeah my F150 is a 5.4 Sohc with 300 hp. The chip programmer makes the transmission shift better and takes off the limiter etc. the performance tune enables my truck to spin tires till tomorrow. Anyway it would be nice if they made a programmer for the Aurora but to my knowledge most programmers are for Ford vehicles these days.
I kinda am okay with the performance the Aurora has. Its very close to the same performance as my GXP...just not as tight and more bouncy.
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Post by Marc on Apr 25, 2006 14:14:24 GMT -6
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Post by parts68 on May 7, 2006 6:04:22 GMT -6
Steve, TM is there to prolong the life of the 4T80, and to retain the "luxury" of the car. Remember the target market when the car was introduced was probably aimed at a buyer that would appreciate torque management. I'd also say it has a lot to do with fuel efficiency, keeping the tq down will do that...a 3800 S/C goes through a LOT of gas thanks to gobs of low end tq and what seems to be very little TM. We have a 97 GTP that regularly gets 33-35 MPG hiway,Never under 20 in city only loop.I like to think its having cake and eating it too. My 96 Rora at best can squeeze 28 MPG. That was my average on a 1400 mile trip. Average speed was 62MPH so I wasnt milking it. |
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Post by lightblurora on May 7, 2006 15:10:54 GMT -6
I haven't had my car too long, and recently found out it did not have the autobahn package, and was wondering if a chip would take off the limiter, I saw that it did for the F-150 and was wondering if it would for my 95 Aurora too, it just rides too smooth at like 110 to not be able to go over 115-120, it's annoying.
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Post by unirok on May 7, 2006 18:42:20 GMT -6
Mine does have the Autobaun package but I never feel the need to go 120+ mph. Where do you drive at that quick?
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Post by Marc on May 7, 2006 18:47:09 GMT -6
There are many roads in the central & western areas of the USA where you can get going that fast.
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Post by lightblurora on May 7, 2006 19:13:38 GMT -6
Yea I was in I think West Virginia when I tried it, I had a long stretch of highway that I could see ahead of me so there was no cops, and the speed limit was already 70 so I just gunned it just to see what she had. Also, what about the question about the chip, will a performance chip take off the limiter?  ? |
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Post by parts68 on May 7, 2006 19:20:21 GMT -6
If anyone has one I would like to test for evaluation.
Will supply a stock one while testing as well as a fee
and deposit.
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Post by unirok on May 8, 2006 10:58:03 GMT -6
There are many roads in the central & western areas of the USA where you can get going that fast. I meant legally.......lol ;D or maybe not |
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