20v motors and TAP chips. Part II (LONG)

[Beatty, Robert]

Brett,

I wasnt stating that the chip itself was bad, i was stating that Ivor is
HORRIBLE when it comes to taking care of his customers, we had a very long
discussion here in the list a few months back about the differences of a
true eprom mod vs a resistor/diode mod and there was virtually no difference
in performance and certainly no evidence that the chips have caused engines
to go boom. I think there are 20-30 5ktq chipped cars on the list, some r/z
like tap and others through SMJ or other sources that are reprogrammed
EPROMs and there havent been any explosions to my knowledge. As far as the
orginal poster goes, I would still suggest to him to go elsewhere for his
20v mod as Ivor has a pretty bad track record for helping out his customers.

Rob

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Brett Dikeman [SMTP:quattro at pdikeman.ne.mediaone.net]
> 
> At 5:18 PM -0500 10/10/00, Eric Fletcher S.O.C. wrote:
> >  > So far I have only received negative feedback
> >>  regarding the TAP products. What's the scoop? Are they
> >>  bad for the engine? Do they not provide what they say
> >>  they do? Both?
> >
> >TAP = BOOM!
> 
> 
> I wouldn't recommend installing the spring you can buy with the chip 
> from TAP; they may not even sell it any more.  That spring -will- 
> cause problems.  Why?  Well, with the wastegate frequency valve 
> completely disconnected, the 3B engine will still get about 1.3 bar 
> of boost.  Installation of the spring will raise that up only god 
> knows how much...closer to the maximum boost the engine would run, 
> stock(1.83 bar.)  Besides, it's not necessary; TAP's 200q20v mod now 
> uses a 2.5 bar sensor; it doesn't need a spring.  According to the 
> previous owner of my ECU, Sarge, the chip is good for "277hp."  Mind 
> you, Sarge's engine blew..but it wasn't because of the chip.  Rather, 
> he noticed large amounts of smoke on startup(very bad sign on a 20v 
> engine) and did nothing for a while.  Not a smart move, and he admits 
> so.  Oh, and his car had something like 200k on it.   This wasn't an 
> S4tt not yet off the lease.
> 
> I've spoken to experienced mechanics who run TAP chips in their own 
> cars and customer cars.  His opinion was that in almost every case he 
> had heard of where a TAP chip was suspected of causing problems, 
> substitution of a stock ECU didn't solve any problems and it was 
> later discovered that there were mechanical(sensor, vacuum, you name 
> it) problems.  I've only heard of a very limited number of actual 
> serious problems(no start conditions and the like), and I suspect the 
> only reason we've heard of them is Igor's bedside manner.  Other 
> tuners probably take care of their customers better, and as a result, 
> that customer doesn't bitch to the world.  That's why you have dozens 
> of honda dealerships in one state...it isn't about the product, it's 
> about the service.
> 
> Find me a car that doesn't work well with a TAP ECU, and I'll show 
> you a car that doesn't work well with a Hoppen or Ned box...and 
> probably not well with a stock ecu, either(though symptoms may be 
> more subtle.)
> 
> My car has a TAP ecu, and I'm happy with it...have been for almost 
> 40,000 miles on a car 500 miles away from its 150,000th mile.  I've 
> been told I've got a little smoke on strong running...but I've seen 
> this in almost every 20v turbo motor of similar vintage or even half 
> the age(actually, I've noticed that S6's tend to have a strong 
> rotten-egg smell under full boost; I did a run with one up to mt 
> washington over several hours.  Every time the hammer dropped, the 
> eggs came out :-)
> 
> I also noticed that my car -really- likes long drives; after about 2 
> hours, the car gets damn zippy and -very- responsive.  Haven't quite 
> figured that one out...
> 
> Brett
> -- 
>