[s-cars] New MRC chips

[Richard Tanimura]

I finished the repair of my start motor yesterday and put in the new MRC
chips I got from Mihnea. I have new belts, new top gasket, R&R:d hydraulic
and coolant pump and starter. The car was ready for testing.

I have a 3B. I told Mihnea I wanted chips that put my car as close to an NA
motor as
possible. Not a racing motor exactly, I wanted drivability and a broader
torque band, but responsive with as little lag as possible. I asked for a
2,5 bar MAP instead of the 3 bar. In Sweden there is 95 and 98 RON pump gas.
I run 95.

The first run was for groceries - literally. Good test, drivability is
great. Your grandmother could drive this car and would never know it was
tuned if she stayed off WOT. Very pleasant, tractable motor. I was actually
a little worried because it was so tame in town.

The second, third and fourth runs were successively harder. I think boost
comes on a bit earlier than before. But it is also more obvious that the K24
runs out of
breath at the top end. But this is the more an issue of the
compressor and not the chip. WOT in third is a definite "feel good". I was
seeing 1 - 1,1 bar at WOT. This is for fast on ramps and it will send you
past anything in the slow lane in a hurry.

The freeway was crowded as usual at rush hour. Not much room to really run.
What is fun is pulling into the passing lane at the same time as a car a
hundred yards ahead and seeing how fast you run up his tailpipe. Pedal to
the metal from 130 to 160 kph is much faster than before. Or holding the car
tight in a carousell in 2nd and nailing it at the exit point. Yowza!!

There is a funny flat spot between 160 and 170 kph. It is noticable because
the car heisitates slightly and then picks up again. I don't know what this
is but I will have to work it out with Mihnea. It is also noticable that the
K24 compressor is starting to lose it at these speeds. The car accelerates,
but the real bang is gone. Or maybe there is more to tweak :-)

Last run was from standing still. There is definitely more grunt in 1st. I
am not a stop light jockey so this is not really my thing, but the red line
comes so fast in 1st that you risk missing your shift. 2nd flies past too. I
was getting 1,2 bar for short times.

For those still waiting for your goodies, I would really like to compare
notes when they are installed.

Rich