Stock ’06 xB with auto transmission. What would you do first for some extra horsepower? Not very mechanically inclined, but I have generic tools and can follow instructions. I’m thinking simple bolt-on parts direct-swap, air filters, chips, etc.

Anyone?

 

Cold Air Intake.

 

search button, but intake header exhuast are your easiest bets. if you get better with cars, nitrous is the cheapest bang for your buck, and is pretty safe in small doses on our cars.

 

I 2nd this notion!

 

A header will give you the most noticeable gain.

 

Start with quality parts , Header , Intake , exhaust. As your budget sees fit.

The better these little guys breath the better.

just remember , if it goes in , it hasta come out.Best gains will be seen with all three.

 

cold air intake for high rpm gains... a short ram intake for low rpm gains

4-1 header for high rpm gains... 4-2-1 header for low to mid rpm gains

and a free flowing cat back system of your choice

 

our cars like high rpms anyway, i would for higher rpm gains, for how small they are, they tend to have good torque already lol

 

yeah but i lost low end power with a cai and 4-1 header but got it all back at highway speeds, and i don't take the highway much

with the set up i have now its best of all 3 worlds low, mid and high power

sri, 4-1 header, and a custom cat back

 

thats what i have sri 4-1 and 21/4 catback, so i seem to be fine all around, my high rpm is still the best, and im on the highway often is it works for me lol.

 

Thanks for the tips so far.
Any luck with the chips I've seen advertised? Do they really work?

 

There are no chips for our cars. Don't buy any of those ebay "chips". They are junk.

 

Then you have personal experience with them?

Or just what other people have to say ?

 

its what other ppl say and its just a radio shack resistor anyways in a P-box

 

Exactly what JCT said.......It's just a stupid resistor that just tricks your ecu to constantly run as if the car is in warm up mode. It's just bad

 

And just what do all the piggy back systems do ?



Piggy-back Fuel Controllers
Piggy-back fuel controllers are popular because they allow users to modify stock fuel injection without replacing the entire ECU. They operate in various ways. Some of them modify the injector duty cycle control signals as they travel from the ECU to the injectors. Others modify input data to the ECU (like MAF for example), effectively “tricking” the ECU into delivering more or less fuel at a given RPM. Regardless of how exactly the piggy-back works, you’ll want to measure the results of any modifications you make to your fueling map.

Even if you can’t tune the piggy-back (some are fixed and not user programmable), you’ll want to make a log before and after you add the piggy-back. This helps you evaluate what exactly it’s trying to do, and avoid dangerous lean conditions or wastefully rich conditions. If you can tune your piggy-back, use the LM-1 to carefully tune every cell of your fuel map.

Here are some links of the more popular piggy-back fuel controllers:

Greddy e-Manage
Edge Performance
Bully-dog
APEXi PowerFC & AFC-II
Perfect Power
HKS F-Con and AFC
Split Second
MAP ECU
ERL MF-2

So you are saying the "Poorman's" version of a piggy back system doesn't work by taking someone on the internets word for it..........HMMMMMMMMMMM OK if you say so.

 

...

 

LOL!!!!..... Wow......Real cute, alright I'll bite.

These "performance chips" are just little resistors that use you IAT/MAF and trick it to thinking its always cold out. Making the car use more fuel and timing when it shouldn't be since the actual air being sucked in by the engine is much hotter. Really all you're doing is messing things up. Have I bought one of these? Hellz no. I'm not some retard who's easily fooled by ebay scammers. I do know they do not work because someone I do know had gotten one for his xA and it cause problems with the car. When I found out he had put one in I told him to get rid of it and the car ran fine..... Coincidence???? I think not.

As for you throwing around all the Piggyback systems....those are legit and do increase power when properly tuned using forced induction. All a piggyback does is intercept information from your stock ecu and sends out the new information to your engine components, since the stock computer was never designed to compensate for all that extra air. They're used to add more fuel and controll timing since by adding a blower you are creating an extreme lean condition that your stock ecu and injectors were never designed to be able to correct properly. You have to have some know how or find someone with the knowhow and a dyno so you can spend some time programing it so your car will run smoothly and safet. Basically you use a Piggyback for forced induction so your car doesn't go BOOM!....With to cheap "performance chip" from ebay will just do damage to your ride.

O and maybe you should not take someone's word that a cheap "performance chip" actually works just cuz they advertised it on ebay. And out of your list, the only one that's made for our cars is the Greddy Piggyback. Stuff like that "bully dog" are for trucks and are pretuned reprogrammers, and NO ONE makes those for our car.

 

Think I'll stay away from the chips. Thanks.
(Unless they're chocolate and in cookies)

 

See here we go , a friend, of a friend, of a friend , who did no testing installed one of the "universal e-bay chips" ( chances are the wrong resistance was used and the perp didn't install properly.)

What ever , still if you reasearch it a bit, All, repeat ALL piggy back systems only "trick" your system in the same way as the resistor. With the resistor people install them with out the proper knowledge because they just think it is plug-and-play.
Same damage can be done using any of the high priced piggy-back systems,by installers not having the proper knowledge.
And they (piggyback) are not only used for F/I ( supercharger/turbocharger) installs,
they are and can be used for N/A applications , where as if you want to make an adjustment to you system , using the same theory and method with out spending the money on a full scale piggyback system , the resistor works ( if installed correctly and the right resistor is used).

What it boils down to is , They both work (piggyback/resistor), the same way , just different cost in materials and workmanship.

Let me know if you want instructions on either , can walk you through it