Buying EAT chip today!!! After installation...

[e34.535i.sport]

Hey guys, I'm all excited I'm buying an EAT chip today for my 1990 535iM from Robert K (he sold his 535iA recently)... He's sent a message to Mark D to check compatibilty so hopefully he can get it on its way tomorrow! The only thing we're unsure of is his number ends in .... ... .... ..OR and the one on Marks site now ends in .... ... .... ..6K8. I know the R used to represent raised rev limit, but the current version is raised to 6800 with the inding 6K8 (which makes sense I suppose!).

I just have a couple of questions...

I know how to install the chip (looks to be a bit fiddly!), but is there anything I need to do once it is installed like the reset procedure or disconnect the battery or drive it a certain way or whatever? I've read SOOOOOO many threads on this but i'm still unclear. Should I expect it to run badly at first or should the benefits be noticible straight away? Should I take it on a long run after installation?

Also, when he sends it from US to UK, does it need to be in special packaging as i've heard of them being affected by certain things on the way - some say they get "zapped"?!!

Its funny because for a while I've been feeling like the car hasn't been performing that well... I done the fuel line replacement recently and decided to throw some fuel injector cleaner in and take it on a bit of a run. It was late and the Motorways were quiet and the car was flying. It felt amazing it really did. The power was there whenever I wanted it and when I didn't it just cruised effortlessly... It was so powerful it made me wonder whether I 'need' the EAT chip or not, so give me some positive words about yours to make me feel like its worth the spend!!!!! ;)

[bubba966]

You don't have to disconnect the battery to change the chip, but I'd probably do it anyway. Unplug the battery, install new chip, plug battery back in and enjoy. Quite simple really.

And it would be a good idea if the chip was shipped inside a static electricity resistant/proof bag. The bubble wrap style static bags are usually red in color, while the plain (more common variety) type of static bag is a dark smoke colored plastic.

[e34.535i.sport]

x1
I dont know anything about the chip. But dont stuff it up with static before you start-make sure you are 'grounded' before you touch it. If you are worried about bar code readers, they wont affect it. Trust you are being a good citizen and paying duty, vat, and vat on the duty? No? Must be a friend sending you some socks then

Value Added Tax ay... Duty ay... VAT on Duty ay... Never heard of it.

I get taxed enough when they take £500 out of my wages every month then go shopping and pay VAT on that, and then go to the petrol station and pay ridiculous amounts of tax there, then pay an unbelieveable £185 in road tax... Which is going up to £200 in the next two years I might add and still have to drive over potholes and speedbumps everywhere I go which means I need to go and buy new bushings/balljoints more regularly and pay tax on them! I don't think I'm going to offer to pay anymore tax anytime soon. [Sorry for the rant!]

When you talk about grounding what do you mean... When I disconnect the battery or insert the chip or just touch the chip?! I've got no clue about electronics and whatnot.

[whiskychaser]

You don't have to disconnect the battery to change the chip, but I'd probably do it anyway. Unplug the battery, install new chip, plug battery back in and enjoy. Quite simple really.

And it would be a good idea if the chip was shipped inside a static electricity resistant/proof bag. The bubble wrap style static bags are usually red in color, while the plain (more common variety) type of static bag is a dark smoke colored plastic.
x1
I dont know anything about the chip. But dont stuff it up with static before you start-make sure you are 'grounded' before you touch it. If you are worried about bar code readers, they wont affect it. Trust you are being a good citizen and paying duty, vat, and vat on the duty? No? Must be a friend sending you some socks then

[repenttokyo]

When you break in the car with the new chip in, drive it like you normally would. The ECU is adaptive and it will respond to your driving style during the break in process. I decided to try driving super aggressively during my break-in for my EAT chip, and it resulted in an idle problem and some power loss at certain revs. I reset the ECU, broke the car in with normal driving, and the results were much better.

[whiskychaser]

Value Added Tax ay... Duty ay... VAT on Duty ay... Never heard of it.

I get taxed enough when they take £500 out of my wages every month then go shopping and pay VAT on that, and then go to the petrol station and pay ridiculous amounts of tax there, then pay an unbelieveable £185 in road tax... Which is going up to £200 in the next two years I might add and still have to drive over potholes and speedbumps everywhere I go which means I need to go and buy new bushings/balljoints more regularly and pay tax on them! I don't think I'm going to offer to pay anymore tax anytime soon. [Sorry for the rant!]

When you talk about grounding what do you mean... When I disconnect the battery or insert the chip or just touch the chip?! I've got no clue about electronics and whatnot.
When you import something from a non EEC country you pay duty eg 10%
So something you buy delivered UK at £100 you pay duty of £10
So VAT isnt £100 x 17.5%, its £110 x 17.5%. Clear? As for grounding, I mean its YOU that needs to be grounded. Thats why the guys who work on PCs stand on rubber mats and have wrist bands with earth leads:)

[bubba966]

Take the whole computer inside your house to swap chips. Before you open it up go over to the plumbing and hold that for a few seconds to discharge any static electricity you've built up on yourself. Try not to build up any static electricity before you swap chips. That should be enough to prevent any problems with static possibly toasting your chip. That's basically all I did, and because of EWS II on my car I ended up swapping the chip in my car 6 times trying to get it to work. Didn't toast either my OE or Dinan chips during any of that by just discharging the static buildup by grounding myself using the water pipes in the house as a ground. Sure, a wrist strap and other such grounding stuff would be a little better to use. But I don't have such toys.

Oh, and expect about 45 minutes or so for your first time chip swapping if you've never done it before and the computer hasn't been opened up yet. After the third or forth time I swapped mine I had it down to about 6 minutes.

[Sam-Son]

.. it made me wonder whether I 'need' the EAT chip or not...
you can never have to much money or too much Horsepower

[Robin-535im]

Like RT said, drive it in all sorts of conditions but not at wide-open throttle. What you want to do is fully explore the "load vs. RPM" space, going fast & slow up & down hills, etc. The timing is static but this gives the ECU a chance to learn what little tweaks of more/less fuel to add at each (load,RPM) point so the O2 sensor is right at the perfect ratio.

The difference with the chip, IMHO, is kind of subtle but grows as the fuel trim maps are re-learned.

The ECU doesn't "learn" at WOT it just applies the existing map plus extra fuel to get to the maximum-power air/fuel ratio. Not like you have to avoid WOT for any reason, just that the mid-throttle position is where the learning happens.

[e34.535i.sport]

Hey guys thnks for all that - a lot of stuff there I wouldn't have thought of.

So, disconnect the battery (-ve only I assume?), bring the computer inside, hold onto the radiator pipes for a few seconds, swap the chip over, put computer back in, connect battery, drive like normal - Like I stole it (only kidding :D ) in various conditions A-road, B-roads, Motorway etc up/down hill and so on with varied throttle postition and I'm done right?!

Sounds simple when you put it that way, lets hope it goes that well in reality!

Thanks again, anymore tips keep them coming!

[bubba966]

Hey guys thnks for all that - a lot of stuff there I wouldn't have thought of.

So, disconnect the battery (-ve only I assume?), bring the computer inside, hold onto the radiator pipes for a few seconds, swap the chip over, put computer back in, connect battery, drive like normal - Like I stole it (only kidding :D ) in various conditions A-road, B-roads, Motorway etc up/down hill and so on with varied throttle postition and I'm done right?!

Sounds simple when you put it that way, lets hope it goes that well in reality!

Thanks again, anymore tips keep them coming!

That's all there is to it. Like I said, I had it down to about 6 or 7 minutes to do a chip swap in my car and that included hooking it all back up and testing to see if it'd start. With an EWS II car like mine the chip has to have the proper EWS codes or the EWS won't let the car start.

You don't have EWS II, so you don't have to worry about that...

[pingu]

To avoid static, it would be a good idea to breath over the chip and the circuit board into which you're plugging the chip - your breath will provide a leakage path to discharge any static. Doing the procedure on a newspaper will also help as there's sufficient moisture in the newspaper to safely discharge any static electricity. Also, try to avoid touching the pins of the chips.

[e34.535i.sport]

To avoid static, it would be a good idea to breath over the chip and the circuit board into which you're plugging the chip - your breath will provide a leakage path to discharge any static. Doing the procedure on a newspaper will also help as there's sufficient moisture in the newspaper to safely discharge any static electricity. Also, try to avoid touching the pins of the chips.

Hey Pingu thanks for the advice, though my breath will be more likely to melt the chip than protect it! :p CaptainGoSlow has an anti static wristband I can borrow too so that should help... I'm hoping to get it will arrive week sometime... I'll be posting to express my opinions then! :D

[whiskychaser]

Hey Pingu thanks for the advice, though my breath will be more likely to melt the chip than protect it! :p CaptainGoSlow has an anti static wristband I can borrow too so that should help... I'm hoping to get it will arrive week sometime... I'll be posting to express my opinions then! :D
Dont hang about when you go to collect it:

[leicesterboy15]

Take your car for a good blast before you change the chip otherwise you will be wondering if its made any difference or not. When I changed my chip out I only drove the car the night before so when I took it for a spin straight after I was sure it was quicker but couldn't be positive. In the end to satisfy my own curiosity I took the car for a spin down a regular route, swapped the standard chip back in and did the same route, the difference was amazing, more than I expected. You'll probably end up doing the same if you don't do any benchmarking first!

If you do find yourself having to swap out frequently buy a second ecu so you don't have to keep opening them up, you can just swap the box out each time, takes the risk out of it.

Good luck with it and enjoy, I was worried the first time I did it but swapping the chip on the board is actually quite easy as long as you take it slow and ease the chips in and out gently.

[e34.535i.sport]

Dont hang about when you go to collect it:

:D I was particularly proud of that job. :D

[e34.535i.sport]

Take your car for a good blast before you change the chip otherwise you will be wondering if its made any difference or not. When I changed my chip out I only drove the car the night before so when I took it for a spin straight after I was sure it was quicker but couldn't be positive. In the end to satisfy my own curiosity I took the car for a spin down a regular route, swapped the standard chip back in and did the same route, the difference was amazing, more than I expected. You'll probably end up doing the same if you don't do any benchmarking first!

If you do find yourself having to swap out frequently buy a second ecu so you don't have to keep opening them up, you can just swap the box out each time, takes the risk out of it.

Good luck with it and enjoy, I was worried the first time I did it but swapping the chip on the board is actually quite easy as long as you take it slow and ease the chips in and out gently.

Het thanks - haven't seen you for a while where you been?!

Thats a good idea, i'm going to take it for a good run just before changing and then straight after! I might even do a few 0-60 times if I can and do some comparisons... I'll report back.

I'm going to be super careful when I swap it so it shouldn't be a problem (hopefully!) - I don't care if it take an hour or two!

[leicesterboy15]

Hi John, yeah I've been hovering the past couple of months but been busy with DIY and had a lot on a work so its been harder to get on. Plus the car is running well at the moment (touch wood!) although the list of niggly little things is getting bigger, just waiting for the weather to improve before I embark on them!

There seems to be an explosion of chips on ebay over the past couple of months for the 2.0, 2.5 and 3.5, they will be copies but the prices are not bad, maybe worth a punt for someone, sadly none for the M60 otherwise I would have given one a go!

Let us know how the new one compares! You should get slightly better MPG as well.

[leicesterboy15]

BTW those rings you sent me really bailed me out the other week. I bought some new tryres and I took them to work to get them fitted at lunch but in the end I didn't have time so I had to leave it. On the way home that day I got a flat because of a nail (2nd one in 6 months) so I had to change the tyre at the side of the road. When I took the flat off my spigot ring was jammed solid on the hub, I couldn't shift it, in the end I had to break it and snap it off because my spare (steel) wouldn't go on with the ring in place. So thanks to you when I went to get the new tryes fitted the next morning I had a spare spigot ring, saved me a lot of hassle! Just thought I'd share that!

One word of advice, if you ever use alu spigot rings, grease them up on the inside before putting them on!

[e34.535i.sport]

BTW those rings you sent me really bailed me out the other week. I bought some new tryres and I took them to work to get them fitted at lunch but in the end I didn't have time so I had to leave it. On the way home that day I got a flat because of a nail (2nd one in 6 months) so I had to change the tyre at the side of the road. When I took the flat off my spigot ring was jammed solid on the hub, I couldn't shift it, in the end I had to break it and snap it off because my spare (steel) wouldn't go on with the ring in place. So thanks to you when I went to get the new tryes fitted the next morning I had a spare spigot ring, saved me a lot of hassle! Just thought I'd share that!

One word of advice, if you ever use alu spigot rings, grease them up on the inside before putting them on!


Hey glad you got it sorted! I feel guilty now as I greased mine up with copper but never thought about advising it... I tend to copper most things up these days!!!!

[whiskychaser]

I feel guilty now as I greased mine up with copper !!!!
Er.......

[e34.535i.sport]

Ok its on its way!!! I expect to get it Thursday and its going in straight away so I'll be doing Butt Dyno's then... Report back soon.

[e34.535i.sport]

THE CHIP HAS ARRIVED!!!!! :D Going to get it in tonight and I'll report back with findings... I'm going to take it out for a good drive and do some benchmark tests, and then do the same once I've changed them over and drove around normally for an hour or so... :D

I'm hoping this lives up to my expectations!

[e34.535i.sport]

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll280/whiskychaser/Liverpool.jpg

LOL :D , you must be familiar with the works of Harry Enfield... He a Genius!

[e34.535i.sport]

OK got the chip in no problem with the help of the Captain and an anti-static wristband! Took about twenty minutes with no mishaps...

I put the DME back in and re-connected the battery... Remote locking wouldn't work at first which i'm hoping is normal... but it works now anyway so its all good.

Opinions on the Chip!!!

Before...
Took the car out earlier with the g-friend and it did feel sluggish to be honest for what it is. Its felt like I'm carrying four people around with me for a while now (I do carry quite a bit in the boot though!) if you know what I mean.

It took 9 seconds to get to 60mph which was a disappointment... I tend to keep it below 5200 revs though as I worry about damaging the engine far too much! The 18" rims don't help either, but they do look good so they can stay!

After
I took the car out for a 40minute drive to a restaurant with the "wife" and best pal CaptainGoSlow. The first thing I noticed is that the idle smooth out considerably within the first few minutes, as it has always been a bit 'rumbly'... Much better from the driving seat now!

The throttle response has improved greatly, with very little pedal effort to get it really moving - I am impressed! Acceleration is smooth and progressive, with more power available down really low - like when you turn a tight corner and leave it in second then try and take off again (from about 5mph)... The car was much more willing to get going much quicker without putting my boot down. I take the same corner like this every day a few times and normally have to wait for it to pick up but not this time - felt the power come almost immediately!

MPG wise I normally have to try REALLY hard to get 23mpg on a route like I took to the restaurant, but I hit 25mpg without really even thinking about it! I was busy concentrating on driving in my usual everyday manner but the mpg was definitely staying in the higher figures. Which is GOOD!

Haven't had time to do a 0-60mph yet but I'm hoping to see an improvement, I'd settle for 8 seconds with the age of the car... I can only hope. It does feel a lot more responsive so its not out of the question!

Overall I've driven it for about an hour with the chip in and alread I feel like its made an impression on me. It felt good on the way to the restaurant, but even better on the way home so I think it has more to come!

I would certainly recommend it to m30 owners!

[Mendozart]

THE CHIP HAS ARRIVED!!!!! :D Going to get it in tonight and I'll report back with findings... I'm going to take it out for a good drive and do some benchmark tests, and then do the same once I've changed them over and drove around normally for an hour or so... :D

I'm hoping this lives up to my expectations!
Good luck with the install. I just pulled mine out the other day because super unleaded gas is going to hit $4.00 a gallon here in So. Cal.:( At least now I can put mid-grade (89 oct) in for a little $ break.

[whiskychaser]

THE CHIP HAS ARRIVED!!!!! :D Going to get it in tonight and I'll report back with findings... I'm going to take it out for a good drive and do some benchmark tests, and then do the same once I've changed them over and drove around normally for an hour or so... :D

I'm hoping this lives up to my expectations!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll280/whiskychaser/Liverpool.jpg

[Ferret]

then pay an unbelieveable £185 in road tax... Which is going up to £200 in the next two years I might add and still have to drive over potholes and speedbumps everywhere I go which means I need to go and buy new bushings/balljoints more regularly and pay tax on them!

You think you've got it bad lol?

Post-2001 540s as of next year/year after will be paying £450+ a year in road tax!

*clings to his '94 540, avoiding any of this *********

[sneekens]

congratulations!! hope to see some dyno results... I'm thinking of getting one too, but theres this Miller MAF which is around $500, and it does include a chip... and someone documented a 197rwhp with it... if the EAT can do something close, then I would be saving $300 then...:D

[healtoeit]

I tend to keep it below 5200 revs though as I worry about damaging the engine far too much!

Congratz on you chip! but i have to say what my track instructor told me when I got pissed about hitting my rev limiter...
"Hay man the rev limiter is their for a reason! Use it!"

[t.wak]

I'll prob be sitting behind an M30 soon, so good to hear some feedback and looking forward to 0-60 times. MAF would be high on my list, but EAT is releasing one soonish too.

[anonymous1]

While I am happy that the install of the chip went well and the performance of the car has noticeably increased... I'll be even happier once I receive my compensation cheque for the whiplash I received when the pedal hit the floor!!! :D

Think I might have to consider getting one for my E36 after seeing the results... I know the results may not be as good on the 320, but think it would still be worth it. Wouldn't mind the increased MPG you already seem to be benefitting from as well.

[e34.535i.sport]

LOL! :) Cheers Captain!

[e34.535i.sport]

Update: Also found that the car now pulls hard all the way to redline! It used to seriously drop off after 5k revs which was worrying so I never took it much above that, now I love watching how fast the revs rise right to the 6k+ marker!

I'm thinking I have a small vacuum leak somewhere at the moment, so I can't wait to see what it can do once I have that sorted...

[e34.535i.sport]

Timed any 0-60 runs yet?

Nope, but I'm at a loose end today so who know's?! ;)

It feels like there should be an improvement so I'm going to give it a go today...

[t.wak]

Timed any 0-60 runs yet?

[e34.535i.sport]

Timed any 0-60 runs yet?

Before chip - Multiple runs in the dry with 9.x being the best I could get... Disappointing.

After EAT chip - Took it out this morning and done one run (in the rain :p ) - timed it at 8.2 with an enormous wheelspin due to lack of traction control! (And I mean Enormous!)

I know this could have easily been in the late seven's with better traction - I'll be going back out in the dry I think! Really pleased if the car can hit 7.7 like it should on paper (new), then I'm happy! :D

[leicesterboy15]

Definitely sounds like you are enjoying it and thats the main thing. I noticed the same above 5k revs on my m30 as well but with the chip (superchips) it was much better above that, the rev limiter was increased by 500 rpm as well, not that you use it all the time in that band but on the odd occasion when you do (traffic light grand prix) that extra bit helps stop that egg from landing on your face! Just one thing.....watch that back end!!

[e34.535i.sport]

Definitely sounds like you are enjoying it and thats the main thing. I noticed the same above 5k revs on my m30 as well but with the chip (superchips) it was much better above that, the rev limiter was increased by 500 rpm as well, not that you use it all the time in that band but on the odd occasion when you do (traffic light grand prix) that extra bit helps stop that egg from landing on your face! Just one thing.....watch that back end!!

Hey your right there, it is more fun especially at the very bottom and very top end! I think the rev limiter is increased by 800 revs on this chip but there's no way I'll be taking it to 7k revs - thats asking for trouble!

Speaking of traffic light grand prix we might have on one our hands shortly! An arguement has broken out in work about who's car's the quickest off the line... We have an e46 330CiA convertable, a 4.4ia X5, a 118d (08 plate) and my 535iM... all in the same department!

I'm sticking with my e34 of course, defend it to the death! :D

[repenttokyo]

Does one have to use 91 octane to notice the difference? Or can one still use 89 octane if necessary?


the chip requires 91 or you will run into knock issues.

[Sixdown]

Does one have to use 91 octane to notice the difference? Or can one still use 89 octane if necessary?

[e34.535i.sport]

the chip requires 91 or you will run into knock issues.

Hey I've just been doing some research into our petrol over here in the UK. I always use Shell Unleaded to fill up... Since the EAT chip I've used Shell V-Power (which is much more expensive!).

Just found out after researching it that Shell Unleaded is 95octane and Shell V-Power is 99octane... Does this mean I'm ok to fill up with the normal Unleaded over here without risk of knocking?

[repenttokyo]

Hey I've just been doing some research into our petrol over here in the UK. I always use Shell Unleaded to fill up... Since the EAT chip I've used Shell V-Power (which is much more expensive!).

Just found out after researching it that Shell Unleaded is 95octane and Shell V-Power is 99octane... Does this mean I'm ok to fill up with the normal Unleaded over here without risk of knocking?


European octane is rated differently than in north american - the 91 i was referring to was by our standards. You should go with the top grade fuel available to you, which is probably V-Power, yes? The top grade fuel will meet the chip's octane requirements.

[sneekens]

Hey I've just been doing some research into our petrol over here in the UK. I always use Shell Unleaded to fill up... Since the EAT chip I've used Shell V-Power (which is much more expensive!).

Just found out after researching it that Shell Unleaded is 95octane and Shell V-Power is 99octane... Does this mean I'm ok to fill up with the normal Unleaded over here without risk of knocking?


V-power with 99 octane?? wow!!! our v-power is just 95...:(