Hey, I have a chip problem.

I went to the track August 2 with the TGP. My first run [first run ever at a track], was a 15.538@87.21mph. I ran with a full tank of gas and the spare tire wit the TopGun 180 chip [or so I think I have the topgun chip in my car].

After that, it just went downhill. I tried different combinations when I raced. I tried no burnout, flooring it. Burnout, flooring it. Burnout, torque braking it, flooring it. And no burnout, torque brake, flooring it. The first 4 runs where when I first got their. The weather was still cool being that it was between 12-1 o'clock. After 1, it got warmer [somewhere in the 80s was the high that day. I know that effected me a little]. I did notice that I was only pushing 7psi on my autometer boost gauge. WTF is going on? I have no clue. But on Monday I'll swap out the chip for the stock chip and see if the mechanic forgot to put it in or something like that. On the very last run, I iced down the intake manifold and removed my air filter after I let the motor cool down for about an hour. But I still hit 16s.

I do know that I need to practice my launching. But I still want to know why I'm only running 7psi instead of the 11psi I'm supposed to with the TopGun 180 chip.

Passes in order.
01)15.538@87.21
02)15.574@86.87
03)15.652@86.87
04)15.536@86.54
05)16.504@78.95
06)16.477@82.42
07)16.576@82.27
08)16.340@83.64
09)16.405@81.08

Please help. =(

I hope it's just the wrong chip and not something else.

What octane are you running?
When was the last time you checked your plugs?

every car (espically 12 year old cars) are different, and you need to find the right combo for it.

After 30+ runs in my STE this is what it likes at the track.

1. 100 octane (3 gallons)
2. torque brake @ 2500 rpms, leave it in OD
3. fresh plugs & clean K& N before going to the track
4. loose weight (spare tire, jack, etc)
5. move pass seat forward all the way, move driver seat up 1 notch.
6. leave heater on (no fan) to keep car cooler.
7. air down front tirres to 25 psi, rears air up to 35 psi
8. I never do burnouts with street tires, unless you have 250+ and usually spin its a waste (IMO) make sure you have them clean (no rocks / wet / oil on them)

Just a few pointers.

ZZperformance has some tips also for the GTPs thga tcan be applied
http://www.zzperformance.com/zzp/info/info_dragracingtips.htm

dont expect miracles just because of being "chipped", yes it changes many good things but the rest of the car must be 100% for you to see / feel the results.

I know that I need practice at the track [my 2.3/2.4 60fts prove that. It was also my first time at the track :oops: 8)]. I only did small tire spins to clean them off. I know that doing a burnout on street tires is useless and changes the characteristics of the tire compound.

Plus where changed to AC Delco's two months ago. I even removed my air filter for the very last run.

I ran on 94octane in a car that had full weight [spare tire, full tire air pressure. I know the 80degree weather held me back some. But I'd still like to know why it was only pushing 7psi.

Had you actually seen 11 lbs boost on the gage before?

i have kind of the same problem, espically in first gear, in first it doesn't like to make over the first yellow on the dash gauge, and it second it will sometimes hang at that spot for a sec and then it the gauge will fly to 15psi and some serious torque steer kicks in as it throws you back into the seat. I always run 92. Any ideas? I know my car will be much faster when it uses the full potential of the topgun 160 chip, but right now the boost is all screwed up. Thanks,

what plugs are you using?  My suggestion no matter what been said should be NGK or Denso.  Did you already flush/filter your tranny?  Try a compression test.  You could have a hose clamp loose.  If you have a BOV it could be leaking off your boost pressure.  Try race gas.  I also remember reading that one of the chips doesn't put your boost pressure to 11+psi its only adjust spark timing/fuel/driveability etc... but retains the stock psi.  Which chip did you get?

I'm running regular AC Delco's [non-platinum].

I flushed my tranny in spring.

Jeff also said to look for loose hoses and vacuum lines. I'll do that when I get a chance.

The Stock DSM valve is good for 15psi without leaking. So 11psi shouldn't be anything for it.

Race gas costs too much for me :wink:

I asked Jeff if he marks his chips in anyway. Someone mentioned that they have a bright green sticker on their topgun chip. I'll have to take a look at mine.

what its rated for doesn't mean its not leaking.   check out the dsm site they can leak off boost.  www.dsm.org tech sections

all my maitinance is good, its weird, today i have full boost in 1-2 gear but only about 12 (on the dash gauge) in third? It reads different and feels different every time. How come it hits higher boost in some gears, but not others, thanks

Well, I unhooked my BOV vacuum line to see if the BOV was leaking any boost. It wasn't the bov, it actually gave me 2psi [7psi]. I just took my car on the highway and floored it, it only went upto 5-6psi without the bov. So it has to be something else. I'll have all my vacuum lines and intake connections checked out to see if they are causing anything.

You could also have an exhaust manifold leak,  crossover leak at the connection pts to the exhaust manifolds, leak at tht flange going to the turbo etc...  internal waistegate malfunction???

How would I check my exhaust manifolds for a leak?

I also checked all of my intake couplers.I found one that was loose, so I retightened it. But that wasn't it.  :?

This is damn frustrating!  :evil:  :cry:

there is no real way to check other than visually.  what you could do though is go and check all the bolts to see if any are loose.  When i went to put my header system on my chevy 4 of the bolts were loose and it was a 95. so you can imagine with a 89/90 and all the vibration over the years anything is possible.

I can just about guaranty you if you are not geting the correct boost then you have a hose thats not tight or leaking, or maybe your bov is leaking off the boost.

I'll check my exhaust manifold bolts when I get a chance. Another board member is sending me a vacuum hose diagram, so that should help me track all the hoses to make sure they are going to the right places.