Performance chip

[Tom SLippy]

[8)]I had been researching performance options for my 2003, 2.4L, Basic PT Cruiser and since I had good results from the JET products I had installed in/on my Chevrolet, I contacted them via their website. I commented that there were no listings for the PT Cruiser and they responded that they offered no computer (ECU) chip, however they did perform an ECU (Electronic Computer Unit) upgrade for $300.00 that required me to send them my chip to "re-program". During this time, I would not be able to drive (or even start) my PT Cruiser.

As I continued to research my options I discovered that JET also advertises and offers a PCU (Power Control Unit) for $200.00, which attaches to my ECU. When I re-contacted them they indicated that the PCU was for mild modifications and the more modifications I did, the more beneficial the ECU upgrade would be (as opposed to the PCU).

Since I am a reasonably new PT Cruiser owner (less than 3 months) I thought I could get some input from some of you more experienced owners.

My questions are as follows:
- Are there other JET products they did not tell me about that
also improve performance?
- Do other manufacturers offer comparable products?
- Are there other "tinkering" options (such as transmission
shift kit, etc.) that improve performance?

My engine modifications currently include:
> Intake:
- AirRaid performance intake with K & N low restriction air
filter
- PowerAid TBI spacer
- Turbonator (similar action to the TBI spacer, but more
pronounced swirling) in the air intake tube

> Ehaust:
- Hedman header (4-2-1 style, black powder coated)
- BTG stainless steel dual exhaust system (cat/back, multi-
chambered main resonator)

> Ignition
- Screamin’ Demon (high energy) coil
- Plasma Booster ignition
- Nology Hot Wire spark plug wires

Any information/comments are welcome!!

[TaylorMade]

If you're just looking to advance timing and optimize the air/fuel ratio, ive seen some jet chips on ebay. Ive seen that turbonator advertised, but never knew anyone who had it done. Does it give you noticeable performance/fuel economy?

[quicksilverdon]

I have read good things about Kenne Bell. They reprogram your coupluter to make use of higher-octane fuel. You tell them your mods, whether you want to use "plus" or "premium" gas, and the reprogram accordingly. They also redo teh automatic shifts to be crisper.

[crazie.eddie]

BTW Tom Slippy, you might want to remove the Turbonator. If you do a google search on them, a lot of people say it either doesn't work or your hp decreases. In theory, it sounds impressive, but I believe the car will have to suck harder to get air through the turbonator, therefore, power loss. It just like sucking air through a straw with a little fan. You would have to suck very hard to make the blades spin. This would probably be the hardest when you first step on the peddle. So in a race, you would have lost a few seconds in the start becuase your car is not getting enough air into it. It may help after the launch, but the improvement may not be great and with the time lost during the start, you would probably not win the race.

[2step]

Re: Turbonator
There may be a car out there somewhere with a badly designed intake that could benefit from a little swirl right at the manifold. For a fuel injection system like yours, it WON'T WORK. Marketing hype, a hairball.[:0]
The base PT makes a lot of power for its size. It's hard to wring any more out of it. Go to the Performance & Tech Forum, to the oldest post and read forward from there. (skip the ones that don't apply) Take your time, it's a real education!

[MX-5]

I've installed and tested several of the Jet modules.
I wrote the original installation instruction manual that comes with the unit.
I also wrote the install guide for http://www.ptdiy.net, but it has since been removed for reasons that I explain here:

The PCM doesn't read the sensors effected by the JET anytime you're over 80% throttle angle. So... whenever you punch it, the PCM goes into a pre-programmed timing and fuel strategy.
The JET will add NOTHING at 80% to full throttle. That's when you want it the most.

Even JET is backpeddling and doesn't even offer this useless junk to you.

When I wrote the installation manual for them and then performed extensive testing of the datastream, I wrote to them about my findings. They now refuse to even acknowledge my involvement.

[Gary04GT]

The Jet Performance Chip installed in my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee HO 265hp V8 six months ago has been a nice performance enhancement--noticeable power increase and better gas mileage. From our experience it has proven to be a "winner"! [^]
http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/...rformance,chip

[dzrntz]

I have an 07 non turbo 5 speed with Airaid intake, custom exhaust, and I run the E3's after experimenting with iridiums, platnimums, copper and these seem to work the best in the non turbo. I have heard that the platinum or iridiums work good in turbo models, but they seemed to work worse than factory in mine. I have read here where the precious metals are hotter. Not the case. Even manufacturers of them claim so. They actually run cooler and are used for the 100k tune up vehicles because they last longer. The E3 is a standard type plug so it is a better replacement for performance, but not longevity. I even noticed MPG loss with the precious metals where the E3 has helped. If you have a computer controlled vehicle designed for standard plugs, the computer will try to adjust to the precious metals and on some cars good some cars bad. Mine was bad. Yes the e3 is $6 each, but even autozone gets almost $10 each for bosch +4's. Just my $.02

[quicksilverdon]

Wow!
Digging up a post from over 5 years ago!

I do not believe spark plugs can give a measureable difference in MPG, unless one set of plugs were defective.

How many miles did you measure mileage over? Were miles driven the same? (I.e., same commute to work, etc)? Same time of year?