Re-Chipping with RPi chip

[Neo]

Hi all, I recently stumbled across (found in another post) the RPi site in England and am very impressed with what they say. Being a geekish type, I am intrigued by the re-chip for the NAS V8 they offer, and before I plunk down the $400 ish to obtain one, was interested in knowing if anyone else had purchased one (or know of anyone who had) and what the general consensus was. As always, thank in advance for the insight!

[Rick Carlisle]

Neo, I will let you know in about a week and a half. I ordered a chip thru Rover Connection and will send my ECU to them mid-next week. Should have it back and installed the first of the following week.

[TwisteD90]

I doubt that re-chipping a stock engine will make any difference in power and especially if it's N/A, MPG maybe but not power. Let us know if you noticed any power increase.

Good luck
,

[Rick Carlisle]

Yousef, I fully realize I am taking a chance with the chip as most comments I have read do not seem to think I will get much out of it. But I used a chip years ago on a stock BMW 528e I owned, which was a dog on acceleration, and the chip made just enough difference that around town driving was tollerable. No, it was not fast by any means, but it did put me higher on the power curve enough to be worth the money. So, again, I am taking a chance. But hope for the best.
Rick

[Neo]

Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to hearing about your experience Rick. I persoanlly, am not as interested in the power aspect, but the potential/touted longevity improvement. The way RPi described it on thier page, the Rover V8 runs pretty lean from the start. They indicate the chip will actually enrich the mixture. My suspicion is this might actually degrade fuel economy, at the gain of cooler exhaust valves = longer life. Just curious. Power is always nice, but I am looking to improve MTBF (mean time between failure!). Thanks again guys! By the way, what is the conference I have seen referenced?

[KeithD]

I wouldnt go for it - if it enriches it almost certainly means more fuel consumption. I would have thught. Don't believe all Chris Crane at Rpi claims - I had his Mallory ignition set up and it was a POS. only resolved by putting a solid state pertronix unit in. Their engines are basically good but he doesnt always know what he is talking about.

[Rick Carlisle]

As I said, I know I am taking a chance but because of my prior experience with chipping, I am willing to do that. My main goal is a little more zip around town, which is how I use my Defender 90% of the time.
For those interested, I will give my feedback.
Rick

[TwisteD90]

Rick, I'm hoping the best for you :)

[Rick Carlisle]

Thanks Yousef.

[Neo]

Me too Rick, please keep me posted on the results. Thanks a bunch!

[TwisteD90]

Rick, have you tried Hypertech (spelling). Those guys make some nice programmers. Those things work great especially if you have any auto. up to 25 hp increase!

[rover4x4]

i think you would have to have omse kinda forced induction to get that increase outta a rover .or some other variaty of something? IMHO bolt on stuff dont do too much, i know a few folks that have got the power programmer (hypertech) it was effective given that its a kinda small motor in a chunky truck well go figure. If I had to make that pile of rover faster I would take it to a place that builds performace stuff for drag racers etc, headwork etc etc. more air+more fuel=bigger explosion=power? If i was rich I would spray a healthy shot of juice into the intake I am sure that would be fun:eek:


what are the supercharged D-90 owners saying?

[Rick Carlisle]

I agree that to really get a power increase, one would need to make more substantial modifications to the engine.....or replace it. I am a hot rodder in my "other" life and we are currently putting a Corvette LS-1 in my 57 Chevy pickup to get it down the road a little faster. And I have talked to my rodder friends about my D-90 and we may try some things, nothing definitely planned as yet, in the future to get more power. Or I may change out the engine eventually. But until the 57 is finished, I can't see doing that. ($$$)
So, until I can tackle more, I am just trying to get a more pleasurable drive around town, again, with a little more zip. I hope I get it with this chip.
Rick

[Quimbola]

How much is the Hypertech?

After I put on the 33" it was a dog, I super charged mine 6 months ago. WOW, what a difference. I have no problem up hills. Before I was in 4th going up hills, maybe 60 mph. Now I have NO problem acelerating up them. Also no problem bouncing it off the governor.

[Neo]

Hey guys, I am a little confused. I looked up the Hypertech power programmer and chip and don't see a Rover application. Is there something I am missing? Yea, superchargers are cool!

[TwisteD90]

Did you try calling them to see if they can make any?

[Rick Carlisle]

Quimbola,
I have read so much about the superchargers being so bad for these engines.....did you do some research on this? East Coast Rover speaks about the bad points of doing this on their site, as does RPI, I believe. But I am intrigued by this option. I know hot rodders supercharge engines all of the time.
What was the cost?
Rick

[mattwhite]

I would agree that superchargers are cool and they do lay down some hp, but in my opinion the 4.6 is the better deal.

My 4.6 long block engine will make a little less hp, but for close to the price of a supercharger I have a brand new engine. I had 130,000 miles so a supercharger wasn't for me. If you really want hp, go for the 4.6 pursuit 2.

Matt

[Rick Carlisle]

So, Matt, when am I going to get a ride in that beast??

[Neo]

No I did not call them yet. Will do this Monday (hopefully) and let you know what they say. Thanks again to all for the great info!

[Quimbola]

Rick,

As far as research on the sc, I did some, both my uncles are mechanics. Yes a supercharger does shorten the life of a motor, so does any hard driving. I had a supercharged Volkswagen Corrado, that I put 150,000 miles on and had no problems with the motor. As long as you care for the enigine, it should take care of you.

I purchased the SC used, it had 15,000 (I think)on it was around 1,500 dollars. About 18 hours of install time, very straight forward.

Many people suggested regearing, I went away from it as my defender is my daily driver, and I do a lot of highway miles.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

-Josh

[Rick Carlisle]

Well, for those interested, I received my ECU back today with the RPI chip installed and can give the following feedback.

While the 90 is still far from "fast", I am satisfied that my goal of having a bit more zip around town has been met. It is a similar experience to what I had previously with my BMW 528e. The truck seems to be on top of the power curve just a bit more and is more responsive. This is important to me as the vast majority of my driving is around town. The truck just doesn't seem to be as "sluggish" as before. Is it fast? Again, no it is not. But there is a difference.

I expect to get a little more zip when I install the Borla exhaust and the K&N filter. Again, I am not expecting a ton of power. Certainly not like you would get with an engine change. Just more drivability in town. And I would not begin to suggest this to everyone as I am sure many would not think the difference is significant enough. But for me, it is enough to warrant the expense.

Rick

[rover4x4]

coool. what was the cost and do you think there will be any positive effects on your fuel consumption

[TwisteD90]

Glad to see that they worked for you. :)

[Rick Carlisle]

Phillip,

I don't know about gas mileage. I've never checked it. It sucked before the chip and I imagine it still sucks!.

Rick

[Rick Carlisle]

the cost was $490 plus I had to ship my ECU to California.

[Quimbola]

How many HP do you think it gave you?

[Neo]

Guys, sorry to fail/take long on the follow through. Hypertech does not currently offer any products for the D-90. Wrote them and e-mail, then called. They claim they don't have anything in their current product offering. Sorry it too me so long to follow back up, but work always seems to get in the way of the important stuff. Thanks Rick for the great feedback on the RPi chip. Now I have to figure out what to do! Not that I can afford to do anything, but that is secondary anyway. Thanks again!

[Troys]

I purchased some parts about a year ago for my 1995 D90 SW from a guy liquidating his Land Rover inventory. One of the parts is a "Cold Start Prom Chip" brand new in the box. What is this and what is it supposed to do exactly? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Troy

[souza]

Troy:

The following is an excerpt from an email to the d-90 yahoo list from Doug Aitken re: the Eprom. I saved it because I was interested in getting one as well:

<snip>

I finally got round to swapping out my EPROM for the "Cold start" EPROM for a 3.9 ('94, '95) Disco to get rid of the annoying speed limiter which kicked in at just over 70 mph with my 4.10 R&P......

It could be purely psychological, but it seems like the engine runs much smoother and pulls better throughout the rev range (as well as the removal of the "brick wall"!).

Anyone else who has done this mod notice the same thing?

BTW: The part number has changed on this item: used to be PRM 3360A: it is now PRM 3652.

Doug A

<snip/>


I think you should install it and let us know if you see any difference!

-Dave

[Rick Carlisle]

Josh,

They advertise hp increase from 188 to 206, and torque increase from 250 to 272. This is with the Gold 93, which requires 93 octane gas. I don't know if those are the increases I actually got.

I was thinking that one of the best ways to tell the difference is if you could have the new chip installed, drive the truck a few days, and then put the old chip back in. That way you could really see the difference. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be just a "plug and play" sort of change-out. At least, I don't think it is. That's why RPI requests you send the ECU to them to change out.

BUT, if those D90 owners out there who were more skilled with the electronics could do that, I think a truer picture of what the chip does would be realized. I only know I can tell a difference and I am satisfied.

Rick

[Quimbola]

Thanks for the info Rick, I will most likely be doing this mod next month.

[Neo]

Any idea where one might find one of these chips for sale? I could definetely change it out again and back to perform the test and would love to see the difference first hand.

[Rick Carlisle]

Neo,
I purchased mine through Rover Connections.
Rick

[artm]

Anyone familiar with the RN offering for the '97 D90 - "The awesome Superchip"?

I'm thinking about what RPI says about a better setup motor - not just more power. Not that I find my D90 needs it. I do have an NRP, if that matters, but it feels pretty fast to me. Then again, this could be a false sense after the pain of driving a SIII 88 for a while!

[Doug]

Mike Green at www.offroadexperience.com says that the stock camshaft on the 3.9 4.0 is pretty flat. Rover de-tuned the engines by flattening the cams. (BTW, Mike's dad built the first V8 LR here in the states under contract to LRUK.) Replace cam, but be sure to do it so that you still meet your state's emissions standards.

DW