slaine

Just got an email from powerchip (the australian distributor for superchips). They are now officially selling powerchip tuned for Australian Foci ...

The performance gains they quote look quite impressive for a stock 1.8. Apparently there is a 9 kw peak gain if you do NOTHING except put in the powerchip! (Assuming you use nothing but Optimax)

The only problem is the price, which they are quoting at $890!!

What do you guys think, or would it be better to get the diablosport deltachip instead?

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2003 Focus 1.8 LX
Mods: Darkest legal window tint, momo airleather race gear knob, Focus upper Deflector 2.0l auto, ST170 snorkel
Planned mods: exhaust, lowered suspension, 17" Alloys, clear ULTRA rear lights, clear ST signal lights, engine chip. (Induction gone due to RACQ refusal to insure)

fordel

Thats about the price Bluefin would cost its 300 GBP.... handy part about the bluefin is you can remove the programming whenever you want... that is if powerchip is selling the Bluefin system here and not just a plug in chip

... ok after reading the site its not a Bluefin system... so meh... have heard mixed reports on them on whether the chips actually do any good or not.


Chris

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Member #4 of the MTAS (Manual Transmission Appreciation Society)

slaine

Hmmm yes, they are the superchips people for australia and they have told me in the email that bluefin is not available for australian foci.

I don't know where it means "currently unavailable coz we're too lazy to put in maps for au foci", or "unavailable because we're refusing to do it for au foci _ever_".

Anyway, the diablosport delta might be the better option since they're a whopping $300 cheaper... Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Conflicting reports ... us australian folk might have better mileage out of chipping anyway since au foci have detuned engines compared to the eu engines in the first place. Assuming you use nothing but >98 octane fuel of course.

cheers ...

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2003 Focus 1.8 LX
Mods: Darkest legal window tint, momo airleather race gear knob, Focus upper Deflector 2.0l auto, ST170 snorkel
Planned mods: exhaust, lowered suspension, 17" Alloys, clear ULTRA rear lights, clear ST signal lights, engine chip. (Induction gone due to RACQ refusal to insure)

fordel

Well AU foci are the same as EU foci.. check the VIN for where it was made, mine was in Germany.. so no reason it shouldnt work for us

ST engine isnt detuned at all same power as the EU

Chris

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Member #4 of the MTAS (Manual Transmission Appreciation Society)

Timmeh

All Australian Foci are made in Saarlouis, Germany. The Aussie Foci have the same power specifications as the EU cars also, so not sure who's making up these de-tuning rumours.

Tim

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fullthrottle

You might wanna get in touch with BPT. I believe they have a flasher that is working with the Focus. This flasher "I think" provides more configuration tinkering than your normal aftermarket chips. Don't quote me on that cos I don't know too much details about them....Here is their email: <!--webbot bot="Substitution" s-variable="CompanyWebmaster" startspan -->bpt@norcom.net.au<!--webbot bot="Substitution" i-checksum="48776" endspan -->

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People say money can't buy you happiness.... I say they just don't know where to shop.

Resty

What are your goals?

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It has begun - Why is my battery in the boot?

slaine

Well this is interesting, because the Ford dealer themselves told me the au engines were actually detuned from the eu ones so that they could handle slightly lower grade fuel.

As for the bluefin not working for au foci, I can only quote powerchips who said in their email : "We are the Australian distributor for Superchip. Bluefin will not work on your car, but we do have an upgrade available."

They also said that the chip comes with a performance guarantee and uses the Ford board v1.4.

superchips.co.uk also have stated in their website that they do not support any 1.8 focus manufactured after 2002. I am buggered if I know why.

That's all I know about it.

Resty: my goal is simply to get a bit more torque to help accelerating out of corners and at takeoff. I'm not after crazy unrealistic expectations. I have a slightly improved the intake system by using the 2.0l deflector and using a 3" intake pipe into the airbox instead of the standard 2", put in a bmc panel filter, and would consider doing a cat-back exhaust. All I want is a chip that will improve the engine timing maps so that it runs optimised for 98 RON fuel and recognises that it is breathing just abit better than before ...

__________________
2003 Focus 1.8 LX
Mods: Darkest legal window tint, momo airleather race gear knob, Focus upper Deflector 2.0l auto, ST170 snorkel
Planned mods: exhaust, lowered suspension, 17" Alloys, clear ULTRA rear lights, clear ST signal lights, engine chip. (Induction gone due to RACQ refusal to insure)

Resty

Go the Diablo or SCT from US. Add money to what u have saved instead of powerchip, and wack on a 65mm TB.

Personally if my goal was acc/cnr's then I would couple the above with good tyres and springs.

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It has begun - Why is my battery in the boot?

fordel

Can't say i have ever heard anything about them detuning the engines, the specs match what they are in the UK etc

Personally IMO i wouldnt believe half of what the people at the ford or any other dealership for that matter, *most* sales people are crooks anyway


Chris

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Member #4 of the MTAS (Manual Transmission Appreciation Society)