Positive Powerchip Experience and Towing

[Crysyn]

I have always been hesitant to make any kind of engine modification to my 99 Discovery, but after towing my travel trailer over many mountain passes here in Utah(left me wishing I had the 4.6), I decided to take the plunge.

I experimented by having the resonator chopped off and replaced with a straight pipe. I asked the exhaust guy to keep enough pipe on the ends of my resonator in case I wanted to put it back in. It made the exhaust sound just a tiny bit louder and I actually felt it helped in the mid-rpm flat spot on acceleration just a little. My friend that has a 98 range rover did the same on his 4.6 with similar results and said that in the 40,000 miles he had driven the truck, the trip computer had never said his gas mileage got above 17 on the highway, after the resonator removal, he found it creeped up barely into the 18 mph range(again, just on the freeway).

Encouraged, I went ahead and put a Magnaflow muffler in (I had done some research and found it was supposed to be the quietest and most beneficial) and ran me $147.00 for a stainless one. I almost was going to get a Borla exhaust and glad I didn't. This was much more cost effective and I found it to be barely noticable at idle and when driving slowly(wife and friends did not notice when riding with me). It did sound nice when romping on it as well. At the same time, I added a K&N filter(Disco Mike does not recommend these), I asked a guy at the dealer and he said he had not heard of them doing any harm, nor did he believe them to give any kind of benefit. At any rate, again, the flat spot was helped out and it seemed to keep wanting to go faster while on the freeway. It did nothing for low end torque as far as I could tell. The biggest surprise was that my fuel light almost always comes on around 300-310 miles on the tank(pretty consistent driving routine), this time it did not come on until 328 (I asked my wife if she had thrown five bucks in the tank or something, the answer was no).

I had the powerchip put in about three weeks ago. My Land Rover mechanic called me after installing it and sounded pretty excited by the results(he had never put one in before). He said it had quite a bit more power compared to other Discovery 2's. When I got there, he started it up and immediately I could hear the difference. The exhaust had come to life and it revved real nice and smooth. The first thing I noticed was that the truck felt lighter and it shifted much more decisive.

The next test was towing the trailer to Moab. My travel trailer weighs 4000 pounds dry, add equipment, mountain bikes, water etc. it probably gets up to around 4500-4800 pounds. Roll off into traffic was much easier and getting onto the freeway and up to speed was no big deal. Coming back from Moab going up Spanish Fork Canyon out of Helper(I had avoided this route before), on the incline the trans kicked down and put the engine at about 3800 rpm and held there for most of climb at a surprising 65 mph(Soldier Summit is about 7300 ft). The gas light came on about 210-220 miles on the tank both directions, almost identical to what it was getting before I chipped it while towing.

As of today, I do not know what I am getting gas mileage wise as I have still not gone through the entire tank since filling it after the Moab trip. It may be getting better mileage, but it certainly is not getting worse from what I can tell. The truck feels better to drive and sounds really good, deeper idle and nice throaty sound when romping on it(it actually pushes you back in your seat just a bit). It starts the same, idles the same speed and the heat temp is where it has always been. So far, so good.

As a note, I think the Discovery does a great job towing in stock form. I think the chip should really only be thought about if you tow in the mountains a lot. I use an equalizer hitch as well as an anti-sway bar and I am so surprised at how good the Discovery does with this set up, I am very comfortable towing this tall travel trailer in high winds.

If you are reading this and you just bought a new Discovery 2 and think you want to modify it, spend your money on getting your CDL working instead, it is the single most important thing you can do for your land rover.

Lastly, to sum it up, my wife after driving my land rover has always teased me that mine is slower than hers(I run little bit larger than stock tire size on mine), this last time when she took my truck, I asked for the keys back and she was smiling, I said what is it? She said, I can't believe how much more power your truck has.

[DevilDisco]

I did not have good luck when I first tried the PowerChip. When I got it back the Disco would not turn over, and had to be towed to the dealership for a new ECU. PowerChip said someone tired to modify it before me(I was the second owner), the ECU looked odd. They did not charge me and offered me a little dough off my next attempt. Now I have a new ECU I'm thinking of trying it again.
I got the Borla Cat Back System, and a K&N(stock in currently), with Magnecor 8MM wires. I've had no problems with the K&N even after cleaning and oiling. I did clean the MAF just incase there was too much oil put on for shipping. I'm half way through a gentle engine cleaning and the Disco feels like it pulls a lot stronger, but I think the chip would compliment, the exhaust, K&N and Magnecor's nicely. Your post has inspired me to give it one more shot.
Gas mileage with the add on's leave me at 14+mpg around town, and close to 16mpg on the highway traveling between 75 & 80mph, with wife, baby and gear.
Wife loves the sound of the Borla and I think chipping would make it more enjoyable for her to drive.

[stolenheron]

i emailed the company they seemed pretty nice. i may do it when i get new wires and plugs.

[DevilDisco]

I think to get the most out of the Chip upgrading the wires and plugs are good, since one of the things the chip does is advance the timing. After removing the Aluminium pipe by the firewall for the SAI, the install went rather well. I did one wire at a time. A very rewarding experience. It has been in for service a few times and the dealer had no complaints. To prep for the chip I put in the Magnecors and and new plugs and de-carboned the engine with sea-foam, all good things to do even if you're nto chipping.

[Crysyn]

Devil Disco, be sure to let Powerchip know you have put the Borla exhaust on your truck. You will love the sound of your exhaust even more after getting the chip put in by the way. I had read your post about the bad luck with the chip, it is part of the reason I posted my experience, let people know it has been a good thing.

I wonder if its a synergistic effect with the k&n, exhaust+chip. Really like it!

[XtremeMarine]

When I installed the 4.6 into my 02' DII, I laughed the whole way home from the dealer. Even with the 32 M/T's, lockers, and suspension work; the truck would snap my head against the backrest at lights. Love my heavy foot. LOL. Now I have been thinking about the chip next. Since the 4.6 already has 50 more foot pounds of torque, a chip would complement that well. Added to the exhaust mods, and the cool ram air effect (sound, mostly, lol) of the snorkel.

[msggunny]

99's still had the 4.0 GEMS correct?

Might want to look into that for my D1

[KDamericano]

Originally Posted by msggunny

99's still had the 4.0 GEMS correct?

Might want to look into that for my D1

99 had both GEMS and BOSCH. Depends on the model.

[DevilDisco]

Originally Posted by Crysyn

Devil Disco, be sure to let Powerchip know you have put the Borla exhaust on your truck. You will love the sound of your exhaust even more after getting the chip put in by the way. I had read your post about the bad luck with the chip, it is part of the reason I posted my experience, let people know it has been a good thing.

I wonder if its a synergistic effect with the k&n, exhaust+chip. Really like it!

Will do! All have to do is hit the buy button as I'm already registered on the powerchip site. Just have to break it to S.W.M.B.O, since I'll need to ride to work with her for a few days while the ECU is away explaining why I'm trying to chip the vehicle again after the first experience.


Did you drive it there or did you mail you ECU off. That was the worst part, my Disco sitting in the garage and knowing I could not just jump in and go.

Powerchip said they could set the chip up to accept a snorkle so when I get one I'll get all the benefits. Despite the outcome the first time, Powerchip was good to work with and I had considered chipping it even before I read you post but now I'm sure I want this done.
K&N installed.

Here is the weak math of what is supposed to happen with those mods. I'm guessing its all Flywheel Power, but it should be felt none the less.

Stock 217hp 300ft lb
PowerChip 19hp 27ft lb
Borla 15hp 20ft lb
Total 251hp 347ft lb

I think the K&N is supposed to give like 5hp but I'll take that with a grain of salt. All that torque would be nice.

[Crysyn]

Just to clarify, mine is the 99 with the Bosch. The chip is from Powerchip out of California(you can search powerchip group too). It was $490.00 plus shipping. I am the second owner of this vehicle and it has been very well maintained(but used heavily) since I have owned it. It currently has just over 117,000 miles on it. My mechanic suggested I wait for the 120,000 mile mark(he is particular about the mileage services) to do new plugs and engine cleaning etc, so that has yet to be done, since chipping it.

DevilDisco, the unit was shipped. I dropped the truck off to my mechanic on my way out of town to go to New England for a week. When I got back, it was all ready to go. Going without your rover for a few days will suck. Jealous of your 4.6 though, I am half curious to stop by the dealer on my way down to Salt Lake tomorrow just to test drive a 4.6 for comparison. Still though, very, very happy with my truck. What are you doing as your gentle engine cleaning?

I saw somewhere they had done some testing on the snorkel. It does drop the air temperature going into the engine, no ram air effect though. I think configured with the K&N it will help. I have thought about getting a snorkel sometime down the road as well.

Next week, I should be getting my new tires, moving to the 265/75/16's, so I will let everyone know how it does with those. I will also let you know what my gas mileage is doing. Once I put my trailer back on though, because of the new tires, there will go half the benefits I have been seeing while towing(compromises). By next spring, I can see me having to go with different gears, might be a good excuse to just go ahead and put in the Great Basin axles. Oh shucks.

[DevilDisco]

I am using a product called Auot-RX, http://www.auto-rx.com. As far as I can tell the mileage has not increased any, but its good peace of mind. The engine did start to feel stronger somehow. I'm currently in the rinse phase, using Castrol GTX 10W40, might go back to 10W30, I can't really tell the difference in this engine.
I've got the stock Filter in the engine now, not much dust in these parts. I put everthing back to stock a few weeks ago and sent it to the dealer for a ticking I though I heard. Turns out it was nothing so I put the Borla back on, have not done the filter yet, perhaps this weekend.
The last long trip that I took with the Borla and K&N I did not fill up until I had 316miles with 1/4 left on the tank. MPG came out to be 15.9. Hoping the chip gets me closer to 17mpg. I was traveling at speeds up to 80mph so I think that was pretty good.

[Crysyn]

Originally Posted by msggunny

99's still had the 4.0 GEMS correct?

Might want to look into that for my D1

Spoke with my mechanic today. As I had mentioned earlier, he was pretty excited about the results of getting my Disco 2 chipped. So he went ahead and ordered one for his son's 96 Disco with the GEMS. He ran into problems with it. It did not make much difference in power and they could not get the truck to stop idling high, about 1400 RPM, so they took it out and are putting it back the way it was, getting their money refunded as well. Apparently, they have done very few of the older Disco's, I guess they do not have a good solid map of the GEMS system(sounded like Powerchip admitted this, but they are very confident on the Bosch systems and have done many of them with great success is what they told him), so if you got a Disco 1, avoid doing the chip for now. I will let you know if I hear anything else regarding the matter.

[msggunny]

Originally Posted by Crysyn

Spoke with my mechanic today. As I had mentioned earlier, he was pretty excited about the results of getting my Disco 2 chipped. So he went ahead and ordered one for his son's 96 Disco with the GEMS. He ran into problems with it. It did not make much difference in power and they could not get the truck to stop idling high, about 1400 RPM, so they took it out and are putting it back the way it was, getting their money refunded as well. Apparently, they have done very few of the older Disco's, I guess they do not have a good solid map of the GEMS system(sounded like Powerchip admitted this, but they are very confident on the Bosch systems and have done many of them with great success is what they told him), so if you got a Disco 1, avoid doing the chip for now. I will let you know if I hear anything else regarding the matter.

Thanks,

That saved me $$ and the PITMFA that it would have been.

[DevilDisco]

Check RangeRovers.net They have someone that does chipping for GEMS.

[Rovin4life]

so you spent a ton of money in an attempt to save gas.

how exactly is that saving money?

Thats like getting rid of your paid off discovery to buy a new VW rabbit diesel so you can save money on gas.

You cant save money if you spend a lot.