performance chip for 2006 GTO

[matt]

My son has a 2006 GTO 6.0. He said there is some kind of performance chip that he can program and it will make the car run on four cylinders.. can he really do that and has any one out there that has done this to there vehicle ?? Matt

Topic

[EricTheCarGuy]

I don’t believe it’s possible to do that without a mechanical counterpart. Just turning off injectors isn’t enough as you also have to remove compression from the cylinders you’re trying to cancel. Most cylinder management systems I know of have some way of opening the valves to allow compression to escape during ‘economy’ operation, if not the compression will create resistance and actually cause the engine to work harder.

To be honest I don’t have a definitive answer on this but this is what I suspect based on the knowledge I have of cylinder management systems.

[matt]

My son said he can get it on Andys Auto sport ? He said that it needs to be programmed on his computer and then you plug it into the computer port in the car ???? There are some reviews on it but I have not read them yet !!

[L67brassCity]

I have never heard of running on 4 cyl in a V8 muscle car but there are some options for programming on the LS2 engine. You can go with a Diablosport Trinity Tuner for about $600. It will allow you to adjust pretty much anything you want within the PCM and it also acts as a scan tool and the ability to view live data while driving. Comes with pre-loaded tunes as well. The other option is to bring it to a performance shop and have it dyno tuned using HP tuners. Probably will run you about the same but I would much rather have a Diablo since it has so many uses and features. All of these options are for PERFORMANCE, not fuel economy so maybe you might want to consider getting a different car.

[L67brassCity]

Also check out http://marylandspeed.com/computer-tuning-gauges-c-58_200.html They have flash versions of the Daiblo that are considerably less.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Yea I’ve heard of performance chips before but not for economy like that. As stated if you want to save fuel drive a more fuel efficient car. Also as stated those things should really be set up on a dyno to make sure they work properly, if not you could actually damage the engine. If it comes with preprogramed set ups for your car I think you would be OK though.

[matt]

Thanks for the info I guess I was wrong about this! Matt

[kabukiman]

I think a few newer German engines and also the older Chrysler 300c v8s do this.

At least the model we imported here in Australia. When you don’t need the power it shuts off 4 cylinders, they keep moving but provide no power. From memory spark/fuel is shut off and as Eric said valves are opened so the pistons are just moving up and down freely, causing little resistance. I have no idea how this works, whether the camshafts for half the engine stop moving, whether it’s the same 4 cylinders every time or it alternates between sides of the engine… it sounds much too complex for a plug and play tuning box to achieve. You’d need to spend serious $$$ to achieve this effect I think.

[Author]

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