Hypertech Programer III

[Mark75]

I have been looking at the Hypertech Programer Plus III for my 99 Coupe and was wondering if anyone has used this unit, or if there is something else that would work better. I like the idea of resetting the chip back to factory specs if need be.

Also does this effect my factory or my extended GM Warranty?

 

[danl72]

I have not used it, but I have known people who have. Some say it worked and some say they had problems with it. As far as your warranty is concerned, you can always reprogram the car back to factory specs if you had to take it in. The dealer would never know unless you forget to put it back to factory specs.

 

[Mark75]

Does anyone know what kind of increase in HP you can expect using this programmer and keeping everything else stock?

 

[Vespa-Vette]

I don't think that you will see any great HP increase (maybe 3-5hp) with the Hypertech.

On the performance side all it does is push the timing a little more than stock for high octane gas & will adjust your radiator fans to come on earlier to maintain a lower engine temperature.

The Hypertech is a quick fix if you are changing the rear tires to a different size or changing your axel ratio. This programming will allow the speedo to reflect the actual speed by recalculating for the change in tire size or axle.

If you have the A4 you can reprogram shift points for WOT only and shift firmness. This is helpful if you do a lot of 1/4 mile racing and need to "tune" the tranny to minimize your 1/4 times. This adjustment will not really help any in normal driving (unless you "normally" street race) except the firmer shifting will jarr you a little more.

 

[Mark75]

Thank you all for your imput. It seems that there are better ways to increase the HP other than using the Hypertech III.

 

[c5 joe]

I have been looking at the Hypertech Programer Plus III for my 99 Coupe and was wondering if anyone has used this unit, or if there is something else that would work better. I like the idea of resetting the chip back to factory specs if need be.

Also does this effect my factory or my extended GM Warranty?

BE very carefull if you use the hypertech 111 i used one and it locked my pcm in my 1998 ,hypertech said i must of had something on while programming they were no help;help:bash So i bought a new pcm and had it custom tuned

 

[fixvet]

A friend that sold his '98 a couple of years ago just gave me his tuner for free. I only drive hard my '98 A4 coupe on rare occasions and can feel some SOTP improvement, but I changed my fans to come on at 209deg and firmed up my A4 shift firmness alittle. I've reprogrammed my car on several occasions just messing around with this tuner and have never had any problems. I doubt that I'd buy one brand new, though!

For $300-400 that they cost new, you should buy a nice hi flow air cleaner and/or find a used Z06 catback exhaust. You'll get better performance and better gas mileage for sure. I did!! I bought a "used" 100miles only, Z06 catback for $100 and the guy let me use his lift to install it! A real steal, eh??

 

[TODD L GRIFFITH]

A friend that sold his '98 a couple of years ago just gave me his tuner for free. I only drive hard my '98 A4 coupe on rare occasions and can feel some SOTP improvement, but I changed my fans to come on at 209deg and firmed up my A4 shift firmness alittle. I've reprogrammed my car on several occasions just messing around with this tuner and have never had any problems. I doubt that I'd buy one brand new, though!

BTW, Congrats. on making it into Vette magazine fixvet.
Nothing beats an actual dyno tune when it comes to getting all the hp you can out of your engine. These LS motors tend to leave the factory with a fairly rich A/F ratio @ 12.5:1. Once these engines are on the dyno and leaned out, there isn't much hp left on the table. 13.1:1 A/F seems to be the sweet spot. A dyno tune costs around $500.00 initially, but once in the system, dyno sessions will cost less, around $150/visit. If you are adding performance mods. this becomes a great tool for maintaining optimum performance, while maintaining excellent gas mileage. How many 500+hp cars do you hear about running around getting 30mpg highway? This is the true performance potential on a stock block C5 or C6 with basically bolt-ons,....... heads, cam longtubes etc.

 

[fixvet]

BTW, Congrats. on making it into Vette magazine fixvet.
Nothing beats an actual dyno tune when it comes to getting all the hp you can out of your engine. These LS motors tend to leave the factory with a fairly rich A/F ratio @ 12.5:1. Once these engines are on the dyno and leaned out, there isn't much hp left on the table. 13.1:1 A/F seems to be the sweet spot. A dyno tune costs around $500.00 initially, but once in the system, dyno sessions will cost less, around $150/visit. If you are adding performance mods. this becomes a great tool for maintaining optimum performance, while maintaining excellent gas mileage. How many 500+hp cars do you hear about running around getting 30mpg highway? This is the true performance potential on a stock block C5 or C6 with basically bolt-ons,....... heads, cam longtubes etc.

Thanks for the kudos, Todd. When I sent in my pic and writeup, I really never thought I'd see a car of mine in a car mag! Gotta be careful what we wish for, eh? I've gotten some nice responses from all over the country, like yours. Pretty amazing vette community!

Yeah, for a few bucks for that a Hyertech, a real dyno tune is the only way to go. They run $400 for C5's and $500 for C6's at my local tuner. He'll do anything you want with state of the art equipment. Very impressive!

 

[TODD L GRIFFITH]

Thanks for the kudos, Todd. When I sent in my pic and writeup, I really never thought I'd see a car of mine in a car mag! Gotta be careful what we wish for, eh? I've gotten some nice responses from all over the country, like yours. Pretty amazing vette community!

Yeah, for a few bucks for that a Hyertech, a real dyno tune is the only way to go. They run $400 for C5's and $500 for C6's at my local tuner. He'll do anything you want with state of the art equipment. Very impressive!

I'm hoping my current project makes it into the mag. when I'm done. I did have one bad experience with Road and Track magazine. I sent an email in regarding comments made in an article regarding Corvettes. They printed my response in the mag. but edited what I said, and changed the meaning, making me sound like a jerk. I emailed them back and said, what gives? They told me they always edit mail to keep the content short. I said you didn't edit that long disatation that porsche driving doctor sent that got printed. No response. I cancelled my subscription soon after. :L

 

[GregWinokur]

re: Chip programming

I used the Super Chips hand reprogrammer and am extremely happy with the increase in power. The car is much faster out of the hole, and especially perky when you step on it. I'd recommend it, and you can reprogram back to stock in a matter of minutes for dealer warranty service.

I'm not sure about where to draw the line at how far to take the shift points (automatic) but I do like where I am with it right now. At first I set them too high and wasn't happy with that.

Greg