Keeping In the Know: Performance Chips Regular drivers and car enthusiasts alike often appreciate the upgrade in performance provided by additional power and efficiency. For most, though, those kinds of upgrades require serious modifications to the build of the car, truck, or SUV. Items like turbochargers, new exhausts, and nitrous kits are associated with these types of gains, but these physical add-ons certainly aren’t the only way to boost a vehicle’s performance. Below, we’ll go over some of the factors involved in using performance chips, so anyone can make an informed decision about choosing to install one or not. Installation Process One of the big advantages of using a performance chip over a performance part, like a supercharger, is that it can be much easier and quicker to install. For the automotive-minded, installation should take under half an hour, and still under an hour for most others. These chips are designed to be plug-and-play, which keeps the installation process swift, and modern performance chips no longer require time-consuming ECU reboots to adapt to a car’s current systems, making the process even smoother. Certainly, this is not an upgrade for those without any technical or repair know-how, but a legitimate shop owner should be able to get it installed with ease. Performance Gains If you’re looking for the 400+ horsepower increase of a turbocharger, a performance chip just isn’t going to satisfy you. But if you’re looking to make smaller, but still substantial gains, a performance chip can be worth the little bit of effort required (compared to the hours-long installation process involved in working with a turbo kit). You can get up to 60 extra horsepower out of a performance chip, depending on the make/model of vehicle you have, and how recent or old the vehicle. Is. Efficiency Results Besides the performance boosting power of a performance chip, it also has another side effect: increased fuel efficiency. You can save 4-7mpg by using one of these performance chips, though again that number range varies slightly depending on the type of car, truck, or SUV you own. For owners with larger, gas-guzzling vehicles, this can help to shave some extra expensive off of those gasoline bills, while it will only improve upon the efficiency of smaller, already fairly fuel-efficient vehicles. Improved fuel economy and on-road performance is quite a package, but again, this isn’t like getting a hybrid vehicle, so don’t expect to transform your car into a 50mpg machine just from a quick performance chip installation. Still, it’s far better, and cheaper, than doing nothing at all. Article written by Performancechipsdirect.com