I am considering a ECU/Chip upgrade for my XC, can anyone suggest another source(s) besides IPD. I find their price to be steep vs. chip upgrades for other autos

I mirror Gordon's post.

I have a 98 AWD with the Wetterauer chip and an aftermarket dual cat-back exhaust. I bought my car in the middle of '97, and added the chip at 10,000 miles. I have over 40,000 miles on the chip mod with nothing but praise for the performance and mileage improvements. Never had the skip and dip, and still don't. Gordon, if you read this, what are the symptoms of the skip and dip, and when do you experience them? Hot, cold, high or low altitude, etc.

Regards,

Mike Harris in Sandy Eggo

Hi Mike,

Occasionally at idle, the revs will momentarily drop 200-300 RPM; there is a sense that it just stumbled for a second.

Other times, when driving at a steady speed (freeway or town), there is just a brief hesitation, as if a cylinder missed. At speed, you don't see the RPM's drop.

This happens 2-6 times a day, weather doesn't matter. I always use Shell or Texaco or Chevron premium fuel, none of which seem to affect the skip and dip.

These were exactly the symptoms the original ECU had, and they were fixed when Volvo reflashed it with updated software.

I sent my stock chip back to Wetterauer and they read the code on it and reprogrammed a new chip based on my reflashed stock chip, but the car wouldn't even start with that new chip, so I am still using the chip with the stumble. As I said, more of an annoyance than a major problem.

Gordon,

e-mail me offline. I have a couple of ideas that might be of interest.

shadows-lair@home.com

Regards,

Mike Harris in Sandy Eggo

Kevin,

I have the Wetterauer chip in my 98 XC, which runs $695 if you get the $100 discount for mentioning the Brickboard.

I have put about 10,000 miles on the chip now and have no concerns about reliability or long-term effects on the engine or tranny. It is very nice to be able to swap back in the stock chip when service is done under warranty, but now that I am out of warranty, it's not that big a deal. In any case, the chip wouldn't affect warranty claims unless Volvo can show that the chip actually caused the problem you are making a claim for.

Driving with the chip is very nice. The car feels about 500 lbs lighter, everything feels more "effortless". The torque comes on nice and low, so the power is VERY useable anytime, not just when racing.

My only gripe is that the chip has caused the "skip and dip" ECU problem that the car originally had to come back. This was fixed on my stock ECU by a reprogramming by Volvo, but evidently it is in the software of the chip as well. It is really just an annoyance, but it is irritating when the engine just intermittently stumbles, either at idle or at speed. So far Wetterauer has not been able to fix it, but they tell me they are working on it.

So, does Wetterauer just send you a chip and a socket?

How much does it cost to get the socket and chip installed?

Rich

For $695, you send them your ECU (car is out of commission for about 2 days). They remove the stock chip and solder in a socket, into which you can insert either their high performance chip or your stock chip. It's very easy to swap back and forth anytime you want, if you are so inclined. The chips just plug right in. Looking at the outside of the ECU, there is no way to tell that anything has been done - you would have to open up the ECU case to see the socket on the circuit board. Once the initial install has been done, there should never again be a need to send them your ECU.

Try PES or Rica. Both of which will extend a discount if you mention Volvospeed. There is also IPD, SCT, SAM, and I belive Wetteraurer.