X-3 Performance Chip

Is the chip produced by Nissan?
If yes then I'd say yes, if not I'd ask myself why would Nissan squander 20% of the power.
I'm sure a chip tuned for a specific application/rev range etc can give some improvement, but usually at the expense of performance elsewhere.
If it gives 20% improvement...blimey fit two.
Del

the way they work is to change the map inside the ecu (engine control unit)

you have to remember the manufacturers have to set up a car/vehicles performance to suit all climates and all loads ie driver no passengers driver 4 passengers, city driving motorway driving high altitude low altitude etc.

if you remove some of these parameters you can alter the power output. But loose it somwhere else.

How much is it ?

My experience with similar chips on different engines is that they can often achieve better consumption and higher power output, but not necessarily at the same time!!! To do that would mean a dramatic increase in efficiency....which would be difficult to achieve!

But often under the same conditions, driving at the same speeds, these chips can reduce fuel consumption a small (but useful) amount.....

The biggest problem is guarantee. How long will they (the manufacturer of the chip) guarantee your engine? Because the original manufacturer will not, once the chip is installed.....the original chips "safeguard" the engine from damage.....the new ones????

Life span of the engine may be severely reduced, instead of say 200,000+ miles, simply less, say 150,000.....or similar......though I have never personally had a motor collapse in any way shape or form, but I was only interested in reducing consumption, not in driving faster!! So I am a bad "tester", sorry.....

You should not forget that when "using" the extra 50BHP that the stresses on bearings and gaskets is higher than before.....so use a top quality Long-life III oil, instead of mineral (assuming you use only mineral oil!).

This will happen more often than you may think, especially when pulling a trailer up inclines......

You can safely double the replacement interval of the oil over mineral oil, which will offset the extra costs a bit.

Keep us updated please.

I have tried the simple resistors and many other of these on my 1997 V6 ford Explorer.

All of these kinds of chips, resistors, rheostats or, replacement oxygen sensor signals are constructed to fool the ECU into thinking the engine is cool or at some other condition than it is. As such they work fine. Compared to a warmed up or hot car one that has just started and is "cold" has more power. It goes back to the car getting the perfect air fuel mixture at startup and the leaning that out as the car warme up to reach pollution control specs. These kinds of devices offer better air/fuel ratios when the car is hot. They are also more efficient because the power in the gasoline is being better converted with the best fuel/air ratio. After the addition of ethanol to gasoline to replace MTBE, these devices are even more effective if they have been adjusted for 10% ethanol like the X-3 has. So in short, they work and will deliver modest power gains of about 6% and fuel milage gains of 11% or so. They may work best when it is hot outside.

Find actual people's opinions and dyno charts before believing that. A 20% increase from a chip alone is in absurd in a naturally aspired engine. Factory turbos on the other hand usually come conservatively tuned and can see huge increases with tuning chips. Whether to worry or not if a tune will effect longevity. Users opinions on an Xterra specific board should answer that. Many but not all modern engines are overbuilt and can reliably handle a small bit of extra power without throwing rods, melting pistons, or burning valves. The pistons and valve melting is caused by too high of an A/F ratio. Some aggressive tunes really lean out the engine at the top of the powerband. Stay away from those. Stick with the big labels, not the small performance shops. You may want to consider what oil you run too. Manufacturers recommend thin oils to promote efficiency. Granted todays thin oils protect really well, stay on the heavier side for more protection. The oil needs to maintain a layer between moving parts, if this layer is maintained then no unusual wear can be expected.

I can tell you right now someone is fibbing if they're claiming 20% increase in horsepower on an otherwise stock car with just a chip. As del mentioned earlier an increase in efficiency would be required. Manufactures are under tremendous pressure to squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of their engines. If a $200 chip gave everyone a 20% increase, don't you think they would have installed it?

AFAIK, in order to be street legal any aftermarket chip can only modify fuel injector opening times at full throttle--the only pert of the throttle opening curve that is free under the EPA regs. Since the fuel map already causes the control unit to go full rich at full throttle it's hard to believe that increasing the pulse width beyond that would have much effect on power, since under acceleration you quickly pass through the peak of the power-torque peak and need to reduce throttle at that point to maintain efficiency. Once you pass the RPM of peak power, any increase in throttle is just entertaining your tachometer.

Bob

other savings could be made by shutting fuel off on overrun but i suspect this is already done on some models,

over weaning the mixture would save fuel but loose power and overheat the valves.

there isn't much the chip could alter to save such a large amount of fuel.

increase performance is easy just throw lots of fuel in for whatever throttle position, but economy would plummet

I would like to try one to see what differenc it makes but i would have to get one free i wouldnt buy one because of the doubts and warranty problems as i would be stuck with it if as i suspect it doesnt work

I used another brand but got the results advertised. On both my cars, I have seen improved responces and its like taking 300lbs off the car.