autothority vs Steve Wong

[wdfifteen]

After a few informative emails from Steve Wong I ordered a DME chip for my '88 Carrera. I opened the box today to install it and discovered an Autothority chip already in it. I called Autothority to find out what the specs on the chip are and got some guy who was, let's say, less than helpful. According to him all the Autothority chips for my '88 911 are the same (though mine says "version 2.5" on it) and all 911s use "premium" gas (specifically what octane? - no help with that question). Steve will make a chip for either 91 or 93 octane.
Anyway - aside from dealing with the company, any experience with the Autothority chip? Can I expect any improvement with the SW chip or should I send it back?

[175K911]

The original Autothority that knew Porsches is long gone. Current owners seem to be more interested in Japanese cars.

Back in the day when Al Collins and Larry B were doing the chip work, they were THE experts. I had one of their chips in '84 in my old 944, then they used my previous '86 to run on their dyno to develop their MAF conversion kit. I still have a box full of their software, including one of those v2.5 chips. It worked pretty well though was known to run a bit richer than necessary to be on the safe side. Unless it says 91 octane, all the v2.5 were made for 93 octane.

I'd be curious your back to back seat of the pants comparison between the two chips. I bet Steve W's software will offer better drivability and slightly better throttle response. He does more development these days than Autothority did back 20 years ago.

[Bill Verburg]

Steve Wong is the only way to go

[surflvr911sc]

Originally Posted by Bill Verburg

Steve Wong is the only way to go

A quick search will show you why.

[Zef]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Can I expect any improvement with the SW chip or should I send it back?

The question is : How can I send the Autothority chip back to where it belong....garbage can.

[dsmeyer]

My '86 had an Autothority chip, a cat bypass pipe, and a single in, single out Monty sport muffler. It always ran rich and I had to put the stock cat back on because otherwise it would "backfire" when shifting from 1st to 2nd at high RPM. Autothority blamed the "backfire" on the exhaust and was no help after the sale.

Years later after reading all the great reviews on Steve Wong's chips, I installed one along with a Fabspeed premuffler to replace the stock cat. Steve's chip made the throttle more responsive throughout the entire rpm range. Steve's chip also seems more sensitive to input from sensors. I had to replace an old O2 sensor and the head temperture sensor to get the mixture to adjust correctly. Steve was very patient, replied quickly to all my emails, and helped me make all the adjustments to get my car car running better than it ever has.

I also had a unique problem with the idle control switch switching on at the wrong time. This one took a while to figure out and at one point I put the Autothority chip back in to compare. With the Autothority chip back in the throttle response felt numb. The Autothority chip also ran too rich, start up was rougher, and the high RPM "backfire" was back.

Because I was busy with work and other projects, it took me a long time to sort though the adjustments needed to get my car running just right. (my fault, not Steve's) At one point I even had to store the car for the winter, and work on the idle control switch problem in the spring. Steve continued to help me sort though the issues of a 20 year old car until his product was working the way he designed it to work.

The car is much more fun to drive now and it even gets better gas mileage. The time spent sorting things out and getting it all right was well worth it. I can't remember ever having such good customer service during and after the sale on any product.

[Eagledriver]

Sell the Autothority chip to help fund the SW chip.

-Andy

[drl911]

I too bought the SW chip especially for my '86 Carrera (with headers and M&K 2in/2out) only to find it had already had been chipped with the Autothority at some point in history. Back to back runs on a local dynojet documented in my case the Autothority chip was up ~5 hp (229 at the wheels) and the air fuel ratios were also better especially above 5500rpm. The SW chip also caused my car to stall when the clutch was pushed in and the rpm's dropped fast. The idle was correct, but it would fall straight through idle rpm to zero unless it was blipped. Steve offered to adjust the air/fuel, but I eventually just sold it for a small loss and re-installed the Autothority chip and never looked back..... your results may vary!

[skinnerd]

Steve Wong ship 100x better than Autothority.
I switched over, and saw incredible change for the better.

Like other's have said....
Do a search and you will see why Steve Wong chip is so good.

[Geronimo '74]

Wong is the man!
Great guy, great chip!
I am a happy customer!

[wildcat077]

Not only is a Steve Wong chip a great upgrade for any Porsche but you also get first class tech support and communication from Steve.
When someone can spend over 20 minutes on the phone explaining his product to a total stranger,it says a lot about the person and his dedication to his product !!!

Phil

[NY65912]

There is simply NO question here. Steve is the man.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by 175K911

The original Autothority that knew Porsches is long gone. Current owners seem to be more interested in Japanese cars.

Back in the day when Al Collins and Larry B were doing the chip work, they were THE experts. I had one of their chips in '84 in my old 944, then they used my previous '86 to run on their dyno to develop their MAF conversion kit. I still have a box full of their software, including one of those v2.5 chips. It worked pretty well though was known to run a bit richer than necessary to be on the safe side. Unless it says 91 octane, all the v2.5 were made for 93 octane.

I'd be curious your back to back seat of the pants comparison between the two chips. I bet Steve W's software will offer better drivability and slightly better throttle response. He does more development these days than Autothority did back 20 years ago.

I went ahead and replace the autothority chip with the SW chip. I haven't had a chance to do a thorough seat-of-the-pants comparison, but one difference was obvious immediately. The car had been hard to get off the line with the Authority unit in it. It took careful coordination of the clutch and throttle to get the car moving without killing the engine or a lot of clutch slippage. With the SW chip the car is much easier to get moving. It seems a little "softer" in the important 3500-5000 rpm range, but I don't want to make a judgment there yet. I've only driven it once and I haven't received the pre-muffler so it isn't installed yet.

[Jack Olsen]

Originally Posted by Bill Verburg

Steve Wong is the only way to go

Even though no one is disagreeing, I'll second that.

[Noah930]

As my car can't be chipped, I have no FHE with either product. But one thing that would go into my purchase thought process is the fact that Steve is a fellow Pelican who's only an email or phone call away. In these types of custom applications (where your mods will be different than the next guy's), I think it's important to have that type of individualized customer service so readily available.

[theclaw]

I'll raise my hand on this one. Opened the DME and found an Authority chip, installed the SW chip and it was like night and day. A year later I installed a cat bypass, deleted the 02 and Steve remapped the chip (reasonable incremental $$). More power, better midrange, lots more smiles.

High fives for Steve's work.

[efhughes3]

OK, I really have to chime in and say......wait, it's all been said.

[ganun]

I found the following comment on an old post;

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I went ahead and replaced the Autothority chip with the SW chip. I haven't had a chance to do a thorough seat-of-the-pants comparison, but one difference was obvious immediately. The car had been hard to get off the line with the Authority unit in it. It took careful coordination of the clutch and throttle to get the car moving without killing the engine or a lot of clutch slippage. With the SW chip the car is much easier to get moving. It seems a little "softer" in the important 3500-5000 rpm range, but I don't want to make a judgment there yet. I've only driven it once and I haven't received the pre-muffler so it isn't installed yet.

I had the DME unit out (87 Carrera) to check its general condition, knowing about some weak solder joints, and discovered a loose paper label that was obviously glued to the chip.
Looks ancient to me.
Aha, looks like the explanation to the poor mileage (~17) after hjaving read posts about the typical richness of their chip, but here is the question.
I can compensate for some richness by turning the DME adjuster pot to position #7 ( IIRC) It is set to 0 now and position 7 moves the fuel map to lean ~4% leaving the timing map stock.
Without a wide band air/fuel ratio meter at my disposal has anyone done this to compensate for the Autothority mixture map. I would not like to spring for a SW chip now and I must say Autothority claims an 18 hp increase for the stock 3.2 plus I have Bursch 1 5/8" headers with an M&K 2/1 muffler that must be good for ~15hp on top. No wonder it revs like it does, but I don't track/race so I would like a bit better milage. BTW its a 28 pin chip. Thanks ,
George in Miami

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by ganun

I found the following comment on an old post;

Like this old thread?

[jac1976]

Sounds like Wong will make it right...