Greets,

I'm not an owner, yet. Been looking at various rides and after my last test drive have fallen in love with the 8. After doing a little background research (I'm an automotive n00b), I'm outraged at the stories I hear regarding the HP loss on the 8 due to misguided EPA regs. Apparently due to the requirement that the Cat last >100k miles, they had to make PCM mods at the last minute. The story goes that not only did we lose HP, but MPG as well. How ironic, an environmental reg that actually damages the environment. Anyway...how much truth is there to this story, and what can I do about it? Obviously I'm thinking of chipping, but a cursory glance on ebay reveals nothing but sketchy $25 chips that I wouldn't touch with...well, I just wouldn't touch them. Anything on the horizon in that area, or a better alternative to regain some of that lost power?

 

Do a search for "Canzoomer" or "emanage" to begin looking at costs of aftermarket fuel management. Expect to pay no less than 500 to get this done, and that's if you do the tuning yourself.

As for the EPA rumors and such...yes, the car does run rich and this has been rumored to be linked to cooling down the cat to make it last the required mileage. Definitely ironic.

 

I don't think the current administration (by way of trickle down to the EPA) would have any motivation to ensure high fuel economy, seeing as the top dog made his fortune in the oil business. I don't think he directly influenced it, but he wouldn't push for fuel economy improvements either. That is just one of my theories. As far as the performance chips go, I have spoken to people who have seen first hand that they work, but they were more expensive units sold by professionals. I don't know much about these $30 ones on eBay and I don't think I would trust my vehicle with one of them. If you do use a mod chip, can the service shop's equipment detect that you have used one (I would remove it before taking it in to service)? I have heard that the use of one can void parts of your warranty.

 

No, the ones on Ebay just plain don't work.

I am sure that the Mazda computer analyzer can't see the Canzoomer unit, even if you leave it on. The only way to find it is to undo the three bolts and clips, and look under the ECU cover.

S

 

Is the Canzoomer specific to the RX? I see the Greddy unit can run against various model's PCMs...not sure this is a good thing, looks like tons of confusing part options on the Emanage.

 

The CZ is a plug'n'play eManage with pre-programmed maps. There are guys on this site with extensive experience tuning them, with and without forced induction.