The DiabloSport DeltaChip...
The DiabloSport DeltaChip comes with a three-position toggle switch (on the end of one harness), a tube-key antitheft switch, an antitheft wiring harness, and the DeltaChip assembly.
Horse Sense:
The DeltaChip has an optional antitheft key switch that disables the chip, thus preventing the vehicle from starting. The key switch isn't Fort Knox, but if it's cleverly hidden (and routinely used), it is yet another obstacle a would-be thief has to overcome to take your ride.
The typical computer-chip upgrade is a replacement or add-on chip that replaces the stock computer's look-up tables for timing, fuel, rpm, fan speed, and so on (depending upon application) with custom-tuned tables. Most all chip designs allow for custom tuning as well. You can purchase an off-the-shelf chip upgrade that has many of the stock parameters tweaked for performance, or you can go to a chip tuner who will take a blank chip and customize it to your particular vehicle's attributes-perfect for one-off combinations, stroker engines, and race setups.
Computer-chip upgrades have been around since the late '80s. The first chip design was used in GM computers where the physical chip could be removed from the circuit board and replaced with another chip. The Ford computers proved to be a different beast altogether since the circuit boards had soldered chips. However, it was soon determined that the Ford computer could indeed be "chipped" by using the service port found on the back of the computer case. The Ford-style chip required its own circuit board with attaching hardware. In later years, several designs came out using various mounting techniques for the Ford computer. Today there are still several manufacturers of performance computer chips for both EEC IV and EEC V fuel-injected Mustangs (and other Ford products as well).
Since the aftermarket performance...
Since the aftermarket performance chip is installed on the computer-or EEC IV-access to the EEC is required. We spent the day at Steeda Autosports, a DiabloSport dealer, where we were graciously allowed to use the Dynojet and the company's personnel. Here, Johan Mangs of DiabloSport removes the PCM from Scott Boda's 408 Windsor-powered LX.
For this article, we opted to use DiabloSport's new DeltaChip. The Delta-Chip is not one, but three computer programs on one chip. The first program is always a stock tune-the way the car was without a chip-while the second and third tunes can be programmed for just about anything. We'll be using the two alternative tunes for performance tuning with and without nitrous. The options are up to the vehicle owner and chip tuner, but you could use the two separate tunes for such things as street and race fuel, street and race rev limit, and much more.
Follow along as we show you how to install the DeltaChip.
Custom Tunes R-Us
While you can contact any DiabloSport dealer and have your DeltaChip programmed for your vehicle's particular setup, we thought it would be interesting to show you how a DiabloSport dealer would accomplish this. Since Steeda is a DiabloSport dealer, we simply followed along as Johan Mangs from DiabloSport went through the acts of programming our DeltaChip from the DiabloSport dealer Web site while we were at Steeda for this article.
With the DeltaChip inserted...
With the DeltaChip inserted into the programmer/reader unit, DiabloSport tuning wizard Patrick Stadjel puts one of the company's existing programs on the chip for a baseline test. Beginning with an existing program and tweaking the parameters is much safer and faster than trying to tune every bit of the chip's tables from scratch.
One thing we noticed about...
One thing we noticed about the DeltaChip is that it uses newer componentry on its circuit board than earlier-designed DiabloSport chips. The entire assembly is smaller and more compact on the board than the previous single-program design (shown on the right).
While not a concern on '94-and-later...
While not a concern on '94-and-later installations, the "horns" on the DiabloSport chip must be cut off to clear the typical "A9L" EEC IV found in the earlier Fox Mustangs. The service-port opening will accept the DeltaChip once the horns have been removed. The port on Scott's EEC had been trimmed previously since he had been using one of the older-style DiabloSport chips.