IAT Tricker
When IAT's get up around 100* (which will be quite frequently for you), timing is pulled. The tricker makes the PCM think it's cooler air entering the motor, which will prevent timing from being pulled. This may cause knock if the intake temps are high enough...
Now there's a mod I haven't seen mentioned in many years. I remember the first time I dynoed my stock Camaro back in '98 or early '99 that one of the guys was using resistors to make the IAT static on his A4 Camaro.
I actually still have the raw files, and it looks like he picked up 5-8rwhp with it after a ~15 minute cooldown. We tried it on my last run, and I lost the same amount above 4500RPM on my M6 with the same cooldown time.
There were many posts about it years ago, and I recall the conclusion being that it was a temporary change that the PCM would effectively learn out anyway based upon feedback from other sensors.
I actually still have the raw files, and it looks like he picked up 5-8rwhp with it after a ~15 minute cooldown. We tried it on my last run, and I lost the same amount above 4500RPM on my M6 with the same cooldown time.
There were many posts about it years ago, and I recall the conclusion being that it was a temporary change that the PCM would effectively learn out anyway based upon feedback from other sensors.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,691
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From: Sunny London, UK
Bad idea. You are lying to the PCM so it makes a bad decision. Sometimes it might work out for more power, but its equally likely to mean less power, knock retard and in extreme circumstances engine failure.
Buy yourself a tuning solution and tune the spark to ideal at all temps, then you will know the engine is running perfect all the time and using the correct IAT to boot!
Buy yourself a tuning solution and tune the spark to ideal at all temps, then you will know the engine is running perfect all the time and using the correct IAT to boot!
Originally Posted by CNVRTmyZ
how do these things work???? are they worth it? I live in georgia its always hot. My IAT's reach high temps and it makes the idle suck
It is a resistor or potenciometer (variable resistor) that takes the place of the actual IAT sensor. Instead of the sensor reading actual temperature and reporting this to the PCM, you are in control of the signal the IAT reports back.
If you know what you're doing, they can be of slight benefit. If you don't, then they can sometimes get you into trouble. There's really no need to be afraid of them as some people are, but I do not think that one will solve your idle problem. It is likely another cause.
An easy experiment to try would be to simply move your IAT into the passenger compartment with you so that the temperature stays in a more limited range.
