Stand-Alones and Chips

No, we are NOT talking about Lays and desert-bred rebels.

Actually, we are talking about cars and both of these do the same thing but differently.

For example...

Say you want to add more horsepower so you do the typical cold air intake (CAI). It helps the engine get cooler air, which science tells us is denser. Denser air holds more O2 which is VITAL to combustion in the cylinder chamber.

But that doesn't do it for you. Since you have more air going in, more needs to come OUT! So the typical exhaust upgrades happen.

YAY! Now you just spent $700+ to make another 10-20 HP. Congrats!


Yep. Now you add bigger fuel injectors for more oomph. That is what really benefits. More fuel plus more air means bigger boom. It all come together until your Check Engine Light comes on saying it is too rich (too much fuel). What happened?

Nothing really. You just added stuff (injectors) which made some sensors detect an anomaly that is outside of preset parameters. So it cuts down to barely running.

That is where chips and stand-alone engine management (SEM) come into play. They modify the cars ECU (brain) slightly so what it now see is supposed to happen. It resets the parameters to the "new" safe levels.

But again, we have 2 different things going on here.

Chips are something a tuner makes, finds it works with certain parts added (20% bigger injectors, 2.5" exhaust, stock intake for example), makes so much horsepower, and is reliable. It modifies incoming signals to fool the ECU into thinking everything is pie in the sky. Anyone can buy these parts, add them, add the chip, and viola! You now have a car that makes a reliable XXX horsepower, and you didn't have to think too much.

Stand-alone engine management (From here on out, SEM) does exactly what the name implies. It manages the engine apart from the manufacturers original ECU (brain). It is its own brain and controls the car in its own way. But how does it? You tune it. You have FULL control of how your engine now acts. You can say what's bad and what's good.

SEMs are the cats meow for all out power. The stock ECU is never enough in most cases. It can only do what the original manufacturer made it for. Chips modify, SEMs replace. They also have a downside, user error. You can do something the slightest bit wrong and you will see bearings shoot out from under the car. Bye-bye engine!

The same is true for everyone who is born on this planet.

We are all pre-wired from God the day we are born. When we grow up, we adapt and add things to our lives. Our stock brain gets modified every time something is added. Things like:

Taste
Speech
Walking
Swimming
Etc.

Now when we learn something, our brain gets a chip. Whether the chip is bad or good is from the experience.

Now the that vile Serpent, Satan, wants to keep replacing chips and limiting our potential.

In fact, even Christian LEADERS do this. They add a bit of information, change a few parameters (verses out of context for example), and now you have a "new" chip.

Now, I am currently rewiring my body to accept this new CLM (Christ Life Management). I am needing somethings upgraded and somethings removed. The stuff being removed are senseless to the new Management. They serve no purpose and, in fact, inhibits proper function. Yes, they were installed but necessary for proper function.

Romans 12:1-5 says it best. (NLT)

 ¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

 ³ Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. ⁴ Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, ⁵ so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

 Even here, Paul gives us a warning. Do NOT think you are better than the original guy! He knew how it was gonna run because He built it. He knows the ins and outs.

So, who wants to replace their unit for a better one? I do!