It's called the "Gentlemen's Agreement" in Japan - which limits production cars to 280 HP or so (276 maybe?). Of course after the Euros (BMW/MB/etc.) started selling cars with 300+ HP in Japan, that agreement went out the window.
The point though is - while it was still in place, you could get a ridiculously overengineered car like the Nissan Skyline, chip it, and unleash its true (and reliable!) potential.
Consider this: in some states you can only get 91 octane gas and cars intended for a specific market are tuned to accomodate all conditions within that market. So it is conceivable that the STi is tuned for 91 octane gas and a chip could improve performance a bit in other states where 93+ octane is available by doing nothing other than advancing ignition timing.
I got an Autothority program for my 1.8T engine; they promised 46 hp and I'd say based on the "butt dyno" that was about right.
Keep in mind, the article does point out that aftermarket chips normally extract a lot more from forced induction engines than normally aspirated ones. This is because turbos are set to more conservative boost levels from the factory which can be doubled in some cases. For example, the K03 turbo in my car made 7 lbs of boost in stock mode and 14 lbs with the AA chip.
OTOH, the new GT25 that I put in recently now makes as much as 20 lbs.
The seemed to certainly have enough clout:
-- quote from the article --
"I guess I've made it very clear that we view an Intel investment in Go as an anti-Microsoft move, both because Go competes with our systems software and because we think it will weaken the 386 PC standard," Mr. Gates wrote.
Shortly after the letter was written, according to Mr. Kaplan, Intel reduced its planned investment in Go from $10 million to $2 million, and stipulated the investment be kept a secret.
-- end quote --
Given that a number of people who previously did software development @$50/hour are now forced to work at Wal Mart for $5.75/hour, I think it's a slight misconstruing of facts to equate previous and current unemployment rates. Sometimes, 5.6% != 5.6%.
The question is, if people had to actually configure their own/etc/ppp/options file, how would these figures change?
Back in the day, there was a barrier to entry - and all was good. Then AOL came along and nowadays, going online is like hitting the on-button on a remote.
The result? Look at how the signal to noise ratio of the web has dropped through the roof in the last few years.
In my experience, I have found the opposite to be the case.
Sorry - but "treat them rough you get the muff" still applies, wake up and smell the coffee.
There are no "interlock switches" on any of the shields, it would be far too expensive and they'd die all the time.
I've done significant work to my 2001 Audi. Try http://www.audiworld.com/forum/a4.html to find a large group of others who have also.
I've done a stage 3 turbo swap on my 2001.5 drive-by-wire Audi A4 (this involved swapping the turbo, exhaust manifold, cat, plugs, injectors, hoses, vac lines...)
I also installed a suspension last weekend, put in a snub mount, anti-roll bars, etc.
I do routine maintenance on it (oil/belts/coolant/rotors/pads/etc.) and troubleshoot engine codes with the $200 Vag-com I bought that connects to the car's OBD-II port and talks to the car's ECU.
The one thing I have not managed to do is to replace the wheel bearing. I got a specialty tool to pull the bearing housing (~$250), but my impact wrench wasn't powerful enough at 250 ft-lbs.
Anyway, sure you can service even the newest vehicles yourself. It just requires interest, patience, and lots of band-aids. And I'm a computer dork by day.
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That is because you tend not to stare as much at halogen lights as you do at HIDs (this is actually a known, expected factor!).
My two cents: I have a 2001 Audi that I routinely work on/maintain/modify.
...and in 9/10 hard collisions between your rabbit and my A4, I will walk and you won't.
Everything has its price.
So what other OS is actually "done" and neither requires nor receives ongoing development?
I think when the original poster said "improving," he meant "appearing increasingly more attractive as an alternative."
By way of comparison, Windows as the de facto desktop standard cannot improve in that aspect - precisely because it is already the standard.
It's called the "Gentlemen's Agreement" in Japan - which limits production cars to 280 HP or so (276 maybe?). Of course after the Euros (BMW/MB/etc.) started selling cars with 300+ HP in Japan, that agreement went out the window.
The point though is - while it was still in place, you could get a ridiculously overengineered car like the Nissan Skyline, chip it, and unleash its true (and reliable!) potential.
Consider this: in some states you can only get 91 octane gas and cars intended for a specific market are tuned to accomodate all conditions within that market. So it is conceivable that the STi is tuned for 91 octane gas and a chip could improve performance a bit in other states where 93+ octane is available by doing nothing other than advancing ignition timing.
I got an Autothority program for my 1.8T engine; they promised 46 hp and I'd say based on the "butt dyno" that was about right.
Keep in mind, the article does point out that aftermarket chips normally extract a lot more from forced induction engines than normally aspirated ones. This is because turbos are set to more conservative boost levels from the factory which can be doubled in some cases. For example, the K03 turbo in my car made 7 lbs of boost in stock mode and 14 lbs with the AA chip.
OTOH, the new GT25 that I put in recently now makes as much as 20 lbs.
The seemed to certainly have enough clout: -- quote from the article -- "I guess I've made it very clear that we view an Intel investment in Go as an anti-Microsoft move, both because Go competes with our systems software and because we think it will weaken the 386 PC standard," Mr. Gates wrote. Shortly after the letter was written, according to Mr. Kaplan, Intel reduced its planned investment in Go from $10 million to $2 million, and stipulated the investment be kept a secret. -- end quote --
Given that a number of people who previously did software development @$50/hour are now forced to work at Wal Mart for $5.75/hour, I think it's a slight misconstruing of facts to equate previous and current unemployment rates.
Sometimes, 5.6% != 5.6%.
In related news, more women than men watch TV.
The question is, if people had to actually configure their own /etc/ppp/options file, how would these figures change?
Back in the day, there was a barrier to entry - and all was good. Then AOL came along and nowadays, going online is like hitting the on-button on a remote.
The result? Look at how the signal to noise ratio of the web has dropped through the roof in the last few years.
In my experience, I have found the opposite to be the case. Sorry - but "treat them rough you get the muff" still applies, wake up and smell the coffee.
Only because women take fewer chances than men. Who dares, wins.
that will also clear the service indicator
There are no "interlock switches" on any of the shields, it would be far too expensive and they'd die all the time. I've done significant work to my 2001 Audi. Try http://www.audiworld.com/forum/a4.html to find a large group of others who have also.
I've done a stage 3 turbo swap on my 2001.5 drive-by-wire Audi A4 (this involved swapping the turbo, exhaust manifold, cat, plugs, injectors, hoses, vac lines...) I also installed a suspension last weekend, put in a snub mount, anti-roll bars, etc. I do routine maintenance on it (oil/belts/coolant/rotors/pads/etc.) and troubleshoot engine codes with the $200 Vag-com I bought that connects to the car's OBD-II port and talks to the car's ECU. The one thing I have not managed to do is to replace the wheel bearing. I got a specialty tool to pull the bearing housing (~$250), but my impact wrench wasn't powerful enough at 250 ft-lbs. Anyway, sure you can service even the newest vehicles yourself. It just requires interest, patience, and lots of band-aids. And I'm a computer dork by day.