4 Cyl. Chip #3: High-Torque-S4s-code
Reviewed by Lotus Esprit World

This is the chip I would have bought to run in my Esprit from looking at the choices available. The extra torque makes all the difference in real world driving. Top end bhp isn't that important to me. Reading the chip modifications charts, also gives you some reassurance that this chip (and the others) aren't just power obsessed beasts. With the safety features built in to help the Esprit performance without damaging itself.

On startup after replacing my stock chip, I notice the idle was a little higher, but remember, you need to do around 30 miles for the ECU to learn all the settings for your Esprit. As once it's taken out, or the battery is disconnected, all it's memory is lost and it returns to the factory settings. I think I noticed the Esprit running a little smoother at very low speeds, but that may have been my over enthusiasm for feeling what the chip has changed.

I decide to do a long run to bed in the chip and make sure everything was warm before I started to see what difference in performance I could notice. Even keeping the revs below 3,000rpm, I felt the Esprit to be more eager, which was very encouraging. Once everything had warmed up and I'd done around 20 miles, I decided to push a little harder to see how the chip was performing. You notice straight away the huge amount of torque. A massive surge of pull. I was smiling and still only using three-quarter throttle.

Doing a few more spirited runs, I found the Esprit to have turned into a rev hungry beast. The extra torque is unbelievable, I managed to spin the wheels in third, still without using full throttle! (Only because I was abusing the power, driven with respect you'll find traction isn't a huge problem). The Esprit runs so much smoother, but it's not that you notice, it's waves of torque, putting huge smiles across my face.

Once the chip was running 100% with the Esprit's ECU, I did push it a little harder, using 100% throttle. If you don't feed it in progressively, you'll spin the rear's in almost any gear. I must confess to fishtailing on a couple of occasions. In the wet, extra care will need to be taken, as traction will be a problem if care isn't taken. The waves of torque become addictive, as you need to feel it at every opportunity.

Overall, I was so impressed with this chip, I didn't was to test the others, I didn't want to even get out of the car. Scared of chip #5 and not wanting to lose 13% of my torque using chip #2. Although if I'd have started with chip #2, I'm sure I would be scared of chip #3. My only concern with running chip #3 is having too much fun all the time, and the wear on my rears at my grinning face fishtails down the road.