A Dumb Question

["Michael Blair" <mjblair@xxxxxxxxx>]

Call me an old fart, but my performance days are far behind me -- 
car-wise, that is.

I remember Weber carbs and full-race cams and superchargers -- hung around
Mosport. Ontario, for a few years in the early 60s, very briefly "raced" a
punched out 1960 Austin Healy Sprite (the little bug-eyed job that was my
very first car) until the transmission blew and I realized that racing was
just too effing expensive -- and the girls liked my "new" '56 MGA whether
I raced it or not...

In '93 I bought an '84 318i, which I recently replaced with an '88 325e
(the 318 was nimbler but the 325 is gutsier). I also recently discovered
this list and some of the highly entertaining (although often
less-than-informative) BMW-related websites.

Oh, yeah, the dumb question I mentioned ... what the hell's a Dinan or a
Conforti "chip". I mean, OK, I know it's a computer thingimabob (I am not
totally computer illiterate) that controls, I suppose, the fuel and
ignition systems, but the implication seems to be that you can boost the
performance of your car simply by replacing the chip.

Or am I missing something? Can anyone point me at an FAQ that will explain
what the chip does in really simple, basic language.

- --
Michael Blair
88 325e

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