Posted by Todd A. LaGreco 3/15/04


First evaluation: 
In accordance with our agreement, I picked up my truck with a custom-tuned, hardwired Unichip
in Portland exactly 3 days after delivering it to Jack. Delivering on a handshake showed me
that Jack has integrity and can be trusted to deliver on his word. It's hard to put a price or
a value on integrity, but in today's world, it's priceless to me. This first experience with
Jack gave me even more confidence that deciding to install a Unichip and pushing forward with
this test was a mutually beneficial endeavor. 

I drove from Portland to Whidbey Island(about 80 miles above Seattle), approximately 225 miles. 

WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE! 

Although the truck has always been strong and smooth running, especially after adding the
underdrive pulley; that "smooth power" is definitely more pronounced now in the lower RPM
range and the power comes on much sooner with the Unichip-even the idle seems smoother. What
I can only attribute to more torque is the fact that the transmission is much less apt to
downshift on hills. Additionally, whenever I have the urge to "punch" the accelerator, the
downshifts/upshifts are smoother and the "increased" power comes on quicker, without any of
the Tundra transmission's notorious tendency to "hesitate". That dreaded transmission hesitation
is nearly nonexistent with the Unichip.

After driving my truck over a 1,000 miles with the hard-wired Unichip, the greatest difference
is in the "CHARACTER" of the truck. It acts more refined, less quirky, and is definitely more
powerful in seat-of-the-pants "feel" and empirically from a DYNO. It has more deliberate torque/HP
across the entire RPM range, much less hesitation when shifting(either up or down), and it does
not downshift as often on hills at highway speeds as it "annoyingly" once did. Moreover, even
with my predisposition to routinely "test" the performance of my truck in varied situations,
my gas mileage has not suffered. I still average between 18-20 MPG on 92 Octane--a much welcomed
surprise. I have also noticed no electrical or lighting problems, issues, etc.

We will soon be adding the TRD Supercharger on a stock setup. I'll ask Jack to publish those
results. After that we will either add the SSAutochrome Headers and "Y-pipe" and then modify
the exhaust system or vice versa. We plan to modify the exhaust by removing the restrictive
stock muffler and replacing it with either:

(1) a straight pipe or, (if that is too irritatingly loud), 
(2) an aftermarket high flowing catalytic converter (basicly a straight pipe with holes on the
interior walls). 

If anyone has any specific questions or suggestions about the performance of my truck with the
Unichip, fire away. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.

Thanks,

Todd