Electronics puts its foot on the gas

This special report covers the replacement programmable ROMs (PROMs) that have been developed to allow more power and smoother running from BMW's eta engines and those of various other cars as well, for only a few hundred dollars. These chips, which basically alter the ignition timing curve, usually by advancing the onset of the spark, are ushering in a new era of hot-rodding. Their development involves decoding the chip that comes with the unmodified chip and modifying the ROM software. Possible violation of federal and state antipollution laws is discussed.<
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