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.<>