Hi guys, I am not a chip tuning expert, but through various threads that came up recently there was something I wanted to write about – eBay chip(!) tuning!
We have all seen them, +15BPH for 7,95. What a bargain (can I fit 2?!)
For your money you get a „Module“ to fit, which only takes a few seconds, you get better MPG, more BPH and Torque, lower emmisions, totally legal and can be removed within seconds.
WOW Thats excellent, just what we are all looking for. Soooo where's the catch ?
Come on guys .. wake up and smell the coffee. Real BHPs cost a lot of money, so whats the scam? Well firstly, here is an example of the bugger concerned.
THIS IS NOT A CHIP !!
Chip tuning is (very basically) the remapping of the eeprom chip in your ecu using etensive rolling road procedures to gain maximum results. Dbilas does a chip remap for most opel/Vauxhals, and for pure example, the 2.0l red top engine with standard 150ps can be chiped to 162ps at a cost of 335 Euro. But even this is a standard „off the shelf“ chip.
THIS IS A CHIP
So, what do we get then?
basically what you are being sold is a resistor. Cost, 2p (give or take 1 or 2p).
What does it do ?
It tricks the engine into thinking it is colder than it is, by restricting the temp signal.
It manipulates the coolant temp signal to the ECU (If you take some trime to study the resistor band chart, you could work out the resistance, and replace it with a lower or higher value resistor, thus re producing a richer or leaner running possibility!! - WOW what a great idea, i am amazed these „chip tuners“ are not allready offering „customised“ chips .. anyway enough of that !)
How is it fitted?
The resistor is bridged across the temp sensor plug, and thats it.
What effect does this have ?
Well, a colder engine needs more fuel to run, the warmer they get, the thinner the fuel/air ratio gets. In this case the engine is tricked into running fat all the time. Effects are, despite what they say, lower MPG, plugs burn up quicker, engine is badly managed, Catalytic converter burns out quicker.
Is it worth it
No. Firstly the price of 7,50 for a 2p resistor is a rip off and this should be an indication of the seriousnes of this sort of "tuning" secondly, there is more harm done than good, and lastly, if it is so good, and 100% legal and gives better mpg, why the question nr.6 (in the auction i am refering to, there were a number of questions set, one of them being: 6) If I want to remove it can it easily be removed without trace?Yes. No wires need to be cut for installation and can easily be removed without trace within a couple of minutes.)To remove without a trace is only good if it buggers the engine and you want to sell the car on to some unsuspecting sod.
There will always be folks out there who swear by this, but then, there are people who swear Elivs lives on mars.
hope this clears things up a bit.
Oh, here are some of the negative feedbacks (of course there are good ones too, but these are usually quite representive)
no performance gains, bike runs far too rich. refused refund - BEWARE! RIP OFF!
BAD PRODUCT!! CAN DAMAGE ENGINE!!!! DO NOT BUY!!!! WONT GIVE REFUND!!!!!
We have all seen them, +15BPH for 7,95. What a bargain (can I fit 2?!)
For your money you get a „Module“ to fit, which only takes a few seconds, you get better MPG, more BPH and Torque, lower emmisions, totally legal and can be removed within seconds.
WOW Thats excellent, just what we are all looking for. Soooo where's the catch ?
Come on guys .. wake up and smell the coffee. Real BHPs cost a lot of money, so whats the scam? Well firstly, here is an example of the bugger concerned.
THIS IS NOT A CHIP !!
Chip tuning is (very basically) the remapping of the eeprom chip in your ecu using etensive rolling road procedures to gain maximum results. Dbilas does a chip remap for most opel/Vauxhals, and for pure example, the 2.0l red top engine with standard 150ps can be chiped to 162ps at a cost of 335 Euro. But even this is a standard „off the shelf“ chip.
THIS IS A CHIP
So, what do we get then?
basically what you are being sold is a resistor. Cost, 2p (give or take 1 or 2p).
What does it do ?
It tricks the engine into thinking it is colder than it is, by restricting the temp signal.
It manipulates the coolant temp signal to the ECU (If you take some trime to study the resistor band chart, you could work out the resistance, and replace it with a lower or higher value resistor, thus re producing a richer or leaner running possibility!! - WOW what a great idea, i am amazed these „chip tuners“ are not allready offering „customised“ chips .. anyway enough of that !)
How is it fitted?
The resistor is bridged across the temp sensor plug, and thats it.
What effect does this have ?
Well, a colder engine needs more fuel to run, the warmer they get, the thinner the fuel/air ratio gets. In this case the engine is tricked into running fat all the time. Effects are, despite what they say, lower MPG, plugs burn up quicker, engine is badly managed, Catalytic converter burns out quicker.
Is it worth it
No. Firstly the price of 7,50 for a 2p resistor is a rip off and this should be an indication of the seriousnes of this sort of "tuning" secondly, there is more harm done than good, and lastly, if it is so good, and 100% legal and gives better mpg, why the question nr.6 (in the auction i am refering to, there were a number of questions set, one of them being: 6) If I want to remove it can it easily be removed without trace?Yes. No wires need to be cut for installation and can easily be removed without trace within a couple of minutes.)To remove without a trace is only good if it buggers the engine and you want to sell the car on to some unsuspecting sod.
There will always be folks out there who swear by this, but then, there are people who swear Elivs lives on mars.
hope this clears things up a bit.
Oh, here are some of the negative feedbacks (of course there are good ones too, but these are usually quite representive)
no performance gains, bike runs far too rich. refused refund - BEWARE! RIP OFF!
BAD PRODUCT!! CAN DAMAGE ENGINE!!!! DO NOT BUY!!!! WONT GIVE REFUND!!!!!
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