Diesel tuning chips

[User]

 

[Alex H]

What will it do to your insurance?

 

[vernon]

[QUOTE 2906138, member: 259"]

When I say "I", it's my wife really; I'm stuck with the bike. [/quote]

I bet it's you dressed as your wife and you take it drag racing.

 

[400bhp]

Don't see the point, sorry.

Polished turd and all that.

 

[JoeyB]

Usually they are just a software update aren't they? I thought you run the risk of having them reset anytime you go in for a main dealer service...

 

[Deleted member 23692]

I assume your taking about a 'tuning box' that plug into the standard cars wiring loom? Swapping EPROM chips in the ECU is old hat these days.

Personally I'd get it remapped (properly) rather than going down the tuning box route

 

[Dangermouse]

I would just have it mapped to its optimum, my Saab has been mapped from 185bhp to 225bhp and the power/torque is amazing.................costs more in tyres though.

 

[swansonj]

Personally, I would pay the tax that was due for the car I was driving.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I would imagine that they just up the boost pressure of the turbo. I would make sure that the clutch can handle the extra torque and power. Probably be a bit of extra cash for a new uprated clutch and dual mass flywheel.

 

[400bhp]

Yeah, but seriously what's the point?

It's a diseasel. It's a car designed for efficiency, not speed. They are boring. They get you from A to B.

40bhp will do the square root of feck all, unless you're going to race it which you're clearly not.

It's a bit like putting aero bars on mountain bikes.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

New car?!!! You haven't got rid of the 'sport' have you?

 

[400bhp]

Yup, better fuel economy.

 

[Dangermouse]

You know what we need here (if it hasn't been done before) a What car do you drive thread..........lets see ya Motahs

 

[Deleted member 23692]

[QUOTE 2906219, member: 259"]It's just a box - you unplug the standard chip and plug in the new one. other than that, you've lost me. Please tell more.[/quote]Have you got a link to this device?

The standard chip lives inside the ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and in days of old you used to pen them, and swap the chips over - these days re long gone and these days ECU are sealed. The best way to 'chip' these days is to remap the ECU via the diagnostic port, but as said a hapless dealer can accidentally overwrite your new map with a standard map during a service. I've had every car I owned for the last 10 years mapped, and will be getting my new one (a diesel ) mapped as soon as it's out of warranty

Tuning boxes plug into the loom and interfere with the signal from the ECU to the injectors. Personally I wouldn't touch a box with a bargepole. IMO these are just a grand version of the old 'ebay resistor' pikey modification whereby you stick a 10p resistor in the intake temp sensor circuit which makes the car think the intake of air is colder than it is and dumps more fuel in the engine.

 

[Salad Dodger]

These chips are also sold for campervans and motorhomes. One school of thought says that they work: a little more torque for the same fuel consumption, or the same torque for a little less fuel consumption, depending upon your choice of chip.

The other school of thought says that the gain is pretty small, bearing in mind the bulk and aerodynamics of a typical motorhome, and there is a bit of a risk to the innards of the engine. Somewhere along the line you must be either reducing the amount of fuel, with possible consequences for running the engine lean, or making the engine work harder if you are "forcing" it to produce more power.

I am not aware of lots of owners claiming that a chip actually damaged their engine, so I guess chips must be basically OK, but I think the benefits, as far as campervans are concerned, may be described as pretty marginal. In the confines of a smaller, lighter vehicle, the results may be more noticeable.....

I have no commercial interest in anything to do with any of these chips, and have never used one on any of my vehicles......