chip
- Thread starter bobatkinson
- Start date
- Jul 30, 2007
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Hi again Bob.
Ive heard good and bad reports on the chips and to be honest,im not that technically minded.
You may find the answers your looking for on the RAC motoring chat forum.
Ive found them very helpful in the past.
Adrian
Ive heard good and bad reports on the chips and to be honest,im not that technically minded.
You may find the answers your looking for on the RAC motoring chat forum.
Ive found them very helpful in the past.
Adrian
Hi Bob,
Not actually used one of these but after 40 years in the motor industry at manufacturer level would not reccomend chipping for the following reasons.
When a manufacturer determines the mapping for any vehicle they have to consider many elements. Power output relates directly to all elements of the vehicles performance. By this I mean suspension, brakes, drivetrain, gearbox, engine life, economy, fuel consumption etc,etc,etc. A manufacturer must select mapping to provide the optimum performance for all aspects.
It is comparatively easy to increase engine output but done without consideration of all other influencing factors will usually result in compromising one or more elements of the vehicle. If all you are concerned about is increasing towing performance in respect of power then you could chip. Is it worth Circa £300.00 to you to increase that performance without consideration of the other elements? If it is then chip but make sure that the chip supplier will give you a warranty on his equiptment as well as covering you for any consequential damage. After all the refund of £300 won't go far towards the cost of replacing the engine in a worst case scenario! Also check with your insurance company because you will have to tell them of the modification to the engine if you do chip.
Not actually used one of these but after 40 years in the motor industry at manufacturer level would not reccomend chipping for the following reasons.
When a manufacturer determines the mapping for any vehicle they have to consider many elements. Power output relates directly to all elements of the vehicles performance. By this I mean suspension, brakes, drivetrain, gearbox, engine life, economy, fuel consumption etc,etc,etc. A manufacturer must select mapping to provide the optimum performance for all aspects.
It is comparatively easy to increase engine output but done without consideration of all other influencing factors will usually result in compromising one or more elements of the vehicle. If all you are concerned about is increasing towing performance in respect of power then you could chip. Is it worth Circa £300.00 to you to increase that performance without consideration of the other elements? If it is then chip but make sure that the chip supplier will give you a warranty on his equiptment as well as covering you for any consequential damage. After all the refund of £300 won't go far towards the cost of replacing the engine in a worst case scenario! Also check with your insurance company because you will have to tell them of the modification to the engine if you do chip.
My last car was remapped, and my current car has a tuning box on it, you can read all the horror stories, and I'm sure there are many, if your engine has a weakness then these modules will find it, but remember for every 1 horror story there are many happy customers, if you are asking me which is better, then remap without a doubt, my last car did 100k with me after remapping and is still going strong today, my current car has done 25kmiles on a tuning module so far so good, the difference these things make is amazing.
I'm in the proccess of remapping my Ford Kuga
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKONMNdNWEY&feature=fvwp&NR=1
You do it yourself, let you know how it goes.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKONMNdNWEY&feature=fvwp&NR=1
You do it yourself, let you know how it goes.
.
Having just watched this on youtube,the best thing about it is the music.You certainly are not doing it yourself.You are just saving a keyboard warror from coming to your home.
This method is a very primative form of "pass through programming"and for the people who choose this product i just hope for their cars sake they dont recieve a corrupted data file on the download.Seriously risky bussiness.
This method is a very primative form of "pass through programming"and for the people who choose this product i just hope for their cars sake they dont recieve a corrupted data file on the download.Seriously risky bussiness.
I took my tuning box off my car today as I thought I'd do it properly and have the car remapped, I drove to their premises with the tuning module on , pulled up outside and un plugged my tuning module so I'd get a good indication of which is better, now it hasn't been on the car for 24hrs yet so I am going to give it time, but 1st impressions are that I've wasted alot of money, the remapped car feels smoother, yes, but compared to the tuning module it feels under powered and initial indications are that I'm not doing so well on Diesel...
- Jun 20, 2005
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Five years ago I bought an add on tuning box. Performance was excellent , diesel consumption not too badly affected. After two years , about 20k miles the Sorie started to smoke like a Cuban cigar. £600 later the exhaust recirculation valve and turbo intercooler pipes were changed everything back to normal. The box still lies on my garage shelf.
Just had mine remapped, what a difference [Ford Kuga] I can pull away in second gear when before it would stall. All manufacturers remap their models. They have to remap to take an automatic gearbox.
A friend of mine had his company car remapped, he was very impressed. His brother in law bought it off the company when it came up for renewal and he still has the car. Its now done 160.000 miles with no problems.
If its done properly then there is nothing to worry about.
A friend of mine had his company car remapped, he was very impressed. His brother in law bought it off the company when it came up for renewal and he still has the car. Its now done 160.000 miles with no problems.
If its done properly then there is nothing to worry about.
Had a box fitted to my 2.2 x trail dci all was good for the first 12 months then it failed and car went in to limp home mode ! with the caravan on 20mph not good ! took ithe box off and all was well again. I then refitted it and it worked fine again for another 3 weeks then it went in to limp home again !!!!! contacted the maker and he said that it was over fueling, so took there advice and detuned it a bit and all is well again hurray !!!! came back up the m5 from bristol up that big hill and 60mph with van on and it was still pulling like a train.will keep me eye on it but its cheeper than a remap.
What many people forget to do is to notify their insurance company that the car has been remapped as this is a modification. If you do not notify them, your insurance may be invalid.
Forgive me if i am incorrect,but did you not say your EGR valve problems were down to the use of cheap supermarket fuel?As relaid to you by your mechanic? and again forgive me but how on earth do turbo intercooler pipes needing replacing,play a part with any possible problems you may or may not have had with your tunnig box?Dustydog said:
Surprised to hear that,I am a fan of decent tuning boxes,but even the best tuning box is not a match for a half decent remap,which begs the question how good was your remap,did you go to a reputable companymidsmikey said:
This is the problem.Im not wishing to debate what is best- tunning box or remap as i,d be a hypocrite because i do run one and always have.
But how do you know what a good remap is and how do you judge that the remap you,ve just purchased is good?
Ive had bad experiences,but other people have had good experiences.What do people class as good?
But how do you know what a good remap is and how do you judge that the remap you,ve just purchased is good?
Ive had bad experiences,but other people have had good experiences.What do people class as good?
Seth problem is,if somebody says,they have just taken off their tuning box and had a remap installed,and then go on to say that the car uses more fuel,with the remap and doesn't feel as powerful,and they think they have made a mistake,then the first analysis.would be what I said.
There is no mention of what, tuning box was fitted and what remap was used instead,so in the first instance assuming that the person is not solely going by seat of pants feelings,which can fool you,especially tuning boxes that can give better low-down torque [early push]to remaps. "poor mpg"car computer readings for MPG,which again will confuse you as tuning boxes give false readings and remaps are more accurate .
There is no mention of what, tuning box was fitted and what remap was used instead,so in the first instance assuming that the person is not solely going by seat of pants feelings,which can fool you,especially tuning boxes that can give better low-down torque [early push]to remaps. "poor mpg"car computer readings for MPG,which again will confuse you as tuning boxes give false readings and remaps are more accurate .
- Jun 20, 2005
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JonnyJonnyG said:
The main Kia agent's chief mechanic told me this. It seems the intercooler pipes get oiled up and that causes the smoking. The EGR valve wasn't closing properly ; like 50% ineffectual.
Anyway he changed these parts and the problem has gone.
As for supermarket fuel, I've no idea. Now I fillup Supermarket one tankful them BP, ESSo ; Shell etc the next etc.
No more problems
Thanks for the reply,must have been somebody else with a sorrento who claimed the EGR valve being faulty was down to poor supermarket fuel.sorry. As regards inter cooler pipe gettting clogged up and leading to smoke,again have no idea what this would have to do with having a tuning box fitted,inter-cooler will indeed have oil vapour in it,but this in no way has anything to do with a tuning box,although. On the other hand a faulty EGR valve can lead to smoking in varying degrees from the occasion puff to constant black smoke.Again this is a common occurrence in diesel cars going back over a decade,and again happens to standard cars on a regular basis..Dustydog said:
Sorry JohnyG I haven't been on for a while, the tuning box I have fitted is Italian box called the tuning box, (I think) and the remap I had was from a company who is according to local reviews is the best in the area,this cost me £350,
Comparing the 2 I was bitterly disappointed with the remap, I've always been a fan of remapping since I had my last car done, but this remap couldn't compete with my tuning module, I can't comment on cheaper tuning modules but mine is supposed to be electronicaly variable, switching between programs itself, I never go on fuel computer readings as my computer I suspect to be about 8 or 9 mpg out, but in the 5days my car was remapped I used notably more Diesel for the same comutes as with the box on, and that's going by the gauge, Yes the remapped car was a lot smoother but the lack of torque would have made towing the van harder work, needless to say the car has the original map back on and the module, I was gob smacked on the cheaper option in my cars case being the better
[/quote] Surprised to hear that,I am a fan of decent tuning boxes,but even the best tuning box is not a match for a half decent remap,which begs the question how good was your remap,did you go to a reputable company
[/quote]
Comparing the 2 I was bitterly disappointed with the remap, I've always been a fan of remapping since I had my last car done, but this remap couldn't compete with my tuning module, I can't comment on cheaper tuning modules but mine is supposed to be electronicaly variable, switching between programs itself, I never go on fuel computer readings as my computer I suspect to be about 8 or 9 mpg out, but in the 5days my car was remapped I used notably more Diesel for the same comutes as with the box on, and that's going by the gauge, Yes the remapped car was a lot smoother but the lack of torque would have made towing the van harder work, needless to say the car has the original map back on and the module, I was gob smacked on the cheaper option in my cars case being the better
[/quote] Surprised to hear that,I am a fan of decent tuning boxes,but even the best tuning box is not a match for a half decent remap,which begs the question how good was your remap,did you go to a reputable company
[/quote]
Hi MM out of interest how does the tuning box connect on to the engine.Via the common rail pressure sensor?
Hi Seth, sorry for the long time for a reply, yes mate these tuning modules simply plug in to the common rail and they put the pressure up a bit, some of the later and more advanced Diesels and tuning boxes connect on to the turbo booste pressure sensor and I think the Maf sensor too, but mine is just fuel rail
First one i tried was like that,it was very effective too what i remember.One good thing with a "box" as agaist a remap is you never seem to get any black smoke with a "box"
John thats fair comment everyone to their own.Ive never hid the fact that i use one.Ive only ever questioned the quality of certain types people use.This module works for Mikey thats good enough.Concerning fuel ecomomy my present car with the module fitted,which is not renowned for good fuel economy is a quarter of a tank better than the one it replaced which was very frugal on the same run with the very same van behind it.Will the mot cause a problem if the emissions are ok?I have mine sat next to my smart relay in the engine compartment in full view fitted by the dealer.Went in there on friday night and their advetising them all over the showroom.A main agent too.
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