Car Mod Chips questions

[Davros]

I have a few questions about these and was wondering if anyone knew..

See the example, you can pick up on ebay for less than a fiver..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROVER-Perform...ryZ72205QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

question 1 - Are they really legal?

question 2 - Do they invalidate your insurance?

question 3 - (the main reason im thinking of doing it) would it improve my MPG? - some claim to increase fuel efficiency

question 4 - Has anyone else got one?

 

[Ricey]

Dave take advice from someone in the know. Its a small resistor that costs 38p from Maplin, it does nothing to your car what so ever. Biggest waste of money!! If anything it may even wreck your car.

My advice stay well away.

 

[Southminster_Shrimper]

question 1 - Are they really legal?
Yes, chip mods are very common and are legal.

question 2 - Do they invalidate your insurance?
Yes. You would have to declare it by stating that the car is no longer standard. Your premium would increase as a result of that declaration.

question 3 - (the main reason im thinking of doing it) would it improve my MPG? - some claim to increase fuel efficiency
I doubt it very much. The car will go faster and burn more fuel. If anything you would lose MPG so would be getting to the petrol station quicker and more often than less.

question 4 - Has anyone else got one
no, my car is quick enough and burns fuel fast enough as it is!!

A good old fashioned car service would be a good bet. If you take it to a decent tuning place you could achieve better mpg as they should ensure the engine is running at its optimum setting. It wont cost £4.50 tho....

 

[jstallan]

I have a Tuning Box on my diesel car.. Google DTUK... Have to say I'm very pleased and it 'does what it says on the tin'... Extra 50bhp and 10-20% extra MPG (just not at the same time!!)

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I have a few questions about these and was wondering if anyone knew..

See the example, you can pick up on ebay for less than a fiver..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROVER-Perform...ryZ72205QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

question 1 - Are they really legal?

question 2 - Do they invalidate your insurance?

question 3 - (the main reason im thinking of doing it) would it improve my MPG? - some claim to increase fuel efficiency

question 4 - Has anyone else got one?

I think the question here is...


WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU GOT A ROVER? AAARGH

 

[* ORM *]

Good question. Speaking as the ex owner of a Scooby I had no problem with the performance pack and it didn't even invalidate the warranty.Prodrive have link ups with many high performance cars. I'd be wary of any chip that says it can improve fuel efficiency. If this is all it is designed to do then fine. Most chips are an ECU remap to improve "performance" -ie speed and acceleration at the minor expense of mpg. For insurance any regular insurer will struggle to understand your mod correctly and no-one is any the wiser until you need to claim at which point they run a mile but there are plenty of specialist insurers that wont cane you and understand exactly what you have done to your car.

 

[WestRoadShrimper]

Ricey is pretty much spot on. The chip from the link posted has nothing to do with altering/remapping the ECU, if it's claim is to be believed all it does is report wrong conditions to the ECU.

I might be wrong, as I mainly play around with classic fords the pre-date cars with ECU's, but if it incorrectly alters the ignition timing it's going to lead to premature or late detonation in the cylinder. This is not desirable, and is generally what happens when you hear the engine 'pinking'. All this will lead to is premature head gasket failure.

Think of it like this, if the mod could be correctly done for £4.50, then why does the DTUK thing that jstallan mentioned sell for £300-odd quid, and a fully remapped ECU cost considerably more again? Simple answer is they cost that much because they do the job advertised but DON'T destroy your engine.

 

[Benfleet A1]

I think the question here is...


WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU GOT A ROVER? AAARGH

Because they are reliable and if they do breakdown then parts are cheap and easy to replace.

 

[Davros]

Because they are reliable and if they do breakdown then parts are cheap and easy to replace.

what he said