Engine Tuners

[mainman]

Do engine tuners like Superchips really improve a vehicle's acceleration and fuel efficiency?

[CGSshorty]

My only experience is with VW/Audi tuning. Reprogramming the ECU does wonders for those cars.

[JP Chestnut]

A custom tune does a lot more than those off the shelf chips.

[stonehead887]

My only experience is with VW/Audi tuning. Reprogramming the ECU does wonders for those cars.

Least of all more accurate emissions

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[dnslater]

The biggest gains are with turbo charged cars as ECU adjustments can modify engine timing and boost pressure at a given rpm to improve power. I also have some experience with VW/Audi. Reputable shops like APR really understand the platform and engine. A $600 stage 1 tune can add 80-90 hp. Pair a stage 2 it with a few bolt on parts and you can double that. I would only go with a shop or company that is familiar with the engine/manufacturer. The chips in your link look suspect.

The thing that nobody tells you is that reliability is nearly always compromised. More heat, stress, etc.... if you tune, count on changing spark plugs, fluids, etc... more often.

Also, anything that flashes your ECU will also kiss your warranty goodbye.

[hoppyjr]

All of the above.

I’ve had great luck using APR for VW/Audi vehicles.

[TLgdeL]

Above with all my Audi's. I've done both APR and GIAC, and haven't had issues with either.

[toxicavenger]

I use to sell APR back in the day when they first started and they are great. These days you might even be able to find a local tuner by you who can road tune your ride for you.

[jeckyll]

Apr chip and downpipe. Thy make good stuff and my fuel consumption is unchanged.

[Dogmann]

Hi mainman,

Lastly just a heads up don't forget if you do go down this route that you will need to let your Insurance company know exactly what you have done or risk in the event of an accident them not paying out claiming invalid insurance due to modifications. That is not just for your car but also saying you had no insurance would mean if the accident was your fault or they can't see who was at fault you could be liable for the other persons costs to and of course police prosecution for no insurance to.

Marc

[amckiwi]

Marc how can he insurance company tell the chip has been upgraded?
For bolt ons sure tell your insurance company
Internal engine mods probably no need either

[bedlam]

Is this for turbo cars? My understanding is normally aspirated engines can't really be made much more efficient with a remap, so if you make them more powerful they are really just sucking down more fuel.

[Captdave]

Would a retune on a dieselgate TDI be advisable?


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[amckiwi]

My L98 6L Gained 74 hp at the wheels with a full exhaust CAI and a tune
The tourque increased significantly always drive around in a gear higher than before the tune

[amckiwi]

9A677B75-6FEF-49C8-9842-46E6F5665B22.jpeg

Now have 387 rwhp on liquid LPG so cheaper than 4cylinder. Running costs

[Dogmann]

@amckiwi

If only having a chip mod and nothing else I would agree on looks alone they should not be able to tell or at least it would be highly unlikely but as even this minor mod usually involves a upgraded air filter and that is a mod that needs to be reported maybe not safe after all and it would be better to report it. I was just mentioning this fact as some people don't actually realise just what needs to be declared re changes on your car to insurance companies whilst some are pretty obvious others not so much but can catch you out. In fact most would actually find it quite surprising just how minor some of the changes that need to be reported are but finding out at the worst time possible such as after an incident could prove to be very costly. As I'm in the UK I can only say how it works here it may well be different where you are but a quick Google search should give you the answers you need, anyway below is the main list.

Car Modification How it Affects Insurance
Turbo/Supercharging + 132%
Transmission or Gear change + 63%
Exhaust changes + 26%
Air Filter + 25%
Wheel arches + 41%
Complete body kit + 57%
Spoilers/Skirts + 23%
Light changes + 12%
Tinted windows + 16%
Replacement of seats + 27%
Roll Bars/Roll Cages + 41%
Dashboard changes + 16%
Uprated brakes + 36%
Suspension + 25%
Alloy wheels + 8%
LPG conversion + 15%
Sunroof + 17%
Air conditioning + 13 %
Satellite navigation system + 15%
Car phone kit + 26%
Parking sensors - 13%
Specialised paintwork + 15%
Stripes & badges + 9%

Also whilst a mod may not be easily detectable by sight alone it is well known now that insurance companies will and do search a claimants social media so if you have boasted look at my shiny new alloys or exhaust or any of the other things they are looking out for you could be in for it.

Marc

[amckiwi]

I have told my insurer about all my mods
I will list them in the other thread about car mods.
But if I only had non visible mods I would not be telling the insurance company

[dnslater]

Would a retune on a dieselgate TDI be advisable?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those are tuned all the time. Engines are pretty tough. Can really crank up the torque with a tune.

[toxicavenger]

Is this for turbo cars? My understanding is normally aspirated engines can't really be made much more efficient with a remap, so if you make them more powerful they are really just sucking down more fuel.

Carl, you might be right. I have only done tunes on cars with turbo's. But some tunes remapp the shift patterns of the transmission so you do have more aggressive shift points.

[toxicavenger]

Would a retune on a dieselgate TDI be advisable?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those are tuned all the time. Engines are pretty tough. Can really crank up the torque with a tune.

At one time my buddies at NGP racing had one pushing over 500hp. The TDI is a good tuneable engine, if anything they are better than most gas versions.

[toxicavenger]

@amckiwi

If only having a chip mod and nothing else I would agree on looks alone they should not be able to tell or at least it would be highly unlikely but as even this minor mod usually involves a upgraded air filter and that is a mod that needs to be reported maybe not safe after all and it would be better to report it. I was just mentioning this fact as some people don't actually realise just what needs to be declared re changes on your car to insurance companies whilst some are pretty obvious others not so much but can catch you out. In fact most would actually find it quite surprising just how minor some of the changes that need to be reported are but finding out at the worst time possible such as after an incident could prove to be very costly. As I'm in the UK I can only say how it works here it may well be different where you are but a quick Google search should give you the answers you need, anyway below is the main list.

Car Modification How it Affects Insurance
Turbo/Supercharging + 132%
Transmission or Gear change + 63%
Exhaust changes + 26%
Air Filter + 25%
Wheel arches + 41%
Complete body kit + 57%
Spoilers/Skirts + 23%
Light changes + 12%
Tinted windows + 16%
Replacement of seats + 27%
Roll Bars/Roll Cages + 41%
Dashboard changes + 16%
Uprated brakes + 36%
Suspension + 25%
Alloy wheels + 8%
LPG conversion + 15%
Sunroof + 17%
Air conditioning + 13 %
Satellite navigation system + 15%
Car phone kit + 26%
Parking sensors - 13%
Specialised paintwork + 15%
Stripes & badges + 9%

Also whilst a mod may not be easily detectable by sight alone it is well known now that insurance companies will and do search a claimants social media so if you have boasted look at my shiny new alloys or exhaust or any of the other things they are looking out for you could be in for it.

Marc

Weird. I wonder if this is a UK thing? I have never heard of that in the US.

[dnslater]

@amckiwi

If only having a chip mod and nothing else I would agree on looks alone they should not be able to tell or at least it would be highly unlikely but as even this minor mod usually involves a upgraded air filter and that is a mod that needs to be reported maybe not safe after all and it would be better to report it. I was just mentioning this fact as some people don't actually realise just what needs to be declared re changes on your car to insurance companies whilst some are pretty obvious others not so much but can catch you out. In fact most would actually find it quite surprising just how minor some of the changes that need to be reported are but finding out at the worst time possible such as after an incident could prove to be very costly. As I'm in the UK I can only say how it works here it may well be different where you are but a quick Google search should give you the answers you need, anyway below is the main list.

Car Modification How it Affects Insurance
Turbo/Supercharging + 132%
Transmission or Gear change + 63%
Exhaust changes + 26%
Air Filter + 25%
Wheel arches + 41%
Complete body kit + 57%
Spoilers/Skirts + 23%
Light changes + 12%
Tinted windows + 16%
Replacement of seats + 27%
Roll Bars/Roll Cages + 41%
Dashboard changes + 16%
Uprated brakes + 36%
Suspension + 25%
Alloy wheels + 8%
LPG conversion + 15%
Sunroof + 17%
Air conditioning + 13 %
Satellite navigation system + 15%
Car phone kit + 26%
Parking sensors - 13%
Specialised paintwork + 15%
Stripes & badges + 9%

Also whilst a mod may not be easily detectable by sight alone it is well known now that insurance companies will and do search a claimants social media so if you have boasted look at my shiny new alloys or exhaust or any of the other things they are looking out for you could be in for it.

Marc

Weird. I wonder if this is a UK thing? I have never heard of that in the US.

I never have either, but most people probably simply don't tell the insurance companies. Downside is that you won't get any value for the mods in and accident.

[JP Chestnut]

@amckiwi

If only having a chip mod and nothing else I would agree on looks alone they should not be able to tell or at least it would be highly unlikely but as even this minor mod usually involves a upgraded air filter and that is a mod that needs to be reported maybe not safe after all and it would be better to report it. I was just mentioning this fact as some people don't actually realise just what needs to be declared re changes on your car to insurance companies whilst some are pretty obvious others not so much but can catch you out. In fact most would actually find it quite surprising just how minor some of the changes that need to be reported are but finding out at the worst time possible such as after an incident could prove to be very costly. As I'm in the UK I can only say how it works here it may well be different where you are but a quick Google search should give you the answers you need, anyway below is the main list.

Car Modification How it Affects Insurance
Turbo/Supercharging + 132%
Transmission or Gear change + 63%
Exhaust changes + 26%
Air Filter + 25%
Wheel arches + 41%
Complete body kit + 57%
Spoilers/Skirts + 23%
Light changes + 12%
Tinted windows + 16%
Replacement of seats + 27%
Roll Bars/Roll Cages + 41%
Dashboard changes + 16%
Uprated brakes + 36%
Suspension + 25%
Alloy wheels + 8%
LPG conversion + 15%
Sunroof + 17%
Air conditioning + 13 %
Satellite navigation system + 15%
Car phone kit + 26%
Parking sensors - 13%
Specialised paintwork + 15%
Stripes & badges + 9%

Also whilst a mod may not be easily detectable by sight alone it is well known now that insurance companies will and do search a claimants social media so if you have boasted look at my shiny new alloys or exhaust or any of the other things they are looking out for you could be in for it.

Marc

Weird. I wonder if this is a UK thing? I have never heard of that in the US.

I never have either, but most people probably simply don't tell the insurance companies. Downside is that you won't get any value for the mods in and accident.

It's shocking that any company would insure a car with a roll cage. There's simply no way you can pad a cross (or diagonal) bar so that it wouldn't kill any passenger whose head hits it in an accident. Roll cage = full face helmet and five point harness.

[jeckyll]

@amckiwi

If only having a chip mod and nothing else I would agree on looks alone they should not be able to tell or at least it would be highly unlikely but as even this minor mod usually involves a upgraded air filter and that is a mod that needs to be reported maybe not safe after all and it would be better to report it. I was just mentioning this fact as some people don't actually realise just what needs to be declared re changes on your car to insurance companies whilst some are pretty obvious others not so much but can catch you out. In fact most would actually find it quite surprising just how minor some of the changes that need to be reported are but finding out at the worst time possible such as after an incident could prove to be very costly. As I'm in the UK I can only say how it works here it may well be different where you are but a quick Google search should give you the answers you need, anyway below is the main list.

Car Modification How it Affects Insurance
Turbo/Supercharging + 132%
Transmission or Gear change + 63%
Exhaust changes + 26%
Air Filter + 25%
Wheel arches + 41%
Complete body kit + 57%
Spoilers/Skirts + 23%
Light changes + 12%
Tinted windows + 16%
Replacement of seats + 27%
Roll Bars/Roll Cages + 41%
Dashboard changes + 16%
Uprated brakes + 36%
Suspension + 25%
Alloy wheels + 8%
LPG conversion + 15%
Sunroof + 17%
Air conditioning + 13 %
Satellite navigation system + 15%
Car phone kit + 26%
Parking sensors - 13%
Specialised paintwork + 15%
Stripes & badges + 9%

Also whilst a mod may not be easily detectable by sight alone it is well known now that insurance companies will and do search a claimants social media so if you have boasted look at my shiny new alloys or exhaust or any of the other things they are looking out for you could be in for it.

Marc

The UK is a different place...

[CGSshorty]

@amckiwi

If only having a chip mod and nothing else I would agree on looks alone they should not be able to tell or at least it would be highly unlikely but as even this minor mod usually involves a upgraded air filter and that is a mod that needs to be reported maybe not safe after all and it would be better to report it. I was just mentioning this fact as some people don't actually realise just what needs to be declared re changes on your car to insurance companies whilst some are pretty obvious others not so much but can catch you out. In fact most would actually find it quite surprising just how minor some of the changes that need to be reported are but finding out at the worst time possible such as after an incident could prove to be very costly. As I'm in the UK I can only say how it works here it may well be different where you are but a quick Google search should give you the answers you need, anyway below is the main list.

Car Modification How it Affects Insurance
Turbo/Supercharging + 132%
Transmission or Gear change + 63%
Exhaust changes + 26%
Air Filter + 25%
Wheel arches + 41%
Complete body kit + 57%
Spoilers/Skirts + 23%
Light changes + 12%
Tinted windows + 16%
Replacement of seats + 27%
Roll Bars/Roll Cages + 41%
Dashboard changes + 16%
Uprated brakes + 36%
Suspension + 25%
Alloy wheels + 8%
LPG conversion + 15%
Sunroof + 17%
Air conditioning + 13 %
Satellite navigation system + 15%
Car phone kit + 26%
Parking sensors - 13%
Specialised paintwork + 15%
Stripes & badges + 9%

Also whilst a mod may not be easily detectable by sight alone it is well known now that insurance companies will and do search a claimants social media so if you have boasted look at my shiny new alloys or exhaust or any of the other things they are looking out for you could be in for it.

Marc

The UK is a different place...

You said it. Off topic, but I found this on Twitter a few weeks ago. I got a good laugh at some of the “offensive weapons” they took off the streets.