OBDII Economy Chip Tuning Box For Diesel Cars

[BobHUK]

Anyone tried one of these?

Economy type.

Eco OBD2 Plug Drive Performance Chip 15% Fuel Save Tuning Box Diesel Car P1U5K | eBay

Performance type.

OBD2 Plug and Drive OBDII Performance Chip Tuning Box for Diesel Cars | eBay

They're advertised on both Ebay and Amazon really cheaply. Apparently you just plug it into the OBD2 connector on your car and go driving. The chip in the box adapts itself to your driving style and either increases your fuel economy, or increases performance and torque, according to which one you buy.

They are all made in China (obviously) and come in different coloured boxes according to whether it's a performance chip or an economy chip. The question is, do they work, or are they just a scam?

 

[bob6600]

I personally would not plug something that cheap into my OBD port which would change parameters on the engine. A proper tuning box or a remap would be the way forward.

On a side note, don't you have a W210? In which case it won't work for you

 

[BobHUK]

bob6600, I wasn't necessarily thinking of myself, I was just interested to find out if these things can or do work. However, I'm intrigued that you say the thing wouldn't work with my W210. Does this mean my car doesn't have an ODB2 interface? I must admit to being somewhat ignorant when it comes to the electronics on cars, and as such I wouldn't know whether something like this would be compatible with my car.

 

[AltonAnt]

Almost certainly total rubbish. I saw a teardown of one of these where the comms lines weren’t even connected and the lights just flashed occasionally.

 

[garycat]

Yes they are a total con. At best they will do nothing, at worst they will damage the car's electronics and drain the battery.

Here's a teardown by bigclivedotcom where he summises that it just flashes some LEDs

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[GeeJayW]

The fuel economy version works a treat... if you gaffa tape it to the underside of the throttle pedal.

 

[bob6600]

bob6600, I wasn't necessarily thinking of myself, I was just interested to find out if these things can or do work. However, I'm intrigued that you say the thing wouldn't work with my W210. Does this mean my car doesn't have an ODB2 interface? I must admit to being somewhat ignorant when it comes to the electronics on cars, and as such I wouldn't know whether something like this would be compatible with my car.

Yes you do not have an OBD II port in the W210, you have a 38 pin round diagnostic socket under the bonnet

 

[Stratman]

That video is fourteen minutes of my life I'll not get back. To save you the bother of watching, the conclusion is it might work or it might not, he doesn't have the equipment to test it. He also surmises it might or might not be possible to change engine management parameters from the OBD2 port.

 

[clk320x]

That video is fourteen minutes of my life I'll not get back. To save you the bother of watching, the conclusion is it might work or it might not, he doesn't have the equipment to test it. He also surmises it might or might not be possible to change engine management parameters from the OBD2 port.

Thank you