RaceChip any good?

[Bobby Dazzler]

Anyone ever used RaceChip? I'd be interested to find out how you rate them.

https://www.racechip.com

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I can't recall a subject for which we didn't have one or more (relative) experts on MBClub!

Thoughts from people who have used RaceChip would be much appreciated

 

[PobodY]

I have an inherent distrust of any of these plug-in tuning devices (over an actual remap tailored to your car).

Whilst I'm not saying it's snake oil, I am saying that you don't get something for nothing (and I'd prefer to know what the trade-off is). - It's that fundamental law of physics "there's no such thing as a free lunch".

I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel the opposite.

 

[geraldrobins]

I have an inherent distrust of any of these plug-in tuning devices (over an actual remap tailored to your car).

Whilst I'm not saying it's snake oil, I am saying that you don't get something for nothing (and I'd prefer to know what the trade-off is). - It's that fundamental law of physics "there's no such thing as a free lunch".

I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel the opposite.

I have no experience of them either but as for getting something for nothing, they are not particularly cheap compared with a remap.

 

[JimGreen]

Go for something that's been proven to work....... MSL Remap.

C63 AMG Before and After Figures...

After Remap @ Wheels Figures : + 62.8bhp & + 25.2ft lbs Torque all on otherwise stock car, to get figures at flywheel MSL work on +18%.
Flywheel Figures : 528.5bhp & 488.6lbs Torque

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Meant to be fairly good company, they have been around for a while. The name makes them sound cheap and nasty however.

 

[PobodY]

I have no experience of them either but as for getting something for nothing, they are not particularly cheap compared with a remap.

I'm sorry. I didn't make myself clear; I meant you're not getting all this extra power and toque, but without any side effects (like loss of fuel economy or coked-up catalytic converter). - I just look at it as a scientist and think that it doesn't add-up.

As I said, I'm sure people will have an alternative opinion.

 

[Lit91]

I have an inherent distrust of any of these plug-in tuning devices (over an actual remap tailored to your car).

Whilst I'm not saying it's snake oil, I am saying that you don't get something for nothing (and I'd prefer to know what the trade-off is). - It's that fundamental law of physics "there's no such thing as a free lunch".

I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel the opposite.

I'm not defending tuning boxes, however who actually offers remaps tailored to your car specifically?

Most tuners that I've heard of are using generic remaps, where the file is downloaded, sent somewhere for generic tweaking and then uploaded to the car without live testing and tweaking to achieve the ultimate results.

 

[Luke-BITURBO]

I recently experienced 2 c63s do a side by side race one just came out the shop with a £3500 bill after having a tuning box and exhaust fitted, that 3500 got his rear wheel level with the stock c63s wing mirror to a high speed run

 

[AlexM]

My only experience of a remapping service was with my old Subaru and a Link ECU. The starting point was a base map for that car, and then the boost map, fuelling and timing were all built up live through driving on the road with a wideband lambda

That did make certain parts of the calibration driving somewhat challenging.. trying to hold 0.8 bar boost constantly between 2500-and 6500rpm several times in a row, for example!. This was followed up with some tinkering around idle and off-idle tip-in/tip-out to get to a drivable finished product.

Edit - I forgot to mention that the car was transformed... in no way marginal gains, especially 2500-5500 rpm... hugely stronger than before.

A canned map is absolutely fine and is going to be a safe compromise. A tuning box? not sure if it has sufficient flexibility to replicate a bespoke map in all situations and circumstances.. I found a lot of tweaking was needed to get the right drivability and feel - could an interceptor-style ECU offer that degree of control and adjustment?.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Simon_M]

I looked into these for the Mini. You have to remember Brabus & AC Schnitzer offer tuning boxes. They are easy to remove and will never be overwritten. The Racechip ones have Bluetooth for updating and adjusting performance levels, they also offer some kind of warranty towards engine costs.

I'd say go for it.

S

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Meant to be fairly good company, they have been around for a while. The name makes them sound cheap and nasty however.

I agree, their name does them no favours!

I looked into these for the Mini. You have to remember Brabus & AC Schnitzer offer tuning boxes. They are easy to remove and will never be overwritten. The Racechip ones have Bluetooth for updating and adjusting performance levels, they also offer some kind of warranty towards engine costs.

As you say, Brabus use boxes, so they must be an effective means of tuning, but as with a remap, I guess it's down to the quality of the map.

I would be interested to hear from owners who've used RaceChip, especially the Bluetooth version.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Anyone got any first hand experience?

 

[FordToMerc]

Race Chip

I enquired about something similar from another company in UK for my car which I have attached. It does not appear to be as detailed with no graph to show torque and rpm etc.
I found it to be pricy for very little improvement. As compared to a Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost for example which has a massive improvement.


My Quote Read as follows:
We are a global brand with a network in 20 countries worldwide and full mobile facilities in England & Wales. What sets us apart from the competition is that we are genuine software developers with the technical ability to develop bespoke software in house; whereas most other UK tuning companies are resellers of software from third party companies. Not all tuning is equal, a remap is not simply a remap, it is the end product of a lengthy development program.

All of our software is developed in our state of the art facilities with both 2WD and 4WD individual dynamometer test cells. All engine parameters are logged to ensure we provide the safest available software upgrades for your vehicle which are also fully MOT compliant.

The Mercedes Benz C Class (W204) 2007-2013 takes the power from 153bhp up to 185bhp and the torque from 184lb/ft up to 215lb/ft. This stage of software is designed as a software upgrade only meaning it is all within safe tolerances of the engine and drivetrain and requires no hardware modifications.

We provide all stages of tune through to full custom setup so if you have specific requirements please just ask. On many applications we also cater for larger turbos and injector upgrades so if you are looking for ultimate performance then we have the knowledge and ability to do just that.

To provide added peace of mind for customers with vehicles still under warranty, we provide a FREE 12 month's insurance backed supplementary warranty: Download Warranty Information. Full terms and conditions apply, please see website for details.

The cost of the remap is £295.00 all-inclusive for which we travel to your location whether it is home or work place. This comes with a 14 day money back guarantee which gives you plenty of time to ensure it is exactly what you are after.


If you wish to go ahead with the remap please forward us your contact details (address, Post Code and Phone number) along with your registration and approximate mileage, and we will be in touch to arrange a booking very soon. Alternatively if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask as our technical team who will be able to answer any questions you may have.