a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

eBay offers a wealth of good deals and cheap parts...but it also offers some of the worst
Post Reply
User avatar
thedupleman
Club Owner
Posts: 16736
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:14 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 2.0
Location: Hcoc bunker, sandbach
+_number: 0002
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#1

Post by thedupleman »

Ok we all hear of the crap that is sold on ebay posing as a "performance chip"
many claim incredible gains of up to 30bhp
ITS ALL CRAP TO TAKE YOUR CASH

1. The air and fuel must get into the engine easier/faster/cooler. (EG. an induction kit will place less restriction and keep the air cooler going into the engine)

2. The engine must burn more of the air/fuel when it burns it. (EG. Better spark plugs will burn more of the mixture)

3. The exhaust gasses must leave with less resistance. (EG. a racing manifold will help the exhaust gasses out quickly)

These are the only things that will physically increase BHP.

Anything else that claims to increase BHP is probably rubbish. Here are a few examples...



Mod chips work by 'fooling' the ECU into using more fuel or advancing the ignition. A popular type is placed on the mass airflow sensor on the cars air intake. The Mod chip causes the sensor to tell the ECU it is freezing so the ECU thinks it needs more fuel. Good idea you might think but the problem here is as the sensor is incorrect it means all the other sensors are incorrect too which leads to your cars catalytic convertor failing because too much fuel is being burned. A dodgy cat is an expensive MOT fail. The other type of mod chip fools the ECU into advancing the ignition. Short term this will not do too much damage but over a length of time or if you drive like Colin Macrae it will burn a hole in the centre of each of your cars pistons and render the engine useless. My advice is to avoid fitting these 'chips'. I know they are cheap but they will do your car in big time!

*STOP THE PRESS* THEY ARE NOW SELLING A NEW VERSION.ITS GOT A PLASTIC COVER AND A FEW LIGHTS ON TOP.LOOKS GOOD.BUT ITS NOT.ITS THE SAME THING.ANYTHING CHIP WISE THAT COSTS LESS THAN 150 QUID SHOULD BE AVOIDED.DO YOUR HOMEWORK.ESPECIALLY ANYTHING UNDER 50!


Turbochargers

A turbocharger or supercharger works by forcing more air and fuel into your engine. The more mixture in your engine the bigger the bang and the more power there is. Easy! However, scammers have got onto this too. If your car doesn't already have a turbo, you can buy a kit with a turbo, a different exhaust, an intercooler, a reprogrammed ECU and all the stuff to fit it but you will still need to take the engine apart and have a machine shop change the compression ratio.

recently I have noticed people selling fan kits that fit into the air intake and blast air in. Sorry but they don't work! Turbos and superchargers will force mixture in at several BAR of pressure. A fan in a box doesn't have enough puff! Despite their claims, the motor in these units spins no faster than 3000rpm. A turbocharger is roughly the same size but to generate any sort of power increase it has to spin anything up to 10 times that. If the unit is not spinning as fast as the air going in usually goes it will restrict the flow and actually cost you BHP. To put it bluntly, if these worked so well why would people go through all the hassle of developing turbochargers and superchargers when they could just stick an electric motor on?



Sports exhausts.

Go faster exhausts do make your car faster. They make it sound better too. Sports back boxes will make your car sound sporty too but they will not necessarily make it faster. The fact the tailpipe is larger and it lets the gas out easier (that's what makes it louder) might increase the power but the extra big tailpipe its self robs the car of its backpressure that helps suck the new air and fuel into the cylinder which costs power.

Ecotek valves

They are about £50 each . The valve is placed usually in a breather or vacuum pipe (like the one going to the brake servo). I am not sure how they manage to get the power increases quoted in their adverts because all that is inside them is a bit of gauze and a small one way valve. They do not pump more fuel or cool air in, they do not cause the ignition to burn better and they do not help the exhaust gasses out. Either me, every tuning expert in the world ever, everyone who has studied physics and everyone who has smashed one up is lying or Ecotek are!

Fuel savers-add ons.

There is no such thing or the manufacturer would have added it.Dont believe it and don't be sucked in its all lies


Fuel and oil additives.

I am not saying if you use an additive you will not notice a difference because you might. Fuel cleaner additives can clean the fuel system and restore lost performance but they will not add more power than your car originally had. Octane boosters may increase the performance by making the fuel burn better but only if your engine has been set up to run with higher octane fuel. Otherwise nothing wil happen! Friction reducers (usually put into the oil) may decrease the friction inside the engine but only if all the additives already in the oil have broken down. They will only break down if you don't change the oil regularly. My advice is to use good quality oil (Catrol or similar) and change it regularly. This will keep your car running nicely and cost far less in the long run rather than relying on unproven additives.

The basic rule with tuning is (like everything) if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!

Few hardened engine tuners would notice the difference a 5bhp increase would make. Most drivers don't notice anything less than a 10bhp increase. So if your car feels faster because you gave it a bottle of STP or changed the dump valve for one that sounds like a rocket taking off I am afraid its all in your head! In my experience the only way to increase a cars performance is to change one of the 3 points I made to begin with. Sometimes it is cheaper to sell the car you have and just buy the sportier version than make what you have go faster. Sorry but I am afraid its all true!


Look out guys it’s him that thinks he’s in charge!
User avatar
thedupleman
Club Owner
Posts: 16736
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:14 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 2.0
Location: Hcoc bunker, sandbach
+_number: 0002
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#2

Post by thedupleman »

by the way read about ecotek getting officially called crap here.ok its not the valve but........
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications ... n_id=40177
Look out guys it’s him that thinks he’s in charge!
User avatar
mick doyle
Advice superstar
Posts: 3072
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:48 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: Gen3
Engine: 1.6
Location: outside your window
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#3

Post by mick doyle »

Cheers Daz, great guide :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sticky'd!!
thedupleman wrote:Ouch. I know he has black bits
eggcatcher
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#4

Post by eggcatcher »

thedupleman wrote:

changed the dump valve for one that sounds like a rocket taking off
dump valves have been proven by redline to have no gain on a sensible road-spec turbo, they did one of their tests, tried with no dump valve, and a couple different examples, and nothing noticeable gained. They may have uses in race engines, or in big stage 4 kits, but how many of those you hear at a car meet have a race engine or a stage 4?
User avatar
mick doyle
Advice superstar
Posts: 3072
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:48 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: Gen3
Engine: 1.6
Location: outside your window
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#5

Post by mick doyle »

Don't sequential blow off valves give some gains tho?? Like the HKS SSQV. They cut down on the compressor surge, and improve the throttle response.
thedupleman wrote:Ouch. I know he has black bits
eggcatcher
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#6

Post by eggcatcher »

Looks like they're now selling the 20p resistors ready made in the intake pipe now
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHIPPED-AIR-FLOW- ... 2565594a76
User avatar
thedupleman
Club Owner
Posts: 16736
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:14 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 2.0
Location: Hcoc bunker, sandbach
+_number: 0002
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#7

Post by thedupleman »

Just thought I'd bring this one back to light for the newbies.

Latest tuning crap includes the Chinese brands of tire made obviously in china.many people are tempted,they are cheap but you should be aware made of inferior rubber that deteriorates INSIDE so not visible causing blow outs and massive problems plus they are not tested AT ALL and many are made with looks in mind rather than anything else
Look out guys it’s him that thinks he’s in charge!
User avatar
thedupleman
Club Owner
Posts: 16736
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:14 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 2.0
Location: Hcoc bunker, sandbach
+_number: 0002
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#8

Post by thedupleman »

Thought I ought to bring up powertek and ecotek valves do the same thing.....bugger all
Look out guys it’s him that thinks he’s in charge!
gragol
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#9

Post by gragol »

just joined the forum. This post is the clearest, no nonsense appraisal of the essentials of engine tuning you will probably ever read. Excellent. :bow-yellow:
ashcassidy90
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#10

Post by ashcassidy90 »

Just seen this... Im not to sure what do you guys reckon?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Performance-E ... 27cf5d27a7
User avatar
thedupleman
Club Owner
Posts: 16736
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:14 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 2.0
Location: Hcoc bunker, sandbach
+_number: 0002
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#11

Post by thedupleman »

It's a con.ignore it.thats the corniest ad Iv ever seen.and it's made for every type of car!!
Look out guys it’s him that thinks he’s in charge!
User avatar
aaronyuri
Advice star
Posts: 2563
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2012 1:21 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: Gen1 (1996 -1999)
Engine: 2.0
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 7 times

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#12

Post by aaronyuri »

'Soft flash chips' LOL! It's called an EEPROM, you testicle.

That is not a piggyback... in the slightest. And since when did ECU mean engine management unit? It's engine control unit for Christ's sake.

Scam, scam, scam! Avoid like the plague. A real piggyback will put you back a fair few bucks and not go into the OBD port of your car - it'll come with a PnP harness (and none are made for our Coupes, BTW) or have to be wired into the ECU's loom. AEM, Perfect Power, Haltech, Megasquirt - some real aftermarket ECU names. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
User avatar
thedupleman
Club Owner
Posts: 16736
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:14 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 2.0
Location: Hcoc bunker, sandbach
+_number: 0002
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#13

Post by thedupleman »

How do you know it's a con?

It's instinctively feeling wrong
Too cheap
Suspiciously easy to fit

A lot of promises

Cheap to buy
Obviously easy to plug in
Not single car orientated

Read the first letter of all the statements
Look out guys it’s him that thinks he’s in charge!
cassanova2
I'm getting good at this
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:22 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 1.5
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#14

Post by cassanova2 »

Re- the "chips" that advance the ignition.

Wouldnt you need super unleaded to cope with doing this?

still a total con though.
Spanner2k14
Getting hooked
Posts: 695
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:34 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: Siii / TSiii
Engine: 2.0
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#15

Post by Spanner2k14 »

Good advice dupe

Area 3 - June Meet - Halifax
Area 3 - August Meet - Tatton Park
Hope yous can all come.
cassanova2
I'm getting good at this
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:22 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: s-Coupe (1991-1996)
Engine: 1.5
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#16

Post by cassanova2 »

The thread for this specific ebay crap is locked but found this video on youtube
where they fit and test one of these and consult a tuning ecu/chip expert


http://youtu.be/VGtImIP6j3A
User avatar
BlackBeast09
Getting to know you
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2017 7:39 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: Siii / TSiii
Engine: 2.0
Location: Kent
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 0

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#17

Post by BlackBeast09 »

thedupleman wrote:Just thought I'd bring this one back to light for the newbies.

Latest tuning crap includes the Chinese brands of tire made obviously in china.many people are tempted,they are cheap but you should be aware made of inferior rubber that deteriorates INSIDE so not visible causing blow outs and massive problems plus they are not tested AT ALL and many are made with looks in mind rather than anything else
Amen to that. I just replaced the nasty Chinese tyres that we're on my Coupe when I bought it for some Hankooks. The difference in performance was stunning! Don't be fooled.
:handgestures-thumbupleft:
User avatar
Lexo
Club Supervisor
Posts: 6626
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:55 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: Siii / TSiii
Engine: 2.0
Location: Edinburgh
+_number: 111
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 97 times
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#18

Post by Lexo »

Chineese knock-off alloy wheels are another one to avoid, various reports in Australia of them buckling or disintegrating.
smokebelch wrote:I'm sure some Reebok classic wearing chav will love the whole look you've got going on
User avatar
MisTyK
Found a match ...can see a bit
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2019 2:31 pm
Real Name:
Coupe: Siii / TSiii
Engine: 2.0
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Re: a guide to ebay chips and tuning crap

#19

Post by MisTyK »

Good tutorial, very helpfull
Post Reply