Originally Posted by Jason@JacFab
So I'll jump in here as I have been running a test unit for about a month now.
While the dyno graph shown may be questionable, I know that the RaceChip works as advertised, but can't confirm actual hard number gains at the moment.
My thoughts on it are this: It's not going to be for everybody, it's not for the guy that wants to go to the dragstrip that wants to run a 10 or 11 second 1/4 mile pass, you want to do that, you're probably gonna need a tune, and going to have to drop a few thousand dollars on upgraded parts. BUT where it does shine, is for people that are stock, or maybe have a few minor bolt ons that want more power they can feel in the seat of their pants without having to worry about the possibility of sacrificing their factory warranty with a "real tune".
The one I am running is the GTS black, and has the 7 settings to choose from. They say depending on your bolt on modifications, you may need to run on a lower setting to keep things happy. I was advised not to run setting #7 as I only have 91 octane fuel easily available to me, so I run it on setting #6, (w/ a catless downpipe, performance recirculation valve, and a K&N drop in filter, no real cold air intake here yet *cough*zzsteve*cough*)
You can definitely feel it, and it will set you back in your seat. I've been running on the stock ECM tune for a few months now, and just recently got back from a 200 mile twisty road, road trip. I ran it on setting 6 on the way to the destination, and setting 0 (runs as stock would) on the way back. I can say that it was immensely more enjoyable with the "chip" on on these twisty roads.
They have a separate product that modifies throttle response (ie: throttle controller), which I also have, but have not tested yet as I wanted to test both products independently of each other. Does it work on the same principal? I suppose. As it intercepts sensor signals, and modifies the values before sending them onto the ECM.
When I received it, I disassembled the harness to see exactly which sensor values where being changed, has the MAF sensor handles several different readings, including IAT, and the boost pressure sensor (t/map), also reads charge temperatures post intercooler. IF it had modified ANY of the IAT/TEMP readings, I would have just sent it back and kindly declined to test it, but it DOES NOT alter temp readings, which means it does not add timing based on IAT multipliers, which I took as it was probably safe to run, and not like any of those old school ebay "chips" you used to buy dirt cheap that claimed added horsepower, but simply just changed IAT readings in an attempt to add more timing.
Now I'm not gonna pretend to know exactly how it works, but I can speculate. I figure it modifies the pressure sensor valves to get the ecm to increase the boost, and it modifies the MAF air flow sensor value to modify the fueling to keep things safe.
I have experienced no ill effects from the product, and I only have only good things to say for ITS INTENDED MARKET, as I mentioned above. I can not comment on the increased fuel mileage claim, as I personally have seen a 10% fuel increase on my daily commute while running one of my performance recirculation valves, so perhaps that is negating the potential fuel savings of the chip (law of deminishing returns, you know?), that said, I have not seen any further improvement over the initial 10% I gained from the other part. Will I run the RaceChip forever? No. I plan to to turbo upgrades, run meth injection, and just all around make my car faster than the RaceChip can support. I went mostly back to stockish at their request just so I could test this.
This is not a paid review, although they did sent me the parts to test for free, but I was asked to return them when I was done. I believe anything and everything that's new to the market, regardless of how questionable it may seem should receive an honest chance to see if its worth while. If this was junk, I would tell you, it definitely serves a purpose and fulfills that purpose well, but like I said, it's not for everybody, but there are a lot of people out that that will like it and it will serve them well.
That's my .02.
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