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My official RaceChip thread -

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#1
So i have been discussing it in recent threads and i figured i'd condense all discussion into this as there are people genuinely interested in the outcome. For anybody who hasn't followed, i've ordered a RaceChip module ($250 low end unit) for my mostly stock FIST (RMM and CAI) so we shall see what happens. If it's garbage, 30 day return. For anybody curious of references, here's a few links and quotes from people i found online on another FIST forum where somebody asked about this product.

Somebody named BUMGRAPE halfway down page 1 -

"Racechip are fine, they are well known for other marques, as with boxes like Bluespark and JB+ etc. All they do is increase turbo boost slightly within defined parameters for that car. My mate has a racechip box on his Audi RS7 and it's a really impressive gain in boost. I have put a Bluespark on my M140i and again they make a noticeable difference. It has 5 settings to change the level of boost increase. I have it set to the middle position which is a modest increase in boost and it's really noticeable, gives the car a really nice extra kick on boost. They are a great way to boost power without touching the mapping of your car and so good if you don't want to risk warranty. They work by plugging into the loom and adjusting the boost levels based on the data from the ECU and map sensor. So all they are doing is increasing the boost by a small amount - the ECU still keeps the AFR under control and so the engine is kept within safe limits. I monitored the AFR on my M140i with the Bluespark and it's all within spec with no issues, but I have a really nice extra poke to the engine when the boost kicks in. As I say, if you are under warranty and want a way of increasing power in a way that can be quickly reversed with no sign and therefore not affect warranty, then they are a really good option. An MP215 with a Racechip or Bluespark box would probably be a pretty good setup I reckon. If you're not so worried about warranty (or out of warranty), then a re-map is a much better way of doing it with the likes of Collins etc. I personally loved the CP2 on MP215 hardware, but I wouldn't knock these boxes for those not wanting a remap as they do do what they are claiming."

Somebody named David Heavey, 3 posts later, same link -

"My experiences with RaceChip are excellent and I run one on my Skoda TDI VRS. Having been modded to comply with Dieselgate by Skoda which ruined the performance and the Fuel consumption that is 170 HP over went to 155 HP and the engine was much rougher, and the fuel consumption when from 52 to 42 MPG. To restore this I fitted a Top of the range Racechip package about 6 months ago. This results in a much quicker smoother engine performance and fuel consumption is 58 mpg and if I am a bit careful on a long run will give 65 MPG. You get three settings Economy, Sport and Race set from your smart phone and giving 16% 18% and 21% increases in HP or there about so 200 HP ish. I run in Sport all the time, why not? I have never tried Race because I don't need it. The engine runs much smoother, the Car goes like a Rocket ship and the fuel consumption is very good. The support help line is excellent and the fitting time is about 5 minutes and if your not good mechanically 10 minutes. You can take it off for MOT emissions testing and when you sell the Car. You can have it reprogrammed and move it onto a next Car. It did not increase the insurance cost but I am older and don't crash to much. Seems pretty good to me. A very good piece of kit. "

Lets keep an open mind here and please, be respectful and lets see what happens!
 


OP
TalkToTheFiST
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Thread Starter #3
Reminiscent of the ‘80s technology.


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You know, history repeats itself. But don't worry, this chip may only be a stopgap on my way to a full stage 2 tune. But this info cold be useful to anybody else just wanting a jump up from stock and aren't willing to jump to an actual tune. There are those people out there you know, not everybody wants what you want. And that's ok, to each their own.
 


Hypergram

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#5
So i have been discussing it in recent threads and i figured i'd condense all discussion into this as there are people genuinely interested in the outcome. For anybody who hasn't followed, i've ordered a RaceChip module ($250 low end unit) for my mostly stock FIST (RMM and CAI) so we shall see what happens. If it's garbage, 30 day return. For anybody curious of references, here's a few links and quotes from people i found online on another FIST forum where somebody asked about this product.

Somebody named BUMGRAPE halfway down page 1 -

"Racechip are fine, they are well known for other marques, as with boxes like Bluespark and JB+ etc. All they do is increase turbo boost slightly within defined parameters for that car. My mate has a racechip box on his Audi RS7 and it's a really impressive gain in boost. I have put a Bluespark on my M140i and again they make a noticeable difference. It has 5 settings to change the level of boost increase. I have it set to the middle position which is a modest increase in boost and it's really noticeable, gives the car a really nice extra kick on boost. They are a great way to boost power without touching the mapping of your car and so good if you don't want to risk warranty. They work by plugging into the loom and adjusting the boost levels based on the data from the ECU and map sensor. So all they are doing is increasing the boost by a small amount - the ECU still keeps the AFR under control and so the engine is kept within safe limits. I monitored the AFR on my M140i with the Bluespark and it's all within spec with no issues, but I have a really nice extra poke to the engine when the boost kicks in. As I say, if you are under warranty and want a way of increasing power in a way that can be quickly reversed with no sign and therefore not affect warranty, then they are a really good option. An MP215 with a Racechip or Bluespark box would probably be a pretty good setup I reckon. If you're not so worried about warranty (or out of warranty), then a re-map is a much better way of doing it with the likes of Collins etc. I personally loved the CP2 on MP215 hardware, but I wouldn't knock these boxes for those not wanting a remap as they do do what they are claiming."

Somebody named David Heavey, 3 posts later, same link -

"My experiences with RaceChip are excellent and I run one on my Skoda TDI VRS. Having been modded to comply with Dieselgate by Skoda which ruined the performance and the Fuel consumption that is 170 HP over went to 155 HP and the engine was much rougher, and the fuel consumption when from 52 to 42 MPG. To restore this I fitted a Top of the range Racechip package about 6 months ago. This results in a much quicker smoother engine performance and fuel consumption is 58 mpg and if I am a bit careful on a long run will give 65 MPG. You get three settings Economy, Sport and Race set from your smart phone and giving 16% 18% and 21% increases in HP or there about so 200 HP ish. I run in Sport all the time, why not? I have never tried Race because I don't need it. The engine runs much smoother, the Car goes like a Rocket ship and the fuel consumption is very good. The support help line is excellent and the fitting time is about 5 minutes and if your not good mechanically 10 minutes. You can take it off for MOT emissions testing and when you sell the Car. You can have it reprogrammed and move it onto a next Car. It did not increase the insurance cost but I am older and don't crash to much. Seems pretty good to me. A very good piece of kit. "

Lets keep an open mind here and please, be respectful and lets see what happens!
Happy to see you trying this out! I'm interested to see how you feel about it once you get it.
 


OP
TalkToTheFiST
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Thread Starter #6
Happy to see you trying this out! I'm interested to see how you feel about it once you get it.
You and me both ! I will offer my honest thoughts too, i don't have enough ego points invested in this to worry about being right. Im just looking for a pickup in power that's affordable as i move forward with my car. If i don't notice any meaningful difference i will surely let everybody know so they don't waste their time (and get my money back).

If it seems worth it, perhaps this experiment will help others.
 


OP
TalkToTheFiST
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Thread Starter #7
I want nothing.


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Of course you do. You want to keep what you have, to be allowed to continue the path you chose. I assume you chose the traditional AP path from the start and wouldn't want to rewind time and do it my way first. You want to stay where you are. I'm only saying not everybody is adamant on following the beaten path the first time through. I am doing things as you are, just testing out a detour in the first part of the race.
 


Dpro

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#9
Of course you do. You want to keep what you have, to be allowed to continue the path you chose. I assume you chose the traditional AP path from the start and wouldn't want to rewind time and do it my way first. You want to stay where you are. I'm only saying not everybody is adamant on following the beaten path the first time through. I am doing things as you are, just testing out a detour in the first part of the race.
Lol he knows he would not want to make the mistake you are making. Waste your money. Later on you will smack yourself upside the head for spending it on the racechip.
 


HBEcoBeaST

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#10
In for results. I definitely think you will get some power gains, throttle response and it's cheap. Similar to the flowmaster Delta module. I'm assuming you have no plans to Dyno the car?

Just understand every car and motor is different, so gains will be different for each platform. Turbocharged vehicles will respond to different types of tuning strategies than the Camaro or skoda you are referencing. Fuel type will be a limiting factor on power as well which I didn't see if RaceChips had a fuel type selection? I'd make sure you're running the fuel type intended for the chip, otherwise bad things can happen to your motor.

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OP
TalkToTheFiST
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Thread Starter #11
In for results. I definitely think you will get some power gains, throttle response and it's cheap. Similar to the flowmaster Delta module. I'm assuming you have no plans to Dyno the car?

Just understand every car and motor is different, so gains will be different for each platform. Turbocharged vehicles will respond to different types of tuning strategies than the Camaro or skoda you are referencing. Fuel type will be a limiting factor on power as well which I didn't see if RaceChips had a fuel type selection? I'd make sure you're running the fuel type intended for the chip, otherwise bad things can happen to your motor.

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You are right, i don't plan on getting a dyno, at least not any time soon. Maybe years from now at best. If i remember, in one of their videos they mention all their tests are done on stock cars with 93 octane, which is what i happen to use.
 


OP
TalkToTheFiST
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Thread Starter #12
Lol he knows he would not want to make the mistake you are making. Waste your money. Later on you will smack yourself upside the head for spending it on the racechip.
It's only $250, over the course of years that's hardly anything. If the chip is a dud return it and get my money back, if it works then i won't regret anything as i will be getting 30+ HP while im saving up for a stage 2 and beyond. I don't see why you guys are so negative about this, if it works and no engine damage is done, it's not a huge loss and gives me fun in the meantime.

Assuming the chip does even close to what it says, in order to get that much power i gotta get a FMIC, AP and stage 2 tune, and likely more than a OTS tune. Im definitely not buying that in the next few mo as it's probably lose to $1k after installation. At worst this chip gives me similar power to stage 2 now, with the real stage 2 coming later.

In the long run, $250 isn't a lot of money. Im ok with it, no smacking necessary 🤪
 


Dpro

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#14
It's only $250, over the course of years that's hardly anything. If the chip is a dud return it and get my money back, if it works then i won't regret anything as i will be getting 30+ HP while im saving up for a stage 2 and beyond. I don't see why you guys are so negative about this, if it works and no engine damage is done, it's not a huge loss and gives me fun in the meantime.

Assuming the chip does even close to what it says, in order to get that much power i gotta get a FMIC, AP and stage 2 tune, and likely more than a OTS tune. Im definitely not buying that in the next few mo as it's probably lose to $1k after installation. At worst this chip gives me similar power to stage 2 now, with the real stage 2 coming later.

In the long run, $250 isn't a lot of money. Im ok with it, no smacking necessary 🤪
$250 and you can add another $75-100. And bam AP with tunes on it even if it just has the off the shelf Cobb tunes you will get the results you want and have an open door for more.
Why spend the $250 on the chip when you could do that? Its not so much the beaten path its the knowledgable path.
Do what you want the head smacking comment was a metaphor.
 


Hypergram

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#15
Lol he knows he would not want to make the mistake you are making. Waste your money. Later on you will smack yourself upside the head for spending it on the racechip.
Jeez no need to be a dick about it. It's his car and his money. He can do what he wants with both. Even if the chip is a waste, there's no need to constantly berate him like everyone else. He asked for a suggestion and help. Not to be beaten up in every thread he makes when he doesn't follow everyone's exact suggestion.
 


Hypergram

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#16
I didn’t say anything negative.


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Your passive aggressive, useless comments on this thread are negative and not wanted. "I want nothing" "I know what I don't want"... Get out of here with that. It's useless BS.
 


Dpro

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#20
Jeez no need to be a dick about it. It's his car and his money. He can do what he wants with both. Even if the chip is a waste, there's no need to constantly berate him like everyone else. He asked for a suggestion and help. Not to be beaten up in every thread he makes when he doesn't follow everyone's exact suggestion.
Look we are trying to help him,. He went far beyond asking for suggestions. Yes he asked for them but then when given sound advice proceed to disagree which is his right but instead of accepting that he kept on posting about doing it. If he had posted about it got the response and let it lie I do not think there would have been that strong of reaction from people.
Its his insistence of not only telling us we don’t know but persistantly reposting. Look he started another thread here.
I am not being a dick I am giving him logical advice towards making a wise decision.
You will note I did say do what you want in my last post. If I was being a dick I would not have said that.
Truth is some of us are older may have made mistakes like this ourselves and hate to see other forum members make those mistakes.
If we did not care we would not post at all.
I am done with this I do a lot of helping here and do not need to be told I am being a dick when I am not.
 


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