Racechips?

Caporegime
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17 Jul 2010
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Looking for anyone that's used them as I'm looking for a bit of a boost to my Focus 1.6 Ecoboost 182 and apparently one of these will take me over 200HP for less than £200. The site is pretty light on how it actually works and I'm worried that it's just a box that intercepts fuel/air data and modifies it making the turbo boost harder without taking anything else like exhaust gas temperature into account and could result in my turbo being slowly baked to death or other premature breakdowns.

Or can anyone else recommend another brand or service to give me some boost?
 
Soldato
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I bought one of the these boxes years ago for my dads car. Didn't really work, and in the end it made it so the car wouldn't start. So removed it. Maybe it was the manual settings but I never looked into it further.

I'd go for a proper map or a superchips bluefin. I have one on my current car and it's pretty much worth the money as it gives a nice power update and it can be reverted to stock if ever needed.
 
Soldato
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If you are going down the remap route op do it properly and take it to a proper place that specialises in them. All the Focus ST owners class Collins performance as the best so could be worth contacting them and seeing what he can do with your 1.6t.
Others for Fords are Bluefin and Revo if you have any of them near you.
You will probably gain 25-30bhp max with no other mods.
 
Associate
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I use the Racechip Ultimate in my Mini, with a claim of 50 bhp increase and 80nm torque. Very noticeable, especially once you have enough boost. The product has been flawless for me so far.

These chips seem to be safer that a lot of others as they leave all the manufacturers protection mechanisms functional/intact while providing additional safety measures. They don't push the engine to the absolute limits either. They also come with a 2 year engine warranty (And a 5 Year product warranty), which instills some confidence in the quality of their product. Probably one of the more expensive chips on the market (£430). You can reuse your chip if you change car, you just have to get in touch with them to get the correct configuration.
 
Don
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I'm worried that it's just a box that intercepts fuel/air data and modifies it making the turbo boost harder without taking anything else like exhaust gas temperature into account and could result in my turbo being slowly baked to death or other premature breakdowns.

Last time I looked at them, they did exactly that - plugging in between the ECU and the injectors, and so can increase the injector duty cycle. While I have no doubt that they built safety systems into their tuning box, in a piece of 3rd party software that is far more likely to have a bug, rather than a "map" that essentially is just a big lookup table of engine parameters (leaving all the manufacturers safeguards in control).

Personally I would get a bluefin
http://www.mybluefin.co.uk/search?make=9&fueltype=3&model=2&variant=2544

although may be worth looking at the Mountune kit as another option - although a lot more expensive it includes hardware upgrades
https://www.mountunestore.com/colle...tune-200-power-upgrade-kit?variant=1267144300
 
Soldato
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Last time I looked at them, they did exactly that - plugging in between the ECU and the injectors, and so can increase the injector duty cycle. While I have no doubt that they built safety systems into their tuning box, in a piece of 3rd party software that is far more likely to have a bug, rather than a "map" that essentially is just a big lookup table of engine parameters (leaving all the manufacturers safeguards in control).

Personally I would get a bluefin
http://www.mybluefin.co.uk/search?make=9&fueltype=3&model=2&variant=2544

although may be worth looking at the Mountune kit as another option - although a lot more expensive it includes hardware upgrades
https://www.mountunestore.com/colle...tune-200-power-upgrade-kit?variant=1267144300
Hah that last link has a rebranding of Cobb accessport v3 o.o
 
Soldato
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27 Feb 2006
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Lincolnshire
Looking for anyone that's used them as I'm looking for a bit of a boost to my Focus 1.6 Ecoboost 182 and apparently one of these will take me over 200HP for less than £200. The site is pretty light on how it actually works and I'm worried that it's just a box that intercepts fuel/air data and modifies it making the turbo boost harder without taking anything else like exhaust gas temperature into account and could result in my turbo being slowly baked to death or other premature breakdowns.

Or can anyone else recommend another brand or service to give me some boost?
I still have a bluefin device I used on my 1.6 ecoboost, sadly for you it was the 150ps version otherwise I'd sell it o you. I have experienced ecu remaps, blufin and tuning boxes and not had any issues with any of them. Audi S3 owners have used the dtuk tuning boxes to great effect..,
 
Caporegime
OP
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The problem with a Bluefin is it's nearly four times the price! I've looked at the mountune kit and £1k for 20HP seems like an awful lot although people say they underestimate the power you'll get, but not actually saying what you'll get!
 
Soldato
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Tampa, Florida
I use the Racechip Ultimate in my Mini, with a claim of 50 bhp increase and 80nm torque. Very noticeable, especially once you have enough boost. The product has been flawless for me so far.

These chips seem to be safer that a lot of others as they leave all the manufacturers protection mechanisms functional/intact while providing additional safety measures. They don't push the engine to the absolute limits either. They also come with a 2 year engine warranty (And a 5 Year product warranty), which instills some confidence in the quality of their product. Probably one of the more expensive chips on the market (£430). You can reuse your chip if you change car, you just have to get in touch with them to get the correct configuration.

I can assure you that you're not getting a 50bhp/80nm increase from this chip. I can also assure you you have no 2 year warranty on your engine because you bought this thing (regardless of their website blurb).
 
Caporegime
OP
Joined
17 Jul 2010
Posts
25,660
I still have a bluefin device I used on my 1.6 ecoboost, sadly for you it was the 150ps version otherwise I'd sell it o you. I have experienced ecu remaps, blufin and tuning boxes and not had any issues with any of them. Audi S3 owners have used the dtuk tuning boxes to great effect..,
I've emailed Superchips to see if they'll answer my question, if the devices and software are identical between the 150 and 182 versions. We'll see if they get back to me.
 
Associate
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17 Nov 2005
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325
I had mine remapped a few weeks ago it was only the 150, Chatting to the guy as it was done they start by mapping it upto the 182's figures then they map it on top of that, I'd spent ages looking around then through the mk3 owners page on facebook came across DRSCornwall who had a lot of recommendations and then he happened to be up near me doing about 6 other cars so i got my deposit down and went along and had it done. Only cost £190 as well which i thought was brilliant when you look at what other company's are charging.

The problem with buying a bluefin that has been used on another car is it will need to be reprogrammed as they lock to the VIN of the car and you have to pay £225 to have it reset so you can use it on another car, It does make it a bit cheaper than buying a new handset from them in the long run.
 
Caporegime
OP
Joined
17 Jul 2010
Posts
25,660
I had mine remapped a few weeks ago it was only the 150, Chatting to the guy as it was done they start by mapping it upto the 182's figures then they map it on top of that, I'd spent ages looking around then through the mk3 owners page on facebook came across DRSCornwall who had a lot of recommendations and then he happened to be up near me doing about 6 other cars so i got my deposit down and went along and had it done. Only cost £190 as well which i thought was brilliant when you look at what other company's are charging.

The problem with buying a bluefin that has been used on another car is it will need to be reprogrammed as they lock to the VIN of the car and you have to pay £225 to have it reset so you can use it on another car, It does make it a bit cheaper than buying a new handset from them in the long run.

Who did the map? Was it a Revo or Superchips or something different?
 
Associate
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I can assure you that you're not getting a 50bhp/80nm increase from this chip. I can also assure you you have no 2 year warranty on your engine because you bought this thing (regardless of their website blurb).

Is this based on facts, or assumptions? If fact, I'd like to know where you got your information from.
 
Soldato
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Tampa, Florida
Is this based on facts, or assumptions? If fact, I'd like to know where you got your information from.

Common sense, I'd like to see your dyno sheet before and after, and a written contract on the warranty. I'm not beating you up about it, I'm merely making sure you don't fall victim to an engine exploding and thinking these guys will give you a new one/rebuild it
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2006
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23,304
The problem with a Bluefin is it's nearly four times the price! I've looked at the mountune kit and £1k for 20HP seems like an awful lot although people say they underestimate the power you'll get, but not actually saying what you'll get!

The Mountune kits have a much better power curve and they are actually quicker than most other (comparable) tunes, even though it might not seem so on paper. Also they make their advertised power and proven to be safe.

Your not going to safely get 50hp from just a plugin device and no physical upgrades lol. If you dyno it, it will probably fall way short and have an awful curve. While possibly being harmful to the engine. If they were any good serious tuners wouldn't spend so much money on doing things properly.
 
Last edited:
Associate
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Scotland
Common sense, I'd like to see your dyno sheet before and after, and a written contract on the warranty. I'm not beating you up about it, I'm merely making sure you don't fall victim to an engine exploding and thinking these guys will give you a new one/rebuild it

Common sense or not, it is still assumptions, but I do know what you're saying.

I am planning a dyno run, mainly for piece of mind but also all those naysayers :p . Just need to find somewhere local/reputable and hopefully get one this time next month.

I have found a few people online that have hit 240bhp (Same car) with dyno results, so I'm quite confident.
 
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