Chipped Hilux

Gazza

Well-Known Member
About a year ago I exchanged my trusty and reliable Defender 90 for a 2005 Hilux which has a 2.5 engine. Had the Hilux stuck a couple of times and at these times wished I had never parted with the Defender but on the cold winter nights out lamping, a motor with a heater that actually produces warm air is a definite plus. I have never been impressed by the 2.5 engine, find it a bit lacking and so decided to experiment with a chip. I bought this from Racechip and recently had it fitted. Transformed a dull 2.5 engine into a far more responsive unit. Now my question. Apart from the insurance aspects of altering a vehicle does chipping an engine have any adverse effects. I do not drive the vehicle like a racing machine but could the extra power/torque put additional pressure on the crankshaft or any other part for that matter. So far all my mechanic friends say no but has anybody a different experience.
 
I tried a chip in my diesel smart car, it claimed a rise in hp from 44 to 60, plus more torque and better fuel consumption.
The reality was fuel consumption was worse if driven as you did before the chip, much worse if the extra power was used.
Made the engine more responsive without a doubt, and I drove it like that for a while. After about 4k miles I started to get various problems, dropping in to limp mode for no reason, then it started to smoke on acceleration and then an erratic tick-over. I pulled the chip and things improved slightly, but no instant cure.
I ended up going to see a smart car tuning specialist, one run on the dyno showed 57.5hp without chip, which is not usual (48 to 54 is norm, for this dyno), further checks on the fuelling data showed the engine management ecu was corrupted. He re-flashed the cecu to standard and all problems solved, and said this was not uncommon for any car that had had a "generic" chip fitted for any length of time. I ended up having a proper rolling road re-map, that gave me 70hp and 118ft/lb torque and increase to both of around 30%
Fuel consumption improved no matter how it was driven, and as a plus the EGR valve was re-set to work at a different rpm and load, so that in real terms it was not there at all.
As for the insurance thing, well yes you should tell your insurer, but the thing with a proper re-map is it is just about impossible to tell it has been done, and even a main agent would not be able to see it, all they could do is re-set to standard and dyno test so they could compare a before and after. With a plug in one it is easy to find, and if you have an accident that ends up with the car being recovered it will almost certainly be found.
On the flip side a mate has a "Tunit" adjustable chip on a 53 plate Hylux, he fitted it in 2004 when he bought the truck and it has been problem free to this day.

Neil. :)
 
All diesels from new come set up to run on the worst quality diesel available anywhere in the world, unless you specified a high performance chip it should be set for the fuel we use in the UK.
Thats what I was told when I got one for a sprinter I had, (made a big difference) more power/torque but didnt use any more fuel.
sinbad
 
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