[Oscar.G]

Hi Guys,


(This is my first post on this forum, so feel free to move this thread if this is not the right location.)

I just want to share my experience about the RaceChip RS with you.

I'm leasing a Mercedes A-Class W177 180d (116hp - 260Nm).
I had in my mind to have a professional remap witch (according to their site) would give me 140pk - 310Nm and would cost me €500.
After spending some time on the internet searching about remapping a lease, I just forgot about this. But I now came across something else "power box".

It didn't take long for me to order a RaceChip RS, since they are claiming it would give my car 136pk - 306Nm and it would only cost me €319 (incl. Bluetooth).

(The moment of writing this, I've the chip installed for a month.)

Installation:
They claim that the installation is easy and only takes some minutes. But that's not the case.
First, I unlocked the bonnet, locked the car and put the key 10m away.
After 15min I opened the bonnet and started locating the sensors, this was really easy since I received a mail from RaceChip with pictures of the locations on my engine.

I had to start with the "Common Rail Sensor" this one was really difficult to connect, and it took me pretty long to put on the RaceChip to that sensor, since it's very tight out there.
You don't only have to get this at the right angle, you also have to put pressure on a clip, I can tell you, it's almost impossible.
Tip: Put a zip tie around the clip, so the clip is "open" and put it on. Afterwards just carefully cut the zip tie.

I had no problems with the "Turbo-boost pressure sensor" and I could connect the RaceChip itself.

I could now turn on the ignition and check if all the lights on the instrument cluster acted normal, and that was the case (I was happy that was the case).

The next step was to start the engine and see if it was running like it should. This was the case BUT as soon as I started it, the engine light turned on...
I felt crap about this, because I really didn't want to uninstall it and to struggle again with the Common Rail Sensor.

I've bought a cheap ODB2 Scanner a while ago, so I checked if I could see any error codes with it.
It gave me Following code: "P0193; Fuel rail pressure (FRP) sensor - high input".

I just ignored this, because it seemed "normal" to me (but I still had this in my mind).

While thinking about the error, I've put the cables and the box in place with zip ties and went out for a (gentle) test drive.
I had some problems connecting to the box with the app, so I restarted the car and the app, without any success.
BUT, then something magically happened, after restarting the engine and the app 2 or 3 times it connected AND the engine light went away.
Probably the RaceChip first had to connect with the app so it could load its settings from their server.

Results:
I can definitely feel the difference, however it's not that much of power increase, my girlfriend doesn't feel any difference.
She even claimed the she's sure there's nothing changed.
Off course I had to prove her wrong ?

To do this, I used the ODB2 Scanner again in combination with the "Car Scanner" app. Within the app you can do acceleration tests and choose the speed ranges you want to test.
I went to an empty long straight (bumpy) road for this.

(All the runs were from the same start point)

To start I did 3 runs with the chip turned off.
Then I did 3 runs with the chip on Sport mode (setting 5).
To finish I did 3 runs with the chip in Sport mode, but I changed it to (the max) setting 6.

You can find the results below:

After all I'm still happy with the RaceChip and at this moment I would recommend this if you are a car freak and you've sense for detail.

Let me know if you have a question about the installation or if you want me to try something, for example different speed ranges, ...

Thanks for reading.

Have a nice day!


Kind Regards,
Oscar.G

 

[User4]

One second off your 0-100kph & around 2.5 seconds off your 0-160kph for €319 is pretty good value to be fair.

 

[Bl55ONE]

What is the fuel economy like now after the chip install ??

 

[Oscar.G]

@User4 Yes indeed, I was thinking the same. Considering I could get the same results for €269 without the bluetooth module. But I like that feature as I can now set a warm-up timer.

@Bl55ONE I can't give you exact numbers (yet). I know that at this moment the fuel economy is higher, because I'm always driving the car in sport mode & chip in race mode.

 

[Bl55ONE]

@Oscar.G
Soo your geting higher MPG? How much higher at the moment? Thanks in advance

 

[Oscar.G]

Let's say the fuel consumption was 6,5l/100km (43,46MPG) and it's now 6,9l/100km (40,94MPG).

 

[Bl55ONE]

Let's say the fuel consumption was 6,5l/100km (43,46MPG) and it's now 6,9l/100km (40,94MPG).

Not too bad then
I have the a200d and thinking of getting the chip

 

[Panos_Gr]

So with a race chip we can achieve better acceleration, higher torque and significantly better fuel economy (according to advertising among the internet), isn't it a little bit strange? Is it possible to have such improvement without any losses? What about engine parts which are designed by the basic specs in mind? Could they handle this gain of performance without problems? I' ve the basic 1.3 136 a class and despite I would love it to be more speedy I' m suspicious about it.

 

[BrandonC97]

So with a race chip we can achieve better acceleration, higher torque and significantly better fuel economy (according to advertising among the internet), isn't it a little bit strange? Is it possible to have such improvement without any losses? What about engine parts which are designed by the basic specs in mind? Could they handle this gain of performance without problems? I' ve the basic 1.3 136 a class and despite I would love it to be more speedy I' m suspicious about it.

I’ve a racechip S for my A180 1.3 and I’ve had zero issues with it. Installation took five minutes once I knew where the sensors where and I can definitely feel the difference. I believe in principle it works by increasing the engines torque output which essentially means the engine doesn’t have too work as hard too achieve the same power output, only in this case there’s a horsepower gain as a byproduct of the torque increase. That’s why diesels tend to be more economic because they’ve more torque compared to a petrol of the same size. I hope that settles your suspicions mate. If you want too know anything about the racechip just pm me and that goes for anyone else wanting to know anything about it as well! Cheers!

 

[P623]

Hi just wondering if these upgrades are being declared to owners insurance company's and what sort of extra cost they incur!
also are divers aware if not declared basically they are not insured?

 

[amg]

Actually this will void your car warranty once fitted. Isnt it?

 

[Panos_Gr]

I think that this would void your car maker warranty (so you should do it since your warranty has expired) but the most important is the fact that it is definetly would affect your car insurance. I don't know if is possible to aknowledge your insurance provider about the modification in order to raise the annual costs and be official covered. In case of an accident it is very difficult to remove the chip instantly and without be spotted.

 

[Oscar.G]

Actually this will void your car warranty once fitted. Isnt it?

This will not void your warranty. If something is wrong, you just take out the racechip (this can be done in 10min) and then your car is still under warranty.
The dealer won't be able to see that a racechip was installed in your car.
There was a guy on this forum and he blew his engine within warranty, but he didn't took out his racechip before going to the dealer. In his case the dealer told him it was because of the racechip, so it was not under warranty. Too bad for this guy, but he should've take the chip out...

 

[Oscar.G]

I think that this would void your car maker warranty (so you should do it since your warranty has expired) but the most important is the fact that it is definetly would affect your car insurance. I don't know if is possible to aknowledge your insurance provider about the modification in order to raise the annual costs and be official covered. In case of an accident it is very difficult to remove the chip instantly and without be spotted.

You're completely right about this. There will always be the risk that you've an accident and you don't have time to remove the chip. I don't think there will many insurance company's covering chip(tuning).
BUT if you're worried about this, you should not get a racechip, you'll have to deal with the thought that you could've an accident and that the chip could get you in trouble. However at least with the racechip you can quickly remove it, you can't do that with a proper ECU remap.

 

[amg]

This will not void your warranty. If something is wrong, you just take out the racechip (this can be done in 10min) and then your car is still under warranty.
The dealer won't be able to see that a racechip was installed in your car.
There was a guy on this forum and he blew his engine within warranty, but he didn't took out his racechip before going to the dealer. In his case the dealer told him it was because of the racechip, so it was not under warranty. Too bad for this guy, but he should've take the chip out...

I stilll think that this action voids your engine warranty, or else you should NOT have to take this out in case of emengency or fault (or visiting your dealer) as you say!

Also, I am not sure as I dont know if and what DATA are being transmitted by ECU and other sensors to the factory servers (MBUX and ECU and various sensors do allow data to be sent for Remote Telediagnosis to factory) or even stored in as logs, so I would not take any risk voiding my MERCEDES warranty in any case.

 

[Panos_Gr]

Mercedes warranty is 2 years (you can purchase expansion). Until it expires I think that you should leave your car untouched.
I agree with amg about that the car collects data and interact with Mercedes. Afterwards maybe I would give a try with racing chip but always will be a huge questionmark about the insurance cover. Car insurance providers will claim that the r.chip is an illegal modification that maybe caused the accident. If you inform your provider about the racing chip I m curious if they would cancel the insurance contract instantly or inspect the car and just raise the insurance fees in order to keep up with the higher horsepower and higher possibilities to get involved to a car accident.

 

[King_saif1]

Mercedes warranty is 2 years (you can purchase expansion). Until it expires I think that you should leave your car untouched.
I agree with amg about that the car collects data and interact with Mercedes. Afterwards maybe I would give a try with racing chip but always will be a huge questionmark about the insurance cover. Car insurance providers will claim that the r.chip is an illegal modification that maybe caused the accident. If you inform your provider about the racing chip I m curious if they would cancel the insurance contract instantly or inspect the car and just raise the insurance fees in order to keep up with the higher horsepower and higher possibilities to get involved to a car accident.

Definitely not 2 years warranty in UK
I think it is 3 or 4 years.

 

[Jodie]

I’ve a racechip S for my A180 1.3 and I’ve had zero issues with it. Installation took five minutes once I knew where the sensors where and I can definitely feel the difference. I believe in principle it works by increasing the engines torque output which essentially means the engine doesn’t have too work as hard too achieve the same power output, only in this case there’s a horsepower gain as a byproduct of the torque increase. That’s why diesels tend to be more economic because they’ve more torque compared to a petrol of the same size. I hope that settles your suspicions mate. If you want too know anything about the racechip just pm me and that goes for anyone else wanting to know anything about it as well! Cheers!

Did you find the S chip sufficient enough or would you recommend the RS/GTS now that you’ve had that chip for a while? I have the same engine as you and was wanting to update it!

Thank you in advance 🙌