How can you tell if your cars been chipped?
Discussion
Is there a DIY test or is it just a question of talking the car to a rolling road?
After driving three M3's my car feels that much faster which got me thinking maybe the previous owner had it chipped? Or the owner before him?
Also my warranty could come in to play if i had a problem then what?
Any suggestions?
After driving three M3's my car feels that much faster which got me thinking maybe the previous owner had it chipped? Or the owner before him?
Also my warranty could come in to play if i had a problem then what?
Any suggestions?
Yep, already said - unless you have had some serious "wheel time" prior to chipping, its going to be hard to tell the difference. Gains are small but specific in areas where you notice them. For me, the big thing was the urgency of the engine at 3500RPM and above in the low gears. Post-chipping and there is an instant throttle response. Also, there is quite a bit more low-down torque than there was before as I asked for this to be added to the map.
BUT, someone who has not driven my car before is going to find it hard to tell the difference - I mean, it could be just my car that is run-in better than another. I did read an interesting article in BMWCar magazine the other month about a Z3M rolling road test. A handful of owners and a back-to-back test on a rolling road. In general there was only small differences, but they were noticeable. Low mileage ones were down on power while the higher mileage ones were a little freer to rev. Some were even down by 10%-15% on the claimed total..... Best thing to do is talk to an expert to get it checked out. They can compare the maps and see if there is any changes....
BUT, someone who has not driven my car before is going to find it hard to tell the difference - I mean, it could be just my car that is run-in better than another. I did read an interesting article in BMWCar magazine the other month about a Z3M rolling road test. A handful of owners and a back-to-back test on a rolling road. In general there was only small differences, but they were noticeable. Low mileage ones were down on power while the higher mileage ones were a little freer to rev. Some were even down by 10%-15% on the claimed total..... Best thing to do is talk to an expert to get it checked out. They can compare the maps and see if there is any changes....
I tend to agree with most of the replies and it could be possible the three other cars could have been down on power.
My car just feels quick every where there seems to be no limiter IE 165mph in 5th and 180 in 6th and it seems to red line at 8500 rpm?
Do all BMW's have wildly inaccurate speed odometers?
I've asked this question before on phers but didn't really get a conclusive answer.
I'm not complaining by the way just pleasantly baffled and surprised.
My car just feels quick every where there seems to be no limiter IE 165mph in 5th and 180 in 6th and it seems to red line at 8500 rpm?
Do all BMW's have wildly inaccurate speed odometers?
I've asked this question before on phers but didn't really get a conclusive answer.
I'm not complaining by the way just pleasantly baffled and surprised.
GTS Turbo said:
surely just locate the ECU and have a look for an extra box or cables see if a piggy back unit is fitted or see if the box there has any labels that say anything?
pop it down to a local garage that does chipping i'm sure they'll look and tell you!
pop it down to a local garage that does chipping i'm sure they'll look and tell you!
If its a petrol BMW from the last 10 years it will be difficult. Most updates to the maps are done through the diagnostic port and update the ECU from there. So you dont get any jumper chips or anything. Best thing to do is get a specialist to hook up to the ECU and check the map.
Some cars have a full rewrite/remap of the software contained within the ECU, so a visual inspection will reveal zilch.
I drove an old M6 a while back and although it's claimed output was 286bhp, this car produced 297bhp. It had a stainless exhaust as the only mod. I believe this car had the ideal set of engine tolerances (and 120000 miles on the clock!.
All engines are built to within specific tolerances. If one engine has the ideal levels, it will produce more grunt and rev far more freely. I remember speaking with a couple of guys involved in the building of cars such as BMWs and Audis...they used to talk about "Monday Morning" or "Friday Afternoon" cars not having the same amount of love bestowed upon them...
Perhaps you have a Wednesday car with a remap?! Either way, i'm sure you are enjoying yourself!
I drove an old M6 a while back and although it's claimed output was 286bhp, this car produced 297bhp. It had a stainless exhaust as the only mod. I believe this car had the ideal set of engine tolerances (and 120000 miles on the clock!.
All engines are built to within specific tolerances. If one engine has the ideal levels, it will produce more grunt and rev far more freely. I remember speaking with a couple of guys involved in the building of cars such as BMWs and Audis...they used to talk about "Monday Morning" or "Friday Afternoon" cars not having the same amount of love bestowed upon them...
Perhaps you have a Wednesday car with a remap?! Either way, i'm sure you are enjoying yourself!
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff