My engine chipping experience so far

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

Remember, for those that do want to go ahead you should email me at [email protected] with vehicle specs etc and mention the prado point forum discount. I will get an invoice out to you by retun email

Cheers

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

Does anyone know how much power can be increased by running at factory default tune 5?
20%? 30%?

Thanks

about 25% increase in torque

[BNEGXL Member Find all posts View Profile Close BNEGXL]

Thanks Rob,

After connecting the earth directly to the battery the intermittant starting problem has returned.

Same as before it starts second go every time.

I rang your office today, they said you were out, I spoke to Adam, he asked me to disconnect the chip and attach the by pass plug to test the wiring harness, I'll let you know how I go.

Adam also said that he would send me a replacement chip, I will wait to see how the harness test goes, if the starting problem is still there I'll take you up on the offer of an earth relay.

If all that fails I guess it's a replacement chip?

[Antiquesman Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Antiquesman]

Antiquesman you can fit the chip yourself. It is a full plug and play system. If you need a reply that too comes with fitting instructions but that part (and the EGT controller should you wish to add this level of safety) can be taken to your local mechanic for fitting. Its not hard at all and we do support the local mechanic should individuals wish to use them.

The chip itself is a real no brainer. 15 mins to completely install it and with the forum discount I will throw in (10%) the price of the chips comes to $925 odd delivered to your door.

Granted the price of the chip alone is great. And if there were no issues it WOULD be a no brainer. It's the unknown whether I have issues starting the car when I'm with my family and we pull over for a break on our trip to Narooma complete with convoy of several other families also towing vans that concerns me.
And yes it's great that you offer assistance and after sales support . This is fantastic if you break down in your driveway but what do I do if it happens several hundred kilometers from home on our way to our holiday destination? If it were one or two people experiencing the problem I would probably take the risk but from reading this thread it appears to be like playing Russian roulette. It's great if you are one of the lucky ones that doesn't have any issues but it seems many people are having issues ..... still.
Now for all I know, the other chips may also have their issues but I feel that I need to look into this a bit further and delay my purchase even if it means climbing those hills a bit slower this trip.

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

Agreed BNEGXL

Thanks Rob,

After connecting the earth directly to the battery the intermittant starting problem has returned.

Same as before it starts second go every time.

I rang your office today, they said you were out, I spoke to Adam, he asked me to disconnect the chip and attach the by pass plug to test the wiring harness, I'll let you know how I go.

Adam also said that he would send me a replacement chip, I will wait to see how the harness test goes, if the starting problem is still there I'll take you up on the offer of an earth relay.

If all that fails I guess it's a replacement chip?

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

The starting issue is NOT that the Prado wont start ALL AT. it will take 2 or 3 cranks to start.

DP chip are having the same issue as quoted from one of their ex dealers in QLD. (Torque and Tune). In fact they came over to us and told us all the other issues they are having with 70 and 200 series as well. So its not a unique thing with us alone. There is a special thing happening with some Toyota's. That's OK because we have a work around and IF your vehicle experiences this issue the WORST CASE is that we send you out a relay so that the earth is dropped out whilst engine is cranking over. Once the engine starts the relay will provide the earth that the Toyota factory ECU requires.

So to repeat, the chip will not leave you with a non starter.

Granted the price of the chip alone is great. And if there were no issues it WOULD be a no brainer. It's the unknown whether I have issues starting the car when I'm with my family and we pull over for a break on our trip to Narooma complete with convoy of several other families also towing vans that concerns me.
And yes it's great that you offer assistance and after sales support . This is fantastic if you break down in your driveway but what do I do if it happens several hundred kilometers from home on our way to our holiday destination? If it were one or two people experiencing the problem I would probably take the risk but from reading this thread it appears to be like playing Russian roulette. It's great if you are one of the lucky ones that doesn't have any issues but it seems many people are having issues ..... still.
Now for all I know, the other chips may also have their issues but I feel that I need to look into this a bit further and delay my purchase even if it means climbing those hills a bit slower this trip.

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

If I may take the liberty to post a reply I just received from a new dealer that also had an earthing issue: Mods let me know if you wish this changed or deleted. Just though it would help put a little credit to what I am saying about resolving some issues with Toyotas and us upgrading to the new 5volt chip from the 12volt chip we were using. As mentioned. I received this email today.

" G'day Robert,
No problems, that last order I just put through via credit card over the phone on Monday afternoon and I had them Wednesday morning which i thought was excellent west coast to east coast.

The 2 hilux are going fantastic, very impressed and so are the owners. I upgraded them both today one was happy on level 7 and the other could only go to 6, on 7 it started to blow a little smoke and went a little dead full throttle 4th at low rpms, high rpm was fine. I put it back to level 6 and the problem was solved. After road tuning most V8 Holdens for 5 years I found it pretty easy to pick the level.

One thing I thought i remebered reading in the instructions (I honestly haven't checked it yet) was for the key to be off whilst loading the calibration in. I am assuming that was for the old harness with the battery power because i needed key power to power the harness from the rail harness to get a connection. Other than that very straight forward.

I have a number of inquiries resulting from these 2 vehicles money is pretty tight round here at the moment but I'm fairly certain of 2 more in the near future and about 5 or 6 gunna's.

Thanks
James Morrison
A1 Engine Tuning
Ph 0412 960 705. "

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

I've been keen to fit a chip for several months. I kind of decided I would go with a chip it. The negative feedback re reliability did put me off so I thought I would leave it for a while.

Just to clear this point up Antiquesman, there is no reliability issue with the chip. The chip is not failing AT ALL. The issues is the interaction between your factory ECU and the Chip, not that the ECU board of ours is failing is faulty etc. No one is saying that.

Again, just wanted to clear this point up and many read only the last few pages of posts on forums like these and if they see "RELIABILITY ISSUES" they freak out

[bigCake Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bigCake]

No more engine start issue since I disconnected the earth.
I've been running the car (150) for about 2 weeks, including 2 days drive on sand in Stockton Beach. So far, more power and no issue. I haven't seen the check engine light issue.

BTW, I am running at factory default tune 5.

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

this is where the problem is tricky. For starting you dont need the earth. However on some Prado 150s the earth is needed under cruse conditions. You can see the issue we have here then.

So a relay is provided to cater for both conditions for those that have CEL codes appear under normal cruise conditions

[puregeek Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close puregeek]

Does anyone in sydney have a 150 prado with the chip it chip installed that i can sit in. I want to know if i have a faulty chip or a prado that doesnt like the chip and rattles when fitted.

I have done everything the boys at chip it have suggested but the noise is still there and drives me crazy.

[BNEGXL Member Find all posts View Profile Close BNEGXL]

puregeek,

Can't help you as I'm in Brisbane, however, for what it's worth,

I'm still working through the starting issue and CEL, in the process ChipIt have sent me a second chip and loom, the chip is an earlier build and the loom has the earth relay.

1st chip, engine is rattly when cold and still a little noisier than standard when warm,

2nd chip, the engine seems quieter with the chip than without the chip.

First chip goes better than the second but the second goes well too.

Both have written on the cover, "tune 5".

I think I have the starting and CEL issues sorted as of tonight, so now I will play around swapping the chips to see which one I return, I may try some different tunes too.

I will probably keep the quiet one.

I realise this doesn't directly help you but I guess it's interesting that two different chipit's behave differently on the same car.

Good Luck,

Greg

[puregeek Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close puregeek]

The second chip that they offered you, is that a different type of chip all together? They offered me a second chip, they called it a piggy back or something. The other chip doesn't actually raise the fuel rail pressure it keeps the injectors open for longer and does not increase the boost.

[BNEGXL Member Find all posts View Profile Close BNEGXL]

Justin told me it was the same chip but an earlier build. It looks the same, was boxed the same with all the same info and tunes on a USB stick, so I think it's the same.

Apparently the newer chips have turned up at ChipIt with a couple of the internal components, whilst the same rating, from different manufacturers.

As an example, (my example not theirs) the new one has resistors from LG while in the earlier one the resistors were from Samsung.

Justin said that in their search to find why these problems were occurring it was something they had found.

The two chips definitely behave differently, both cause the same problems but in different ways. The first chip will run for quite a while without an earth but will eventually cause a CEL, the second chip turns on the CEL immediately I remove the earth. The first chip will occasionally not start with the earth lead but no relay attached will always start second go, the second chip, with earth lead fitted no relay, fails to start more often and takes four or five goes to start.

With the relay fitted the second chip starts first go and does not turn on the CEL, so far, I only fitted the relay last night so I will need more time to gain confidence.

[Muffla Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Muffla]

Justin told me it was the same chip but an earlier build. It looks the same, was boxed the same with all the same info and tunes on a USB stick, so I think it's the same.

Apparently the newer chips have turned up at ChipIt with a couple of the internal components, whilst the same rating, from different manufacturers.

As an example, (my example not theirs) the new one has resistors from LG while in the earlier one the resistors were from Samsung.

Justin said that in their search to find why these problems were occurring it was something they had found.

The two chips definitely behave differently, both cause the same problems but in different ways. The first chip will run for quite a while without an earth but will eventually cause a CEL, the second chip turns on the CEL immediately I remove the earth. The first chip will occasionally not start with the earth lead but no relay attached will always start second go, the second chip, with earth lead fitted no relay, fails to start more often and takes four or five goes to start.

With the relay fitted the second chip starts first go and does not turn on the CEL, so far, I only fitted the relay last night so I will need more time to gain confidence.

After 20 pages devoted to this thread it appears that most pages are prodominantly targeted at the Chip It Module so one starts to question why other products of similar nature aren't being discussed here. I can see that Chip It offer slightly more output from their chip but it is really worth all these problems I asked myself?

Its sad but from what I can see, Chip It are selling their products with no guarantee that it will function correctly, instead relying on a loyal customer base to weed out reliability issues on their own $70k cars? I do appreciate the customer support that Chip It offer their wounded buyers but seriously guys, this is crazy. A well researched and developed product such as this should provide function straight from the box, instead its as though we are the guinea pigs solving all the problems?

Its been mentioned here early on but it seems very strange that a product designed for a particular model of vehicle can offer so many different outcomes? Some need this earth, some don't, some need this, some need that.....If the module is the same and its fitted to the same car, why would there be so many variables???

Im glad there are those that are prepared to devote their time and money in working with Chip It to weed out all these failures, at least then it will one day be a product worth buying.

Good Luck guys.