When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hey guys, I have read several threads on racechip from these forums. A lot of them show up with people wanting to sell their racechip because they had to get rid of the car, returned the lease or whatever the case. It seems like all these owners have had good experiences but I want more updated opinions. I have heard from some people that it doesn't work at all, or the gains are literally like 7hp so it's negligible and a waste of money ($750+ right now).
Here are a couple videos. It seems like these guys do have the C43 in house and they actually use it when creating a racechip for our C43, which is good to hear. The other video is an installation video. Any feedback welcome. I mainly want a bit more power from my car, the reason I don't want to get an ECU tune is because there is a much higher chance of getting caught, even if it's flashed back to stock. A piggyback seems like I can just remove it, although I am fairly certain that any sort of modifications to values will go through the ECU, which means that ultimately there should be some sort of logs where the dealer can still find out that something was done to this car. However, I find a piggyback tune to be more "invisible" because the tech should not dig this deep into the logs for regular services/maintenance. I'm sure they will if my engine blows up or something, but that's about it.
If you're planning on going to the piggyback route, The JB4 from BMS is the only way to go. Data logging, multiple maps, and good support. A C43 with Map 2 should run 11.9 or 12.0. On Map 5, or a good custom map 6, you should see mid 11's.
As for the statement about higher values getting logged in the ECU, that doesn't happen, because to the ECU, all the values were stock. The JB4 essentially lies to the ECU, telling it the boost is lower than what it is for instance, and the ECU increases the boost to what it thinks are stock levels. It never sees out of range values.
There are ways to detect it if you've removed it, but I'm not sure that MB or any other manufacturer goes that far in their software.
I forgot to add, if you have a 2019-20, you also need the BCM from BMS, because on the facelift cars, they didn't want to hold the boost levels that the JB4 was requesting.
If you're planning on going to the piggyback route, The JB4 from BMS is the only way to go. Data logging, multiple maps, and good support. A C43 with Map 2 should run 11.9 or 12.0. On Map 5, or a good custom map 6, you should see mid 11's.
As for the statement about higher values getting logged in the ECU, that doesn't happen, because to the ECU, all the values were stock. The JB4 essentially lies to the ECU, telling it the boost is lower than what it is for instance, and the ECU increases the boost to what it thinks are stock levels. It never sees out of range values.
There are ways to detect it if you've removed it, but I'm not sure that MB or any other manufacturer goes that far in their software.
Okay, so you recommend JB4 over Racechip then? Also, I just want to keep my car at 91 octane, so I probably can't push it too much. Like I said, I just want a little bit more, not anything crazy since I am leasing this car.
This video also had improved 0-60 time of almost 2 seconds. This guy later dyno his car with the racechip and it turns out to have only made 15hp more and a bit more torque. I have noticed a lot of people with racechips having much faster 0-60 times but when they dyno it, it's very minimal gains, so not sure what that's all about. Either way, 2 seconds is no joke for a piggyback, but can someone explain why this is the case if the numbers on the dyno doesn't show much?
I also wanted to add one more thing to clarify. It seems like Race Chip "Performance chips" are different than Race Chip "XLR", which is just a pedal tuner (remapping throttle and no increase in hp/torque). I notice some reviewers, on YouTube and such, are talking about the XLR, which gives better and sharper throttle response but it does not promise any hp/torque gains here. The Race Chip Performance chips are what I am talking about in this thread, specifically the GTS Black
Hey guys, I have read several threads on racechip from these forums. A lot of them show up with people wanting to sell their racechip because they had to get rid of the car, returned the lease or whatever the case. It seems like all these owners have had good experiences but I want more updated opinions. I have heard from some people that it doesn't work at all, or the gains are literally like 7hp so it's negligible and a waste of money ($750+ right now).
Here are a couple videos. It seems like these guys do have the C43 in house and they actually use it when creating a racechip for our C43, which is good to hear. The other video is an installation video. Any feedback welcome. I mainly want a bit more power from my car, the reason I don't want to get an ECU tune is because there is a much higher chance of getting caught, even if it's flashed back to stock. A piggyback seems like I can just remove it, although I am fairly certain that any sort of modifications to values will go through the ECU, which means that ultimately there should be some sort of logs where the dealer can still find out that something was done to this car. However, I find a piggyback tune to be more "invisible" because the tech should not dig this deep into the logs for regular services/maintenance. I'm sure they will if my engine blows up or something, but that's about it.
The Racechip GTS Black peroforms similarly to the JB1, which is no longer sold since it was replaced with a JB4. The racechip is a good product with a good warranty, but ideally you should never have to use the warranty because you should ALWAYS remove your piggyback before service/maintenance. The Racechip warranty I believe only covers like 10k USD or something, which is definitely not enough to cover your engine if it blows up.
The Racechip GTS Black peroforms similarly to the JB1, which is no longer sold since it was replaced with a JB4. The racechip is a good product with a good warranty, but ideally you should never have to use the warranty because you should ALWAYS remove your piggyback before service/maintenance. The Racechip warranty I believe only covers like 10k USD or something, which is definitely not enough to cover your engine if it blows up.
It seems like JB4 is a popular piggyback on these forums. Has anyone personally used it and can give me feedback?
Guess I have to live up to my name tonight... if you searched at all, you wouldn’t have had to make this post. The horse is dead, his bones are pulverized, the daisies have grown, the goats are eating them and pooping on on this thread. JB4 or bust.
It seems like JB4 is a popular piggyback on these forums. Has anyone personally used it and can give me feedback?
I havent used JB4, but I had the JB1. It was a great piggyback. The JB4 is like a JB1 with more boost and more features. The JB1 connects to all the same sensors as the Racechip i think (as do other non-canbus piggybacks), which is why they all have similar results. They all seem achieve boost the same way.
The JB4 is different than the above in that it connects to canbus. It allows more performance by accessing more of the car's parameters thus allowing more functions.
Some of the fastest times achieved were either with JB4 stacking with a tune, or JB4 alone.
Guess I have to live up to my name tonight... if you searched at all, you wouldn’t have had to make this post. The horse is dead, his bones are pulverized, the daisies have grown, the goats are eating them and pooping on on this thread. JB4 or bust.
I don't know. Maybe I said that I did search and have read several threads regarding this, maybe I haven't. Hmm, if only there was a way to see what I originally posted in my opening post! It probably would be very nice if everyone just search and are happy with what they find. It would be amazing to not ever see any new posts on subjects that have already been talked about and people can just keep adding on to existing threads.
... can someone explain why this is the case if the numbers on the dyno doesn't show much?
HP is the product of torque and RPM. Torque is (sometimes more) useful during lower speed acceleration and HP starts to really shine at higher speeds (due to the non-linear power requirements as speed increases). Strong torque in the low-to-mid RPM range may make a car faster from 0-60 mph/0-100 kph but, if that torque falls off at higher RPM, then the peak HP will be reduced (i.e., compared to a car that was tuned with the same torque band shifted to a higher RPM range).
It's also true that different dynos and even different conditions for runs on the same dyno can yield meaningfully different results.
60-125 mph/100-200 kph runs are a much better test for HP. 1/4 mi runs tend to test "everything" ... driver response, traction, torque and HP.
I don't know. Maybe I said that I did search and have read several threads regarding this, maybe I haven't. Hmm, if only there was a way to see what I originally posted in my opening post! It probably would be very nice if everyone just search and are happy with what they find. It would be amazing to not ever see any new posts on subjects that have already been talked about and people can just keep adding on to existing threads.
I'm ok with new questions on old topics. It draws new responders, sometimes new information that didn't exist at the time of the previous post, and brings to the forefront a topic that someone may have been considering, but hadn't gotten around to searching for yet.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
