Paul1982

I was thinking about buying this and making a little more money

BUT!!

I phoned an old friend who is in this business and he said these are crap and not worth anything.
I think he was a bit p*ssed as he might lose money with competition lol but I still wanna know the truth about these.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...8170&rd=1&rd=1

He said that they often crash and course the ECU to shut down on some installs. This can cost £1k to fix hhhmmmmm anyway.
He said lots of people are using them and he has to sort out one a week because of this.
He said the hardware is just a copy of his £5k hardware, which they are selling widely.

So do I believe everything he says or does anyone else know more about them?
What makes his hardware better than these devises??
The software is the same

They seem like a bargain to me, what do you guys think??

SapphyMike

The maps it comes with are not to be trusted.

Paul1982

But is the Hardware good - and can i get the Maps from a Repitable Person?

St3V3_C

Does seem like a bargain mate, and to help you decide if it's OK, I've got a TDI passat you can try it out on.

For free of course

Paul1982

Well you live close enough steve - If i buy it then Yes i'll do it for you free.

I'm not sure what i'd charge but my guesses from £80-£160 depending what car. Still very cheap compared to these companies.

I'm not going to be in it for the money really but to look after my cars more than anything.

SapphyMike

you wont be able to get reputable maps that cheap! also, what expert back up would you be able to provide?

Paul1982

Well before you upload your copy of the software to the car, you copy the original software as a back up incase anything goes wrong.

I'm not going to do lots as I don’t want the horror story that I my mates car has shut down etc lol – really need to know facts from people who have dealt with the hardware.

Guess I’m looking for some actual facts of Crash ratings and if there is a problem recovering the ECU – I want this info as I’d never go balls out and play with something I can't recover, as its not far on the person who’s car your playing with.

Stavros

just a load of fancy words and excuses, same as most "tuners" unfortunatley.

Paul1982

This just it - All the Software came from somewhere???
Who would make software totally different to everything else for a pacific car that just don’t work or is crap. To have to brains to write a file then I’m sure it isn’t going to be wrong.

My guesses is that someone sometime has copied a tuners drive and sold it on.

So are tuners just doing the scare tactics or is there proof in the pudding?

SapphyMike

The software came from somewhere yes, but where?

and Vauxhall DTi's dont allow you to download the map.

Paul1982

Just got off the phone to a guy who sells a similar one of these and he said that he charges £50 per map as he does it himself for each individual car and emails them over.
But he said the hardware is fine ASLONG AS IT USED PROPERLY. Some people pull a wire out in the middle of an install or they lose power on the laptop etc etc all silly things what CAN cause it to shut down.
BUT if this happens then you can take the chip out and put it on a chip reader and reset it.
Sounds promising - in my eyes!

SapphyMike

Good luck pulling out a flash rom based chip and re-setting it lol.

Rick

lol exactly - have you got 2k worth of solder station?!

Paul1982

No but my Step dad has lol - and he's sh*t hot at it

Paul1982

Anyway - What is up with these negative comments from people???

I thought this site was made to share info and help eachother out - not shoot them down. I'm sure you've asked a few questions in the past on here!!

All i'm after is facts and not silly comments

Jim Galbally

nagive comments are justified!

basically, you'll need a map.

this map will need to be written by an expert

said expert will have all the necessary equipment to do the flashing anyway, hence making buying your own pointless

mapping is NOT a subject to be taken lightly, DIY flashing of OEM ECUs even moreso!

look here:
http://www.motorsport-developments.c...ingextract.htm

SapphyMike

not negative at all, i just dont think you've thought it through properly!

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

Go for it mate. I will sell you DECENT maps if you really want to do it.
Mind you, they wont be £50 i assure you.

Also, if you have corrupted a flash eprom, which, incidentally, contains teh keycode transponder information for around 80% of European cars so is UNIQUE to every single chassis number... how exactly is unsoldering it going to help you? Take care out there...

Jim Galbally

basically we have 2 options

1) lead you up the garden path, give you false hope, and watch you either waste your money, or kill your car

2) make sure you know to avoid, and use a reputable firm

once we've convinced you not to attempt it, then we can discuss how mapping works if you wish to learn it's a really interesting subject, it just needs to be treated with the respect it deserves

GARETH T

if you really want to get intot eh business,,, pay MSD to be a dealer of theres,,, this way you will get all the tech backup you need

Jim Galbally

just re-read the post, and if you're thyinking of copying and selling maps...



... get a good lawyer

Paul1982

Nice one Stu - that was what i was after. Lol i am bored with work sitting doing drawing buildings all day and want to get into another game.
Big move i no but you've gotta start somewhere.

Thinking about paying the bucks and buying all the gear as live testing would be something i'd be happy with doing.

I'm on not bad money at the mo so hopefully this would be a good career move lol

St3V3_C

Cool. The passat is a good no risk test for you as it's a company car. Hello, Fleet? My car won't start, please send someone