Too Good to be True?

[DMS3Reno]

I've always figures these claims are too good to be true.
I was curious if anyone here has any experience with one of these things.
As well as what exactly they are doing to gain "15-25 HP"
I kinda assume they are just re-mapping the fuel profile.
Is this even healthy for the engine?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8039269582&fromMakeTrack=true

 

[joey]

I would just say that it will not work and it will be a waste of money, but basically it is almost impossible to say you are getting 15% gains you can get 15% gain just buy changing fuel grades or cleaning the air filter and changing to synthitic oil or new plugs and wires.....

Also the only way to remap a LR is not cheap... around $500 - $1000 depending on who you go with.

 

[DMS3Reno]

So what is this "special HP" gains?
I'm assuming it's not an outright lie...
"a good lie needs a partial truth to be believable"

I'm curious more than anything.
Another seller lists a similar product
"The Horsepower Enhancer performance module modifies the air/fuel ratio,
increases the performance of your engine!"

So basically they are modifying the temp signal to the ECU for higher fuel mixture?

 

[joey]

Yep That is what I have gathered from previous post on this.... of course you could always get the tornado

 

[DMS3Reno]

Someone must be making a killing off these as they
have them for almost every car out there!

I'm content to concentrate on the off road mods!

 

[rennwerkes]

Actually, aftermarket reprogrammed chips have been around for some time now. Some are good others worth nothing. The key is to make sure the folks that are selling the chips can back up their claims with dyno tests or similar. In fact, the factory chips are often a compromise between performance/emissions, etc. Some aftermarket tuners spend big $'s to rework the programming and in fact work closely with the ECU manufacturer. An example of this would be AMG and Mercedes.
HP gains differ from car to car. Turbo'd cars (a Porsche 944 or 951 for example) benefit considerably from being chipped. While normally aspirated cars don't seem to realize as large gains. I've seen 30-50hp increases. No BS!
However, when it comes to Land Rovers, I'm not quite sure why you'd want more HP. Most guys that use chips are looking for quicker 0-60 times and removal of the rev limiter.

 

[joey]

Rennwerkes, the big this with the Rover as I am sure you are aware of if you have driven one much... is that it just doesn't have the mid range go that is helpful when driving through hills/mountians or for passing.... ie, you better drop it into 3rd if you want to stay or increase speed...

Things only get worse if you go with larger tires, of course the best improvement you can make would be change the gearing. But Rechipping is a lot cheaper.