Firm vows fine-tuning engine via computer

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/05/2010 (5895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SANFORD, Fla. — Need another 150 horsepower from your engine? Want 10 per cent to 20 per cent better fuel mileage? A Sanford-based company, Superchips, might have the answer.

Or it might not. While few deny the company’s products can be effective, using them on newer models could lead to warranty issues. It could even void the warranty entirely, says one car company, and lead to legal action.

Even executives at the 26-year-old Superchips, on the grounds of the Orlando Sanford International Airport, say their products aren’t for everyone.

Superchips sells a hand-held device about the size of a cellphone that plugs into your vehicle’s computer, loaded with information specific to your car or truck. The Superchip product then reprograms the onboard computer, fine-tuning it for what the owner wants and needs.

When vehicle manufacturers build a model, they have to approach it with a one-size-fits-all strategy, said Brian Fletcher, director of marketing for the company. Fletcher said one owner of a pickup, for example, may use it only around town, with very light loads.

Another owner of an identical truck may use it daily, on the highway, to tow a heavy trailer. The first owner may want to reprogram the truck’s computer to maximize fuel mileage. The second owner may be willing to sacrifice some mileage to get more pulling power.

Those wanting more mileage would opt for Superchips’ Mileage XS product, which the company says can deliver a 20 per cent improvement in overall mileage for diesel vehicles and 10 per cent for gasoline-powered vehicles. For more power, other Superchips tuning devices can increase horsepower and torque. The devices cost $400 or less.

Do computer tuning devices work?

Most do, said Robert Kasper, owner of Mitchell’s Automotive in Orlando. But some do very little. It depends on the company, their product, the vehicle you have and what you want it to do.

Others are sold on the technology.

"I love what it did for my car," said Christian Torres, a student in Lakeland, Fla., who drives a five-year-old Ford Mustang V8. "After a Superchips application, I have more power, and I actually get better mileage."

Superchips concentrates on the domestic brands — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, from 1997 or newer. "We can develop a product for one powertrain, and it might apply to a variety of them," said Superchips president Tom Bennett.

Most auto manufacturers maintain an arm’s-length relationship with companies like Superchips, offering the aftermarket companies little information, meaning the tuners must crack codes and write programs on their own.

"Some of our people are basically computer hackers," Bennett said, laughing, "able to make an honest living with us."

That independent action is what concerns car- and truck-makers. Critics of computer tuning suggest changing factory settings could void new-vehicle warranties, but Fletcher said that’s not necessarily true.

He said computer tuning falls under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal law enacted in 1975 that spells out warranty responsibility. The manufacturer has to prove the modification caused the failure, Fletcher said.

Superchips is a member of the California-based Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association, an umbrella group made up of companies from the aftermarket auto industry. SEMA tells its members that use of a non-carmaker product should not void your warranty unless it caused the problem.

But SEMA adds disputes might have to be decided in court, and obviously, litigation can involve considerable time and expense.

That said, at least one manufacturer strongly warns against computer tuning on vehicles still under factory warranty. For most Chrysler products, the warranty supplied with 2010 vehicles says any changes made to your vehicle that don’t comply with Chrysler can become a warranty issue.

Nick Cappa, head of engineering and technology public relations at Chrysler, said the policy is clear: Aftermarket engine-calibration modifications of any type may result in nullification of the vehicle’s original warranty.

Regardless, no one is arguing that in certain situations, computer tuning can be helpful.

Kasper said he’s aware of a case with a high-mileage Ford Taurus where the transmission was getting weaker and required more fluid pressure. A software modification increased the flow, postponing the need for a new transmission.

"Computer tuning is a valid part of the performance world," said David Wallens, editorial director of Grassroots Motorsports magazine in Holly Hill, Fla. "And I don’t think it’s going away."

— The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).