Chip Myths

In today’s world, navigating available diesel chip information can be confusing, frustrating, and misleading. Consumers enquiring about diesel chips are often surprised by how disconnected the industry is.

Over the years the DPCHIP staff have had the pleasure of speaking with many people that wish to purchase a diesel chip. Usually, we are not the first diesel chip retailer they have spoken to. What is most surprising, though, is the amount of misinformation given to the potential consumer by various workshops, other chip companies, and sales people.

Where can consumers get information that is accurate, thorough, and unbiased? Many people seek advice from other chip companies, local workshops, the ‘local expert”, and online forums. What do these sources have to offer?

Other Chip companies can be very thorough and accurate about their product. However, rarely are they accurate and unbiased regarding any competitor’s product. It’s surprising how incomplete many chip manufacturers’ websites are. Consumers can barely find photographs, ‘specs’, or price lists that they can follow.

Local workshops that offer one or two chips for sale are rarely thorough or have accurate information. If you want unbiased information…you might not find it here. They often have limited products to offer, and while they might be experts on the products they do sell, rarely are they experts on the products they do not sell. This is difficult to detect for someone that has no knowledge about diesel chips. The workshop may tell you how their products compare to another, but often they are not qualified, or up-to-date with their opinions. In short, they have a very narrow perspective and their bias is unmistakable.

The local “expert” is another avenue. They love to offer information with incredible enthusiasm. But their perspective is narrow and they have even less to offer than the local workshop. Again, be aware of the bias toward one specific product in general. Their ‘expert’ mechanical knowledge is often dubious.

Online forums are full of opinions. That says it all.

Prospective buyers need to keep an open mind and speak to many sources before making a decision. It’s easy for someone that knows nothing about diesel chips to assume someone that knows even a little about diesel chips is knowledgeable…this is the most common mistake. Make sure you are dealing with true experts that are in the diesel market full time. In most cases, part time = amateur.

Let’s set the record straight regarding the most common mis-perceptions.

• 1. All diesel chips are the same.

  This really isn’t true at all and shows a lack of understanding of even basic diesel tuning. There are a number of different ways to tune an efi diesel or to add fuel to achieve more power. From dangerous $20 resistor type chips on ebay that simply pour in more fuel, to chips that work with the factory systems original signals, to chips that over-ride the factory system and alter things such as boost as well as fuel settings, and chips that hold the injectors open longer to get more fuel in. There are many ways to skin a cat, some more dangerous than others, but regardless of the method used it’s the person programming the chip that will make it dangerous or not.

• 2. Changing rail pressure is dangerous.

  That’s like saying changing tyre pressure is dangerous. Sure it is if you don’t know what you’re doing, go too high and your tyre could blow up! But we all change tyre pressure and as long as we do so within factory recommended limits there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. So to is changing rail pressure a normal function of a common rail engine and something that has to happen for it to work normally. Taking any of these to extreme levels is where the dangers can occur. The factory system changes rail pressure all the time, in fact pressures of 2000 bar (30,000psi) and higher are normal in latest generation CRD systems.

• 3. Diesel Chips blow engines.

  As the song goes, ’It’s not what you do it’s the way that you do it, and that’s what gets results.’ Diesel chips don’t blow engines. Diesel tuners tuning the chip incorrectly blow engines. As we said above, there are many ways to skin a cat. Some are inherently safer than others. Not overriding the factory safety systems is a good idea as a failsafe to any tuning shortfalls, but even if they are over ridden, tuning can be achieved safely if the tuner knows what they are doing. It’s not rocket science but it is something best left to professionals and diesel tuning is very different to petrol tuning so it’s best done by someone who knows diesel and knows it well.

Tips

• Be sure you are working with a full-time, experienced diesel mechanic or automotive retailer to ensure you get the best available information. There are many products being sold by people with little or no mechanical knowledge. Many are simply jumping on the band wagon importing a product and reselling it without any real product knowledge or diesel background. This is true for any product you might buy. If you’re looking for suspension you’d be best to deal with a company that’s been specializing in suspension for many years, same with diesel tuning, make sure the lierson you are buying from has a long background and good reputation in diesel tuning. Make sure you are dealing with someone who can give you real information about the product they are selling you, not just reciting something they read in the brochure. Making an informed decision is what it’s all about. Be sure your information source is equal to the value you assign to it.
• Product bias and limited knowledge about other diesel chips is a problem. At the end of the day, review your conversations and see if you notice any sense of bias, we call this “leading” in sales. Biased information, emotional ploys, and trash talking are the trademarks of amateurs. Do you really want to do business with an amateur?
• Most imliortantly, amateurs distinguish themselves by trash talking other products and other worksholis. Our best advice to you is to avoid this kind of retailer all together.
• Make an informed decision and most importantly don’t buy something that isn’t safe for your vehicle.
• We've been specialists in diesel since 1956 and believe our product, the DPCHIP, is simply the safest diesel tuning device on the market today. That's why it comes with new vehicle engine and driveline warranty. Don't risk your expensive engine with anything else.