freerider said:
Specific outputs, look at the Honda Fireblade for example, all models sold in Japan are limited quite drastically as far as power is concerned.
Could that possibly be cos in JP, they have a limit on HP, similar to the German limit of 250km/h?
Re chiptuning - personally I wouldn't go for those tuning boxes, or one of the international maps. I had looked into a few local brands, specifically FRC and Dimsport. The reason why I prefer these brands, is because the map is done locally, according to climate conditions for RSA (in my case - the reef), and you have the support of the tuner, and you can specify exactly what you want, and you can get a custom map based on that.
Software upgrades ARE DETECTABLE!!! Thing is - most of the time, dealers dont look for it, but once you get major issues with the car, they start interrogating the ECU, and there's many ways to pick up that it has been remapped. At the end of the day - its a chance you take.
The reason why manufacturers don't chip their vehicles, is that they spend millions of dollars on R&D. When components for the vehicle are produced, they are done so in large quantities, the performance of which can vary. so what they do is, they produce the maps to work in a safe and efficient manner across the range. Thus - if 10% of cars have dud turbo's for instance, they won't have to worry about having to replace them in a campaign/under warranty, as it is never pushed to its efficiency limit to allow a greater chance for failure.
Where a software remap will help is, a custom map can safely up the power within its efficiency ranges for your specific vehicle, based on the hardware you have in there, depending on how you want power delivery to be. It works, but still its a chance you take. Manufacturers don't look at it in this light, and would do anything to void a warranty so they dont have to fork out for damages. Key would be to get a service advisor that can turn a blind eye when the car is under motorplan ;-)
So - thats my 5 thebe.
