[ohwreg]

I'm tempted by the Race Chip S (+21hp) or RS(+28hp) for my 110hp 1.6 CDRi. I know these engines were sold in a 138hp variant as well so I was hoping one of these chips will be a safe bet. I just bought the car and even if it is still in warranty until Jan 2021, it does have 95k miles on it with the original clutch.

My questions is - are these worth it if I were planning on using the car for at least 3 years? Will it cause too much wear on the clutch, gearbox, turbo and engine? Were the stock 138hp models equipped with upgraded components?

[Paolo5]

I fitted a Race Chip to my 2010 diesel about 8 years ago. It hasn't caused a scrap of concern.

It made the driveability of my car more user friendly and (counter-intuitively) more economical.

Having it operating doesn't mean that you have to drive the car hard all of the time or drive it hard at all. There is just extra OOOOOMPH! should you need it.

[AlanHo]

I would be concerned about the cost/benefit of chip tuning a standard car.  You should report the modification to your insurer who may not take too kindly to the idea without a whopping increase in Premium. Also investigate whether the car will then pass the MOT. One of my nephews chipped his Golf and it failed the MOT on high Nox emissions. He had to remove it for each MOT and put it back again.

He initially claimed that he was getting more power without any increase in mpg - relying of the cars in-built economy display figure as proof.  I told him to start doing some accurate brim to brim fuel checks and this proved that the car was actually using quite a lot more fuel than the car indicated - especially when he drove it like it was stolen - as he usually does. It seems that adding a chip to his car for some reason resulted in the ECU not recognising the increased fuel flow.

It is true that some brands sell similar sized engines with variations in the power and torque. Whilst the basic engine may be common, you may find that the turbo, some engine components and fuel injection differ through the range to cater with the increased power and fuel flow.   

So - is it really worth the extra expense and extra wear on the engine for a performance improvement that is marginal and in today's UK traffic conditions rarely usable.

[ohwreg]

Thanks @AlanHo I also wondered how MOT and the insurance would be affected. You do have a point that one would be rarely able to use this newfound power for more than a second or two in the UK. A chip or a custom map might not be worth the hassle after all.

[Dazzler]

Thanks @AlanHo I also wondered how MOT and the insurance would be affected. You do have a point that one would be rarely able to use this newfound power for more than a second or two in the UK. A chip or a custom map might not be worth the hassle after all.

I'm very much of the same opinion as Alan. Any sort of decent gain usually warrants upgrading tyres, brakes etc.. as well. In which case you are usually better off sourcing a higher performance version in the first place. No insurance or warranty issues then either. 

[sdodo]

I'm using Racechip from 2011 on my i30 FD MkI (90HP) and now on my PD crdi 2019, 115HP. in total 260.000km all toghether.

No issues or problems with the cars. driving 80km a day, I enyoj the possibility of using extra power when overtaking and so I'm not always forcing the engine.
Expect nearly the same mpg fuel consumption when driving normally, but of course a higher consumption when driving  in sport mode.
My intention when purchased the chip was not to have a lower fuel consumption but just simply a more powerful engine.