Chip tuning? RaceChip vs JMS

Hey guys, I was browsing on AM and found these two chip tuners:

1. JMX BoostMax - race version: http://www.americanmuscle.com/jms-boostmax-performance-booster-race-1517-eco.html

2. RaceChip Pro 2: http://www.americanmuscle.com/racechip-pro2-1517-mustang.html

They both claim very decent horsepower and torque gain, along with better mpg. Here are their official product websites:

JMX: http://www.jmschip.com/boostmax-ford-ecoboost-23L-Mustang
RaceChip: https://www.racechip-usa.com/chiptuning/Ford/Mustang/Mustang-VI/2-3-EcoBoost-233kw/

My questions are:

1. What are the pros and cons of these Chip tuners?

2. Do you recommend installing it? If so, which one is better? RaceChip seems to be better built.

3. Chip turners or ECU tuners?

Any inputs are appreciated. :clap2:

Stone 54 said:

Hey guys, I was browsing on AM and found these two chip tuners:

1. JMX BoostMax - race version: http://www.americanmuscle.com/jms-boostmax-performance-booster-race-1517-eco.html

2. RaceChip Pro 2: http://www.americanmuscle.com/racechip-pro2-1517-mustang.html

They both claim very decent horsepower and torque gain, along with better mpg. Here are their official product websites:

JMX: http://www.jmschip.com/boostmax-ford-ecoboost-23L-Mustang
RaceChip: https://www.racechip-usa.com/chiptuning/Ford/Mustang/Mustang-VI/2-3-EcoBoost-233kw/

My questions are:

1. What are the pros and cons of these Chip tuners?

2. Do you recommend installing it? If so, which one is better? RaceChip seems to be better built.

3. Chip turners or ECU tuners?

Any inputs are appreciated. :clap2:

Click to expand...

First thing is you need to know how these things work. Essentially these are 'interceptor boxes'. they take the data your sensors send to the computer, and alter the info. If your at 22psi, it'll tell your ECU your only at 18psi, so it'll allow you to make more boost. Which is stupid and dangerous. These are gimmick products that yes will give you a little more power, by lying to your cars ECU. It's your car, your choice, but these things could and probably will throw a rod through your engine block. Yes you can just unplug it and take it to the dealer under warranty. people say it's untraceable. It's not what you want if you even slightly care about your car. If you want more power get the FP Tune kit. It adds more power and it comes with a warranty. Not only is it an amazing tune but it actually changes the car for the better. These products above are just gimmicks.

Stay away man get a used unmarried cobb tuner here on the classifiedsyou can save yourself a couple of $. This will allow you to either load a base map or go the custom tuning route. If you want to keep your warranty only choice is ford performance calibration kit given that you dont have more than 36K miles on the car.

I have seen reports here on the forums of car blowing up with those chips

quick explanation:

interceptor box : "lies" to the stock ECU. Common example on a modern car is a JB4 on a BMW, but in the old days there were a bunch of products out there, mostly for Japanese cars.
Chip tune - physically changing a read only memory chip inside the stock ECU. mostly used on older cars (90s and earlier) that can't flash tune.
Flash tune - reprogram the stock ECU through the diagnostic port, just like a dealer would.

OP is describing an interceptor box, even though it is called a "chip." other posters are telling OP to get a flash tune.

They are junk, get a real tune and you will be happy

I did try a boostmax. My main reason is to preserve my CPO 100000 drivetrain warranty. The warranty will most likely not be affected if you remove the unit before taking to for a repair or blown motor. I am not sold on the fact that these will blow more motors more then a solid flash tune though. It just does one thing and adds boost by lying to the computer. The timing is left alone and the Air fuel ratio seems to be handled fine with a couple extra pounds of boost. Actually there have been arguments here by the big turbo guys and manufactures that boost alone will never blow a motor. But its certainly not the most ideal way plus the extra 5 lbs seems like too much.
But with all that said I messed with the knob a bunch. I would find long upgrades and at all different throttle positions to flat I just never felt a seat of the pants pull as the knob was turned. But if I did 0-60 runs I would always get about a 5.0-5.2 run vs my 5.5-5.6 stock. Since I didn't feel enough difference driving normally, I have it uninstalled even though the numbers looked good. If your interested I would give you a great deal on it. JMS said to me I will probably feel more from the Pedalmax on the street and more from the boostmax at the track. And for me that is correct. Also they really only recommend the knob turned to half.

I really wish somebody trustworthy would test all of the tune options on the market, in a comparative manner so that as new ones hit the market, that can be tested the same and added to the results.

Having said that, I would consider a flash tune which is virtually the same money as these options, but would also open you up to trying different tunes now or later if you wish. I have a Bama "tunes for life" via the SCT tuner and really like it. It brings a lot of torque and power, and holds out boost closer to 6500RPM vs stock which seemed to peter out at around 5500RPM.

I have PedalMax too, which does speed up throttle response time similar to an actual wire. Kind of a luxury on top of a good tune, but I'm worth it.

Chip tuning was all the rage on diesels say about 15 years ago. They blew up engines and eventually got educated and flash tuning became preferred for its better and safer overall performance improvements.

The chip guys used to boast tuning on the fly, easily removed, etc.

Still they blew up lots of engines because the built in safety protocols were overridden. That's just how chips work. They lie to the ECU and change timing and fuel while leaving it blind to what's actually going on.

This is purely my opinion, although it's not without some education/experience. I wouldn't ever consider a chip tuner for the 2.3 EB. It's far to easy to grenade these motors if the built in safety measures are bypassed. Get a flash tune from a reputable tuner and enjoy your car. If you're requiring a warranty get the Ford Performance tuner and have it installed. Still better than a chip.