Cowboy engine re-mappers wreck vehicles and cost owners in repair bills by using fake cloned tuning tools.
Cloned tuning tools are becoming more and more accessible – these tuning tools are very cheap but cause very expensive issues for vehicle owners.
Many rouge tuners see it as a quick way to make a quick buck on unsuspecting drivers and these fake tuning tools are causing real problems for drivers looking to modify their car.
While cloned or fake tuning tools can look identical to genuine tools, under the surface there can be a considerable difference. Below is an example of a cloned Kessv2 Tuning Tool compared to a genuine one.
Cloned tools often run on very old, out of date or hacked software causing instability or incompatibility issues for the user. However, perhaps more importantly this can result in the tool crashing (or ‘bricking’) where it locks up during the tuning process and the car simply will not start again.
Sadly when things go wrong, it’s not unusual for rogue tuners to vanish and not take responsibility for sorting the driver out. This really is the sort of thing that gives our industry a very bad name.
In some instances it is possible to recover an ECU that has lost communication but if the ECU has been bricked it is often not possible. In many cases like this, the only option is to take the vehicle to a garage or main dealer. A replacement ECU will probably be recommended as the most economical solution as trying to identify specific software issues can take a considerable amount of time leaving the vehicle unusable in the meantime.
Responsible engine remapping is a fantastic way for drivers to modify the performance of their vehicle so that they can lower their fuel costs, reduce their emissions or enhance its driveability.
By taking just a few careful precautions and asking some simple questions it’s actually quite easy to avoid this potentially costly mistake and safely get the modified performance you were hoping for.”
Kelly’s Garage is committed to responsible remapping.
Drivers wishing to get more genuine advice on how to avoid rogue operators or to know more about its remapping services can contact Kelly’s Garage on 087-7907168/087-6924819 or visit https://www.kellymotors.ie
