I'm looking to tune up a car for the very first time. My '03 Civic is only a 1.7L, so I'm not trying to pour a bunch of money in. Are tuning chips that plug into your OBD port just a scam? Or will they work as well as they are advertised? The particular one in question is this:

Thorton Tuning Chip

I apologize if this is not the correct place to post this question. I did research this as much as I could, but could find no answers on this particular brand. Overall, answers seem to vary on whether or not easy-to-install tuning chips work or not.

 

I do not understand how it can actually function as described in the link that you provided. In addition, I was able to create combinations in the "pull down" menu that do NOT exist, yet I could still add a chip to my shopping cart for my 2004 Civic Type R 6 cylinder. My gut says this is a scam. Buyer beware.

 

That was my concern. Seemed a little too good to be true. Are there any actual OBD plug-in type tuners that actually work?

 

Yes, but they cost a whole lot more money. Hondata FlashPro and K-Tuner are the most common quality tuning systems.

 

I bought the stage 3 Thornton tuning chip for my 1998 mazda b2500. It added no power, but increased my mpg by +2. So, my advice is save your $90 for something else. Its not worth it. The website guarantees 60+ hp and 5+ mpg, but this is not true.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience... you PROVED my suspicions were correct.

 

Ha! Looks like one of these in a different colored case:

https://www.performancechipguide.com...view-teardown/

I would not trust anything claiming these kinds of HP gains. Especially given it looks EXACTLY like the fake in the link above!

 

I dunno, man. I just install a stage 3 chip into my 2005 Civic LX Sedan and it's a new fkn vehicle. Maybe you just gotta be lucky. 😂