RaceChip USA Kia Stinger Tuning

[sciprox]

Update:
The user with the spark plug issues admitted, that he was driving in Race mode while using 91 octane. (Despite we are recommending at least 93 octane for the Race mode).

So with this updated information, please let me emphasize following:

1. There has not been a single issue yet with a RaceChip only used with 93 octane.
   [*]There has not been a single issue yet with a RaceChip where the maximum setting used was "Sport" (or 5).

However, we will not change our recommendation again. It's a fact that Kia has some issues with their spark plugs.

Doesn't your manual encourage people to try different maps settings if they don't experience strong performance?

 

[MrMr]

I am talking about octane in the US - meaning AKI or (R+M)/2 and not RON.
So 91 octane is bad fuel quality if you have a Kia Stinger.
93 octane is good fuel quality.
The Race mode is designed for 93-98 octane. With 93 octane fuel, you can use every mode. With 91 octane maximum Sport mode (or mapping 5).

What's the performance difference between map 5 and the higher maps? Up here in Canada we're stuck with mostly 91 octane.

 

[CajunStinger]

Welcome to the forum [MENTION=906]RwYeAsNt[/MENTION]. I'm in agreement with you and it's without a doubt that you aren't at fault, from what I've seen posted 91 is the minimum with 93 as a recommendation but not a requirement. I know they test their cars in Germany using 93 octane, but I don't think any of the tuners including Lap3 and Burger Motorsports made the fuel requirement very clear nor realize that our cars are so susceptible to plug failures. To point the blame on you is completely uncalled for.

To try and clear things up further, it worth mentionning that I was running the Chip for a few days in Race mode with 91 octane. I did get 1 check engine light with a misfire, parked the car for a bit, code went away and so I kept going. It was good for a few days after that. The final day I had the chip, I brought it down to "Sport" and drove like that for the day, it was this day that I got my CEL with Cylinder 1/5/random misfire warnings and the car was screwed from then on, and I couldn't really accelerate with it anymore as it would knock.

This is why in my original post, when people asked what mode I was in specifically when I got the issues, I said Sport mode but I never hid the fact that I drove it in Race mode prior. Now, RaceChip would like to blame the Race mode with 91 prior to all this. Maybe that is the case, I won't argue, it seems to make sense to me. It may very well be that I was getting damage over time and I've said multiple times that it might be purely coincidental that I had dropped it to Sport mode the day the car broke down. I don't know, and with due respect RaceChip doesn't either. We may never know, the fact it is happened, but I haven't seen anyone else really have issues with the chip. I seem to be the first one and maybe the only one, so I'd say with the new recommendation of 93 octane, you'll probably be fine and love the chip.

 

[RaceChip]

Okay, this discussion is completely missing the point I wanted to make. But that's my own fault, because my posting can be interpreted that I am blaming the customer. NO, it is not the fault of the customer. It's faulty spark plugs.

I wrote the fuel recommendation way before this issue occurred. So, it is wrong to say that this was a result of the issue. However, this is not relevant at all. It is not the job of the customer to search for recommendations in a forum. It is the job of the manufacturer, to add a user manual containing all necessary information. This was not the case. So again, this was not the fault of the customer and I am sorry that my post looked like that.

What I wanted to say: The customer was driving in Race mode while using 91 octane. This was contrary to the information shared previously by me (and others).

You won't understand it without considering the previous posts:
A few pages before I said that an issue occurred with 91 octane and Sport mode. As a result of this issue we changed our recommendation to re-gapping spark plugs when running 91 octane. Why? Because previously, we recommended using 91 octane and Sport mode without re-gapping the spark plugs. As a result, a lot of people were complaining about the fact, that we previously said using Sport mode and 91 octane was safe and then changed the recommendation.
This means, the fact that the chip was also running in Race mode and not only in Sport mode as interpreted before is of crucial importance. Maybe not for you, but for our technological specifications and recommendations.

I'll try to make a simple example:
Person A runs his engine without sufficient oil. Then he gets Castrol oil. A few miles later the engine breaks. Person B asks A, what oil where you running when the engine broke?
A: Castrol
Person B tells everybody else: Hey guys, there was a case where Castrol destroyed the engine.
You see: Person A did not communicate any incorrect information, but everybody interprets something that is incorrect.

I hope things are clearer now. I am sorry that it looked like it was the customers fault.
I would just have wished that he shared all necessary information. This would not have led to wrong judgements.

 

[ihatecats78]

Okay, this discussion is completely missing the point I wanted to make. But that's my own fault, because my posting can be interpreted that I am blaming the customer. NO, it is not the fault of the customer. It's faulty spark plugs.

I wrote the fuel recommendation way before this issue occurred. So, it is wrong to say that this was a result of the issue. However, this is not relevant at all. It is not the job of the customer to search for recommendations in a forum. It is the job of the manufacturer, to add a user manual containing all necessary information. This was not the case. So again, this was not the fault of the customer and I am sorry that my post looked like that.

What I wanted to say: The customer was driving in Race mode while using 91 octane. This was contrary to the information shared previously by me (and others).

You won't understand it without considering the previous posts:
A few pages before I said that an issue occurred with 91 octane and Sport mode. As a result of this issue we changed our recommendation to re-gapping spark plugs when running 91 octane. Why? Because previously, we recommended using 91 octane and Sport mode without re-gapping the spark plugs. As a result, a lot of people were complaining about the fact, that we previously said using Sport mode and 91 octane was safe and then changed the recommendation.
This means, the fact that the chip was also running in Race mode and not only in Sport mode as interpreted before is of crucial importance. Maybe not for you, but for our technological specifications and recommendations.

I'll try to make a simple example:
Person A runs his engine without sufficient oil. Then he gets Castrol oil. A few miles later the engine breaks. Person B asks A, what oil where you running when the engine broke?
A: Castrol
Person B tells everybody else: Hey guys, there was a case where Castrol destroyed the engine.
You see: Person A did not communicate any incorrect information, but everybody interprets something that is incorrect.

I hope things are clearer now. I am sorry that it looked like it was the customers fault.
I would just have wished that he shared all necessary information. This would not have led to wrong judgements.

Running a business is hard. I appreciate you making an effort to clear things up. And for the record, my vehicle runs great with the racechip (on 93 octane).

My next question.. Any idea how much HP/TQ effeciency mode adds? I have spent significant time in that mode because I feel like it's easier on my engine while still adding significant performance.

What factors other than boost are being altered by the race chip? And are these all altered differently on the different maps?

 

[PSIaddict]

[MENTION=444]RaceChip[/MENTION] it might be a good idea to make a formal post that details all the requirements for both 3.3t and the upcoming 2.0t chip. I'm waiting for your 2.0t chip and this is the only forum I'm on.

 

[Kelly]

What's the performance difference between map 5 and the higher maps? Up here in Canada we're stuck with mostly 91 octane.

In southern and central Ontario, Petrocan sells Sunoco Ultra 94. Not sure about other parts of Canada.

 

[JonYYZ]

In southern and central Ontario, Petrocan sells Sunoco Ultra 94. Not sure about other parts of Canada.

I run 94 too

 

[MrMr]

In southern and central Ontario, Petrocan sells Sunoco Ultra 94. Not sure about other parts of Canada.

I didn't even think of Petrocan, normally I go to Shell here in Gatineau and they only carry 91.

 

[DBurd]

[MENTION=444]RaceChip[/MENTION] well this is awkward, after following the threads and researching the 3 prominent tunes now available I was all in on RC, about to pull the trigger...however 91 octane is basically the highest I can get. First issue: I will be buying a tune I can?t take full a advantage of. Second: if you consider 91 poor quality I can only assume that your perspective is based mainly on how you view the car through your tune, which seems to mean running 91 octane regardless of setting will still produce an over all ?poor quality? result? Am I missing something?


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[RaceChip]

[MENTION=444]RaceChip[/MENTION] well this is awkward, after following the threads and researching the 3 prominent tunes now available I was all in on RC, about to pull the trigger...however 91 octane is basically the highest I can get. First issue: I will be buying a tune I can?t take full a advantage of. Second: if you consider 91 poor quality I can only assume that your perspective is based mainly on how you view the car through your tune, which seems to mean running 91 octane regardless of setting will still produce an over all ?poor quality? result? Am I missing something?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hm, I think I have to work on my wording.

If you have 91 octane, you can't get the full power potential without replacing or re-gapping your spark plugs. No matter which tuning company you are choosing.
So, you should either do this or just get a RaceChip RS or GTS, which do not unleash the full power potential.
Or get the GTS Black and drive in low mappings until Kia fixed the issue (maybe there will be a recall, maybe not. I don't know).

 

[ATXStinger]

Running a business is hard. I appreciate you making an effort to clear things up. And for the record, my vehicle runs great with the racechip (on 93 octane).

Have you taken your car out to Little River Dragway yet?

 

[ihatecats78]

Have you taken your car out to Little River Dragway yet?

I haven't, but it's definitely on the short term to-do list. I will definitely post some time slips when I do. I only recently learned about that place. I think they require a helmet, and I only have one for my motorcycle.

 

[ATXStinger]

I haven't, but it's definitely on the short term to-do list. I will definitely post some time slips when I do. I only recently learned about that place. I think they require a helmet, and I only have one for my motorcycle.

They do if you break 14 seconds, the last time I was there they didn't even inspect my helmet. But yeah please post some time slips, very interested to see how the car does on the Racechip tune.

 

[RwYeAsNt]

Hm, I think I have to work on my wording.

If you have 91 octane, you can't get the full power potential without replacing or re-gapping your spark plugs. No matter which tuning company you are choosing.
So, you should either do this or just get a RaceChip RS or GTS, which do not unleash the full power potential.
Or get the GTS Black and drive in low mappings until Kia fixed the issue (maybe there will be a recall, maybe not. I don't know).

1. With 91 octane, is regapping or replacing stock spark plugs required for running setting 5 AKA "Sport" mode?

2. We now know for setting 6/7 AKA "Race" mode, 93 octane is required, and if I'm understanding you, ragapping is not required, but is recommended, is this accurate?

These are the questions I think will help clear a lot of this up.

 

[ihatecats78]

With 91 octane, is regapping or replacing stock spark plugs required for running setting 5 AKA "Sport" mode?

We now know for setting 6/7 AKA "Race" mode, 93 octane is require, and if I'm understanding you, ragapping is not required, but is recommended, is this accurate?

These are the questions I think will help clear a lot of this up.

RaceChip can chime in, but I'm under the impression that our plugs need to be re-gapped regardless of the type of fuel that we have available or the map we are running. It's been stated here and on other forums that our gap of .36 is too large for a boosted car, period. Even with normal use, this gap erodes and widens over time - which creates conditions for misfires. That, I believe is why some of the cars who aren't even running a chip are having issues.

 

[DBurd]

Hm, I think I have to work on my wording.

If you have 91 octane, you can't get the full power potential without replacing or re-gapping your spark plugs. No matter which tuning company you are choosing.
So, you should either do this or just get a RaceChip RS or GTS, which do not unleash the full power potential.
Or get the GTS Black and drive in low mappings until Kia fixed the issue (maybe there will be a recall, maybe not. I don't know).

Are you saying if I re-gap my plugs I can use the higher mappings with 91?

When you reference these other tunes, as far as I have seen they aren?t saying their higher levels of performance require 93 octane.

Also no one yet has answered this question: is the an additive I can add to my fuel which competently increases HP in a measurable way?


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[BCKia]

1. With 91 octane, is regapping or replacing stock spark plugs required for running setting 5 AKA "Sport" mode?

2. We now know for setting 6/7 AKA "Race" mode, 93 octane is required, and if I'm understanding you, ragapping is not required, but is recommended, is this accurate?

These are the questions I think will help clear a lot of this up.

Why Racechip doesn't want to present clear information is beyond me. Hopefully this quick summarization will help everyone.


87 Octane Fuel
Please DO NOT Use

91 Octane Fuel

• Sport Mode - Mapping 5 (Max)
• Gap 0.024-0.028 will improve performance and security (from stock 0.034-0.036).
• If you have 91 octane, you can't get the full power potential without replacing or re-gapping your spark plugs.
• Get a RaceChip RS or GTS, which do not unleash the full power potential.
• Or get the GTS Black and use Mapping 5.

93-98 Octane Fuel

• Race Mode - Mapping 6 or Mapping 7.
• With 93 octane fuel, you can use every mode.
• According to present knowledge, regapping the stock plugs helps to prevent the misfire.
• According to present knowledge, I have not heard of any issues (with or without chip) with 93 octane with Kia Stinger spark plugs in stock condition.

 

[RwYeAsNt]

Why Racechip doesn't want to present clear information is beyond me. Hopefully this quick summarization will help everyone.


87 Octane Fuel
Please DO NOT Use

91 Octane Fuel

• Sport Mode - Mapping 5 (Max)
• Gap 0.024-0.028 will improve performance and security (from stock 0.034-0.036).
• If you have 91 octane, you can't get the full power potential without replacing or re-gapping your spark plugs.
• Get a RaceChip RS or GTS, which do not unleash the full power potential.
• Or get the GTS Black and use Mapping 5.

93-98 Octane Fuel

• Race Mode - Mapping 6 or Mapping 7.
• With 93 octane fuel, you can use every mode.
• According to present knowledge, regapping the stock plugs helps to prevent the misfire.
• According to present knowledge, I have not heard of any issues (with or without chip) with 93 octane with Kia Stinger spark plugs in stock condition.

This x1000. Seriously, I still can't believe there hasn't been a megathread with all the information and recommendations in one place in a clear format like your post. I thank you for your post, and I *think* the information is accurate, but, with respect, I'm still waiting for RaceChip's response.

 

[ihatecats78]

Why Racechip doesn't want to present clear information is beyond me. Hopefully this quick summarization will help everyone.


87 Octane Fuel
Please DO NOT Use

91 Octane Fuel

• Sport Mode - Mapping 5 (Max)
• Gap 0.024-0.028 will improve performance and security (from stock 0.034-0.036).
• If you have 91 octane, you can't get the full power potential without replacing or re-gapping your spark plugs.
• Get a RaceChip RS or GTS, which do not unleash the full power potential.
• Or get the GTS Black and use Mapping 5.

93-98 Octane Fuel

• Race Mode - Mapping 6 or Mapping 7.
• With 93 octane fuel, you can use every mode.
• According to present knowledge, regapping the stock plugs helps to prevent the misfire.
• According to present knowledge, I have not heard of any issues (with or without chip) with 93 octane with Kia Stinger spark plugs in stock condition.

+ 1.. This is how I understand it as well.