An in depth review of the SpitFire Tuning Performance Chip
This is a profound review and analysis of SpitFire Tuning Performance Chip made by SpitFire Tuning. We purchased these performance chips on their official website. You can view and purchase their products here: www.spitfiretuning.com Let’s take a look:
Company Profile
SpitFire Tuning is the manufacturer.
Cost
The cost on their website at the time of this review is to $74.99 which is fairly decent price versus options available providing if claims are real.
Product Appearance
The OBD performance module comes as shown. We purchased one of these performance chips from SpitFire Tuning via eBay for testing.
Internal Analysis
We removed the cover. And immediately we noticed there was much more to the circuit board.
Many products claim to do a lot of things, do they really work?
Stripping all the way down to the connection points to the OBD2 port we can see that the manufacturer utilized all 16 pins. This is a great first sign, this tells us that it is for use in multiple regions of vehicles.
The IC has a JDM-USA Rev. 6.0 label on it. We performed several tests such as Program Memory type, CAN protocol, Program Max Memory Size, and Max CPU Speed and after all tests we determined that the Chip installed is a JDM/Microchip version of the PIC16F59 with improved Programming Memory to 24KB and CAN Bus support verified. We have seen this relabeling from Microchip in other computer related parts.
Time for a look inside the brain of the chip:
It has a more accurate 4 mhz Resonator. Better quality over the lower cost internal oscillators found on other performance chips. It shows adequate space utilized for a fully functioning program. A processor speed to make split second adjustments in real time applications.
Understanding OBD Protocols
These pins must be present to function properly:
CAN – 4, 6, 14, 16
PWM -2, 4, 5, 10, 16
VPW – 2, 4, 5, 16
ISO – 4, 5, 7, 16
The SpitFire Tuning Performance Chip:
1 HAS all OBD connections to the CAN protocol
2 HAS all OBD connections for the PWM protocol
3 HAS all OBD connections for the ISO protocol
4 HAS all OBD connections for the VPW protocol
From these connections, the SpitFire Tuning Performance Chip does have the capability to interface to any of these protocols. According to the product information, the company says they custom program the chips for use with only one vehicle. (That is true for all custom chips)
Operation
We connected the chip to our same test vehicle 2016 BMW 530i 3.0L L6 as instructed and the lights came on as expected.
For about 1 week we drove only a few miles and did notice a definite improvement in throttle response and pick up power. The idle and handling of the engine is smoother. Very impressive performance gains. We tested in a large run and noticed we had gained almost 4MPG on fuel economy.
Analysis
Our analysis: The SpitFire Tuning Performance Chip is capable of delivering real gains and is a good choice for those seeking a general tuning solution. The construction, ease of use, and performance is impressive. More impressive is that this was a product that could produce such gains for such a little cost.
Conclusion
This performance chip is very similar to the DragonFire performance chips. They both have the circuitry capabilities to perform. The programs deliver some very decent gains.
We can say with full confidence that this performance chip is an ideal buy in the automotive accessory and performance market.
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Awesome post! Keep up the great work! 🙂
So far I feel the boost! Thanks.
Question: My 2018 Accord Sport is designed to run on regular gasoline. I’ve been using premium since I installed the chip. Does the chip work better with premium or can I go back to regular gas and keep the same performance?
We have tested in both conditions and found you gain the same increased performance results with the only changes being those of the fuel difference itself.
so glad i saw this thank you for helping with my purchase !
Thank you for your non partisan reviews. You saved me a lot of aggravation and wasted money. I stumbled upon this site while looking for reviews of one of those POS chips sold on ebay and you confirmed my suspicions. The chip I was looking at is nothing but a big scam and offers no real performance or fuel gains whatsoever. Keep up the good work
We are happy to help. We are people just like you that are looking for honest real products and not scams, that is what got us started here.
Just installed mine today , 2015 Ford F150 3.5 EcoBoost (96875miles). I will keep track and will do a write-up in a couple of weeks and see if there’s any changes. FYI, I have a Injen double cold air filter , 34′ inch tires with 2″ leveling kit and Flowmaster dual exhaust system. I will also add Rev9 intercooler sometime within the next week or so and will install SOS ignition coils. Can’t wait for the results.
Thanks again for your honest review..
I gianed 1 mpg and a slight increase in hp and throttle response much better than the cheap nitro cheap on ebay
Will a vehicle with the Spitfire chip pass California smog test ?,
Actually yes, the way they designed their chip is that of literally a plug and play device. It provides the benefits of performance while plugged in and then the vehicle is stock when unplugged. When asked the reasoning behind this set up they explained that people with warranties on their vehicles or need to smog their vehicles will not be able to do so under your conventional performance chips, so their plug and play design allows the benefits of a performance chip and you can unplug it when taking it for smog or warranty and it will go back to original settings and no trace of being installed after which you can plug it right back in when done and it resumes it’s programming.
Just ordered the spitfire chip for my 98 ranger 4×4 4.0 can’t wait to see how much of a gain i get. Super stoked to know it actually works thanks guys.
I just purchased for my 2015 VW Beetle R-Line Convertible 2.0 TSI and it really fine tuned the car. I’ve driven it for 2 days and I am very satisfied. Shifting is a lot smoother, and I feel the HP as soon as I press the gas….no more lagging! Next is to measure the MPG. So far, very satisfied with the performance chip!
Thank you guys so much for your review . I recently bought a obd2 port chip through chip your car .com and was rather disappointed ☹️ I am currently trying to get a refund through them and after reading your review I think I will try the spitfire tuning chip . Thanks for the honesty and for being so thorough.
We are happy the information helped, we know how annoying it is trying to find a genuine product that actually works and that is exactly why we said enough was enough and created a website to provide information, critique the products, and avoid all the fast talk of the sellers and go right to real results.
This is truly a good performance tuning chip. I’ve used a couple others (I won’t name) and I can feel the difference in the acceleration and shifting. It took me about 2 days of driving then I started noticing how much that chip had tuned my car. My car VW but a non-turbo VW. Now my car idles a bit smoother, accelerates faster, and just opened up over all. Great Chip
I BOUGHT FOR MY CADILLAC CTS 3L. THIS CHIP DID EVERYTHING WELL. SMOTHER IDLE, MUCH IMPROVED ACCELERATION WITH THE INCREASE IN POWER CLEARLY EVIDENT. I WON’T KNOW ABOUT INCREASED MILEAGE YET AS I JUST GOT IT. I DROVE 55 MILES TO CALIBRATE IT WITH MY ENGINE BUT THE IMPROVEMENTS WERE NOTICED RIGHT AWAY. I CONSIDER IT AN EXCELLENT BUY.
I have purchased nearly every OBD plug in performance chip on the market, 99% of them are not tuning chips at all. They do not communicate with PCM ecm can at all. I’ve done tear down and rebuilds, examining the makeup of every tuner. They are simply resistors and lights. They have no ability the increase power or fuel economy. However, the spitfire tuner is the real deal. It has the ability to communicate and adapt and does so shockingly well. My 2001 Deville 4.6L Northstar V8 average Dyno was about 268hp. After adding a cold air intake, hi flow cats and performance exhaust the avg Dyno was 293hp. 1 month after installing the spitfire tuner my avg Dyno is an impressive 331hp. I have no affiliation with the company. I’m simply a customer. I am shocked that this thing actually works. Not only did it give with 30+ up it increased my gas mileage by over 2mpg.
So what happens to the engine/computer once this is unplugged? Back to normal? Any possible issues? Thank you.
When you unplug this chip the vehicle goes back to stock settings with no issues. In fact we hooked it up to our computer after unplugging the chip and there was no trace of it ever being installed so I can see the appeal of this chip for those with leased vehicles or manufacturers warranties.
I bought one of these chips after reading your guys review for my 2020 Kia optima EX turbo… Right away I noticed the acceleration increase torque increase gas mileage has been great a lot of higher and broad range turbo boost noticed as well… Can’t thank you guys enough for putting out such a great honest review thanks a lot!!!
Just plugged this puppy into the new “Fammobile” (2020 Jeep Compass) that I had to move into from my 335i. THIS MAKES AN IMMEDIATE DIFFERENCE. Sure, it’s no beemer but the pickup is 4x better. I’m looking forward to the added improvement and gas mileage.
I ordered one. I appreciate your thorough testing and review… well done! My car has some upgrades and I just need a slightly better tune… this should be enough for now.
Just got my chip today for my 2013 f150 5.0, just drove around a few blocks before and after. Already ( drove normal) noticed better tranny response and better timed shifting when turning for a better low end power consistency. I will follow up in a few days and let you know when I get closer to the 60 mile mark. Great review and breakdown guys!
I installed this to my Subaru Legacy 2.0 with 125 hp. Only mod i have is Simota panel airfilter. Noticed right away that this chip added some torque. Shifting to bigger gears was smoother and car pulled better when accerlating. After driving like 20 km i felt that chip tuned my car even more at tiny amounts per time. Most noticable gain so far is the added torque. Joining highway feels better since car can accerlate better. This is first day testing the chip so not sure yet, how much gains i can get out from it after driving more. It’s expensive to mod non-turbo car so i bought this chip and i’m happy with it so far. Before trying i was sceptical if i could feel the difference with this chip in my low hp car but i really felt.
Does this only improve throttle response or is this a true HP gain?
Yes, improves HP as well are throttle response.
I have a question, I do plan on installing aftermarket wheels & tires, along with a spacer lift. Would the Spitfire Tuning Chip still increase performance and mpgs? I have only seen reviews of individuals that kept their vehicle stock. Thanks.
Yes absolutely the chip would still increase your trucks performance and fuel economy.
appreciate the job you do. ive canceled my inovative order and followed your recommendation SpitFire Tuning Performance Chip.
will let you know how it turns out
I installed my SpitFire Chip and couple of weeks ago and has made a huge difference on how my Lincoln MKC 2.0 runs. Gone are the jerky shift at lower speeds and a hell of a lot quicker, faster and smoother. Too bad I had to take it out dropping off my car at the dealer this morning because she went back to running the same before the chip install and can’t wait to get my car back and put the chip back in and enjoy the faster take offs, no sluggish shifting and smoother idle.
Hi, I have 2014 Lexus CT200h F sport it’s a hybrid will it work for hybrids? If so any idea on power wise. thanks
Hello, yes they sell for hybrids as well. I would recommend reaching out to them for performance gains.