Chipping an S2

[Fat Albert]

No for cats try:
http://www.ding.net/bonsaikitten/

I will be taking Kato flying at some point, he'll have to navigate as I sure as hell can't....

 

[Joss Walker]

Oli

Thanks for the link to the earlier post discussing the Promax chip, having read these descriptions, I am becoming convinced that mine has already been chipped. I have the details of a couple of the former owners so I will contact them and see if they know. Of course I could also get myself along to a local club meet and have someone drive mine and see what they think!

Thanks for your help!

Joss

 

[Peter Empson]

What a lovely OT thread this has become []

Not the first pic I've posted of Smellie (previous owners called her Ellie and she sniffs everything intently, hence her nickname), this is one of the brief moments where she wasn't hissing, growling, trying to sever an artery or seemingly plotting the demise of the human race.

 

[Big Dave]

ORIGINAL: Fat Albert

No for cats try:
http://www.ding.net/bonsaikitten/

I will be taking Kato flying at some point, he'll have to navigate as I sure as hell can't....

Is that realy legitamate.??
If so its properly sick....Theres some REALY sick folk in the world.....[][][][]

 

[Peter Empson]

The guestbook page is a bit of a giveaway:
"Months ago, you have masterfully shaped my kitten into a trapezoid; however, now, the 45-degree angle on the tail side is weakining, making her more of a rhombus than anything. Although, I could reinforce the front side with the angular clamps you sell, I'm afraid she might turn out to be a parallelogram. Any tips?

We would be happy to surgically restore the crisp angles to your cherished pet. In fact, you may have forgotten that we provide a lifetime warranty on the shape of your Bonsai Kitten. Please, pack the Kitten into the shipping container that we will send to you via special express, and we will contact you shortly with a time estimate for the repairs."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai_Kitten

 

[Big Dave]

Cheers Pete. I was gettig worried a bit there.
Its still a sad state that somebody would think of making a website for that though, as itl give the "saddo,s" an idea...[8|][&o]

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: Big Dave

Cheers Pete. I was gettig worried a bit there.
Its still a sad state that somebody would think of making a website for that though, as itl give the "saddo,s" an idea...[8|][&o]

I agree . It worries me that anyone would find the scenario of animal cruelty amusing frankly. What sickens me is that pet animals grow to trust us and so trust that whatever we do to them we do not mean them harm so they would not even try to run away or defend themselves
. To deliberately harm any animal is an abuse of that trust .

I think our viewing tastes are becoming too sick/weird . Take I'm a Celeb get me out of here for example.

Why on earth anyone would want to sit and watch a bunch of intellectually challenged ,Celebrity , no-hopes make complete fools of themselves on TV of an evening mystifies me ? []

 

[Peter Empson]

Glad it wasn't just me that didn't find it funny then. I can find fake 'animal cruelty' hilarious in the right context (despite having very strong feelings on the matter) - for example look on youtube for 'Snuffbox girlfriend scenes' (very NSFW but a very underated comedy programme all the same) the final scene gets me every time. Just be aware that there is also some E-type cruelty which might upset some viewers [].

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

Glad it wasn't just me that didn't find it funny then. .

same here Peter. We seem to be in a minority these days.

I am afraid to say that my Father is one of them. he is 90 and staying with us because he has dementia.

He rolls about with laughter every time he sees an animal or person surprized or shocked or have an accident and fall over and hurt themselves. i don't think he would actally be cruel but he has a pretty sick sense of humour which I find very distateful.
He finds it genuinely hilarious that a cat ate a meat sandwich he put out which unfortunately had some mustard in it . He describes in great detail how the cat flew down the garden screaming and doing cartwheels and hit the fence before disapearing. Then he larfs until he cries ?
I just don't understand him really .

 

[lookingfora944]

Are these chips easy enough to fit yourself then? How can I tell if mine has already been chipped?

 

[Peter Empson]

Yep, pretty easy really, it's a bit of a job to open the ECU as there are lots of metal tabs to be bent back (if these look untouched it's likely to be original), but that's all. First time it will probably take under an hour from start to finish, but it will only be 10 mins if you ever need to do it again.

 

[peanut]

mine has been chipped by the previous owner and I have the promax specification sheet somewhere but when I opened my ecu last year i couln't pry the two pcb boards apart at all. If I had used any more strength to do it I was worried I might break something or fracture the PCB's . The plastic pcb spacing pillars certainly get tough and rigid with age.[]

 

[lookingfora944]

Will check over the weekend to see if it has the original chip and may fit a promax one in the New Year if the opinion is that it is worthwhile.

What's the consensus about informing insurance companies of such modifications?

 

[Peter Empson]

I would always inform the insurance company myself, it's not worth giving them a way to wriggle out of a claim on such a small technicality.

One thing that is worth considering is getting the car dyno'd afterwards, most places will do a quick power run for a bit of cash, or wait till we have a dyno day as the costs are less. I've found that hard data does matter to insurers, most cars are down on power due to age so having a plot that says a modified car is still either at factory figures or beneath it (often the case) will mean they wont load your premium as much as if they think you've added and extra 20bhp above the original spec (or whatever gain is claimed for the chip). My insurers ignored the cone filter on the 944S for example as I can show it is quite a way down on power anyway.

A chip on its own should not add much to the premium anyway, it only becomes an issue when you're talking 25-50% increases, and over 50% can be a bit more of an issue.

 

[Suffolk944]

Yes always worth informing insurance companies of even "subtle" changes like a chip, chances are of course it would never become an issue but if you do have a prang...Just not worth the risk imho.

 

[peanut]

I personally would not .[] the chances of anyone spending hours pouring over every inch of your crashed car and dismantling the ECU and every componant to see if it is original spec. ( requiring extensive knowledge and documentation , workshop manuals etc ) is absolutely beyond any conceivable likeihood. It ain't gonna happen !

Conversly if you tell the insurance company that you have modified a high performance sports car with a non standard , non Porsche approved part in order to make the car go faster ??? mmmmmmmmmm now how do you think they are going to view that in the light of an accident ? []

 

[Lowtimer]

They are going to take the view that you are covered, and they are therefore going to be writing a cheque to cover whatever injuries and damage have taken place in teh accident, because you have told them about it and they have accepted the risk.

If on the other hand you give them a way of avoiding payment, or paying third parties and suing you, then expect them to do that. Obviously this is unlikely to take place if you are talking about simple crumpled metal on a car with a low write-off value, because it's not worth the cost of investigating the wreckage in any depth, but in the event or a serious injury involving someone, say, being brain-damaged or paralysed or for some other reason requiring lifetime care, then the total cost of the claim may run into millions of pounds. Then you can bet that they will be all over the car with a fine-tooth comb.

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: peanut

I personally would not .[]  the chances of anyone spending hours pouring over every inch of your crashed car and dismantling the ECU and every componant to see if it is original spec. ( requiring extensive knowledge and documentation , workshop manuals etc ) is absolutely beyond any conceivable likeihood. It ain't gonna happen !

Depends upon the chip, some are clearly visible once you've opened the ECU, others look identical (in fact as it's a rewriteable chip there's nothing stopping you changing the code on it, but it is still possible to read that code fairly easily (a PC and a £30 reader from ebay and an original chip is all you need to spot differences).

ORIGINAL: peanut

Conversly if you tell the insurance company that you have modified a high performance sports car with a non standard , non Porsche approved part in order to make the car go faster ??? mmmmmmmmmm  now how do you think they are going to view that in the light of an accident ? []

Hmm, it'd be the first thing most insurers will look for, proving you changed it and not a previous owner who forgot to tell you is a rather more tricky thing to do (unless it's written all over a car forum []).

It all depends upon the accident, if it's a really big one they will be looking to save themselves what could well be a few hundred thousand pounds, so a day in a workshop would be money well spent by them...

If you've told them about changes they cannot wriggle out of the claim, they chose to ensure a 'higher risk' modified car after all.

For me it's a no brainer!


Edited to add: Simon was a quicker typer than me, apologies for repeating the same thing

 

[peanut]

we'll have to agree to differ i guess []

Having worked for both Sun Life and Norwich Union as an assessor before their demise I can assure you that that is not how insurance companies try to duck out of their insurance obligations. its actually much easier and cheaper to do it by interpretation of small print and applying their contractural discrtionary powers which you agree to in your contract

I'd have to say I would be interested in seeing how much more they load your premiums []

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: peanut

I'd have to say I would be interested in seeing how much more they load your premiums []

Probably much less than you'd expect. I'd guess at less than £50 per year extra for the average person assuming you don't quote silly performance figures at them (i.e. for a NA car) and stress it's beneficial for driveability and fuel economy (both true). However would be very interested to hear what the average figure is as I'm probably a bit out of date (but probably tricky as I guess most people have more mods than just a chip). Wheels add a much larger premium in my experience.