Counterfeit MarkD (E.A.T.) chips

[nando]

This is the kind of shit that's just not okay.

Mark, did you copyright your software?

i'm pretty sure if you create something (be it a document, picture, or software) the creator is granted copyright by default - I'm sure the laws are similar in canada, but if he's selling it here the US laws would apply as well. it's not something you "apply" for, like a trademark or a patent - those grant extra rights above and beyond copyright.

[submwar]

don't stop making chips, Mark!!! Think of the next generation of e30 modders and motor junkies.

THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!

[nando]

another thing to consider mark:

-gas prices are high, chips require high octane. many people are going to skip on that reason alone
-chips for E30s have been around for decades now. A lot of these cars are still around, but many have been scrapped or are already heavily modified. the market is shrinking, essentially.
-the days of buying a pristine 325is for $5k, dopping in a chip and throwing on springs/wheels and calling it "modded" are pretty much done.
-aftermarket ECU support has increased by leaps and bounds in only the last year. full standalone (not just MS either) for $1k or less, or a chip for $250? the chip is obviously far cheaper, but cars have gotten so powerful in the last decade that a chipped M20 isn't "enough" for many people. Big power requires real tuning, a static chip may as well be the stock one. cheap widebands and powerful datalog analysis software make tuning yourself much easier than it was 2-3 years ago.
-24v swaps are very popular, especially with the crowd that might be interested in a chip. again, a chip is "cheaper", but you don't really get much out of it compared to a swap.

I think you would have ended up down this road eventually anyway. I still think it sucks that your hard work is being ripped off though.

[MarkD]

another thing to consider mark:

-gas prices are high, chips require high octane. many people are going to skip on that reason alone
-chips for E30s have been around for decades now. A lot of these cars are still around, but many have been scrapped or are already heavily modified. the market is shrinking, essentially.
-the days of buying a pristine 325is for $5k, dopping in a chip and throwing on springs/wheels and calling it "modded" are pretty much done.
-aftermarket ECU support has increased by leaps and bounds in only the last year. full standalone (not just MS either) for $1k or less, or a chip for $250? the chip is obviously far cheaper, but cars have gotten so powerful in the last decade that a chipped M20 isn't "enough" for many people. Big power requires real tuning, a static chip may as well be the stock one. cheap widebands and powerful datalog analysis software make tuning yourself much easier than it was 2-3 years ago.
-24v swaps are very popular, especially with the crowd that might be interested in a chip. again, a chip is "cheaper", but you don't really get much out of it compared to a swap.

I think you would have ended up down this road eventually anyway. I still think it sucks that your hard work is being ripped off though.

I agree with what you said, but I would not have thought that sales would drop off so quickly.

And I still think it would be cheaper for people to use the stock DME on their turbo M20's and have me tune it remotely by analysing the data from an Innovate wideband unit. It can be done, I've tuned s52usb32 supercharged motors that way (running on 413 or 506 DME's)

I made a turbo chip for the M20 that worked, but there's a guy cloning those also. The sad thing about that is that I helped him out and spent many hours on the phone with him. I can't remember his name now or I'd post it.

[Golden1]

I agree with what you said, but I would not have thought that sales would drop off so quickly.

And I still think it would be cheaper for people to use the stock DME on their turbo M20's and have me tune it remotely by analysing the data from an Innovate wideband unit. It can be done, I've tuned s52usb32 supercharged motors that way (running on 413 or 506 DME's)

I made a turbo chip for the M20 that worked, but there's a guy cloning those also. The sad thing about that is that I helped him out and spent many hours on the phone with him. I can't remember his name now or I'd post it.

What about an explicit agreement that each buyer must sign/agree to? Basically saying that they will not copy/infringe on your product, kinda like a software EULA...

[SamE30e]

What about an explicit agreement that each buyer must sign/agree to? Basically saying that they will not copy/infringe on your product, kinda like a software EULA...

But then all they have to do is buy a chip off someone else.

[E30 Cabrio]

I would be interested in buying a MarkD chip if I could see some Dyno numbers which I couldn't find on his website.

Realistically, how much HP and Torque would I get out of a MarkD chip on my 88 Cabrio 5 spd?

A lot of these mods that are advertised tend to fudge the HP/Torque numbers.

The stuff in the Corvette catalogs is notorious for "padding" the numbers on the mods they sell.

I believe my E30 has the "173" ECU

Thanks.

[T.Dot_E30]

I would be interested in buying a MarkD chip if I could see some Dyno numbers which I couldn't find on his website.

Realistically, how much HP and Torque would I get out of a MarkD chip on my 88 Cabrio 5 spd?

A lot of these mods that are advertised tend to fudge the HP/Torque numbers.

The stuff in the Corvette catalogs is notorious for "padding" the numbers on the mods they sell.

I believe my E30 has the "173" ECU

Thanks.

Do your research, everything u asked for is already out there.

[E30 Cabrio]

Do your research, everything u asked for is already out there.

I'm just asking how much HP and Torque increase one could expect with a 325i with a 5 speed, and if actual Dyno numbers are available.

When I had a Corvette, the Ecklers and Mid-America catalogs had all kinds of bolt on stuff claiming increases in HP and Torque, but never had any proof that these bolt ons did what they were supposed to do and if they added the HP/Torque they claimed and people who bought these bolt ons didn't see any noticeable increases in numbers.

Here's an example: http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...5&dept_id=1770

11.8 HP for $29.99?

Everyone who bought one of these and installed them says no way and the Dyno sheet backs that up, but they continue to sell them anyway and continue to make claims without any evidence.

I'm not saying that MarkD's products are like that, but my experience with other bolt ons is that they fall far short of the numbers they claim.

Before dropping $229 on a chip, I would like to see some Dyno numbers on the MarkD web site that show how much of an HP and Torque increase one can expect, which I haven't been able to find.

I think it's reasonable that a copy of a Dyno print out would be on the web site, and that it would help sales.

Like I said, if a chip was proven to do what it claims and was worth the money, I would buy one.

So I'll ask again: What kind of gains can I expect on an otherwise stock 88 325i 5 speed running 91 Octane with a MarkD chip, and are those gains documented?

I think that's a reasonable request.

Thanks.

[DSP74]

Get into the plug and play megasquirt game, complete with preprograms....Make most of your money of the PnP and then if someone copies the program (as it's right there) your not out anything........

I for one think that would be awesome. It would eliminate alot of the anxiety of fucking up your car by adding the MS system (or at least it not running as well as a stock setup w/chip yet costing alot more money)

[nando]

Get into the plug and play megasquirt game, complete with preprograms....Make most of your money of the PnP and then if someone copies the program (as it's right there) your not out anything........

I for one think that would be awesome. It would eliminate alot of the anxiety of fucking up your car by adding the MS system (or at least it not running as well as a stock setup w/chip yet costing alot more money)

there is some demand in that market, but it's far more complicated than a simple chip - there are too many variables that are outside the control of whoever is producing them. The risk/return isn't very good, basically.

[Turf1600]

I'm just asking how much HP and Torque increase one could expect with a 325i with a 5 speed, and if actual Dyno numbers are available.

When I had a Corvette, the Ecklers and Mid-America catalogs had all kinds of bolt on stuff claiming increases in HP and Torque, but never had any proof that these bolt ons did what they were supposed to do and if they added the HP/Torque they claimed and people who bought these bolt ons didn't see any noticeable increases in numbers.

Here's an example: http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...5&dept_id=1770

11.8 HP for $29.99?

Everyone who bought one of these and installed them says no way and the Dyno sheet backs that up, but they continue to sell them anyway and continue to make claims without any evidence.

I'm not saying that MarkD's products are like that, but my experience with other bolt ons is that they fall far short of the numbers they claim.

Before dropping $229 on a chip, I would like to see some Dyno numbers on the MarkD web site that show how much of an HP and Torque increase one can expect, which I haven't been able to find.

I think it's reasonable that a copy of a Dyno print out would be on the web site, and that it would help sales.

Like I said, if a chip was proven to do what it claims and was worth the money, I would buy one.

So I'll ask again: What kind of gains can I expect on an otherwise stock 88 325i 5 speed running 91 Octane with a MarkD chip, and are those gains documented?

I think that's a reasonable request.

Thanks.

[E30 Cabrio]

How about someone answer the question and post the actual numbers?

All that a search turns up is people saying that their car feels faster.

I'm not interested in the butt dyno results, just the actual dyno results.

[kowalski]

How about someone answer the question and post the actual numbers?

All that a search turns up is people saying that their car feels faster.

I'm not interested in the butt dyno results, just the actual dyno results.

how about you ask this in a thread related to this topic, or you search through the other hundred or so threads with this topic.

[E30 Cabrio]

how about you ask this in a thread related to this topic, or you search through the other hundred or so threads with this topic.

My post is related to the topic - I'm considering buying a genuine MarkD chip, and I would be more inclined to do so if Mark posted Dyno numbers on his web site.

Since he's reading this thread and posting to it, I'm sure he wouldn't mind responding and I would like to hear directly from him as to what type of gains I can expect.

I'd like to give the man some business, but I don't want to spend $229 without seeing some Dyno numbers, or at least having him post the type of numbers one should expect from his chip as his web site doesn't say how much power gains can be expected with his chip.

If he wants to sell more of his chips, maybe doing the above would help instead of having people search thru hundreds of posts on E30 forums for the numbers.

I've searched the forums and haven't seen any actual numbers, just a lot of "my car feels faster" type of posts.

Again, I'm not interested in anecdotal evidence, but real world numbers.