Upsolute - Pro's & Cons

[muddyboots]

Yaboy -> Why not email Simon Coe and ask his advice.

Since getting the Passat the other week, I've joined a couple of Passat forums, and guess what - one is running an Upsolute group buy right now, should be able to get it for around £250 Now that's what I call good timing...

 

[Yaboy]

I did email simon but he never got back to me bin about a week ???

 

[muddyboots]

Think he's busy, took a while to get back to me and was quite apologetic. He was quick at replying a while back when I was enquiring about getting the Ibiza rechipped.

Maybe send him another email, or perhaps give him a ring ?

 

[Yaboy]

which number do i contact simon on ?

 

[slimjim]

http://www.ccctech.co.uk/feedback.php

 

[Ant FR]

i had upsolout on my old FR to start off with.

Ended up having it removed as it ran like crap, impossoible performance had it for 2 days trying to sort but could not, took it to another tunr who solved the problem in about 10 minutes.

Also pretty sure the upsoloute was a solder in chip, or it was when i got it done back in 2004. so not really a remap.

 

[muddyboots]

That was on the petrol FR was it Ant ?

From what I've read, I think Upsolute have been doing the TDIs for years without any problems. Maybe they are slightly newer to the 20vts...

 

[Ant FR]

yep was on the 20vt.

 

[Yaboy]

mine is a 20vt turbo , but upsolute is a remap now maybe before it was a chip and i have heard many good things except that it doesnt give out the 212bhp its more like 200bhp when it was tested on rolling road ??
but would like to confirm this with simon am gonna give him a call as i want my car upsoluted as its within my budget otherwise im gonna have to wait another month or so to get that revo..

 

[BeezerDiesel]

A re-map is a re-map whether it's a new chip or an OBD re-flash of the original chip - it remaps the car's performance perameters. People have been calling re-chipping 're-mapping' for years. Simon will either re-chip or do an OBD port download, makes no difference to him. I've had two 20vt re-chips from him and one TDI, none of them threw up any problems on my cars. It took the ECU a couple of days to settle down properly on the 1.8t's but the TDI one was fine 'straight out of the box'.
It's interesting though that Ant had problems with an Impossible re-chip as so did Cupramax some years ago when he had his Cupra 1.8t (not the R which IIRC was REVO'd). Still I've heard many good things about Impossible too, but that's forums for you; everyone's got an opinion and a counter opinion.

 

[m0rk]

http://www.seatcupra.net/m0rk/solder/1.JPG
http://www.seatcupra.net/m0rk/solder/2.JPG

This is the kind of high quality soldering you can expect from a soldered chip replacement.

long term life span is not long

Also - changing chips on kitchen tables will not protect your ECU from ESD damage, which can happen - but your mobile tuner will be long gone, since you won't be able to diagnose it....

 

[mik]

m0rk - I'm not sure who performed the soldering in your images, but I think you are doing Simon Coe a disservice by implying that this is either "the norm" or "as good as it gets" for a soldered chip replacement.

(I can only speak for Simon as he's the only guy I have experience of).

It's impossible to replicate the processes used when the chip was originally soldered to the board, as everything is attached in one operation.

When Simon did my car (over 4yrs ago) he had all the correct chip desoldering and re-soldering kit, was properly earthed throughout, and was happy for me to inspect his work. Whilst he was new to Upsolute, I understand he has years of experience in complex PCB rework and repair.

Obviously your images came from somewhere, so they are a reality which can occur. I know you haven't stated in your post that they are images of work performed by Simon, but (as he's the guy mentioned most throughout this thread) some readers may interpret your statement as exactly that.

 

[m0rk]

Not arguing the toss here, but I've worked in high reliability electronics manufacturing for 8yrs+ now

You can't get excellent results in the kitchen.

Nor, I suspect are you a trained inspector. Those joints look 'OK' under normal conditions, that's taken with a microscope camera.

what cleaning process do the boards go through? what was he earthed to? was it tested?

Those solder joints were done at someone's workshop (so not mobile like you speak of) and they're shocking... dry joints, not even making contact.

My point being. if you want to skimp on price, pay a bit more & get it done by OBDII & you don't have any of those problems.

 

[Ant FR]

i'd back Mork here sorry,

on my upsoloute chip, when i took it to AMD they had to remove th eupsolouted chip and whack on a standard one before they remapped it. But i remember it taking them over 3 hours to rectify the shite soldering of the chip done originaly.
they asked if the guy had used a MIG welder when he fitted it it was that bad.

were'nt the chips dumped by everyone due to the problems caused in the past. its old tech now for sure.

i perosonally would not spend my hard earned cash on this out dated technology.

 

[djrichard]

Who installed your chip Ant FR? Was it Simon Coe?

For £305 I doubt very much that I would have been able to get anything better than what I have. Upsolute claimed my 100pd would get 133, when rolling road tested at Star I got 137bhp.

 

[prc]

That's about as well as I can do it...

 

[Yaboy]

does the upsoltute software work with 4bar fpr ?

 

[mik]

Morkus - I'm not arguing that a re-chip provides better results or reliability than an OBD reflash. As a general rule with cars (and most other things) it's almost always better to "leave things as is"....

I've spent time in the electronics industry, although it was a while back. Bare board manufacture, PCB design, and full PCB assembly. I have (of course) seen some horrors on boards which are allegedly "good" and have never seen a rework process - automated or otherwise. You're correct in your assumption though - I have never been trained as an inspector.

When Simon did my car I didn't watch to ensure he'd tested the earth, nor check the cleaning process he went through.

All I'm suggesting is that your images imply that this is as good as it gets. In which case very little PCB repair or rework would ever occur (cars or otherwise). And whilst I don't question your experience, I still maintain you're doing Simon a disservice by that. So there.

 

[OLDOILER]

m0rk - I'm not sure who performed the soldering in your images, but I think you are doing Simon Coe a disservice by implying that this is either "the norm" or "as good as it gets" for a soldered chip replacement.

(I can only speak for Simon as he's the only guy I have experience of).

It's impossible to replicate the processes used when the chip was originally soldered to the board, as everything is attached in one operation.

When Simon did my car (over 4yrs ago) he had all the correct chip desoldering and re-soldering kit, was properly earthed throughout, and was happy for me to inspect his work. Whilst he was new to Upsolute, I understand he has years of experience in complex PCB rework and repair.

Obviously your images came from somewhere, so they are a reality which can occur. I know you haven't stated in your post that they are images of work performed by Simon, but (as he's the guy mentioned most throughout this thread) some readers may interpret your statement as exactly that.

I can vouch for that I have had 3 chip upgrades and SC has always used earthing strapes and is WELL aware of the problems and limitations replacing chips - this was before the days of OB port transfer.

 

[-=Rob=-]

does the upsoltute software work with 4bar fpr ?

No the Upsolute remap is based on a standard car, i.e 3 bar FPR. If you are un-sure about having the chip replaced, you can get the Upsolute remap for the same price from Simon uploaded via the serial port on the car...

Out of interest what car and which tuner did the poor soldering picture in this thread come from? I seem to remember seeing this pic before on the boards and I'm sure it wasn't Upsolute so don't jump to any conclusions.....