Hey everyone I’m new to this forum in particular, but I joined to get some advice. I’m planning on upgrading my 18 Elantra GTS. Intake already installed, catback and dp on the way. I’m torn between these two “piggyback” units on the market, as there is no ECU tune available for my vehicle. I’ve heard pros and cons for both units, they are also not available yet, only pre order.
I’ve emailed a cust service person from Race Chip and asked him about the Lap3 tuner and he told me with the Lap3 unit “the protection programs are removed and the engine is left exposed.” Is this true? He also stated that the Lap3 unit CAN be detected by dealerships or emissions testing etc..
So before I make my decision, any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

This isn’t an accurate comparison.

Lap3 you can get a spare ECU while RaceChip is a piggyback.

It is accurate, as Lap3 offers both a piggyback unit and tuned ecu

The Lap3 Pro Tuner is NOT detectable by dealerships so long as you remove it before going to the dealer. All you are doing is disconnecting and reconnecting connectors. With it removed there is zero trace that it was there. Lap3 is by far the best tuning company for KDM platforms right now. Never ask any competing brands how they feel about their competitors because you are 100% going to get a negative answer. Do your research and find out what other people are doing. The Pro Tuner uses CAN data from the OBD port to control it's maps. Far superior to any analog boost chip out there.

I asked David Chung at Lap3 directly if they sell a tune for the GT Sport and the answer was yes. I would contact him directly on facebook or through their website to get more information.

Thanks for that! Really my main concern is voiding warranty as it is a brand new car so I will definitely reach out to him for more info, thanks!

Their ECU tune comes on a spare ECU so the original remains untouched. Also good for warranty purposes.

Thanks for recommending david, went straight to fb to chat with him and he really cleared everything up for me. Lap3 is definitely the way to go... now to stack some cash lol

It’s not an accurate comparison because the RaceChip is not intended to compete with custom programmable systems (piggyback or spare ECU). In both cases with the Lap 3 you are getting customized tunes.

The more apples to apples comparison would be Lap3 or JB4, both offer custom programmable tunes based on mods and utilize CAN data from the OBDII whereas the RaceChip is primarily intended for stock vehicles looking to maximize the existing hardware and is an analog setup.

Burger Tuning (JB4) has a lengthy track record of tuning vehicles as well and has a well established cult like following for German vehicles.

I would suggest that if that’s the route you’re going down to reach out to Burger as well. You don’t necessarily have to ask them to compare themselves to Lap3, that’s a fruitless endeavor — as each vendor is going to advocate for themselves, but you can ask if certain feature offered by Lap3 are also offered by Burger.

I would be wrong if I didn’t also mention that if you do not plan on upgrading/swapping parts, upgrading the turbo, etc. and you like the ability to quickly (i.e. within 5 mins) remove all traces of the tune/piggyback with no traces both of those options would be overkill. If you are looking for a kick in the pants while keeping everything else stockish then the RaceChip is more than adequate and self-contained to the engine bay.

There are options for everyone depending on just how far down the rabbit hole you’re willing to go. For me, the ES is my fall and winter ride. Come mid-March or early-April it’s going into storage until late-October. I do not plan on doing any upgrades to it. I just wanted something that upped the power a little while allowing me to turn it off and pull it out quickly for stealership visits. The RaceChip offers just that. I am not the only user here that has one. Both of our experiences have been positive.

Choose what will work best for your situation and the direction you plan on taking your ride. At the end of the day, I doubt you can make a “wrong” choice with any of them.

If you must go the boost chip route, AFE also has a similar setup to the Race Chip. I personally wouldn't trust either but it's your car.

aFe Scorcher has fewer map settings (4) than every RaceChip model (S - 5, RS - 6, GTS - 7).

aFe doesn’t have the ability to add the Bluetooth module to fine tune settings.

RaceChip support is pretty good and you can get individual support, I’m not sure about aFe.

I’ve used JB4 in my 335i and have a pleasant experience with them as well. I trust both as I’m sure others would say they trust their Lap3 or whatever else they use and have had good experiences with.

Don’t let people who swear by one vendor persuade you into thinking it is the only vendor capable of producing quality products. It’s good to have options.