What's better: Keydriver chip, or dsm link?

[BlitZ-Carn]

Keydriver chip, or dsm link?? I'm very new to this dsm tuning tool, so not sure if I should keep it.. and another thing, what does MAF stand for?

[93_tsi_fwd]

DSM link is the best.

MAF = MASS AIR FLOW

[eclipseGSTud]

If you can afford it get DSMlink. You'll be able to tune your car and make fine adjustments. You can't tune your car using keydriver. If you want to make changes to the current keydriver chip you'll have to pay $20 each time to get a replacement chip with the new settings.

[kahl23]

DSMLink is a better tuning tool but more labor intensive. If you plan on running race gas, e85, meth, or being in any situation where you would want to change your tune on a regular basis DSMLink is hands down the best thing short of a full standalone. That being said, if all you want is a plug and play tune that is fairly safe, but may leave some performance on the table as it isn't exactly fine tuned for your car, and requires minimal effort on your part to get it done, then Keydriver is something to look at. I run DSMLink and love it.

[Twistaye]

+1 to DSMLink if you want full control, but keyDIVER is also a very good choice. He knows what he's doing when he burns your chip, he'll take into consideration everything you have on your car when he burns your chip so it is a fairly safe investment. I'd vote dsmlink but keydiver is a very good choice for those that can't afford DSMLink.

[GUTSI]

Hands down, AEM EMS....second to that, DSMLink.
It all honestly depends on what your future goals are with the car. Do you plan to make more power than stock? And how much more? i.e Bigger turbo? If so, than bigger injectors, pump etc...
Still gonna use stock MAF? Or maybe blow-thru? Maybe neither?
Engine rebuild perhaps? That yeilds changes to compression. How about cams? Big frontmount. Sheet metal intake manifold? Pump gas or race gas? Etc...etc...

Bottom line is this: the money your gonna spend on this chip (depending what stage you need, and the fact that you MUST have a socketed ECU) PLUS the money for an AFC (### lets face it, once you turn up the boost and add fuel, there's no chip out there that can accurately compensate for changes in air/fuel. OR make changes to timing when your powerband changes)
Everytime you make a minor change in your setup (say for example, you now have a better intercooler, so you turn up the boost couple psi), you have to have a new chip "reburned" for you....
If you do the math, in the end you've spent (and will continue spending) more than what DSMLink costs for example.

I didnt check your profile to see what mods you have, but honestly, the safest route to go right now is try to make as much power as you can with bolt ons....even ending with a bigger turbo.
When you've realized those mods, and its time for bigger injectors, THEN, think about ECU control i.e whether its standalone, DSMLink, SuperAFC....

If you serious power goals you'd like to reach, the keydivers is gonna be a waste of time and money...

...like the old adage says: 'do it once, do it right'

[1992awdlaser]

Is there even a question here? Dsmlink without a doubt.

Dsmlink

Pros:

Tons of support from dsmlink members on a private forum
Antilag
Nitrous control
Ability to have multiple tunes
Ability to tune the car right after you put a different part on
Ability to do various diagnostics
Ability to have a safe tune no matter what your mods unlike relying on a mailorder tune of a chip
Do you want me to keep going?

Con:

Costs more but is well worth it. Could end up being less depending on how many times you would have to change chip settings.

Every pro I listed is a con for a chip because they can't do them.

[TunaTalon]

Dsmlink and DSMchips are not competitors. All of the posters here who say that Dsmlink is a better tuning tool are right because DSMchips is not a tuning tool.

DSMchips is a plug and play ECU that works as well as the OEM ECU with the injectors of your choice and a few improvements. Dsmlink is a full featured tuning tool that lets the owner have fine control of the tuning parameters.

If you want a street car and are not interested in do-it-yourself tuning with the risk of damaging your engine coming with the extra HP then go DSMchips.

If you are after every last bit of power then consider AEM EMS or Dsmlink.

Jeff has the subject well covered at KEYDIVER Chips vs DSMLink.

[1gDSM4g63]

Keydiver is a simple tuning tool. Everyone with a little bit of common can tune on a Keydiver chips with a SAFC and wideband. However, DSMLink comes to a whole new level of advance tuning. If tuned properly it unleashes more power than the Keydiver and can work with your upgrades later on but you need to know how to tuning or find somebody that knows how.

[BlitZ-Carn]

Thanks to everyone again.. Well my mods are VERY basic, I'm guessing I probably only got 250 hp.. and like 240 tq.. who knows, never did a dyno..

16G Turbo, 2.5" turboback exhaust, manual boost controller, K&N Cold Air Intake..

I wanna get an intercooler, was suggested to get 750cc injectors, warlboro 255 fuel pump, 02 housing, then do the dsm link.. so looks like a lil bit of wallet rapage.. but I love my car! Thanks for the answers guys.

[v8s_are_slow]

How much do you know about tuning? That's the biggest thing. Even if you get a Keydiver chip, you still need to know what it is that you want on it. You can't just go and say you want a 10k rev limit on it. Have to know what you want or need. If you use Dsmlink, you're gonna need a laptop for tuning and need to know how to set it up. If you use Keydiver, you still need something for datalogging.

If you're not real familiar with tuning, you may wanna stick with a Keydiver chip and just let him know what your setup is and what you'd like to do and he can burn the chip to your needs. For example, he can set the chip to compensate for the injectors you have, maybe bump the rev limit a tad if needed. Then you can use an S-Afc for tuning the fuel, or some other simple tuning device along with the Keydiver chip to simplify your tuning.

Personally, I want a Dsmlink but right now I only have a Maft, wideband, and a Keydiver chip. I've ran a 7.797 in the 1/8th with only a wideband and a maft for tuning so yes, you can go fast on simple basic tuning devices. Then get something more indepth when you understand tuning more (if you're not already at that point).

[1gDSM4g63]

Originally Posted by v8s_are_slow

Personally, I want a Dsmlink but right now I only have a Maft, wideband, and a Keydiver chip. I've ran a 7.797 in the 1/8th with only a wideband and a maft for tuning so yes, you can go fast on simple basic tuning devices. Then get something more indepth when you understand tuning more (if you're not already at that point).

Yeah, I agreed. It really depends on how far your putting into your car. If you're not going to do any major mods, like built engine, big turbo, etc... you would really get much out of a DSMLink vs. KeyDiver.

[clockworktoy]

Im leaning more towards dsmchip just because its more affordable in my current financial situation.

[1992awdlaser]

Just for the record myself and many others knew nothing about tuning before getting dsmlink. I am fine with it. With the dsmlink forums and the tuning guide they have you can't go wrong.

[v8s_are_slow]

Originally Posted by 1992awdlaser

Just for the record myself and many others knew nothing about tuning before getting dsmlink. I am fine with it. With the dsmlink forums and the tuning guide they have you can't go wrong.

Yeah, I haven't used it yet but it really looks pretty simple. You just can't get stupid with it and some of the sliders like for timing, etc. Kinda like people I know who crank the boost as high as they can cause it makes their car go faster without having a clue what it's doing to their motors. Really, after you spend money on a logger, dsmchip, and whatever else you plan on using for tuning, you could just about be paying for a dsmlink that you may end up getting anyway on down the road. But of course it helps to have a laptop with dsmlink, and if you decide to go the simple route of dsmchip, logger, etc., you can turn around and sell it later down the road to get dsmlink when you're ready for it.

Just my 2 cents. Personally, I want Dsmlink because I can make all the changes I need without having to get another chip burned. Only thing I'd hate is having to drive around with a laptop. I hate tuning on laptops while driving.

[BlitZ-Carn]

Okay, Well first off, looks like I gotta take out my ecu chip, and send it to dsmlink, they wanna socket it, what could be bad about getting big fuel injectors? run rich? im so new to this it amazes me, anyways...

I'm curious on getting an FMIC..
and why my side mounted intercooler is covered in hard plastic..

so if dsmlink isnt too complicated to use, I might try that.. 550 bucks isnt too bad..
I think once I get a fmic, fuel pump, 02 housing, dsmlink, injectors, ill stop modding and enjoy the car for what it is, till I gotta rebuild the engine..

[playitlouddsm]

There is no downside to getting bigger fuel injectors, as long as you have a way to tune them. Dsmlink is not hard to work with at all. As long as you can read the manual and can ask questions on the forums, you won't have a problem getting the car running good. Everyone on the link forums are very helpful.

[playitlouddsm]

Oh and the part where you said you will stop modding until you rebuild your motor.....it won't happen, it's hard to stop modding once you start.

[Bones420]

Originally Posted by playitlouddsm

Oh and the part where you said you will stop modding until you rebuild your motor.....it won't happen, it's hard to stop modding once you start.

You hit the nail on the head on that comment...

[1992awdlaser]

Originally Posted by BlitZ-Carn

Okay, Well first off, looks like I gotta take out my ecu chip, and send it to dsmlink, they wanna socket it, what could be bad about getting big fuel injectors? run rich? im so new to this it amazes me, anyways...

I'm curious on getting an FMIC..
and why my side mounted intercooler is covered in hard plastic..

so if dsmlink isnt too complicated to use, I might try that.. 550 bucks isnt too bad..
I think once I get a fmic, fuel pump, 02 housing, dsmlink, injectors, ill stop modding and enjoy the car for what it is, till I gotta rebuild the engine..

You just send the whole ecu to them. You could find somebody local to do this to make down time minimal.

With Dsmlink there is no downside to having big injectors. The only ones that have a downside are 1600's because some times they don't idle as good as others. I have only seen that a couple times with dsmlink though. You won't run rich since you will have dsmlink to adjust for them.

With Dsmlink forums some people pretty much have their car tuned over the internet. They will post a log and are told to do something. They do it and post another log until the car is tuned. I reccomend doing as much as you can yourself though so you don't have to rely on other people.