Vertex Performance Chip Review
Modern cars can run so well because electronic chips control them. Each sensor is connected to a car’s ECU, preprogrammed to read each car’s operation and signal an appropriate response.
A performance chip alters the ECU’s behavior, which may increase engine and car performance.
Is this true for the Vertex chip?
Find out by reading my honest Vertex performance chip review.
What Is the Vertex Performance Chip?
The Vertex performance chip is a small electronic product made from a plastic body encasing a circuit board with a microchip.
It has two wires coming out of the plastic body, wrapped in a mesh cover and heat shrink tape on the ends. The device mounts inside the engine compartment and is wired to the air intake and temperature sensor.
What does it do, according to the manufacturer?
According to the manufacturer, the Vertex performance chip will boost your car’s performance by providing:
- An increase of up to 35 horsepower
- An increase of up to 40 foot-pounds of torque
- An increase of up to 9 miles per gallon
And these are only the technical things. The manufacturer also claims the Vertex chip will improve your car’s passing and climbing ability, towing ability, acceleration, and throttle response.
The manufacturer also guarantees a lifetime replacement warranty and a 100% money-back guarantee.
All of this sounded too good to be true, so I decided to research the Vertex performance chip to see if it met expectations.
My Research of the Vertex Performance Chip
My initial research of this device led me to several users who were dissatisfied with it. Here’s what I found out about it based on their experience.
Installing and trying the device out
According to these users, the device’s casing was of good quality. One of them installed the device in a 2008 Ford F-150 truck, and tested it for two weeks. The manual claimed that the chip needed to adjust to the car’s ECU.
After driving for many miles, the device had absolutely no effect on the engine performance or fuel economy. The truck performed the same with and without the chip installed.
Disassembling the device
Some users proceeded to remove and disassemble the device to see what was on the inside.
They weren’t too surprised to find the inside of the device had a circuit board with only one microchip soldered to it. The wires weren’t soldered to the board but hot-glued to it.
Other People’s Experiences With the Vertex Chip
After reading and researching these experiences, I decided to explore further online and investigate if others had a similar experience. Naturally, the first that I decided to find answers online was YouTube.
It didn’t come as a surprise to me when I found several videos where people were talking about the same thing that happened to me with the Vertex chip.
Here’s a video of Jeremy dissembling the device and finding out that the wires aren’t soldered to anything.
The same is true in this video, where a man disassembles a slightly different model of the Vertex performance chip only to find a simple circuit board with poorly soldered parts inside.
People on forums have also expressed their disappointment and dissatisfaction with the Vertex performance chip.
In this one, Chris discusses the only way to get a good tune is to use the HP Tuners from MPVI2.
In this post on Reddit, someone named UnlinealHand says that devices such as the Vertex chip are usually simple resistors that trick the ECU signals and are not a safe way of improving a car’s performance.
Someone named BartMaster1234 in this forum argues that the real way to improve a car’s performance is to install a turbo or a supercharger and that performance chips are scams.
Final Thoughts
While you may think that the Vertex chip will provide your car with an affordable performance boost, that is not the case, as you can see from my Vertex performance chip review.
Instead of spending money on this device, you would be better off purchasing a turbo or supercharger if your vehicle supports it.
If you still want to buy a performance chip, make sure it is high-quality like the HP Tuner MPVI3. Descent quality performance chips may cost $300-500.
