Navigating the world of automotive performance upgrades can be exciting, but it’s crucial to discern genuine advancements from deceptive marketing. Before you consider plugging in a performance chip that promises miraculous horsepower gains and fuel efficiency improvements, especially one branded as an “Obd2 Cat” performance enhancer, it’s vital to be informed. This article dives deep into the Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Tuner, revealing why it’s crucial to approach such products with skepticism and highlighting the red flags that signal a potential scam. We’ll draw upon reverse engineering analysis and comparisons to expose the truth behind this OBD2 device and similar products flooding the market. It’s essential to understand the reality, especially in a landscape where misleading “performance chips” are rampant online.
Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip: Is It Another Scam Device?
The internet is awash with enticing advertisements for OBD2 performance chips, promising easy horsepower and fuel economy boosts with a simple plug-in device. The Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Tuner is one such product, boasting a sleek design and bold claims. However, seasoned automotive enthusiasts and those familiar with OBD2 systems might already have their doubts. Does this chip genuinely enhance your vehicle’s performance, or is it simply riding the wave of other OBD2 scam devices?
Thorton Chip Tuning, the company behind this product, presents itself as “a team of automotive enthusiasts” based in Columbus, GA, since 2008, with a mission to work with high-performance vehicles. Their “About Us” page features a photo seemingly depicting a workshop environment.
Thorton Chip Tuning About Us Page
Image alt text: Thorton Chip Tuning “About Us” page screenshot, raising questions about their tuning expertise based on the workshop photo.
However, a closer examination of this “shop” photo reveals workers focused on axles, gearboxes, and tires – tasks more aligned with general auto repair than specialized vehicle tuning. This initial observation casts a shadow of doubt on their proclaimed expertise in “vehicle tuning.”
The product itself, the Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip, is advertised on their website, thortonchiptuning.com, with visually appealing images.
Thorton Chip Tuning Website Top Speed OBDII Cat Product Photo
Image alt text: Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip product advertisement image from their website, showcasing its design and branding.
The advertisement is indeed “spiffy,” but as history has shown with similar OBD2 devices, appearances can be deceiving. A deeper look, even at the packaging and design, reveals unsettling similarities to known scam products.
Packaging and Design Echoes of Past OBD2 Scams
Comparing the Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip packaging and the device itself to previous “SuperOBD” scam chips uncovers striking resemblances.
SuperOBD Box and Install Instructions vs Thorton Performance Chip Top Speed OBDII CAT
Image alt text: Side-by-side comparison of SuperOBD scam chip packaging and instructions with Thorton Top Speed OBDII CAT, highlighting near-identical design.
The box size, cover dimensions, and even the installation instructions printed on the box bottom are nearly identical to the SuperOBD scam. Only minor alterations differentiate them. The chip itself follows the same pattern.
Comparison of Super OBD Scam Chip vs Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat
Image alt text: Visual comparison between Super OBD scam chip and Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat chip, revealing identical physical characteristics except for branding.
Despite different logos and color schemes, the Thorton chip mirrors the SUPER OBD2 and Nitro OBD chip scams in its lights, button, and overall design. This close resemblance immediately raises concerns about its true functionality.
Decoding the Performance Claims: Too Good to Be True?
Thorton Chip Tuning makes several bold claims about the Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip on their website. They assert that “after driving about 125 total road miles, our tuning chip will adjust itself to your vehicle’s engine, your driving habits and continues to remap the ECU for optimal performance and fuel consumption as you continue to drive.”
Thorton Chiptuning Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Website Claims 1
Image alt text: Screenshot of Thorton Chiptuning website claim 1, focusing on adaptive tuning and ECU remapping after 125 miles.
These claims, while sounding somewhat plausible at first glance in the realm of OBD2 tuning, should be critically examined, especially in light of the physical similarities to known scams. They further claim to be “U.S. sellers,” which might lend a veneer of credibility, but the origin of the product itself is a crucial factor to investigate.
Thorton Chiptuning Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Website Claims 2
Image alt text: Thorton Chiptuning website claim 2 highlighting their “U.S. seller” status, a common tactic to build trust.
Adding to the suspicion, they state, “The Thorton Performance Chip will fit all engine sizes and types for your make of vehicle.” This implies universal compatibility within a vehicle manufacturer’s range. However, they contradictorily add, “Be sure to select the correct Make, Model and engine of your vehicle when purchasing.”
This inconsistency raises red flags. If it’s a truly custom-programmed chip, why claim universal compatibility across all variants of a vehicle model? Conversely, if it’s universal, why require specific engine details during purchase? This apparent contradiction is a common tactic used in scam products, preying on consumer confusion.
Thorton Chiptuning Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Website Claims 3
Image alt text: Thorton Chiptuning website claim 3 focusing on universal vehicle compatibility claims alongside requests for specific vehicle details during purchase.
The most outlandish claim is the promise of “40HP gains” from this OBD2 plug-in “chip.” Such significant horsepower increases from a simple plug-and-play device, especially one resembling known scam modules, are highly improbable. Legitimate performance enhancements of this magnitude typically require professional ECU tuning, dyno testing, and often physical modifications to the engine.
Thorton Chiptuning Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Website Claims 4
Image alt text: Thorton Chiptuning website claim 4 boldly stating “Up to 40HP gains,” a highly unrealistic promise for a simple OBD2 plug-in chip.
Cost Breakdown: Different Levels, Same Suspicions
The Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip is offered in three levels on their website, each with a different price point, suggesting varying degrees of “power.”
Thorton Chiptuning Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Levels and Prices
Image alt text: Thorton Chiptuning pricing tiers for Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chips, showing different “levels” at varying prices.
However, intriguingly, all levels appear to use the same physical chip design. “Level 1” is priced at $29.95, “Level 2” at $59.95, and “Level 3” at $89.95. The dial logos representing these “levels” bear a striking resemblance to those used by another previously exposed chip scam, the Chipyourcar Thunderbolt chip.
Chipyourcar Scam Chip Levels vs Thorton Chip Levels Comparison
Image alt text: Comparison of dial designs for Chipyourcar scam chip levels and Thorton chip levels, highlighting the almost identical MPG and horsepower values.
While the dial designs have slight color and shape variations, the MPG and horsepower values are identical. This near-identical replication of claimed performance gains across different products from different vendors is highly suspicious and suggests a common, deceptive origin.
Inside the “OBD2 Cat”: A Look at the Internals
To ascertain the true nature of the Thorton Top Speed OBDII CAT Performance Chip, a physical examination was conducted. Upon disassembling the plastic casing, the internal components revealed a familiar design, reminiscent of previously analyzed scam modules.
Thorton Performance Chip Top Speed OBDII Cat Outside View
Image alt text: External view of the Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip before disassembly, showing its sealed plastic casing.
Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Disassembled Inside View
Image alt text: Internal view of the disassembled Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip, revealing the circuit board and components.
A detailed comparison with known NitroOBD clones confirmed the suspicion: the circuit board is essentially another iteration of the NitroOBD design, with rearranged components and altered LED colors.
SUPERobd NitroOBS Scam Chip Circuit Board vs Thorton Top Speed OBDII CAT Performance Chip Comparison
Image alt text: Side-by-side circuit board comparison of SUPERobd NitroOBS scam chip and Thorton Top Speed OBDII CAT, demonstrating near-identical component layout.
All components are identical between the modules, merely repositioned with some LED color changes. It utilizes the PIC16F59 microprocessor, previously identified in NitroOBD scams, which lacks the memory capacity to store genuine vehicle engine maps required for real performance tuning.
The reason for this striking similarity becomes clear when examining online marketplaces like Aliexpress.
OBDIICAT Scam Chip on Aliexpress
Image alt text: Aliexpress listing of an OBDIICAT scam chip, showcasing the same design as the Thorton and Nitro OBD modules and its low wholesale price.
The Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat chip, identical to the listing shown above, originates from China and is available for around $4.32 per unit. Shockingly, Thorton Chip Tuning even uses the same product photos from this Aliexpress supplier on their own website!
Further down the Aliexpress listing, the supplier explicitly compares the Thorton Top Speed OBDII Chip to the original NitroOBD Yellow scam chip.
Aliexpress Thorton Top Speed OBDII Chip vs NitroOBD Comparison
Image alt text: Aliexpress comparison image directly comparing the Thorton Top Speed OBDII chip with the NitroOBD chip, acknowledging their shared origin.
The Chinese supplier openly admits the product’s lineage, effectively confirming that the Thorton chip is a rebranded version of the NitroOBD scam. The listing further claims compatibility with both gasoline and diesel vehicles, reinforcing the suspicion that it’s a universal, ineffective device.
Aliexpress Thorton Top Speed OBDII Chip Comparison to Nitro OBD Diesel and Benzine
Image alt text: Aliexpress product description highlighting compatibility with both gasoline (Benzine) and diesel vehicles, a hallmark of OBD2 scam chips.
Real-World Testing and Blink Analysis: Confirming the Scam
To validate the findings, real-world testing and a blink test were conducted. The Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip was installed in a vehicle and driven for the advertised 125 miles. No discernible difference in fuel economy, performance, or vehicle behavior was observed. This lack of any noticeable improvement, even without dyno testing, aligns with the expectation that the device is non-functional.
To further confirm the identical programming to NitroOBD scams, a blink test was performed. Both the Thorton chip and a NitroOBD module were connected to a 12V power supply, and their LED blink patterns were observed.
SuperOBD Scam Chip vs Thorton Performance Chip Blink Bench Test
Image alt text: Bench test comparison of SuperOBD scam chip and Thorton Performance Chip LED blink patterns, visually demonstrating identical blink rates.
The blink rates were exactly the same, confirming identical programming and reinforcing the conclusion that the Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip is simply a rebranded NitroOBD scam with different colored lights. The blink test video further substantiates this finding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9atyTLr5KU
Expanding the Deception: Thorton Superchargers
The individuals behind the Thorton Performance Chip scam appear to have expanded their operations with another website, thortonsuperchargers.com. This new site uses identical logos and graphics but lists an address in Tacoma, Washington (a UPS store) instead of Georgia. It promotes not only the performance chip but also an air supercharger turbine and other accessories.
Thorton Superchargers Nitro OBD Scam Page
Image alt text: Thorton Superchargers website screenshot openly advertising the “NITRO PERFORMANCE CHIP,” further linking it to the original scam.
Notably, they openly admit on this new website that their performance chip is named “NITRO PERFORMANCE CHIP,” the same name as the original NitroOBD scam. They also describe it as “an inexpensive, universal solution,” contradicting any claims of custom programming. Thorton Superchargers has received a “D” rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Thorton Superchargers BBB Complaints
Image alt text: Thorton Superchargers BBB rating screenshot showing a “D” rating and customer complaints regarding refunds and product quality.
Customer complaints on the BBB cite issues with refunds, short wires, and missing parts, further indicating questionable business practices. A comparison of the “About Us” pages of both websites reveals nearly identical content, solidifying their connection.
Thorton Performance Chip Website vs Thorton Superchargers Website Comparison
Image alt text: Side-by-side comparison of “About Us” sections from Thorton Performance Chip and Thorton Superchargers websites, showcasing identical text and design elements.
Conclusion: Steer Clear of the OBD2 Cat Scam
The evidence overwhelmingly indicates that the Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip is yet another iteration of the NitroOBD light-blinking scam. Its resemblance to previous scams, inconsistent claims, internal components, Aliexpress origin, lack of real-world performance gains, and identical blink patterns all point to a deceptive product. Avoid wasting your money on this “chip.” You’d be better off investing in a bag of potato chips!
If, despite this comprehensive analysis, you’re still considering purchasing this product, consider this final thought:
