The internet is awash with promises of easy horsepower gains and improved fuel economy through simple plug-in Obd2 Chip Tuning Boxes. If you’ve encountered the SuperOBD2 Performance Chip, you might be tempted by its claims. However, before you spend your money, it’s crucial to understand what these devices truly are. As automotive repair experts at obd-de.com, we’ve investigated the SuperOBD2 and similar devices to bring you the truth.
This investigation is inspired by the detailed reverse engineering work done by quarkslab on the notorious Nitro OBD2 scam chip. Their findings, available here: https://blog.quarkslab.com/reverse-engineering-of-the-nitro-obd2.html, shed light on the deceptive nature of these products. The Nitro OBD2 scam has been rampant for years, spawning numerous imitations under different names and colors. We decided to analyze the SuperOBD performance chip to reveal its inner workings and determine if it’s just another iteration of this scam. To fully grasp the context, we highly recommend reading the quarkslab article first to understand the foundation of these OBD2 scam devices.
Numerous videos on YouTube further expose the Nitro-OBD light flasher scam and its various clones, providing visual evidence and user experiences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgXwfBTKLGU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-l9ohTjvkw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdoIjt2mMEQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OIO1tJPEy8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1OmGDE1FLA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytwlDVaFbec. These videos collectively demonstrate the widespread nature of the OBD2 performance chip scam.
Our focus here is on reverse engineering and analyzing the “SuperOBD2 Tuning Chip” to determine if it lives up to its performance enhancement claims or if it’s simply another deceptive device preying on car enthusiasts.
SuperOBD2 Claims: Too Good To Be True?
The Amazon product page for the SuperOBD2 Tuning Chip boldly proclaims: “Super OBD2 is a Plug & Drive Ready device to function the increasing the performance of engine. Super OBD2 is easy to install. Just plug it into the OBD2 connector of cars. Super OBD2 fits all car from the year of 1996. It works based OBD2 protocols as remapping the Car’s computer ECU. After driving 200 km road total, Super OBD2 adjusts itself to the car, according to the drivers’ habits and always keeps remapping the ECU to increase the performance of engine. What does Super OBD2 make? According to your driving habits, Super OBD2 makes new map in the car’s computer ECU to increase the performance of your car. As you driving much more KM/Mile, it renews the map.”
These claims immediately raise red flags for anyone familiar with legitimate vehicle tuning. The idea that a single device can “fit all cars from 1996 onwards” and automatically remap the ECU for performance gains is highly suspect. Genuine ECU tuning requires specific calibrations tailored to each vehicle’s make, model, and engine. A universal solution that works for everything is rarely, if ever, effective.
Amazon product listing for SuperOBD2 chip tuning box, highlighting its advertised features and claims of universal compatibility and ECU remapping.
The Price Discrepancy: A Sign of Cheap Imitation
On Amazon, the SuperOBD2 Tuning Chip is priced around $35.94. However, a quick search on AliExpress, a marketplace known for direct-from-manufacturer Chinese goods, reveals a drastically lower price of just $1.97.
AliExpress product page showcasing the Super OBD tuning box at a significantly lower price, indicating its likely origin and low manufacturing cost.
This massive price difference immediately suggests that the SuperOBD2 is mass-produced at a very low cost in China, similar to the infamous Nitro OBD scam chips. The AliExpress listing even mentions “Nitro OBD” in the title, further strengthening the suspicion that the SuperOBD Box is closely related to, if not a direct copy of, the Nitro OBD scam.
Packaging and Installation: Déjà Vu with Nitro OBD2
The packaging of the SuperOBD chiptuning box provides further clues. It comes in a simple paper box with installation steps printed on the back.
SuperOBD box and installation instructions, revealing a simplistic and generic approach to vehicle tuning.
Take a close look at these installation steps. Now, compare them to the installation steps of the original NitroOBD tuning chip scam.
Nitro OBD2 scam installation steps, demonstrating near-identical instructions to SuperOBD, reinforcing the connection between the two products.
The installation steps are almost IDENTICAL. This striking similarity in packaging and instructions strongly suggests that the SuperOBD is not an independent product but rather a rebranded version of the Nitro OBD2 scam. “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…,” it’s highly likely to be a duck.
Internal Circuit Board Analysis: Identical Scam Components
To delve deeper, we acquired a SuperOBD2 OBDII Chiptuning box and disassembled its plastic casing. What we found inside was strikingly familiar: the internal circuit board was virtually identical to that of the verified Nitro OBD chiptuning scam.
Here’s a look at the circuit board of the verified Nitro OBD scam chip, courtesy of manocao from mhhauto.com: https://mhhauto.com/Thread-EcoOBD2-and-nitroOBD2-Good-or-Bad?page=2.
Circuit board analysis of Nitro OBD, revealing basic components and lack of genuine tuning capabilities.
And here is the circuit board from the SUPER OBD2 Tuning Box we examined – the resemblance is undeniable:
Bottom view of the SUPER OBD2 circuit board, showing an identical layout and components to the Nitro OBD board.
Internal analysis of the Super OBDII OBD2 chiptuning box PCB circuit board, highlighting the use of minimal components.
Both circuit boards feature three surface mount LEDs, a diode (ostensibly for “circuit protection”), and a 5V surface-mounted voltage regulator. Most disturbingly, both utilize the PIC16F59 microcontroller chip, a component frequently mentioned in videos exposing the Nitro OBD tuning box scam. This PIC16F59 microprocessor, manufactured by Microchip, a US company, has a minuscule memory size of only 3KB.
PIC16F59 product specifications, emphasizing its limited 3KB memory capacity, insufficient for storing vehicle ECU maps.
This memory capacity is far too small to hold the complex vehicle map data required for genuine ECU remapping. Legitimate vehicle maps typically range from 512KB upwards, depending on the vehicle’s complexity: https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/69265/ecu-tune-file-formats.
While incapable of storing vehicle map data, the PIC16F59’s memory is perfectly adequate for a simple light flashing routine. This aligns perfectly with the proven functionality of the NITRO OBD as nothing more than a light flasher. The evidence strongly indicates that the SUPER OBD2 OBDII Chiptuning Box is simply another iteration of the NITRO OBD light flasher scam, perhaps with the addition of a reset button for added (but meaningless) functionality. The manufacturer even subtly compares the SuperOBD to its predecessor, the Nitro OBD Tuning box, in their marketing materials.
AliExpress product comparison highlighting the “reset button” as a supposed upgrade from the Nitro OBD, further cementing their connection.
Real-World Testing: No Performance Improvement
To further validate our analysis, we connected the Super OBDII Box to a vehicle and drove it for approximately three weeks, conducting multiple fuel fill-ups. Our observations? Absolutely no discernible difference in fuel economy, performance, or any other aspect of vehicle behavior. This real-world test reinforces the conclusion that the SuperOBD2 has no actual effect on the vehicle’s engine management system.
LED Blink Test: Confirming the Scam
To definitively confirm that the programming within the SuperOBD2 microprocessor is identical to the Nitro OBD scam, we conducted a bench test. We connected both modules to a 12V power supply and observed the blink intervals of their LEDs.
Blink test comparison of Nitro OBD (left) and SuperOBD (right), demonstrating identical LED blinking patterns.
The result, as shown in this video: https://youtu.be/NzdWdQw2UpQ, was conclusive. Both the Nitro OBD tuning scam and the SUPER OBD2 Tuning Box blinked at EXACTLY the same intervals. Identical circuit board components, identical blinking patterns – the evidence is overwhelming. It’s the same scam, repackaged.
Conclusion: SuperOBD2 – Just Another OBD2 Scam
Our comprehensive research and testing lead us to a firm conclusion: the SUPER OBDII OBD2 Chiptuning Box is unequivocally another Nitro OBD scam. It’s a fancy light blinker, marketed as a performance tuner, but utterly devoid of any real tuning capability.
Don’t be fooled by the promises of cheap horsepower and fuel savings. Investing your hard-earned money in this “expensive light show” is simply throwing it away.
Different circuit board versions of this scam exist, as shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB810U7j77k, but the underlying deception remains the same.
If, after reviewing all this evidence, you are still considering purchasing this product, we can only offer this response:
