2.5L tuning options and performance

[Volfy]

The JB4 Performance Tune will NOT void your warranty with your dealership or with Kia, as that is not how the warranty works.

Please take a moment to read the following information on our website, which will give you a better idea.

Will Aftermarket Parts Installed Affect My Factory Warranty? - K8 Stinger Store

As much as I'd like to believe what you said, the reality is, unfortunately, more nuanced than a simple "JB4 Performance Tune will NOT void your warranty."

As you pointed out in your article, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act does prevent the dealer/manufacturer from blanket refusal of warranty because the car owner installed aftermarket part(s). However, that ONLY holds true if the dealer/manufacturer fail to demonstrate/articulate a plausible causality between the modified part(s) and the warranty claim.

If you bring your car for a warranty claim on a blown turbo charger. The dealer service sees that you have installed a device that is designed specifically to increase turbo boost pressure beyond stock mapping, they have every right to deny warranty. The increased boost pressure, which absolutely could cause higher-than-normal turbo charger RPM and/or higher-than-normal load/stress on the turbo charger - both mechanical and thermal - which in turn could cause premature turbo charger failure, beyond reasonable and customary expectation. Plausible causality is clear and present.


Now... if they try to blame your delaminated touchscreen on your JB4, that is a different story. That, they don't have much of a leg to stand on.

 

[K8 Stinger Store]

As much as I'd like to believe what you said, the reality is, unfortunately, more nuanced than a simple "JB4 Performance Tune will NOT void your warranty."

As you pointed out in your article, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act does prevent the dealer/manufacturer from blanket refusal of warranty because the car owner installed aftermarket part(s). However, that ONLY holds true if the dealer/manufacturer fail to demonstrate/articulate a plausible causality between the modified part(s) and the warranty claim.

If you bring your car for a warranty claim on a blown turbo charger. The dealer service sees that you have installed a device that is designed specifically to increase turbo boost pressure beyond stock mapping, they have every right to deny warranty. The increased boost pressure, which absolutely could cause higher-than-normal turbo charger RPM and/or higher-than-normal load/stress on the turbo charger - both mechanical and thermal - which in turn could cause premature turbo charger failure, beyond reasonable and customary expectation. Plausible causality is clear and present.


Now... if they try to blame your delaminated touchscreen on your JB4, that is a different story. That, they don't have much of a leg to stand on.

Appreciate your input, but my response wasn’t directed at you in an attempt to convince you. Whether you believe what I said is entirely up to you.

I was specifically addressing the person concerned about voiding their warranty, and that’s totally fine, we can agree to disagree. I’m the owner of this business and have been selling piggyback tunes for Kia vehicles in the Kia community for nearly 15 years.

If you bring your car in for a warranty claim, say, for a blown turbocharger, the dealer doesn’t have a way to instantly detect that you’ve installed a piggyback tune, especially if it’s been removed beforehand. Unplugging the device takes 10 minutes or less, and once it’s out, it leaves no detectable trace.

Now obviously, if you show up at the dealership with the aftermarket tuning device still plugged in, then yes, the points you're making apply. But just to clarify: it’s not your responsibility to prove you didn’t install something to protect your warranty; it’s the dealer’s (or manufacturer’s) responsibility to prove that you did. And as of now, they have no way to prove the piggyback tune was ever installed once it’s removed, making this a non-issue.

This exact topic has been debated over and over again, going all the way back to 2013 when we first started offering piggyback tunes. And like clockwork, someone always insists that the dealership can “still see it” and that it puts your warranty at risk. Nearly 15 years later, I have yet to see a single case where someone has lost their Kia warranty because of a properly removed, non-detectable plug-and-play piggyback tune.

 

[Alpinesting]

And this is why you should tread lightly. Unplug or just stay stock.

But this, hmm seems a bit shady.

Now obviously, if you show up at the dealership with the aftermarket tuning device still plugged in, then yes, the points you're making apply. But just to clarify: it’s not your responsibility to prove you didn’t install something to protect your warranty; it’s the dealer’s (or manufacturer’s) responsibility to prove that you did. And as of now, they have no way to prove the piggyback tune was ever installed once it’s removed, making this a non-issue.

Kia shit the bed with this car and now they just want nothing to do with it. They figured out obviously that owners would want to
modify these cars and as soon as that happened....they put it out to pasture. They got way out in front of their skis on this car and
didn't realize the market. Along the way they pissed off the big three. And, the KIA brand has a bad reputation (dealerships) but they
could have had winner if they had marketed the car the right way. I think I saw 2 Stinger ads on tv during the run. Water under the bridge.

 

[Volfy]

Appreciate your input, but my response wasn’t directed at you in an attempt to convince you. Whether you believe what I said is entirely up to you.

I was specifically addressing the person concerned about voiding their warranty, and that’s totally fine, we can agree to disagree. I’m the owner of this business and have been selling piggyback tunes for Kia vehicles in the Kia community for nearly 15 years.

If you bring your car in for a warranty claim, say, for a blown turbocharger, the dealer doesn’t have a way to instantly detect that you’ve installed a piggyback tune, especially if it’s been removed beforehand. Unplugging the device takes 10 minutes or less, and once it’s out, it leaves no detectable trace.

Now obviously, if you show up at the dealership with the aftermarket tuning device still plugged in, then yes, the points you're making apply. But just to clarify: it’s not your responsibility to prove you didn’t install something to protect your warranty; it’s the dealer’s (or manufacturer’s) responsibility to prove that you did. And as of now, they have no way to prove the piggyback tune was ever installed once it’s removed, making this a non-issue.

This exact topic has been debated over and over again, going all the way back to 2013 when we first started offering piggyback tunes. And like clockwork, someone always insists that the dealership can “still see it” and that it puts your warranty at risk. Nearly 15 years later, I have yet to see a single case where someone has lost their Kia warranty because of a properly removed, non-detectable plug-and-play piggyback tune.

I absolutely understand your prerogative on this issue. As a purveyor of aftermarket performance parts and accessories, you, of course, want to put the buyers' mind at ease when making purchasing decisions.

I myself am only looking at it from the POV of a car owner. I do enjoy modifying my cars to get the most enjoyment out if it. I would encourage others to do the same. That said, I also have no qualms about the legal boundaries and responsibility of a car owner/enthusiast. By modifying my own car, I am taking on risks of exceeding the manufacturer's designed limits of the vehicle. That risk is mine to bear. If you have money to mod it; you better have money to fix it. As such, I am very judicious with my own risk management.

I would NEVER encourage someone to modify a 300HP car to make 400HP, blow something up, then remove said modification, and take the car in for warranty claim. That crosses an ethical boundary that makes the manufacturer pay for the car owner's risk-taking. In the end, all of us car buyers and enthusiasts would end up paying for it.

 

[Thomby]

it’s not your responsibility to prove you didn’t install something to protect your warranty; it’s the dealer’s (or manufacturer’s) responsibility to prove that you did

While this might be the way it should be, I think it's reasonable to be a bit cautious. There may not be cases of Stingers getting denied, but there absolutely were for VWs once they started that aggressive TD1 flag for any aftermarket software.

I certainly wouldn't take my modified car into a dealership and say "you have to honor the warranty, Magnusson-Moss says so", unless I was prepared for them to tell me to take it up with corporate, and had the cash to take a multibillion dollar megacorp to trial. I think there was a lot of dealer-level discretion with VW, and I'd hate to have someone lose that option because they marched in thinking they had the law on their side...

 

[K8 Stinger Store]

I absolutely understand your prerogative on this issue. As a purveyor of aftermarket performance parts and accessories, you, of course, want to put the buyers' mind at ease when making purchasing decisions.

I myself am only looking at it from the POV of a car owner. I do enjoy modifying my cars to get the most enjoyment out if it. I would encourage others to do the same. That said, I also have no qualms about the legal boundaries and responsibility of a car owner/enthusiast. By modifying my own car, I am taking on risks of exceeding the manufacturer's designed limits of the vehicle. That risk is mine to bear. If you have money to mod it; you better have money to fix it. As such, I am very judicious with my own risk management.

I would NEVER encourage someone to modify a 300HP car to make 400HP, blow something up, then remove said modification, and take the car in for warranty claim. That crosses an ethical boundary that makes the manufacturer pay for the car owner's risk-taking. In the end, all of us car buyers and enthusiasts would end up paying for it.

Thank you for your response.

While I understand that concern, I want to clarify that I’m not just here to promote parts as a seller of aftermarket performance products, I speak from personal experience. I’m a Stinger owner as well, with a 2019 GT1 here in California, and we’ve been running the JB4 on our own vehicle for quite some time.

To be transparent, there is no widespread issue of people “blowing something up” from installing a JB4 on a 365hp Stinger. In our nearly 15 years of selling Kia performance parts, that concern has consistently proven to be unfounded. The JB4 has a strong reputation for reliability and performance.

I also want to clear up a misunderstanding from my previous message. I would never suggest someone modify their 300hp car to 400hp, damage a component, and then remove the tune to sidestep responsibility. That’s not at all what I was implying.

My point was simply this: if a turbo or another part fails for reasons unrelated to the tune, you’re not automatically stripped of your warranty. In such cases, removing the aftermarket tuning device before going in for service helps avoid confusion or unnecessary pushback from the dealership, nothing more, nothing less.

At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own approach. I’m just here to provide factual information, especially when it comes to the fear and misconceptions surrounding warranty concerns and tuning. If the issue isn’t related to the tune, your warranty shouldn’t be at risk, and with a product as proven as the JB4, that’s not a concern.

 

[KillerBee_The_$tingerr]

I just bought my ‘22 GT line a month ago, just haven’t been able to afford mods yet. But good god I LOVE this car!!!! Like many people I wanted the 3.3 twin turbo, but my issue was not being able to even locate one close to Oregon. At first, I thought I would be disappointed with the 2.5 L, but I have been pleasantly surprised with how much I love this thing. It’s fast AF.

Same, couldn’t find that 3.3TT gt1 or gt2 so opted for the 22 Gt-Line. Would have loved to have that extra hp/tq but last few months been falling in love with my Gt-Line.

 

[G-494065]

Is there ever gonna be a better tune for the 2.5L??? I am one of the few to have actually modified this car to its max potential and all I need is just a better tune if any tuners are watching… PLEASE make a tune! People will buy them! People like this car cause it’s unique and they’ll get into it for the same reasons. Especially with the other vehicles that has the engine.

 

[AWDGT2]

Its th

Is there ever gonna be a better tune for the 2.5L??? I am one of the few to have actually modified this car to its max potential and all I need is just a better tune if any tuners are watching… PLEASE make a tune! People will buy them! People like this car cause it’s unique and they’ll get into it for the same reasons. Especially with the other vehicles that has the engine.

It's the encryption that's keeping it back

 

[howardsgarage]

Is there ever gonna be a better tune for the 2.5L??? I am one of the few to have actually modified this car to its max potential and all I need is just a better tune if any tuners are watching… PLEASE make a tune! People will buy them! People like this car cause it’s unique and they’ll get into it for the same reasons. Especially with the other vehicles that has the engine.

Your wish may have been granted - a tuning shop in Fort Smith claims to now have an OBD port solution to tune the Stinger even with the encryption intact. It works on stock vehicles by somehow altering temporary memory while leaving permanent memory intact, bypassing the encryption mechanism altogether. This may be a groundbreaking solution if it works:

protuningusa.com/product/2018-2025-kia-stinger-stage-3-performance-race-tuner-chip-power-tuning-programmer-t2/

 

[NYBIOMED]

Your wish may have been granted - a tuning shop in Fort Smith claims to now have an OBD port solution to tune the Stinger even with the encryption intact. It works on stock vehicles by somehow altering temporary memory while leaving permanent memory intact, bypassing the encryption mechanism altogether. This may be a groundbreaking solution if it works:

protuningusa.com/product/2018-2025-kia-stinger-stage-3-performance-race-tuner-chip-power-tuning-programmer-t2/

You mean, like a JB4....but likely worse...

 

[socalvn]

Can you put it on the dyno and just have it tuned

 

[AWDGT2]

Your wish may have been granted - a tuning shop in Fort Smith claims to now have an OBD port solution to tune the Stinger even with the encryption intact. It works on stock vehicles by somehow altering temporary memory while leaving permanent memory intact, bypassing the encryption mechanism altogether. This may be a groundbreaking solution if it works:

protuningusa.com/product/2018-2025-kia-stinger-stage-3-performance-race-tuner-chip-power-tuning-programmer-t2/

It's a cheap version of the JB, just a piggy back. It does not address timing, torque limits, or fueling.