What it really comes down to is that OUR BETTERS don’t want us little people hot rodding our cars by reprogramming the chips. That is the real hot rod scene right now, from the guys “coal rolling” their pickups to the hot hatchback guys and their superfast turbocharged GTIs, WRXs and Acuras.
My gearhead friends talk about this often!
One has a Dodge Viper that he purchased used, it had been ‘chipped’. He sweats bullets about the state EPA test; so far,OK.