# Chipped Atlas?



## callibrator (Mar 3, 2010)

Greetings all,

I have a 19 Atlas SELPREM V6 and was wondering if anyone has chipped theirs for better MPGs.?
Thornton Chips claims they can get you an additional 5mpg on the V6- is it worth the $90 price tag?

any insight would be greatly appreciated.


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## chompa1422 (Sep 16, 2013)

callibrator said:


> Greetings all,
> 
> I have a 19 Atlas SELPREM V6 and was wondering if anyone has chipped theirs for better MPGs.?
> Thornton Chips claims they can get you an additional 5mpg on the V6- is it worth the $90 price tag?
> ...


There's no real ECU tune right now 

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## Alpinweiss2 (Jan 9, 2017)

A 5 mpg increase is a lot for a 3.6 VR6 Atlas. Considering the EPA rating is about 16 to 20 mpg for these vehicles, they are claiming an increase of about 25 to 30% from a chip. I consider myself to be skeptical of this claim.

On a more general note, the tuning companies have not been able to squeeze a lot of additional performance or mileage from the 3.6 VR6 via electronic means. Apparently it is mostly optimized from the factory. The 2.0T engine seems to be more upgradable electronically.

🍺


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## mtbsteve (Dec 6, 2011)

callibrator said:


> Greetings all,
> 
> I have a 19 Atlas SELPREM V6 and was wondering if anyone has chipped theirs for better MPGs.?
> Thornton Chips claims they can get you an additional 5mpg on the V6- is it worth the $90 price tag?
> ...


LOL, a good laugh to start the work day. They offer 3 stages. Stage 1 20hp, 1 mpg gain, Stage 2 40hp, 3 mpg gain and Stage 3 60hp 5 mpg gain - for nearly every car/engine ever made. All by plugging into your OBD2 port. 
Still looking for the April Fools disclaimer.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

mtbsteve said:


> LOL, a good laugh to start the work day. They offer 3 stages. Stage 1 20hp, 1 mpg gain, Stage 2 40hp, 3 mpg gain and Stage 3 60hp 5 mpg gain - for nearly every car/engine ever made. All by plugging into your OBD2 port.
> Still looking for the April Fools disclaimer.








Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Tuner Review / Teardown – PerformanceChipGuide







www.performancechipguide.com


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## Alpinweiss2 (Jan 9, 2017)

> Thorton Top Speed OBDII Cat Performance Chip Tuner Review / Teardown – PerformanceChipGuide
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for the link. It appears the ghost of P. T. Barnum is still with us.  

🍺


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## skydaman (Dec 16, 2005)

Alpinweiss2 said:


> A 5 mpg increase is a lot for a 3.6 VR6 Atlas. Considering the EPA rating is about 16 to 20 mpg for these vehicles, they are claiming an increase of about 25 to 30% from a chip. I consider myself to be skeptical of this claim.
> 
> On a more general note, the tuning companies have not been able to squeeze a lot of additional performance or mileage from the 3.6 VR6 via electronic means. Apparently it is mostly optimized from the factory. The 2.0T engine seems to be more upgradable electronically.
> 
> 🍺


5MPG gain is pretty easy on the VR6, add an intake and exhaust and you can easily get 25-27MPG highway. I haven't seen any tuning companies even try to maximize a tune for the Atlas.


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## joninotown (Aug 8, 2021)

skydaman said:


> 5MPG gain is pretty easy on the VR6, add an intake and exhaust and you can easily get 25-27MPG highway. I haven't seen any tuning companies even try to maximize a tune for the Atlas.


What exhaust is available for atlas?


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## chompa1422 (Sep 16, 2013)

joninotown said:


> What exhaust is available for atlas?


Start a new thread bro 

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## skydaman (Dec 16, 2005)

joninotown said:


> What exhaust is available for atlas?


The resonator delete pipe from ECS is a start for fairly cheap $125 if I recall. For the rear section I made versions of my own from no muffler to dual mufflers, or you can gut the center out of the stock muffler, I think AFE makes a catback, lots of options. There's a thread here with various exhaust setups.


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## m1k3d3 (Feb 2, 2017)

skydaman said:


> 5MPG gain is pretty easy on the VR6, add an intake and exhaust and you can easily get 25-27MPG highway. I haven't seen any tuning companies even try to maximize a tune for the Atlas.


In what world is adding an intake and a resonator delete netting you 5 MPG gain? 

Don't you think VW would've done that on their own if it were easy that easy to improve fuel efficiency by 25%? gtfo


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## skydaman (Dec 16, 2005)

m1k3d3 said:


> In what world is adding an intake and a resonator delete netting you 5 MPG gain?
> 
> Don't you think VW would've done that on their own if it were easy that easy to improve fuel efficiency by 25%? gtfo


Well I just took a 900 mile road trip and got over 27mpg, Ive got closer to 30 without being loaded down.

Maybe lighten up on the gtfo when facts have already been presented here. Many vr6 owners have reported higher than stock mpg after minimal mods.


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## joninotown (Aug 8, 2021)

skydaman said:


> Well I just took a 900 mile road trip and got over 27mpg, Ive got closer to 30 without being loaded down.
> 
> Maybe lighten up on the gtfo when facts have already been presented here. Many vr6 owners have reported higher than stock mpg after minimal mods.


I bought my sel premium in August and the best I got 20.5 I would like to get 25 or better…


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## callibrator (Mar 3, 2010)

Thanks for all the responses - 
The SEL is just a heavy beast of which I seem to only be able to squeeze out 13-14mpg in the city. Some have said it’s not broken in yet (20k) once they hit 25/30k you should see it improve.
Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.


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## joninotown (Aug 8, 2021)

callibrator said:


> Thanks for all the responses -
> The SEL is just a heavy beast of which I seem to only be able to squeeze out 13-14mpg in the city. Some have said it’s not broken in yet (20k) once they hit 25/30k you should see it improve.
> Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.


Well I’m at 40,000 and have not seen that ….


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

callibrator said:


> Thanks for all the responses -
> The SEL is just a heavy beast of which I seem to only be able to squeeze out 13-14mpg in the city. Some have said it’s not broken in yet (20k) once they hit 25/30k you should see it improve.
> Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.


That's just a ridiculous claim. Don't believe it.


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## mtbsteve (Dec 6, 2011)

speed51133! said:


> That's just a ridiculous claim. Don't believe it.


I second this. Break in happens over time but thinking you are going to see any meaningful mileage improvements suddenly happen after 20k miles is nuts. 

The Atlas, just like any other SUV of its size and power, is going to be relatively thirsty. I rarely take it to work since it is my wife's car but I did today and I eked out 20.1 mpgs, mostly highway but at a fairly high speed and it was hovering +/- a few degrees around freezing this AM. For her, with her old commute it could be a 30-45 minute drive to go 7-8 miles depending on which office she was going into and I would easily expect to see mid to low teens for mpgs, just like the Buick Enclave she drove before this in similar conditions. To think you are going to see much better than mid to low teens in similar driving is unrealistic in most cars, especially similar sized/powered vehicles. Even just around town driving, if never fully warmed up or even if it does get fully warm, stop and go will eat mileage alive. All of which is true for any car, except less so in a hybrid or more likely a PHEV or full EV.

As for chip/air intake/exhaust mods that are available, there is plenty of butt dyno evidence in these forums and your potential power and mileage increase will vary, literally, just like they do for every car coming off the line and every personal driving style, road conditions, environmental conditions that comes into play to give us a variety of samples to talk about.


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## m1k3d3 (Feb 2, 2017)

skydaman said:


> Well I just took a 900 mile road trip and got over 27mpg, Ive got closer to 30 without being loaded down.
> 
> Maybe lighten up on the gtfo when facts have already been presented here. Many vr6 owners have reported higher than stock mpg after minimal mods.


You're claiming that adding an intake and an exhaust is going to net 5 mpg, easily. Unless you're able to provide actual data supporting that claim then stop making misleading statements. 

People come here to share knowledge. False claims based on one person's "personal experience" with zero data have no place here IMO.


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## The Road Warrior (May 23, 2006)

m1k3d3 said:


> You're claiming that adding an intake and an exhaust is going to net 5 mpg, easily. Unless you're able to provide actual data supporting that claim then stop making misleading statements.
> 
> People come here to share knowledge. False claims based on one person's "personal experience" with zero data have no place here IMO.


Have you considered that it may have been 900 miles down hill with a tailwind?


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## chompa1422 (Sep 16, 2013)

The Road Warrior said:


> Have you considered that it may have been 900 miles down hill with a tailwind?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Then he had it in neutral lol

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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

I'm perfectly happy with the milage I'm getting in my 2018 SE 4 motion. Last 3182 miles average is 22.4. I see 28-29.5 on the highway once it warms up.


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## chompa1422 (Sep 16, 2013)

brachiopod said:


> I'm perfectly happy with the milage I'm getting in my 2018 SE 4 motion. Last 3182 miles average is 22.4. I see 28-29.5 on the highway once it warms up.


You got the 4cyl turbo?

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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

chompa1422 said:


> You got the 4cyl turbo?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk


It's the 6 cyl. If we were talking about the turbo I didn't read the thread ha.


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## joninotown (Aug 8, 2021)

brachiopod said:


> I'm perfectly happy with the milage I'm getting in my 2018 SE 4 motion. Last 3182 miles average is 22.4. I see 28-29.5 on the highway once it warms up.


What motor?


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## chompa1422 (Sep 16, 2013)

brachiopod said:


> It's the 6 cyl. If we were talking about the turbo I didn't read the thread ha.


You probably doing all highway miles? I barely get 14-15 

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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

chompa1422 said:


> You probably doing all highway miles? I barely get 14-15
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk


Good question, I'm not really sure! We do live a ways out, but most of my trips are short, to the grocery store (12 min) or into town (also about 12 min) or to downtown or airport, (40 min). It says that my average speed was 37 mph, so can't be all highway, but the first 5 miles anywhere is highway. I feel that I could hit 30MPG on the highway if I didn't have anyone else in the vehicle or any of their luggage. I do have a very heavy (200 lb) trailer hitch installed that probably saps a little gas. Typical "into town" trip is 21-22 MPG.


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## NewJettaLease (Jul 13, 2014)

Picking up my 2021.5 Atlas 2.0T from an out-of-state purchase and driving it back, I got about 470 miles from a full tank of gas. Given this was almost all highway mileage aside from a few stops for food, but if the gas tank is 15.9 gallons, that breaks down to about 29.6mpg on average.

I had less than 5 miles until empty when I pulled into my home driveway.


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

NewJettaLease said:


> Picking up my 2021.5 Atlas 2.0T from an out-of-state purchase and driving it back, I got about 470 miles from a full tank of gas. Given this was almost all highway mileage aside from a few stops for food, but if the gas tank is 15.9 gallons, that breaks down to about 29.6mpg on average.
> 
> I had less than 5 miles until empty when I pulled into my home driveway.


Atlas has an 18.6 gallon tank.


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## NewJettaLease (Jul 13, 2014)

You're right, I shouldn't have looked at the first google result. So it looks like I got closer to 25 mpg on average during that trip. I still felt good because I exceeded the sticker highway mpg


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## spike_africa (Nov 9, 2015)

NewJettaLease said:


> Picking up my 2021.5 Atlas 2.0T from an out-of-state purchase and driving it back, I got about 470 miles from a full tank of gas. Given this was almost all highway mileage aside from a few stops for food, but if the gas tank is 15.9 gallons, that breaks down to about 29.6mpg on average.
> 
> I had less than 5 miles until empty when I pulled into my home driveway.


You have the 2.0 (which is the better choice if you ask me). So yeah your options for tunes and just getting better mpg out of the gate are better then us vr6 people.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

NewJettaLease said:


> You're right, I shouldn't have looked at the first google result. So it looks like I got closer to 25 mpg on average during that trip. I still felt good because I exceeded the sticker highway mpg


 You probably still did better than that because there is still some gas left at "0" range showing, at least a couple gallons. They probably don't want anyone to sue them or for you to burn up your fuel pump which is cooled by the gas. For example I filled up last week at "25" miles range left and it only took 14.879 gal in the 18.6 tank; there was actually more than 3 gal left in the tank. I've never been able to put more than about 16 gal in because I chicken out once it gets to 0 range, so you probably really did only use about 16 gal on your trip.


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