Is a resistor worth its weight in platinum?

[Todd Day <today@di.com>]

[Discussion of simple mod to Audi Turbo Quattro Coupe (TQC) computer
 to allow more boost and richer operating point.  Turns out to be a
 2 penny resistor.  Mod was marketed at $700 or so.]

> There should be NO WAY that a resistor addition should be that kind of 
> money. That gives the whole industry a bad name.

So, how much should that resistor be worth?  When I go to Radio Shack
and pay 79 cents for a resistor, I feel screwed.  However, Radio
Shack has floor space to pay for.  That money for employees' Clearasil
has to come from somewhere.

Perhaps you've gone to Radio Shack and purchased that resistor because
you heard it might make your car go faster.  However, you now have
to figure out where to put that resistor.  You don't have any idea,
so you go to school or read some Forrest M. Mimms books, both of
which consume some more of your time and money (especially the
former option).  You're in the hole for at least $30, possible
$30,000 now.

Okay, now you have some background, time to open up your ECU.  But
wait, you've never seen most of the parts in there before.  A lot
of them come from Japan, and you can never seem to find the databooks
for them.  That'll cost you more time than money.  We'll jack
the minumum up to $50 'cause you've spent a lot on cases of Jolt Cola.

Okay, you've figured out where that resistor goes.  Now you need to
solder.  Back to RatShack for a $20 soldering gun and some solder.
Total is now $70. [Note: I don't know about you, but I hate
soldering!]

Now the moment of truth.  You try out your mod and find out that
your ECU doesn't work at all anymore.  Well, if that was a TQC
computer, you are now out $900.  That $700 mod is starting to
sound mighty cheap now...

"But wait," you say, "I've already had all that schooling and I
know my way around a soldering iron.  I also designed the Ford
EECVIXIII.  Give it to me for $70!"  Well, that sounds fair,
but that approach never seems to work with auto manufacturers for
some reason...

			    ---

The main point I'm trying to make here is that you can't go
breaking down a purchase like an ECU mod down without finding
silly things like a $700 resistor.  How about if I spend two
months completely dissasembling and understanding the code of
your ECU, then make modifications to your code?  Someone else
who doesn't know how hard that is will complain that they only
got a $2.50 EPROM.  Knowledge valuation is a tricky area.

You can't go judging a purchase after the fact that way, either.
You'll get yourself in trouble because someone else will come
along and question why you paid 40 grand for that new BMW M3
when you could have just fixed the clutch on your 87 VW Scirocco
for $300, which would have gotten you from A to B just as reliably.
The question you have to ask yourself is, did it sastify your
expectations?

============================================================

If you were told that your chip was modified and it wasn't, I could
see where that might make you mad.  But I think most people are just
flustered that they didn't figure it out themselves first.  They sort
of feel like the person who got screwed in the Neiman Marcus gourmet
cookie urban legend (see P.S.).  [Besides, if you were smart enough
to know that your chip wasn't modified, perhaps you should have
modified it yourself in the first place.]

I think your beef lays with the auto manufacturer and their refusal
to disclose any information, not with people who take the time to
figure it out (it isn't that hard, usually).  Or perhaps you could be
mad at the manufacturer for not allowing your car to go that fast
in the first place...

And speaking of "gives the whole industry a bad name"...
The truth of the matter is that most of the aftermarket "industry"
is chock full of the same kind of shysters that hawk audio-cable
burn-in units, power-line conditioners, and green magic markers
for the edge of your CDs.

I've looked at lots of mods for Audis and Talons/Eclipses.  The
fact remains that almost all of the mods are real simplistic
hacks that lie to the computer via the sensors.  Most of the values
are found empirically via trying values over and over again, not
due to any profound knowledge of the software that drives the computer.
Even the software changes are by and large either stolen chips from
factory sponsored rallye teams or blind table modifications.

Of course, the after-market industry isn't any different from
any other industry...  Have you felt good about buying a liter
of Pepsi "on sale" for 99 cents, then felt screwed at the pump
when you plunked down $1.50/gallon for premium?  Is colored carbonated
sugar water really 2.5 times more valuable than a product that took
millions of years to make and might not last us through the next
century?

-todd-

P.S.  The cookie urban legend is about the person who was asked
if they wanted the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe for "two-fifty".
The person gets charged for $250, not $2.50, becomes outraged,
and, instead of taking it up with their credit card company,
distributes the recipe far and wide as a form of revenge.