Best xhorse machine to use along side the rw4plus for cloning only?

[cobblers.keys]

I am looking for something straight forward to use as a stand alone in the xhorse range to use along side my rw4plus with mbox for cloning only in a one man shop because apparently the chips are alot cheaper to buy. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[jason.b]

Hi, 

please see below

XHORSE MINI KEY TOOL | Davenport Burgess (davenport-burgess.com)

[cobblers.keys]

Is this the best option or would it be worth having the max pro instead? It would be great if there was an opportunity down the line to offer central locking keys as well if easy enough to do. Customers can park outside my shop but I can't spend long outside because I work alone. All feedback appreciated.

[rapidlocks]

if you cannot spend long outside then forget obd programming and remote controls , unless limiting yourself to very restricted makes models and years .

the issue for you with looking at cloning with some of the china tools like xhorse mini and the max pro etc is for likes of id48 you can wait up to 2 hours for calculation and yes the chips are cheaper however if you are not generating remotes to earn bonus points then you must pay for the id48 calculations , so only cheaper on id48 if you have the time to wait and you generate enough remotes to cover the fee. i believe for every 10 remotes you generate you earn enough points to get 1 free id48 calculation, i have read that xhorse has some issues on some id46 and some older chips as well as some range issues .

as more and more cars now use intergrated chips and remote boards , you will find that you cant simply clone a chip then synch remote to car , you now have to plug into the car , extract the pin code and program chip and key by obd , some take up to 30 minutes and better diag is needed on these. so the essential knowledge to gain is to know which you can do and which you cannot do to save wasted time.

older fords , older mazda , older vag , older honda and older hyundai and kia are ok for you to clone and then code in remote some by obd , some manually and some cloning  , but the common makes like peugeot , citroen , vauxhall , fiat , nissan , renault etc will not work this way for you 

if you are tied to shop with limited time at a car then this isnt a route id advise unless restricting yourself to older models.

i love the if easy enough to do , all jobs are easy until they are not and even the simplest of jobs can become an expensive or humbling experience , i experience new issues and challenges daily , everyday can be a school day.

[cobblers.keys]

Thanks very much rapid for your detailed explanation ( this is what I love about this forum btw when people are prepared to help out others who are not so clued up with certain aspects of the trade). I felt very close to investing some into the xhorse route because I have heard the chips are much cheaper than the silca GTi/pro etc. However I have done around a dozen car keys this week on my rw4plus all straight forward cloning and cutting using the magnum and viper with this method (so far) and although the cost of silca chips are on average 4 times more expensive than the xhorse it is still quick to do and a decent mark up per job. Thanks 

[rapidlocks]

dont get me wrong xhorse does give you alot of cheaper cloning due to chip prices , adding the obd bluetooth unit to keytool max will give you some obd programming and remote programming by obd but has its fails too . you will do plenty with it to cheaper chips but will have to revert back to rw4 when times a factor and on those it fails on , but will certainly pay its way.

handy baby is a decent cloner on id46 & 4d etc and stand alone no internet needed and also has cheap chips.

for me i dont use xhorse or keydiy for id48 as time it can take is just not viable as a mobile service.

[CDH]

I have the keytool mini for cloning it’s great, super chips are cheap too, around £2.50 - £4 depending where you buy from and it’s very simple to use, you can get the keytool mini for around £99, I don’t clone id48 on it though as the server wait times are usually around 2-4 hours, I have the smart Ariel plus for 48 and a backup for other chips if need be but I haven’t had the xhorse mini fail on me yet for any other chip, Personally If I was you I would buy one you won’t regret it. And then use your rw4 for 48 and a backup machine. 
 

you could then even generate some remotes you can manually program  if you don’t want to get into OBD programming, there isn’t many manual ones out there but there is a few, Ford Mazda, Suzuki, Toyota, Honda off the top of my head have some models that cover manual programming. 
 

For the £100ish investment you won’t  regret it.