About us
Tuned i-Chips is South Asia’s first ECU tuning house, based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Headed by Zakie Ismail, TIC commenced operations in late 2003, serving the Sri Lankan domestic market. Having started with Hondas and the venerable D15, TIC then branched into other marques, primarily tuning Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Subaru Imprezas.
In 2008, TIC reached another milestone by entering the European car-market, having acquired state-of-the-art technology to tune and test this segment of automobile. Simultaneously, TIC announced plans to offer tuned maps for Diesels, in partnership with overseas tuning houses.
Along with Sri Lanka, Tuned i-Chips ECUs can be found in race-cars in India and the Middle East, with Zakie making regular trips to these parts of the world to prepare cars for road racing and drag racing. In fact, TIC’s flagship race cars have been in-house projects - Zakie’s Civics having enjoyed much success in Sri Lankan racing championships.
Milestones
December 2003 - 2 Tuned i-Chips cars make it to the final of the 1500 CC class at the MRA Drag Race Meet at Katukurunda, marking TIC’s competition debut with an emphatic 1-2 finish in this competitive class.
2004/5 - Zakie’s EG8 dominates the competition in his class, securing victories at Katukurunda, Pannala, Talduwa & Radella among others.
2005-2007 - Dilan Seneviratne takes the wheel of the flagship TIC Civic, winning multiple races consecutively, effectively leading to the banning of the car from the 8 to 10 kg/hp event.
2005 - TIC enters the Middle Eastern and Indian market, tuning several turbocharged Hondas for drag racing.
January 2007 - TIC is featured in top Performance magazine, Issue 22 (click to see original scans, 1.4Mb each):
February 2008 - At the Speed 2000 Drag Race Meet in Mumbai, India, a TIC tuned Honda Civic EG8 with a turbocharged B20 engine wins its category, comfortably beating its 2-litre-turbo all-wheel-drive competition.