[Vaheed1]

Originally Posted by Jay_Jay

How long did it take too fit?? Was it difficult?
I looked at getting one of these a few months back. Look forward to your write up

Hi Jay Jay - it took about 10 mins - the majority of that time was taken to remove/replace the engine cover. Pretty straight forward really.

[PGC]

Quick question for the chaps in the know.
If you install the box and then remove it for services etc will the dealers still be able to pick it up via the cars ecu that it has been played with?
I ask this because of possible warranty issues
Cheers

[Vaheed1]

Originally Posted by PGC

Quick question for the chaps in the know.
If you install the box and then remove it for services etc will the dealers still be able to pick it up via the cars ecu that it has been played with?
I ask this because of possible warranty issues
Cheers

No, there's no way of a dealer knowing. I would go as far as saying most dealerships will ignore ecu re-maps, unless there was a real bad underlining issue with the vehicle and they had to do some proper testing on it (in order to get out of a expensive warranty claim.) I'd imagine only then they would check the ECU settings. The guy i normally use for my ECU remaps said he does allot of work for BMW and VW dealerships. He said they get their demo cars re-mapped to fool customers into buying them!

I've done about 50 miles with my tuning box on and it's absolutely brilliant. Sober as 15 year old dog one minute - a raging bull the next. My biggest fears of fuel economy dropping and the car starting to smoke were premature. The economy has actually improved by 5-6mpg and there isn't a hint of smoke.

[ajuggessur]

Originally Posted by Vaheed1

No, there's no way of a dealer knowing. I would go as far as saying most dealerships will ignore ecu re-maps.

I wouldn't agree with the first statement because if the dealers want to find out if your car is mapped they will do so. A mapping company is not going to know more about the car than, obviously, what BMW know as they built it and can find changes performed to it if they wanted to. It is more common now for delearships to send diagnostics information to Germany for any queries or problems, more centralised control over vehicles rather than these dealers just choosing to issue and carry out, especially, warranty work.

Not meaning to scare anyone, but, dealer's can find out if the car has been tuned. However, the second part of the sentence, I wouldn't say generally they would ignore an ECU remap, but, they would look for a map probably as a last resort. It's just common sense, if they refuse work due to the remap that's your business gone from them, probably forever, and as far as they know potentially many others, for instance, if you post on forums.

[m1bjr]

The issue that has always been with remaps, is if you generate ECU codes.
Depending on the level of recalibration you may find the ECU logging all sorts of stuff.
Boost target anomolies, excess MAP etc etc.
And you just wont know unless you have the tools to check, read and erase them.
So be very careful.
The latest ECUs even have error flags labelled "tuner box detect" etc

They are indeed quite complex, and as with anything its a gamble with the waranty.

[Vaheed1]

Hi all,

Here's my little mini review of the 330d after day 5 of having the tuning box fitted.

I'm an optimist, but I even I took the chip manufacturers claims of a 60bhp increase with a pinch of salt. How wrong was i to judge them so quickly!?! The car feels like a 290bhp car and certainly goes like one!

I paid a little over £100 for it (£130) - and the results have been absolutely astonishing! The power delivery is definitely similar to that of a ECU re-map, which has always been my choice of tuning in the past. But as i stated in my original post, there were valid arguments against a ECU remap this time, safety being paramount. The box has been fitted so the wires are easy to switch back and forth, if the need for switching back to stock ever occurs. OK, so I have to unscrew a couple of torx screws but it's no big deal.

Back to the power delivery: These things have come on leaps and bounds from when I first used one in a MK4 Golf TDI, some 7-8 years ago now. Then, the power delivery was a little harsh - or should I say torque delivery. It was never spread out evenly and would all come in a big lump. With this tuning box, it's lovely and smooth. linear. There's no big harsh dumps and you can feel the extra 120NM all the way until the rev limiter.

90% of my driving consists of city/town driving - and the car potters about like it used to, but the lack of gear changes is very noticeable. I used to average between 39.9 and 40.9 MPG - since I've fitted the box it's been averaging 44mpg. Normally, if I was in 6th and my speed dropped to 50mph, I would notch it down a gear and then let it pick it's speed back up - but now, I can leave it in 6th and the 'wooooosh' it just goes

The performance really is noticeable. Now, as I rev close to the limiter, there's a new sudden burst of power as it climbs higher into the rev range and the car goes ballistic! I reckon - and I haven't done any testing yet - that this car is now a 5.5-5.8 second car. I tested it when it was standard and consistently posted a 0-60 time of 6.0-6.1 seconds.

All in all, very happy with the results.

[Vaheed1]

9th days into having the tuning box fitted and it just gets better and better. The economy is currently sitting on 44.1mpg - before it was between 39.1 and 40.1mpg. Also, I can't believe how smooth the power delivery is. Don't get me wrong, floor it in 2nd or 3rd low down and it can be very harsh.....and it pins me back in my seat - but change gears under normal driving and it's just a constant wave of power and torque until I have to change up.

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by Vaheed1

9th days into having the tuning box fitted and it just gets better and better. The economy is currently sitting on 44.1mpg - before it was between 39.1 and 40.1mpg. Also, I can't believe how smooth the power delivery is. Don't get me wrong, floor it in 2nd or 3rd low down and it can be very harsh.....and it pins me back in my seat - but change gears under normal driving and it's just a constant wave of power and torque until I have to change up.

Thanks for posting the write-ups Vaheed; I'm very tempted to follow suit.
Does the TDI unit interrupt both the common rail and turbo boost signals, or just the fuel pressure?

[Ti Rich]

You really need to manually check the MPG as tuning boxes effect the way the MPG is calculated by the ECU. Chances are the MPG will be worse when ypou manually calculate it.

[parapaul]

Originally Posted by Jon D

Thanks for posting the write-ups Vaheed; I'm very tempted to follow suit.
Does the TDI unit interrupt both the common rail and turbo boost signals, or just the fuel pressure?

Judging from the blurb on their website, just the common rail pressure.

[Vaheed1]

Originally Posted by Ti Rich

You really need to manually check the MPG as tuning boxes effect the way the MPG is calculated by the ECU. Chances are the MPG will be worse when ypou manually calculate it.

I'm definitely using less fuel. The week before I deliberated on which choice to go for, I got the trip computer to 0 miles before sticking £40 in. That week, the car returned 39.9mpg. I did the same last week - yet I still had 38miles remaining and 44.1 mpg.

[raf555]

just ordered a box for my 163hp 320d... says it increase to 204hp!!

hopefully it'll get to me before weekend so i can get it fitted and feel the DIFFERENCE!!

[raf555]

Originally Posted by raf555

just ordered a box for my 163hp 320d... says it increase to 204hp!!

hopefully it'll get to me before weekend so i can get it fitted and feel the DIFFERENCE!!

well i fitted it today and i must admit first impressions not too good!! maybe its just me?!

there is a difference but i wouldnt say its anywhere near hitting the 200bhp mark.

do u think the box needs time to adjust to the car?

could it be the weather? although its not snowing where i am it is very very cold (-3 degrees) and im running on 'summer tyres' so is there an issue with tyres grippin the surface to get the power!

ive not drove that long maybe a 5-10 miles. when i put foot down it does go but it that before tuning box but sometimes the dsc flashes!

im going to give it a week and see what happens as i was hoping for a bigger difference then im currently getting!

[dxb335d]

Adjust!! LOL

[raf555]

how do u adjust it?

[dxb335d]

Mate, it's either plugged in or not.

[willhollin]

What make box have you bought?