Diesel engine tuners

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renu

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Has anyone used Diesel engine tuners for their cars.I am thinking about trying it for my 2 year old diesel car but I do want to spend it, unless I am sure it does work.If anyone has any experience in it, please let me know .
.http://www.chipexpress.com/products/bmw/

thanks
 
If you want more power, go for a proper remap. Most chips fool the car into overfueling which won't do it any good. The downside is a remap (if they can do it on your car given its age) will void the warranty.
 
andy0306 said:
If you want more power, go for a proper remap. Most chips fool the car into overfueling which won't do it any good. The downside is a remap (if they can do it on your car given its age) will void the warranty.
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And likely/possibly impact on its insurance status. In other words do not assume you are still insured if you do not advise the insurance company ;)
 
I wanted to get my last car remapped, checked with my insurers first and they have a blanket 'no' on engine modifications. :(
I changed the car as there were more problems than just the engine power but may change insurers next renewal.
 
I would go with e-maps.co.uk and bwchiptune.co.uk both tried and tested in the German remapping department and usually at all the shows with decent rep.
 
I use DTUK, been using them for years. Likely done over 100,00 miles. On average the additional insurance premium is about £10. They also do petrol tuning systems.

DTUK utilises the DTE Systems GmbH TuV approved systems with some modified maps.

And for good order, the chap who owns the company is a good personal friend of mine.
 
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Take it to a specialist and get a map written for it , never had it done but I wouldn't trust a box bought of the shelf not to blow it up
 
dejongj said:
I use DTUK, been using them for years. Likely done over 100,00 miles. On average the additional insurance premium is about £10. They also do petrol tuning systems.

DTUK utilises the DTE Systems GmbH TuV approved systems with some modified maps.

And for good order, the chap who owns the company is a good personal friend of mine.
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My car is still under warranty.I am not worried about paying extra for insurance but does this nullify the warranty?
thanks
 
wack61 said:
Take it to a specialist and get a map written for it , never had it done but I wouldn't trust a box bought of the shelf not to blow it up
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And how many boxes have blown up an engine? Further more how many remap specialist actually write the map themselves fully unique to your car opposed to just downloading one and installing it? I agree a fully bespoke map allows it to be unique to the car, environment and purpose and from that perspective will be best when you go track racing and the likes. But lets get back to reality and how many are actually like that, or perhaps better phrased how many people are willing to pay for that level of bespoke tailoring.
 
If they do what they say and you end up with 10mpg more it should be free

Manufacturers write the software to meet emissions , not for performance or the best MPG if they find out you've remapped it and something goes pop that's their get out clause, there's plenty of stories of them refusing payout because the wrong oil is in it so a remap is a definite fail

I agree about the cost , like LPG on a petrol engine 1/2 price sounds great but £2500 up front doesn't , if it's a long term keeper it's worth it, if you're the sort that has a new car every 3 years it's not
 
On my diesel truck I got a measured improvement of 24.7% over 10K miles compared to the previous 3.5K miles. After that I got bored measuring the variance. With the mileage I was doing at the time the investment paid back measured in months.

And I agree if something goes pop that is related to the where you've made a modification then there is a risk. There always is. I know of Audi and VW dealers that are supplying and fitting the DTUK stuff. Volvo also do an approved product. As does FIAT for the Abarth, etc.

Ultimately it is an individual choice whether you do it or not. Mine has been in/out of VW over the last three months, was threatened (well that is how it felt) with that if anything untoward was found it is not a warranty repair. Two weeks ago they had it for 5 days to fix it up and agreed that it was an inherent fault and warranty repair.
 
dejongj said:
On my diesel truck I got a measured improvement of 24.7% over 10K miles compared to the previous 3.5K miles. After that I got bored measuring the variance. With the mileage I was doing at the time the investment paid back measured in months.

And I agree if something goes pop that is related to the where you've made a modification then there is a risk. There always is. I know of Audi and VW dealers that are supplying and fitting the DTUK stuff. Volvo also do an approved product. As does FIAT for the Abarth, etc.

Ultimately it is an individual choice whether you do it or not. Mine has been in/out of VW over the last three months, was threatened (well that is how it felt) with that if anything untoward was found it is not a warranty repair. Two weeks ago they had it for 5 days to fix it up and agreed that it was an inherent fault and warranty repair.
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Hi

You have given lot of information to think about.You have first hand experience which is most helpful.

thanks
 
If you're wanting more power and better fuel consumption then just go with a normal remap. Anything thing to do with BMW give E-maps a call. They have gotten all sort of praise on the BMW forums. I have a 330D but I went down the route of a live map on the dyno at the same time because I had many other custom parts to take into account. I've fitted a hybrid ball bearing turbo, injectors, upgraded front mounted intercooler, straight through exhaust from turbo back and uprated sachs clutch and flywheel. It's running 353bhp and 565ft lbs of torque at the wheels. Even with all that I still get 40-50mpg
 
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CaveDweller said:
If you're wanting more power and better fuel consumption then just go with a normal remap. Anything thing to do with BMW give E-maps a call. They have gotten all sort of praise on the BMW forums. I have a 330D but I went down the route of a live map on the dyno at the same time because I had many other custom parts to take into account. I've fitted a hybrid ball bearing turbo, injectors, upgraded front mounted intercooler, straight through exhaust from turbo back and uprated sachs clutch and flywheel. It's running 353bhp and 565ft lbs of torque at the wheels. Even with all that I still get 40-50mpg
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Did that affect your warranty or is it more than 3 years old car?
 
dejongj said:
And how many boxes have blown up an engine? Further more how many remap specialist actually write the map themselves fully unique to your car opposed to just downloading one and installing it? I agree a fully bespoke map allows it to be unique to the car, environment and purpose and from that perspective will be best when you go track racing and the likes. But lets get back to reality and how many are actually like that, or perhaps better phrased how many people are willing to pay for that level of bespoke tailoring.
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I had my Mondeo TDCi custom mapped on a rolling road, but then it had been modified with a larger intercooler, silicone boost pipes, and a custom built performance exhaust. There was no difference in price between my remap and a Superchips Bluefin upgrade, but they test drove my car before hand and again after to make sure everything was ok. If they had the slightest doubt in the car before hand, they wouldn't have remapped it.
 
Is remapping expensive compared to the chips I have seen?
 
wack61 said:
Manufacturers write the software to meet emissions , not for performance or the best MPG
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I can't vouch for other manufacturers but Ford aim for all 3, They will have a target set for all three, if they can improve on them it will be a bonus.
 
renu said:
Is remapping expensive compared to the chips I have seen?
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Remapping can range from about £150-500. Most companies around the £250mark but you get what you pay for. Get someone reputable and it's all good.
 
I used Celtic Tuning just over 2yrs ago for a stage 2 on my Civic, they do come to you but I fancied a trip down to Cornwall plus a few runs on their dyno. you can put your car details into their site and it will give you what improvements you'll get. Mine was about 50% bhp and 30% ft/lbs.
 
Had several vehicles remapped and used lots of different chips in different cars
Currently running a DTUK box in my Saab 9-3. Make a massive impact to performance, more than I expected.

I have a custom remap on my landrover discovery, but have also tried several boxes and also another mobile remapper on a spare ecu I had. You tend to get what you pay for, but as said above, there is a vast swage of people now just installing maps they downloaded of the Internet and pretending they know what they are doing. I have the facilities to install a map on landrovers, but I wouldn't even consider doing it, because I have no clue on the subject.

Do your homework, check for feedback and make sure whoever does it, does a full check of the car before doing the map. Anyone who rocks up and just gets on with it, shouldn't be doing it.

I can reccomend DTUK if you want a plug in box, and also alive tuning or Dynachip if you want a proper remap.
 
I have got more info here than all my searches in Google for the last few weeks.Thanks guys for all the info.I think I will wait for another year before my warranty runs out. At least it looks like it is worth it if I go with remap or Tuner chips.
 
foggy4ever said:
I used Celtic Tuning just over 2yrs ago for a stage 2 on my Civic, they do come to you but I fancied a trip down to Cornwall plus a few runs on their dyno. you can put your car details into their site and it will give you what improvements you'll get. Mine was about 50% bhp and 30% ft/lbs.
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I have just done that and have asked them for a quote.Let me see what they will charge.
 
foggy4ever said:
I used Celtic Tuning just over 2yrs ago for a stage 2 on my Civic, they do come to you but I fancied a trip down to Cornwall plus a few runs on their dyno. you can put your car details into their site and it will give you what improvements you'll get. Mine was about 50% bhp and 30% ft/lbs.
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It shows economy and stage 1 software for my car (BMW x1).what is stage 2 software?
 
TCR4x4 said:
Had several vehicles remapped and used lots of different chips in different cars
Currently running a DTUK box in my Saab 9-3. Make a massive impact to performance, more than I expected.

I have a custom remap on my landrover discovery, but have also tried several boxes and also another mobile remapper on a spare ecu I had. You tend to get what you pay for, but as said above, there is a vast swage of people now just installing maps they downloaded of the Internet and pretending they know what they are doing. I have the facilities to install a map on landrovers, but I wouldn't even consider doing it, because I have no clue on the subject.

Do your homework, check for feedback and make sure whoever does it, does a full check of the car before doing the map. Anyone who rocks up and just gets on with it, shouldn't be doing it.

I can reccomend DTUK if you want a plug in box, and also alive tuning or Dynachip if you want a proper remap.
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Hi Tom

Thanks for the info on DTUK but as an aside, I looked at your PHOTOIX tutorials.It looks interesting and looks like you have done lot of work.I hope to learn basic Lightroom photo editing.
Keep up the good work.

Thanks
 
renu said:
It shows economy and stage 1 software for my car (BMW x1).what is stage 2 software?
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Stage 2 for mine required an uprated clutch so its only available on request. All maps advertised are for designed to work with standard cars that won't stress any of the drive train.

As a member of a Civic forum I got it at a very good price at their base of £200.
 
foggy4ever said:
Stage 2 for mine required an uprated clutch so its only available on request. All maps advertised are for designed to work with standard cars that won't stress any of the drive train.

As a member of a Civic forum I got it at a very good price at their base of £200.
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Ok.Thanks for the info.
 
You see I'd be concerned about what you actually get for £200. I mean how long are you there for a bespoke map to your vehicle, then there is all the materials they need to invest in like the electronics, diagnostics, dyno, premises, business rates, electricity, gas, water, security, oh and wages.

Can't be any profit in it, unless it is just a generic map downloaded from the Internet and in 20 minutes with padding the time you are done.

I'd be highly suspicious at those prices of what you actually are going to get. Now don't get me wrong it could be just fine, but let's not kid ourselves and let's get real about the costs involved.
 
dejongj said:
You see I'd be concerned about what you actually get for £200. I mean how long are you there for a bespoke map to your vehicle, then there is all the materials they need to invest in like the electronics, diagnostics, dyno, premises, business rates, electricity, gas, water, security, oh and wages.

Can't be any profit in it, unless it is just a generic map downloaded from the Internet and in 20 minutes with padding the time you are done.

I'd be highly suspicious at those prices of what you actually are going to get. Now don't get me wrong it could be just fine, but let's not kid ourselves and let's get real about the costs involved.
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Hi

I have a budget of £500-£600 and I looked at DTUK website.They quote £400 for the Tuner chip.

thanks
 
They should do discounts from there through the relevant car forums , you may want to take a look at that.

You have a BMW don't you. If I am not mistaken, the jb4 systems are also highly regarded. I think that is from burger tuning. I recall that when we were up in the Golf R against the 135i club they were nearly all running those. And for a remap if you are down south I've heard a lot of good things about Evolve Automotive in Luton in relation to BMW.

Just to provide some balance and make it harder for you :p since I did declare that Andrew from DTUK is a personal friend. But if you are up and near Stanley I'd definitely give them a call and drop by.

It's what I did many many years ago with my Navara pickup truck. As said 24.7% fuel consumption improvement. And when I got it the same day on the rolling road I had three runs. First as stock 167, second with eBay box worth £200, over fuelled like mad (lots of smoke) and got 192. And third run with the DTUK system and got 215 with no smoking or drama. Anyway when I got my boat I really noticed a flat spot right where I don't want it. So I chatted and see if they could help, they created a custom map (four fit on the box) and voila following a few test drives and some tweaking it was perfect for towing my heavy boat as well.

Top team and guy, but others are available :)
 
DTUK looks interesting

so they would be OK for my 2.0 litre Diesel 140bhp 4 x 4 Skoda Yeti?
now 4 years old - 60,000 miles
I'd be more concerned about economy and smother running

just buy a box, easy to fit ...... a 10 to 20 minute job
Is it as simple as that?
 
It depends on the vehicle. My Golf was a right b****r as one of the sensors is at the bottom of the block and couldn't reach it from the top. But even with having to jack the car to get access it was a 10-20 minute job. Mainly too double and triple check as that is who I am.

I'll be honest, on my golf I did it wrong. Still can't believe I done that. The engine was difficult to start and ran rough. Quick check to confirm suspicions and voila the camshaft sensor fitted correctly.

On the Navarra I used to have it was a five minute job.

But yes definitely works great on diesel from a fuel saving perspective.
 
renu said:
Hi

I have a budget of £500-£600 and I looked at DTUK website.They quote £400 for the Tuner chip.

thanks
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As your budget is in excess of what a map is going to cost, I'd seriously consider an intercooler upgrade if there is one for your car, have a look around the forums for your car, see if there are any suggestions, there are generic kits you can buy which are cheaper than a bespoke upgrade which could blow your budget before even having a remap.
I bought a bespoke Airtec Intercooler for my Mondeo TDCi cost around £269 and with a silicon boost pipe kit, the difference in the engine was like light and day, the silicon boost pipes will flex less than the standard ones (unless you have standard silicon pipes) and helps hold the boost a little while longer. My intercooler added 30lb/ft torque over the standard unit,.
Any upgrades like that fitted before hand make a remap more friendly to your engine putting less strain on everything else.
 
I had my 320d re mapped huge difference and was better on fuel
Thinking of getting my Honda Civic 2.2 icdti done next
 
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