[Apl530D]

Hey

I’ve been doing some research into tuning boxes.
There seems to be some quite shady behaviour when it comes to posting results and dyno graphs of before and after.

My experience with these is limited. I had a DTUK box on my 320d e92. I also had a remap on my 2004 A3 2.0 tdi140.

I do remember the DTUK box gave a bit more shove on the e92, but the remap on the A3 was a massive transformation.

Does anyone here have any experience with tuning boxes with diesel cars?

I’ve seen a few vids where people have used racechip boxes with underwhelming results. Autotopnl had one on his 535d for example. His reaction vid seemed to suggest a decent improvement. But the follow up vid (which was very understated) showed the real world improvement was practically nil.

I’m not looking for a forum bustup, but I would like some real world reviews if anyone has any experience.

Thanks

[Apl530D]

Well, I'm going to answer my own question.

I ordered a DTUK box this morning....

I'll keep myself posted....

[DBO]

I don't think you can throw a blanket assumption over these. Some combos work some don't. My experience with Racechip was woeful on a diesel (C Class Mercedes).. where I spent hundreds on dyno time only to find out there was no benefit at all and in a couple of modes the power actually decreased.

Like most manufacturers, they generally release an engine family with different power outputs. If you have a diesel which is already at the peak output in that series, I would look very carefully at other independent results before spending the money on a box. On the other hand, if you have a lower output variant, you're probably fairly safe to make some gains.

[Apl530D]

Hey

So I have installed the DTUK box.

I ordered it on Friday, it arrived on Saturday and I installed it on Sunday.
The install was easy enough, and it looks quite neat and tidy.

I ordered the box with the Bluetooth control, which works really well.

After install, I let the car warm up with the box turned off while I made my way to a quiet section of road where I could do some "bum dyno" tests.

First run, I turned the module on and left it in map #1 (sport) and.... nothing. There was no discernible difference in performance.... oh sh@t!

So I then put it into map #2 (dynamic) and....
nothing. Getting annoyed now....!

Next I tried sport again, but this time on the app I set the map to the +1 position.... and now there was a big difference. PHEW!

I tried Map 2 in +1 and again there was a clear difference.

I cycled up through both maps into +2, where there was another step in perceived performance and again into +3.

I finally settled on Sport +3 as my map and have left the box in that mode ever since.

I am really happy with the results. The car is drivable, but clearly has more shove now. My guess is it has around 20-30 more BHP and probs around 40-50NM, but this is a guess.

The difference is not as drastic as a remap, but it is defiantly faster and more fun now.

I'd like to get it on a dyno one day as I don't think the car makes the claimed 317ps.

My early conclusions are very positive. The car feels more engaging, more alive and lighter on it's feet. It's really great!