hi, would just like to write a quick review about the diesel tuning box i bought for my car, i know the name is ironic but they do petrol too, i have been following the company for some time and they are accepted as one of the best, the boxes are made in Germany in have the latest high speed cpu.
There are many dyno results on various forums for diesels and petrols including Audi and Skoda and they are found to give at least the figures what is specified on their website, sometimes even more.
so here's some info on how they work on a petrol engine just in case anyone is curious, there is a box with 3 installed maps and power settings for each map both + and - 3 these are tailored to both the make/model and the transmission (auto or manual), so they are not just generic, they have 3 points of control, they take a feed from the boost sensor on the manifold, the air pressure sensor on the intake and the cam position sensor, there is a keypad and leds on the box to make adjustments, also there is an off mode so you can drive unmodified.
It works by taking the boost pressure sensor information from both sensors and returns a signal to the car that has been modified to obtain the requested boost, this is also mapped to the cam position sensor so that the map can be varied depending on rpm, so effectively it does the same as a remap on uses a different method.
a common argument i have seen against this type of manipulation in the past is about the safety features of the ecu being voided, however i have some understanding (not much but some) of how the lookup tables work from playing with a small engine injection system that you program yourself, this leads me to believe that this flaw is over exaggerated as the tables are still the same, just that the pressure and fuel is modified by the box so although the boost will be higher etc (this is where a responsible manufacturer is essential as you are relying on the box to keep the limits safe when its making changes, so if the box is mapped well and working then the car assumes its running stock figures, meaning a mechanical failure such as a jammed actuator would be seen just the same as standard because the box will only make mapped changes so a sudden spike will go through the box and manifest as an over boost in the ecu at which point the ecu will probably limp, like i said im not an expert but that's how i see it, also when you use for example a Revo map, they wont be faithful to Seats exact figures on boost etc because thats how the extra power is obtained! its down to the tuner to decide after testing if the map is safe and then a generic copy is sold as brand Revo or (choose favorite tuning company), box does the same just by another method. (my example is not to be confused with a live map or bespoke, neither of which the popular tuning companies are).
so, now you have had some background, why choose a box over a map?
well priority for many is warranty so of course a box can be removed, although i dont suggest this, people should take responsibility for tuning related faults, ie a blown turbo is probably your fault but i wouldnt have any gripes claiming for a faulty radio with a box fitted.
however the one thats rarely mentioned is the adjust ability of a box, since you have a choice of maps and they are all different, on mine, one is aggressive and feels very tuned and the power delivery is very sudden and high, then you have another thats mid way and feels stock but with much more power, and finally the 3rd which feels like the power comes in very early but drops off as the revs rise (this is great for city driving where you change gear early) and these maps can be changed by the +- buttons within each map so if for example you like the 3rd map for driving in a situation but its too strong you can wind the boost back a bit and make it more to you liking (all this is pre programmed so you cant go too far, however engines are mass produced and vary slightly so the max setting for one person may be setting 2 for another so you have to try, but these are over-map settings so the stock setting is the claimed bhp by turning it up you are seeing if more can be obtained like when revo tweak the map on the dyno, however the figures are more conservative than revo on this box.
last point on this is that a full map voids warranty and cannot be hidden so easily, also if at a service an update would be flashed your map is gone and unless the tuner will do it again for free you have a problem, it also means changing cars is another issue, where as with the dtuk box if its using the same type of system they can reflash the box for a different car provided it has a map available.
so how does it drive?
well, firstly i dont have any dyno prints and dont really have any plans to have any done so i cant tell you the exact bhp only what i said above regarding others results in general,
however it feel night and day different to me, i have shifted back and forth through turning the setting stock and back, and tbh the car feels like a limp dog without the box i still cant believe it (been 2 days), its smooth feels professional not like when people bodge a large carb on a car (going back some now) and it was all or nothing, its very refined and although i never had a true remap i think the gain is more than enough, its amazing how a box which is essentially a spoof device can make such wide reaching changes, it doesnt feel like the stock map at all even though it is based on it by virtue.
the gearbox feels like you can assume 4th where you used 3rd, and previously gutless in 5th you can now feel reasonable acceleration, the earlier gears are also much improved i can now slow down and speed up in 3rd without having to permanently shuffle between 2nd and 3rd in light traffic, it also changes the power curve, the stock map was very flat and boring it just felt like there was no turbo only a bigger engine than a 1.2, now the turbo has announced that it is indeed present and means business!
so this is my review and if i have any problems i will make amendments to let people know if my thoughts change over time, but from reading many others reviews im not expecting any.
Mat.
There are many dyno results on various forums for diesels and petrols including Audi and Skoda and they are found to give at least the figures what is specified on their website, sometimes even more.
so here's some info on how they work on a petrol engine just in case anyone is curious, there is a box with 3 installed maps and power settings for each map both + and - 3 these are tailored to both the make/model and the transmission (auto or manual), so they are not just generic, they have 3 points of control, they take a feed from the boost sensor on the manifold, the air pressure sensor on the intake and the cam position sensor, there is a keypad and leds on the box to make adjustments, also there is an off mode so you can drive unmodified.
It works by taking the boost pressure sensor information from both sensors and returns a signal to the car that has been modified to obtain the requested boost, this is also mapped to the cam position sensor so that the map can be varied depending on rpm, so effectively it does the same as a remap on uses a different method.
a common argument i have seen against this type of manipulation in the past is about the safety features of the ecu being voided, however i have some understanding (not much but some) of how the lookup tables work from playing with a small engine injection system that you program yourself, this leads me to believe that this flaw is over exaggerated as the tables are still the same, just that the pressure and fuel is modified by the box so although the boost will be higher etc (this is where a responsible manufacturer is essential as you are relying on the box to keep the limits safe when its making changes, so if the box is mapped well and working then the car assumes its running stock figures, meaning a mechanical failure such as a jammed actuator would be seen just the same as standard because the box will only make mapped changes so a sudden spike will go through the box and manifest as an over boost in the ecu at which point the ecu will probably limp, like i said im not an expert but that's how i see it, also when you use for example a Revo map, they wont be faithful to Seats exact figures on boost etc because thats how the extra power is obtained! its down to the tuner to decide after testing if the map is safe and then a generic copy is sold as brand Revo or (choose favorite tuning company), box does the same just by another method. (my example is not to be confused with a live map or bespoke, neither of which the popular tuning companies are).
so, now you have had some background, why choose a box over a map?
well priority for many is warranty so of course a box can be removed, although i dont suggest this, people should take responsibility for tuning related faults, ie a blown turbo is probably your fault but i wouldnt have any gripes claiming for a faulty radio with a box fitted.
however the one thats rarely mentioned is the adjust ability of a box, since you have a choice of maps and they are all different, on mine, one is aggressive and feels very tuned and the power delivery is very sudden and high, then you have another thats mid way and feels stock but with much more power, and finally the 3rd which feels like the power comes in very early but drops off as the revs rise (this is great for city driving where you change gear early) and these maps can be changed by the +- buttons within each map so if for example you like the 3rd map for driving in a situation but its too strong you can wind the boost back a bit and make it more to you liking (all this is pre programmed so you cant go too far, however engines are mass produced and vary slightly so the max setting for one person may be setting 2 for another so you have to try, but these are over-map settings so the stock setting is the claimed bhp by turning it up you are seeing if more can be obtained like when revo tweak the map on the dyno, however the figures are more conservative than revo on this box.
last point on this is that a full map voids warranty and cannot be hidden so easily, also if at a service an update would be flashed your map is gone and unless the tuner will do it again for free you have a problem, it also means changing cars is another issue, where as with the dtuk box if its using the same type of system they can reflash the box for a different car provided it has a map available.
so how does it drive?
well, firstly i dont have any dyno prints and dont really have any plans to have any done so i cant tell you the exact bhp only what i said above regarding others results in general,
however it feel night and day different to me, i have shifted back and forth through turning the setting stock and back, and tbh the car feels like a limp dog without the box i still cant believe it (been 2 days), its smooth feels professional not like when people bodge a large carb on a car (going back some now) and it was all or nothing, its very refined and although i never had a true remap i think the gain is more than enough, its amazing how a box which is essentially a spoof device can make such wide reaching changes, it doesnt feel like the stock map at all even though it is based on it by virtue.
the gearbox feels like you can assume 4th where you used 3rd, and previously gutless in 5th you can now feel reasonable acceleration, the earlier gears are also much improved i can now slow down and speed up in 3rd without having to permanently shuffle between 2nd and 3rd in light traffic, it also changes the power curve, the stock map was very flat and boring it just felt like there was no turbo only a bigger engine than a 1.2, now the turbo has announced that it is indeed present and means business!
so this is my review and if i have any problems i will make amendments to let people know if my thoughts change over time, but from reading many others reviews im not expecting any.
Mat.
