TDCI tuning boxes

[Danblez]

So after reading about Wuv's Roveron tuning box on his Rover of Doom and some other peeps doing diesel tuning I have been looking at boxes for my TDCI.

 

There are bloody loads to choose from costing between £70-£300 quid. Cheapest being ebay specials which simply up the rail pressure to the Bluefin which is supposedly a proper remap.

 

Anyone used these? How likely am I to kill the injectors/pump etc by trying one of the cheapies?

 

 

[twosmoke300]

More likely to kill the clutch/ flywheel tbh

[Danblez]

Clutch and flywheel in good health with only 50k miles on em!

[garbaldy]

So was mine with only 40k on it but after tuning it slips in the higher gears while givin it some,

I should add mine was not a box but a remap.

[willswitchengage]

Ford spends billions ever year on R&D and then people who wear baseball caps backwards and say that things are 'cool' buy these from ebay. Go figure.

[Danblez]

Cool cheers!

 

*spins baseball cap around*

[sierraman]

Clutch and flywheel in good health with only 50k miles on em!

So should be due for another then in 20k or so then...😉

 

I'm almost certain if Ford could have improved the mpg and shaved a few seconds off the 0-60 for another £300, they'd have done it. How many miles has it done? If you went to have your engine tuned the first thing they would be doing is improving what you have already. So if things like the injectors are worn you would be wasting your time. Similarly what is the suspension and tyres like? Upping the power is just one aspect, you've got to consider improving the brakes, tyres etc

[Avocet]

I work with engineers from a variety of major manufacturers.  The "calibration guys" (the people who set up engine management systems etc) would sell their own grandmothers for an extra couple of percent improvement in fuel consumption / CO2 emissions etc!  They spend, as has been said, £MILLIONS optimising the designs.

 

Now they are, of course, bound not only by emissions and noise legislation, but also by warranty requirements.  It's quite easy to get more power out of a turbo car by upping the boost and giving it more fuel.  If you're not bothered about emissions you can get plenty more out of them (much harder with normally aspirated though).  The "tuning boxes" don't (in my experience) really work.  They just try to fool the ECU into thinking the ambient air temperature is lower, so that it gives a bit more fuel because the air is denser. A good remap CAN give as much more performance as you like, (within the laws of physics!)  but you can kiss your warranty goodbye if the car is still udner warranty.  Be very wary of people who offer huge improvements in power AND economy.  If it sounds too good to be true... (etc).

[Forty-two]

There's a lot of love for bluefin in a freelander2 camp.

 

I have no opinion to offer on the subject however.

 

Fairly useless contribution on my part, you best keep scrolling...

[wuvvum]

The Roverron tuning box definitely works.  It's not a £70 cheapie though - I'd be a bit dubious about one of those.  It doesn't seem to affect the fuel consumption, and gives a massive increase in both responsiveness and outright performance - 0-60 is down to 8.5 seconds with me driving, and you could probably knock another half second off that with a professional tester at the wheel.

[Danblez]

Do you know how the roveron box works? They all seem to up fuel rail pressure, just the more expensive ones also tap in to boost pressure and afm.

 

I have a car that owes me nothing and even though I don't care too much if it was to expire I would rather not cause it unnecessarily .

[Pillock]

Aren't the Bluefin ones covered under a Ford warranty though? I'm sure I read that one of them is and Bluefin rings a bell.

Although anything being posted about on Autoshite is going to be miles out of warranty, it does show that not all manufacturers are scared of a few tweaks.

[fordnut]

I had a Van Aaken smart box on a 1.4 TDCi MK6 Fiesta - worked well, improved the MPG and gave the figures quoted.

 

My Focus 2.0 TDCi has a somewhat more sophisticated Ford approved re-map and has a handset to upload it with. It drives like a completely different car with it uploaded - mpg is better, far fewer flat spots and as for the performance, it gives ST and RS models a fun for it's money! It pulls like a train - the in gear acceleration is superb. The remaps been on the car from new which is now 10 years old, the figures that it makes are slightly better than the current ST TDCi models. I've struggled to find a better car to replace it with although this isn't your average Focus - its an ex-Ford show car with a full MS Design conversion and every conceivable option fitted. List price was over 30K new.

 

I'd only recommend using a reputable firm such as Superchips or Mountune. It's all well and good tuning a TDCi but if you've got mega miles, don't have the stopping power, or can't get the power down its best avoided.