I have been reading up the the DPT digital tuning box.

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I just wondered if anyone is using one of these devices on their TDI VRS and whether they've had any problems with their DPF.

Ive done 6K miles in my TDI (PD) VRS from new and its been faultless (touch wood!). Some people seem to have had alot of problems with their DPF, which seem mainly related to slow commuter driving. Maybe Ive been lucky because my 9 mile commute to work is a cross country run with no hold ups to speak of (no traffic lights or roundabouts).

But it occurs to me that any boost in fueling is likelt to shove more soot down the DPF and increase the risk of problems.

So I wondered if any DPT box owners could air their views on this matter.

Jules

If it is a 2 pin connector as stated on their web site then it is RUBBISH - simply a 160 Ohm resistor in a box, if you have to go for a tuning box then it MUST be a DIGITAL one. Digital boxes have 2 wires to connect to the battery to power them and have a multi pin connector, shape and size depends on your engine.

Do a search on Digital Tuning Boxes or even DRAGON Tuning boxes.

Analogue (2pin) boxes simply feed false air temperature readings into the ECU which causes it causes it to massively overfuel the engine in an uncontrolled way, yes you may get better performance for a while but can cause long term damage.

If it is a 2 pin connector as stated on their web site then it is RUBBISH - simply a 160 Ohm resistor in a box, if you have to go for a tuning box then it MUST be a DIGITAL one. Digital boxes have 2 wires to connect to the battery to power them and have a multi pin connector, shape and size depends on your engine.

Do a search on Digital Tuning Boxes or even DRAGON Tuning boxes.

Analogue (2pin) boxes simply feed false air temperature readings into the ECU which causes it causes it to massively overfuel the engine in an uncontrolled way, yes you may get better performance for a while but can cause long term damage.

Thanks for your comments. Its a digital box that Im interested in. I had one (another manufacturer) on my Discovery for years with good effect. I am hoping to get a reply from someone who has a DPTdigital box installed and will be able to inform about any DPF problems that may have resulted from the installation.

Jules

Hi DPT is a digital tuning unit, the heart of which is an Atmel 32 bit microprocessor, so far from low technology. The designer, Wim Essing is an Ex F1 race engineer. The wiring loom which provides the link between the vehicle and the DPT unit is manufactired in Holland by the same company who manufacture looms for Philips MRI scanners.

Cgeck out the Diesel POWer Tuning website where you can see an endorsement from Quentin Willson, as featured on ITV on 30th June on his feature "Priced off our roads".

Also just a final note that Dragon Performance UK actually wnet into administration in July 2008.

Martin.

Thanks for the plug.

Ive already been to the DPT website, googled Wim Essing and Randstad Automotive and but find no useful information substantiating the lack of problems relating to Diesel Particulate Filters, which is the essence of my OP.

Quentin Wilson installed a DPT box on his Range Rover and performed a short test, which doesnt help with my query either.

From the lack of posts it appear no Briskodian has a DPT on their car or can offer any help.

As DPT company does not appear to offer a 14 or 30 day money back if not satisfied refund etc I am loathe to hand over any cash until my DPF worries are addressed. Most previous posts Ive read about upping the fueling in some way (dig boxes and remaps) suggest an increase in smoke output which to my mind may cause more problems with the DPF when present.

Is there anyone out there who can confirm that the DPT box does NOT increase DPF unreliability?

Im not asking much really am I ?

I have no intention of thrashing the car to death, just want to enjoy abit more torque/bhp every now and then. But I also dont want to be having to go the garage every 5 minutes to have some warning light about the DPF investigated.

Blue fin is a better bet. Know it is a different way of doing things but the results will please you. My boss has just put a V Tech box on his astra 1.9tdi and it isn't half as noticable as a proper map.

Hi I've got one of these dpt boxes fitted on my fabia vrs and i'm really happy with mine, the performance and economy is brilliant. I had mine fitted in january and have not had a problem with it to date

Hi I've got one of these dpt boxes fitted on my fabia vrs and i'm really happy with mine, the performance and economy is brilliant. I had mine fitted in january and have not had a problem with it to date

Hi. I loved my Fabia VRS too - son has it know. Glad to hear you've had no problems. I wouldnt really expect there to be any as I know many VRS upgrades really crank up the soot output without too many problems other than occassional coking up of the turbo and lots of smoke in the face of following vehicles. But you car dosent have a DPF, which is the area of my concern.

Happy driving.

I have just taken a chance and fitted one of these to my 170TDI. My local installer claims to have fitted a few of these to VAG PDs with DPF and to have had no issues - and he has agreed to take it back for a full refund if I have any problems or decide it's useless over the next couple of weeks.

Impressions so far from 130 miles of mixed town and country motoring (no motorway miles as yet):

- Definitely a smoother and more progressive drive, with less tendency to stall

- It seems to have improved the low speed pick-up and eliminated a noticeable flat spot

- Marginal improvement in fuel consumption

I'll comment further when I've done some more miles and been on a motorway run.

I have just taken a chance and fitted one of these to my 170TDI. My local installer claims to have fitted a few of these to VAG PDs with DPF and to have had no issues - and he has agreed to take it back for a full refund if I have any problems or decide it's useless over the next couple of weeks.

Impressions so far from 130 miles of mixed town and country motoring (no motorway miles as yet):

- Definitely a smoother and more progressive drive, with less tendency to stall

- It seems to have improved the low speed pick-up and eliminated a noticeable flat spot

- Marginal improvement in fuel consumption

I'll comment further when I've done some more miles and been on a motorway run.

I'll be very interested to hear how you get along with the DPT box.

I have just taken a chance and fitted one of these to my 170TDI. My local installer claims to have fitted a few of these to VAG PDs with DPF and to have had no issues - and he has agreed to take it back for a full refund if I have any problems or decide it's useless over the next couple of weeks.

Impressions so far from 130 miles of mixed town and country motoring (no motorway miles as yet):

- Definitely a smoother and more progressive drive, with less tendency to stall

- It seems to have improved the low speed pick-up and eliminated a noticeable flat spot

- Marginal improvement in fuel consumption

I'll comment further when I've done some more miles and been on a motorway run.

Well , what do you think now after a few more miles ?

Well, I've just returned from a trip to Cornwall - 900 miles of driving, with a combination of high speed motorway cruising from and back to Sheffield and a lot of low speed pottering around Cornish country lanes.

No problems whatsoever with the tuning box; no DPF problems, error codes or misrunning.

So my conclusions to date are:

- Not an aggressive increase in power, but it seems more progressive than the power delivery without the box fitted, which was always a combination of flat spots and surges. The box seems to have smoothed things out a bit.

-Less need to change down and more flexibility, with less tendency to stall

- Fuel consumption definitely improved, by about 3-4 mpg overall - and I haven't been driving conservatively.

So generally pretty positive.

Thanks for the update. It sounds like it is the sort of thing that Im after.

Well, I've just returned from a trip to Cornwall - 900 miles of driving, with a combination of high speed motorway cruising from and back to Sheffield and a lot of low speed pottering around Cornish country lanes.

No problems whatsoever with the tuning box; no DPF problems, error codes or misrunning.

So my conclusions to date are:

- Not an aggressive increase in power, but it seems more progressive than the power delivery without the box fitted, which was always a combination of flat spots and surges. The box seems to have smoothed things out a bit.

-Less need to change down and more flexibility, with less tendency to stall

- Fuel consumption definitely improved, by about 3-4 mpg overall - and I haven't been driving conservatively.

So generally pretty positive.

Can you actually feel the difference in performance ? Is mid-range acceleration better ? Have you been able to confirm this with timings ?

Just curious, as DPT claim large hikes in the torque and BHP for the 170BHP PD TDI engine which I would have thought would be very obvious.

Nothing further to add really, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else has any experience with one of these boxes.

One point that is worth noting is that it's well worth following up on the insurance links on the DPT site as one broker (Advance) seems to have negotiated a really good deal with Zurich which covers the use of a DPT without loading the policy. Having shopped around through the comparison sites and with some of the specialist brokers who deal with modded cars, no-one else gets near this.

The most noticable thing with my old Dragon is that the torque doesn't drop off above 3k like it does as standard, although there is a bit more urgency at lower revs too. Different car and engine, I know, but I expect they're all variations on a theme...

I have had one of these boxes now for two weeks and it time to pay for it. My local DPT Installer is Andrew Morrey from Tuneup in Horsham.

I only have a 2.0TDI PD 140 with the DSG gearbox, and the power & torque is now up to the 170PD TDI engine.

I went up to leicester twice last week, a round trip of 320 miles. first trip the average was 64mpg, average speed 51mph, spent most of the time at 65ish. Next day had to go up again and the car averaged 54mpg, and I was sitting at 75ish. OK, these figures are based on the maxidot display, but it gives a good indication of the fuel economy.

I'm impressed. the car has so much more torque, it will happily wheelspin in gears 1,2 & 3. (note to self, buy grippy tyres!)

It now feels faster than my 530d touring did. (lighter weight, similar power & torque).

Can't comment on the DPF as I don't have one.

I have just spoken to Andrew and agreed to keep the box. I asked him about the DPF problem and his response was along these lines:

He has fitted DPT's personally to approx 190 VW 2.5 TDI transporters with DPF's. They did have a problem with DPF's, but the issue was the Castrol Oil they were using as recommended by VW. They have now changed over to a fully synthetic oil made by A9 (French) which is a 10/40 and not had any problems since. Andrew Morrey uses Texaco 5/40 fully synthetic oil. The problem was with the ash content of the castrol oil, which the Texaco & A9 oils is minimal according to him. These transporters are doing around 100,000 miles per year, so this taxi firm uses the DPT to improve economy and changed its oil to reduce costs, then there must be something in it.

Edited 21 October, 200817 yr by rockhopper

Do these Tuning boxes increase the load on the fuel pump?

Or has anyone had a fuel pump fail while running a tuning box?

Do these Tuning boxes increase the load on the fuel pump?

Or has anyone had a fuel pump fail while running a tuning box?

They re-program the ECU like a remap does.

No failure yet and none expected.

I have now done 3000 miles since I paid for it. still impressed, still wheel spins in gears 1, 2 & 3 in the wet & 1 & 2 in the dry. average fuel consumption is over 50mpg.

I might remove the fuse for winter driving to reduce the torque & make it easier to drive! but there again I might not...

They re-program the ECU like a remap does.

Guessed it was like a remap, but a remap takes other parameters and sensor readings into consideration.

Imo the fuel pump is already having to cope with 25,000psi or above hence what having to use good grades of oil to stop the oil shearing.

Reading through most sites, the piggyback gives the ecu a false reading aswell as upping the fuel pump pressure.

So i presume the injectors maybe opening for longer with added pressure, a old trick with the 1.9TD Pug 306's was to play with the fuel pump and the boost to get some benefits. All i can say is most people ended up pluming black clouds of crud out!

Edited 29 November, 200817 yr by Browny_37

I'm new to the forum but looking at a new Octavia VRS diesel next year, I'm currently driving a '56 plate Vx Vectra 1.9cdti 150 with 69,000 on the clock. I've been running a tuning box since Oct 06 when the car had approx 9k on the clock. It has been rolling roaded at 193bhp & 60,000 of fun motoring.

However the Vectra hatch does not have a DPF & it does cause it to smoke quite a bit. I bought the box from a Vectra estate owner who's DPF had been playing up with the box fitted.

Are all the VRSd's fitted with a DPF?

I think they all are, but you can buy a tuning box that is compatible with DPF's, at least DPT's tuning box's take into account.

Its just out of general interest for me, theoretically the pumps are under high strain already....and with the amount of parts in a Renaults DCI Fuel pump is amazingly complicated! So wouldnt like to think it may go pop haha KA-CHING!

In the end I went for a Bluefin after the January price reduction. Absolutely no regrets. The difference is very obvious. Much smoother than standard. Very linear power/torque increase and runs easily up to the red line. Superb motorway acceleration in 6th. No fall in overrall MPG (currently doing brim to brim test for comparison). Obviously the way you drive is very important but the increased fuel used in hard acceleration seems to be countered by higher efficiency when cruising.