Right, first off I know that a proper remap is the preferred route, but for various reasons, I quite like the 'plug' / 'unplug' versions (mainly due to warranty, but also it's transferrable from car to car if necessary and can therefore have a 'resale' value)

Anyways, all that aside, I saw this on ebay... does anyone have one? What are general thoughts on it?

Digital ASA CR Chiptuning | Skoda Octavia RS TDI on eBay (end time 03-Sep-09 12:48:00 BST)

Honestly mate, I'd either save your money or invest in Bluefin and do it properly.

I'm going to be biased in the other direction here, because I've had a Dragon box on my engine for a couple of years now, and am more than happy for much the same reasons as you would seem to be with a tuning box - not least because you won't get much (if any) more power from a Bluefin that you would from a digital tuning box. A full-on remap will give you much more than either, of course, but for more money, and not removable (unless you get a One-Click, which is EXPENSEEV!!!)

However...

The one you link to has rather more of a stink of tuna that a Bluefin ever could (geddit?! ) - mainly because it's listed at less than half what a digital box can go for second-hand, and there aren't any connectors shown in the picture.

I've seen analogue resistor boxes masquerading as digital boxes by merit of having a nine-pin socket on the top, but the easiest way of telling is how it connects to the engine: an analogue box connects in series with the fuel temperature sender, and needs no power; a digital box connects in series with the injector electronics, and needs power from the battery. A quick question asking about fitting should clear it up, but my money's on it being a pig in a poke...

cheers - I used to have the Dragon for the Fabia too (bought it on here and then sold it on here ) --- thought it was fantastic (ie. more than adequate for me )

anyways, if you scroll down to Installation, and Scope of Delivery on the ebay link...

The ASA CR tuningbox has to be installed between the common rail pressure sensor and the ECU. The common rail sensor is located at the end of the common rail or between diesel high pressure looms going to the injection units.

the worrying bit for me is reading this:

The car specific adapter is included. The concept of tuningbox with car specific adapter gives you the possibility of a tuningbox reuse on a new common rail car. In many cases you only need a new adapter which is available on our homepage.

not sure what the first quote is saying in reality - ideas? - don't really understand 'engine' talk!... but the second one makes it sound really generic (and therefore analogue!?)

the picture in 'scope of delivery' does look like my old dragon - but it could have been made like this just 'for show' (to imitate)

edit: just asked him how it connects up, and whether it needs connecting to the car battery... will post back the response

Sounds genuine, actually. Dragons can be used on different engines (later ones, at least...) :ne_nau:

Nope, swung back again. Had another look at the ad on my PC rather than the phone, and my original thoughts of it being an analogue box sold as a digital one have resurfaced. First, it is adjusted by a potentiometer rather than jumpers, which suggests it's a resistor rather than a chip holding different maps. Second, the picture of the loom does not have any flyleads for power (which you'll remember from your Dragon). I don't know enough about CR to say for certain, but it may well be that spoofing the signal from the common rail pressure sensor does the same job as spoofing the fuel temperature sensor on a PD engine. Pressure and temperature are inextricably linked, after all. Third, if you type 'ASA digital tuning' into Google, this thread is the first on the list!!!

Avoid...

If you are after a decent digital tuning box that you can plug/unplug for your cr try a Tunit box, gives 195bhp/ 295ft/lb. A "friend" of mine bought a used one from ebay for £150 to fit a mercs/smart (same Bosch 1 harness) then got it reprogrammed at a tunit distibutor for £40. Works well giving a noticable extra oomph with no smoking or DPF issues even on max. setting and can be easily removed for service/warrenty issues.

Beware if going for a Tunit.

I had one fitted to my PD170 and it was rough as a badgers when starting cold. (No good for the DPF)

Also when checking with VCDS (VAGCOM) there were lots of engine faults with signals to and from the engine being outside their expected ranges. When I asked Tunit about this they said it was the first they had heard of the faults but they hadn't ever checked for them but they said the faults could occur because that was how the unit worked - didn't fill me with confidence.

These faults dinted my confidence in the units as being "removable" for warranty issues etc as one look by the dealer and you're sure to get a phone call.......

The way the Tunit boxes (and I would guess the other DIGITAL units work) is that it amplifies or attenuates the various signals to and from the ECU to give running gains. A proper ECU remap on the other hand takes pure signals from the engine and using the modified map in the ECU gives gains based on true real time information.

Another downside of tuning boxes is that it is another piece of hardware in the engine compartment which may fail and/or suffer from water ingress. At least with a remap or Bluefin there is no other hardware to install and if you are worried about removing the map for warranty then with the Bluefin it is really easy - I would say as quick as removing a well fitted tuning box.

Sorry to hear you had probs but I believe the PD tunit is a different unit to the Common rail one. My friend has been running his for several thousand miles now without missing a beat, no probs when cold it just runs the same as OEM.

Rough as a badgers from cold you say, PD engine you say, I rest my case !!!!! Only kidding.

I think you may be right that a proper re-map is better in the long run, but my friend was worried about messing with the ECU on a warrantied company car and liked the idea of just unplugging two OEM plugs to fit/ remove the tunit upgrade.

If Skoda can pick up values on diagnostics from a removed plug-in, as you say, then surely the same would apply to a re-map that had been over written.

My Dragon's never put up any fault codes. The trouble with the Tunit is cost, though - nearly as much as a remap... :(

got a response....

thanks for the request. Please make sure that you really have the common rail engine and not the older Pumpe-Düse injection system. Otherwise it won?t fit. The connection is between common rail pressure sensor and ECU. A additional connection to the battery isn?t necessary.

so appears to be analogue!

I had done a search both of these forums and of google and got (as good as) no results!

think i may give this is a miss!

incidently, I think I looked at the Bluefin before... doesn't it weigh in at nearly £400!?....

think my biggest (concious) problem is the Dragon for the Fabia only cost around £150 :( which is a bargain considering the noticable difference it made!

Bluefin for the Octy is £435 but if you mention that you are a Briskoda forum member then you get 10% off. So £391. I paid more than that for the Tunit box.

Each to their own but having tried the Tunit I'd have the Bluefin any day.

You also get Superchips warranty supplementing your standard manufacturers warranty should it be required - ask Tunit about their warranty....

cheers Ali - didn't know about the warranty thing - will look into that!

I believe the unit needs "recoding", should I get another vRS in the future that I wish to use it on... anyone have any idea what the "recoding" charge (£) is?

I don't want to repeat myself as there are other threads on this tack presently.

But I was told by a chap called Joe at Superchips that if you changed the car in the first 12 months of buying the Bluefin then they would swap it to the new one for no charge. This is of course dependant on the new car being compatible. After 12 months and there would be a "nominal" charge. Not sure what nominal was and he didn't say.

Do a search for REVO VRS CR 170 REMAP and something should crop up.

Give this purchase plenty of thought, it is a lot of money and if you make the right choice you'll smile for miles!!!

ah yes! had seen that thread before (thanked you for your review on it on 6th August ) - hadn't kept an eye on it for subsequent posts tho