Does anyone have any experience of the performance upgrades available on E-Bay. The one in particular that I have been looking into is an 'L' shaped affair made of black plastic with a plug at each end. It is specifically for VAG 'PD' engines and claims a BHp increase of 20 and a torque increase of 40lb/ft.

They have quite a spangly ad and the prices vary from

Sounds like a tuning box. Something like "Tune-it" or other.

To answer your questions (but I cannot guarantee the reliability of my replies ) I'd say:

1) they tend to be fairly realistic. Any mere tuning box that offers something like 30%+ is pushing it

2) I'd say no as they only affect fuelling, i.e. throw more diesel. What it will do is smoke more. If they throw excess fuel, or disrupt other signals beyond their "accepted tolerances" (note, not necessarily causing engine damage), you may get the engine management light come on which will need a dealer visit or someone with vagcom to clear the fault code

3) You'll definately get more bhp and pleasurable driving from a remap, i.e. remap will be more rewarding experience and more refined probably. Obviously, a remamp will cost more, produce more power and not cause error logging. Bang for buck, I'd say they're probably better than a remap if you pick a box up for

I paid 30 quid for my Dragon Tuning Box off eBay and the claim is 25/30% and similar torque gains. I've no rolling road dynos, but the butt dyno definitely notices a difference! Bang for buck, it's far better than a remap at just over

I've got one that sounds very similar to the one you're looking at. The light did come on but I just reset it myself with VAG-COM.

There is a noticeable and I can't complain for

Had one and now have a jabba re map. TBO not a big diffrence between them, not even with smoke as they both do smoke quite a bit more than standard.

Had realised that the jabba map was also smoky and only gave a little more power I probably would not have paid my

Barrie502 there must be something wrong or something right with the tuning box then because my Fabia vRS pulls on the new WRX Bugeye Impreza's now (Not STi's however haven't tested one yet) and I cant imagine any tuning box giving similar gains, also I wouldnt want to spend 10k on a car then put a

also I wouldnt want to spend 10k on a car then put a

How do you think a remap works? Both have the potential to damage the engine' date=' but both are set up within "safe" parameters.

Chris[/quote']

Hi Chris

Forgot to ask last time does the green filter help and stop the smoking a bit

Forgot to ask last time does the green filter help and stop the smoking a bit

Bizarrely, my car has never smoked much so it's hard to say. Would imagine it might do as in theory it should let more air through, but not sure. I hear NOS does though

Chris

Bizarrely' date=' my car has never smoked much so it's hard to say. Would imagine it might do as in theory it should let more air through, but not sure. I hear NOS does though

Chris[/quote']

Don't even want to think about NOS :eek:

Next trick! sort the suspension out...... at least the ARBs

How do you think a remap works?

Stolen from another post.

The resistor in a box type boxes con the engine management into delivering more fuel by giving a false fuel temperature reading. The fueling is altered throughout the rev range at the same rate. They are good for a modest increase in power but on later cars can cause the engine management light to come on that will need to be reset by a dealer or VAG-COM. At some points in the rev range you maybe overfueling at other points you may not be producing the maximum power that is available for the airflow available.

The more complex tuning boxes intercept signals to either the engine management or electronic fuel pump (Depending on engine version) and will modify the signals the car receives. The better ones will adjust fueling depending on air flow/throttle position/load/etc. On the adjustable units you can trim them to take advantage of all the air available at standard boost pressure and make sure you are not producing smoke.

A remap has a big advantage over the tuning box because you can raise boost pressure as well as fueling. On top of that a good tuner can produce a map to suite your driving style or preference as well as protecting drive componets from shock loads.

Also, a few differences when you get a custom remap you can take into account the following:

Variable valve timing adjustment

Rev limit adjustment

Boost limit & level adjustment

Dual maps for use with different fuel grades & types

Water Injection

Nitrous oxide progressive injection

Bigger/supplementary injector handling

Variable induction control

Full throttle gear changes

Idle speed stabilisation

So what you're saying is a custom remap is putting more strain on a lot more of the engine components, compared with a tuning box which basically just puts a little bit more fuel in?

Chris

At some points in the rev range you may be overfueling, and at other points you may not be producing the maximum power that is available for the airflow available.

So would it be reasonably safe to assume that a mild DIY performance increase, to 165-175bhp, is easily achievable by installing a Tuning Box, a Green Panel Filter, and a Cupra Air Intake? I guess this could all be done on a Sunday morning for less than

I could go on for a while about the advantages, but having a tuning box on my TDCi and the damage it caused I wouldnt want to opt for a cheap option next time

What damage did it do to the TDCi?

AFAIK it's not actually possible to damage a diesel by overfuelling, it just pushes out more soot...

Rob.

AFAIK it's not actually possible to damage a diesel by overfuelling, it just pushes out more soot...

It is possible - as you push more diesel into the engine, the temperature in the cylinder rises and can cause damage this way. The exhaust gases tend to be hotter too. However, I suspect that it would take quite a lot of overfuelling to get to that stage (I ran the Disco with the fuel pump wound up to max!) and even the max setting on a tuning box will be nowhere near this limit

Chris

So would it be reasonably safe to assume that a mild[/i'] DIY performance increase, to 165-175bhp, is easily achievable by installing a Tuning Box, a Green Panel Filter, and a Cupra Air Intake? I guess this could all be done on a Sunday morning for less than

I'm putting a group buy together if anyone wants one.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/t20925-tuning-boxes.html

Barrie502 there must be something wrong or something right with the tuning box then because my Fabia vRS pulls on the new WRX Bugeye Impreza's now (Not STi's however haven't tested one yet) and I cant imagine any tuning box giving similar gains, also I wouldnt want to spend 10k on a car then put a

Barrie, did you use the same tuning box as that which Stu is currently offering?

....Not convinced that overfueling a diesel will harm it...

Really ? Tell that to owners of previous generation TDi VW cars whose injectors were not changed at 80,000miles. Incorrect fuel metering resulting from warn injectors led to oval bores and eventually massive oil consumption.

IMHO, regardless of the method used, you play with fuel metering only if you have a hell of a lot of experience and the knowledge and equipment to make sure that the bores of the engine are not being washed with unused diesel. Very few of the 'tuning' options comes with an engine warranty element attached though at least one does.

I thought this oval bore problem was down to worn injectors, which caused a totally different spray pattern. This spray pattern then washed the bores and hey presto you have an oval bore, and burn loads of oil.

I thought this oval bore[/i'] problem was down to worn injectors, which caused a totally different spray pattern. This spray pattern then washed the bores and hey presto you have an oval bore, and burn loads of oil.

Thats how its reported yes, but surely overfueling of an engine time and time again could have the same effect possibly IMHO.

Anyhow, I'm certainly not going to risk at

Thats how its reported yes, but surely overfueling of an engine time and time again could have the same effect possibly IMHO.

Anyhow, I'm certainly not going to risk at

Hi

Have seen VagCom metioned several times on this forum, what is it?

is it something easily obtainable for the average Joe?

Ta

Si

http://www.vag-com.com/