TMC Tuning Box Review - 1.4 TSI Engine

[Ootohere]

If you are not trying to stay with a Warranty,

i would just go for the APR Stage 1 Remap.

 No need for the TMC Tuning box other than a Remap Voids any Warranty.

 

The tuning box does as well if it is known by whoever Underwrites the Warranty as having been fitted.

[Furbytom]

64-bit processor? Seems more like "Commodore 64" to me......! Lol

Just kidding really. To be fair to TMC I'm sure their proper box is pretty decent plenty of people have used it without any issues. At least they have offered a no-quibble refund.

[Th3Grinch]

Dont want to risk a warranty being voided just yet. Hence the tmc being a possibility. That and the fact I believe it will make me suffer come resell/trade in time.

[Ally_bassman]

I've said this a few times now, I hope TMC read this;

I'm not bad mouthing the company. I still think the original TMC box is a good product. I just think it should be made clearer what you are actually buying from the eBay store.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought this up here? I chose to do so so other people didn't make the same error as me saving them and TMC's time.

[multiskoda]

Wouldn't worry about what TMC think. They create confusing products and there's a fallout from that. Any company worth it's salt will seek to rectify that problem one way or another, not bitch about their customers and online forums instead. That's the attitude of a company out of tune with both it's customers and modern media.

[Ootohere]

As it is the 'TMC MOTORSPORT'

figures given with the Original box are nonsense, (OP Dyno in this thread, the real deal.)

Maybe TMC Motorsport can correct them on their site!

 

as an Example.

The 1.4 TSI 180 ps/178 bhp (132 kW) in the Fabia vRS,  

& the Audi A1 1.4 TFSI 185 ps/182.5 bhp (136 kW) 

 

On the 'TMC MOTORSPORT' site,

They have the vRS showing as

132 kw going to 163 kW

179 bhp going to 222 bhp

**280 Nm going to 340 Nm**

 

&

the A1 1.4 TFSI 185 ps, On the 'TMC MOTORSPORT' site.

 

136 kW going to 157 kW

185 ps going to 213 ps

**250 Nm going to 300 Nm**

 

They just pick a number any number and publish it.

http://tmcmotorsport.com

 

Skoda figures for a standard 1.4 TSI 180 ps (132kW) are Max Torque (Nm/rpm 250/2,000-4,500)

** not 280 Nm**

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/210335-installing-tmc-tuning-box-mk2-fabia-vrs-guide

[dandanfings]

Just to add my experiences...

 

I have the ebay box, i bought it thinking it was the same as the other TMC tuning boxes that had such great feedback.

When i received the unit i noticed i couldn't adjust the settings like on the red boxes, so i opened it up with a screw driver and was shocked to see this tiny little circuit board and like the topic poster on here... alarm bells went off.

 

I emailed TMC and they told me that this is the new version and that it functions exactly the same as the old unit, ok no problem but how do i adjust the settings, it has 3 channels to adjust.

Well he didn't know and said he would email me the PDF file explaining what to do.

Ok you are selling a product you don't know how to adjust?? 

I still give the benefit of the doubt and wait patiently and like promised the PDF arrived the following morning

But there was 2 odd channels that i didn't quite understand the point of:

 

• channel 2 changes the response.... what response the throttle response?
• channel 3 changes shutdown... wtf is that and why would i want to change that in small percentages?.

 

When i emailed about the 3rd channel i didnt get a response, which quite frankly ladys and gents sounds to me like they dont know what it does....

Anyway buyer beware and if possible just get your car remapped, in my case i have a 2013 model which so far cannot be mapped :(

Edited 19 April, 2014 by dandanfings

[dandanfings]

added the PDF file for others to download, let me know what you think.

Setting V4.2.pdf

[Th3Grinch]

No experience if these at all other than I have my eye on them. But those instructions seem a bit 'off' may be completely wrong though. Do we know if anyone in the uk has actually used one?

[dandanfings]

No experience if these at all other than I have my eye on them. But those instructions seem a bit 'off' may be completely wrong though. Do we know if anyone in the uk has actually used one?

Well i did use the box on stock settings and it did make the car very torquey but feels kind of inconsistent.

If i was to have a guess, its just a resistor in a box in fancy packaging like all the others.

[Wibb]

Just posting a follow up on behalf of Daron at TMC, in my personal opinion I feel this will hopefully clear up any misconceptions about the product by speculative comments posted previously:

 

 

Hi Wibb, since it was the Easter holidays and like everyone else I was trying to get a couple of days down time I apologize for the delay in responding in more detail.

The units that we sell on Ebay were as I stated produced for our dealer in Brazil. Brazil cars are different to most other cars around the world due to the fact that Brazil use a high percentage of Ethanol in their petrol/gasoline, this can make the cars run slightly lean so the tuning maps we have designed for our website units can sometimes cause Brazilian cars to go into limp mode, we needed to make a solution for the 1.4 engine with more user adjustability so the owner can change most of the adjustments on the unit without having our programming software. Brazil also has huge import duty and taxes so it was not an option for customers there to send the units back to us to change mapping.

The units are mapped for the 1.4 twin charger engines but can be adjusted to higher settings to suit the single charger engines, the only twin charger engines which are popular here are the 160/180 and 185 and these use the same map. The customer in Brazil made a large order for these units and then reduced the amount slightly after they were produced. This left us with some surplus units which would could not sell through our website because they do not look like our website unit so we reduced the price of them and sold them from Ebay. These units are by no means inferior and run with the same quality components as used in our website unit with the addition of extra adjusters, the adjusters are for 3 settings power, activation and switch off point.

Power: This is for adjusting the level of increased power given by the unit.

Activation: This sets how aggressively or softly you feel the tuning start. E.G the power increase can be smooth or made to come in with a kick.

Switch off point: This can lower the point in the RPM where the tuning stops, we always set a point at which tuning stops so that the vehicle does not have too much boost pressure at high RPM however with this unit you can lower that point.

There was absolutely no intention to deceive customers and I repeat this is not an inferior unit in any way however if anyone who has bought one of these feels disappointed with the performance or perceived quality we will offer a full refund or exchange the unit to one of our website units at no extra charge. The Ebay units have been taken off Ebay in order that these issues do not arise again. We will sell these units to our Brazil customer when his stock runs low as he knows exactly how they function.

Customer satisfaction is always top priority for TMC Motorsport and we would always prefer that any customer who is dis-satisfied with our products should speak with us directly and we will always attempt to resolve any issues, my concern here was simply that some people were trying to infer that we were selling some cheap resistor junk through Ebay and deceiving customers, this is simply not the case and we do not offer such products.

If anyone on this forum has bought the unit from Ebay and wishes to return it for a full refund or exchange it for the unit sold directly via our website please contact us directly via our website or by phone. We will re-open for business on Wednesday the 23rd April. Happy Easter.



Best regards,

Daron Brown - International Sales,

TMC Motorsport
11 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, BT16 1GJ, Northern Ireland, UK

www.tmcmotorsport.com | Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/TMC-Motorsport/104185996286170 | Blog http://wwwtmcmotorsport.blogspot.co.uk/

Tel. 02890 507999 / 07967 565582

Intl +44 2890 507999

 

P.S

As I said in the message customer satisfaction with our products is number one priority. There was no deliberate attempt to deceive anyone here. I don’t think there is any more we can do than offer a full refund or exchange. I apologise to anyone who thinks they were misled in anyway, the units they received are not inferior in any way. Also the photo Ally showed on page 1 is the back of the circuit board, this is the front attached.

 

 

[Th3Grinch]

Thats a better response. Can understand why a proper one wasnt given originally. Everyone deserves a holiday!

This has definitely improved my opinion of the boxes. Also very well explained I think regarding difference in units, and also what this brazilian one did. (Think that one would actually benefit some people) ie; id like the possibility of turning the power down for when swmbo drives. (The supercharger and her dont get along) Not sure if I go for an APR map or a tmc? Will have to have a pro's and con's conversation with myself.

[Ally_bassman]

I agree, great explanation. TMC's reputation has not changed in my book. The original box is a great product. When you sell the car and move on, you won't get extra money for an APR map on the ECU. Beauty of the TMC is you can whip it off and sell on? Win win.

Edited 21 April, 2014 by Ally_bassman

[Th3Grinch]

Thats very true. Also says on the site that you can transfer to your next car. (Does that mean another twincharger or any car and theyll change the settings?)

Edited 21 April, 2014 by Th3Grinch

[dandanfings]

its nice to have an explanation finally about what the 3rd channel does.

Now the 3rd channel that controls shutdown might be the reason why the power tapers off at high rpm as right now it feels like it runs out of power about 4000rpm.

[Binzie]

Mine went back on today after its winter rest ..... im still smiling !

[Ally_bassman]

Just to make everyone aware, the 'Brazilian' TMC box is back up on eBay. Anyone thinking of purchasing a TMC box, do not be fooled by the reduced price compared with the TMC website.

It is a less sophisticated version that is designed to work on any TSI engine. Not a specific motor.

Buyer beware.

[Ootohere]

Buy Brazilian and be a 2 time loser. Waiting to see if going German is any more of a winner.