Hmm... Still not clear. It's not a straight forward decision then.

I suppose to be fully legit you should keep it totally standard. But I can't help thinking that some extra power would transform the car.

The tuning box appeals to me because you can remove it before taking it to the dealers, ethically correct or not, but on the other hand the shark remap would seem to be more "proper" solution.

How do you stop a dealer blowing the ECU remap away with a firmware or dealer update though?

I guess with the DTUK box you get pretty much at least 6 different feeling options too, you don't get that with a remap.

Some tuners will re flash the map either free or for a small fee . A map in most cases gives better results and retains better protection for the engine than a box

Id love to tune my car, thought of paying a few hundred quid for a tuning box and.possibly a little more insurance to end up with a 200hp sleeper does appeal (I have a 150 TDi) but...and there is a but...

Even a tuning box (that doesnt alter the vehicles software in any way) would invalidate a drivechain warranty and to think otherwise (I try to ignore the fact but cant) is just being naive.

I would imagine if a TB'd (tuning boxed) engine blew up, Skoda UK might do a certain amount of log checks to ensure all was in order before approving a warranty claim (Id have thought) and the car will be logging higher boost and fuel rail pressures ans to the trained eye it would look pretty obvious stock v TB.

Sure the above process would need to actually happen and the person reviewing the logs would need to know and understand what they are looking at but if its the difference between putting several k of new engine in a vehicle or getting the customer to majority/completely fund that then id imagine the dealership/SUK would be doing the relevant homework.

In summary sure....you would be rather unlucky to fall foul to a rejected warranty claim as a result of using a tuning box but if the car was investigated forensically (which lets face it, car manufacturers know this kit exists and probably dont like it a great deal and they are getting cannier about it) there will be trace evidence.

If youre even remotely worried about warranty cover you just should leave well alone IMHO....also in fairness the 184 TDi isnt exactly slow and even in stock form has more performance than you can really take advantage of on UK roads; TBF even the 150 TDi is quite quick and more than capable of getting you in trouble.

There is also the inevitable additional wear and tear...the vRS is geared up to take a good 200-odd hp so less relevant but sticking a TB on a 150 TDi with stock suspension and standard 288mm brakes I dont personally feel is such a clever thing as its almost slightly overpowered for its suspension and braking setup anyway.

Both offer very similar performance but one costs 40% less than the other. That makes for an easy choice.

Both offer very similar performance but one costs 40% less than the other. That makes for an easy choice.

As easy as that?

As easy as that?

For me it would be. Diesel engines are simpler and generally more rubust than petrol, so IMO tuning boxes are a good match.

 

You should also consider that a tuning box can be removed or replaced by the owner within 5 minutes, and that you can manually adjust the map settings to a number of presets.

 

The petrol tuning boxes are a little more complicated to fit and have to work with more parameters. For petrol I would feel safer with a good remap, but then you have to take the car backwards and forwards to the dealers for changes, updates or fault-finding.

Edited 9 February, 201511 yr by Orville

I have run both back to back on the same car, the DTUK box was a good compromise to the Shark Performance map but a compromise non the less.

The DTUK CRDt+ improved the car but the Shark Performance remap transformed the drivability of the car, it's completly your choice but that is my honest appraisal of the two products.

Pipsyp - thanks for that post. Made for interesting reading. 

I have run both back to back on the same car, the DTUK box was a good compromise to the Shark Performance map but a compromise non the less.

The DTUK CRDt+ improved the car but the Shark Performance remap transformed the drivability of the car, it's completly your choice but that is my honest appraisal of the two products.

 

Just when I thought I'd come to a decision, you through me back in the opposite direction! 

Just when I thought I'd come to a decision, you through me back in the opposite direction!

That's the exact problem with this type of thread

Dtuk all the way I have one and u think it's amazing they ran one on a dino at 239.6 bhp I think it was.

i have a shark  map on my superb and its transformed the car.  heard bad things about tuning box`s causing it to overfuel and smoke excessively under hard acceleration.  so imo id go for a remap every time

in my experience, and ive run APR, REVO remaps and a DTUK tuning box, this simply hasn't happened... My mpg climbs ever higher now and theres no clouds of smoke either.. The DTUK box has also transformed the car AND it gives the option of altering the map to suit the current climate.. tuning down for winter roads, back up in summer or just how you like your car to drive....

I agree remaps generally offer better drivability. Don't get hung up on power figures. Highest figure doesn't always mean it will be the best in real life conditions. Very unlikely to cause an engine "to go bang" with either a remap or tuning box as the engine would usually go into limp mode first. All the people that say it will cause extra wear and tear and reliability issues I would say it's more down to the persons driving style which would happen whether it was standard or remapped. I've remapped various cars over the last ten years and never had any issues caused by the remap and never had to replace clutches etc. Every car was running on average 40-50hp more than standard. Covered 130k miles in a tdi audi a4, 76k miles in mk1 Leon cupra r in just over two years with extensive track use and 64k miles in mk2 octavia vrs tsi to name but a few.....all with no issues. I've always used revo software and I believe they now offer software for the 184 engine and are significantly cheaper than shark.

Pipsyp - thanks for that post. Made for interesting reading.

V welcome indeed Skodanorman. TBH I think with a map youre more or less done for and whilst it is most unlikely a TB will get rumbled there is always a risk. If you havw any warranty concerns whatsoever Id personally suggest just to leave as is mate

Conversely, you could also lay on your deathbed wondering one thing !!!

One interesting point is how remaps affect resale value. The vast majority of used buyers would prefer not to touch a tuned car. That means you'd be better off removing the box/remap before selling it. In the case of a remap you'll lose the full cost (£600), plus any fee to reload the original map. With a tuning box you remove yourself and then sell it on eBay for half the purchase price. Even if you decide you do not like the box after awhile and want to take it off, someone will pay good money for it.

Of course, a good remap is hard to beat but modern tuning boxes (especially on diesels) will provide 90% of the fun for half the price. With Superchips doing VRS TSI remaps for £365, £600+ seems a little steep

The question is why is remap more expensive than TB since they offer more of the same, only in different form.

Very unlikely to cause an engine "to go bang" with either a remap or tuning box as the engine would usually go into limp mode first.

That just isn't true , it's very easy to map an engine incorrectly and for it to be damaged. Even more hit and miss with a tuning box in some ways , you are relying on the stock software to to make the right decision based on manipulated and therefore inaccurate data from the sensors

The question is why is remap more expensive than TB since they offer more of the same, only in different form.

99% of the cost of the remap is paying for the expertise of the person doing it, sometimes there are licensing fees as well. Problem is that many people have deemed themselves to be mappers by virtue of access to a database containing generic maps and simply flash a map on the ecu, they aren't mappers.

All a tuning box can do is manipulate the data from the engines sensors so that the stock map can make the engine behave differently , a proper mapper can alter every aspect of the engines drivability and often add features , you can map to build boost quickly , to improve idle, to add a safety net at high rpm, multiple maps etc etc etc .

Pipsyp - thanks for that post. Made for interesting reading. 

Agreed, I remapped my previously PD140 (Shark Stage 1) and upgraded the brakes to vRS calipers and disks and the suspension to Bilstein B12 to match the increased power.

Before the country took a sharp decline around about 1997, we all had a thing called free choice and it was great... Westminster didn't feel the need to make our choices for us and we all came up with different answers... that 'caution, danger of icy roads' warning really winds me up!!!

 

Anywho, back on topic. I have free choice, as does the OP, as does everyone on here and the point of a forum is to air different views and learn from each others' experiences and views...with my free choice, I chose the DTUK CRDT+ box as it was cheaper than other options and offered increased performance and flexibility. Plus, ive never had a tuning box before and I thought (beware free-thought police) Id try one..

 

So far, from my experience, I haven't ran out of control, spewing engine parts into the cabin area, through a hedge on fire and turned upside in the middle of a nuns college.... because I chose a tuning box. Would I choose one again... yes... am I sponsored by the company, certainly not... have I driven loads of performance cars for the police, certainly have....

 

By all means OP, take your choice, listen to all the opinions and pay what you feel you want for the performance...

 

Rant over, soapbox vacated...

Folk are talking about more power, more torque, better 'drivability', even improved mpg! What's the down side? How come the manufacturers aren't able to optimise their engines as well as small scale 3rd party tuners?

 

Do tuned engines breach some emission limit? Are their lives shortened? Why aren't new cars shipped in this improved, tuned state?

How come the manufacturers aren't able to optimise their engines as well as small scale 3rd party tuners?

 

Manufacturers make engines that have to 'survive' everywhere they sell the car, not just the UK or Europe.  That means they have to have massively big tolerances to avoid huge numbers of failures in countries where the engines are fed on camel dung or whatever passes for fuel... not everywhere has 99RON or even 95RON fuel (or diesel that is as kind to the engine as Fairy washing up liquid is to your hands).

 

Also, I have no idea whether VAG do this, but it wouldn't surprise me... sometimes the same engine is used and tuned differently for different models - BMW in the 1 series (and this is as I've been told, so it could be slightly inaccurate) use the same engine in the 116d, 118d and 120d - it's just mapped differently.  I think there are different hardware components as well, but it's still the same basic 2.0L turbo diesel engine.

Folk are talking about more power, more torque, better 'drivability', even improved mpg! What's the down side? How come the manufacturers aren't able to optimise their engines as well as small scale 3rd party tuners?

 

Do tuned engines breach some emission limit? Are their lives shortened? Why aren't new cars shipped in this improved, tuned state?

For some, the standard power / torque is all they will need. Im simply amazed that my TDi vrs is only £30 a year road fund licence, and its partly due to that, the emissions regs... etc. At the price point, this is the market friendly power / torque value. There will always be those who strive for more... marginal gains its called by The Sky Pro Cycling Team..... £25k gets you a 184 bhp / 280ft /lb torque car.... the rest is up to you....