That is not good at all :(

Very poor customer service, and now they will lose more business - what they deserve if they don't fulfill their promises.

I had hoped to avoid mentioning it on any motoring forums, as there are usually 'name & shame' rules, but I guess this morning I had lost patience and had to have a bit of a keyboard moment.

Apologies for washing dirty laundry in public, I ordered from Dragon on the strength of positive experiences related on threads such as this on various motoring forums, so I guess folks are entitled to hear of the negative experiences when they occur too.

I have no particular axe to grind with them, it didn't work for me, I want my money back, and this is supposed to be processed within 14 days, simple. If they had said within 30 days or 45 days, or hadn't failed to meet previous assurances, I wouldn't be complaining.

I have had one final attempt today to obtain my refund, and again they say it will be processed soon, so we'll have to wait and see.

Failing that, next step will be a solicitors letter asking for clarification of the issue on their part, followed by court proceedings, obtaining a judgement and putting it in the hands of a debt recovery agency.

whats actually up with the box mate?

doesnt work at all or you just dont like the way it delivers power?

I did find it jerky on acceleration at about 2000rpm in 2nd a 3rd gear at first but you get used to it

No problem naming and shaming - the company should be monitoring their online reputation anyway and they could intervene.

They overpromised and underdelivered.

I had no problems with Dragon at all, i ordered the wrong one, got in touch with them, sent it back and they posted a replacement, plus they refunded me the difference and the postage!! Mine has doesn't have various settings like some of the others. I found a difference when it "bedded in" so to speak. Not sure about their 30-35bhp claims tho.........

whats actually up with the box mate?

When I first fitted it, and went out for a blast, the result was impressive, and it felt like it was improving as the miles piled on too, getting stronger and stronger. It was very aggressive, the car went like stink.

However, after living with it for a few days, and getting over the initial honeymoon with the extra kick of power, and boy did it kick! I then started to realise that actually, the thing was flawed and full of holes, as far as driveability was concerned.

The engine was rougher, not smoother, as had been claimed. It started to really drink fuel too, guzzling it down, also contrary to claims. When the car was new I had the hesitation problem at around 1800rpm, which was cured under warranty and had since been fine (the EGR gasket problem) but this came back with a vengeance and the car kangarooed about quite a bit, and at various other points through the rev range too. Very erratic, difficult to drive smoothly when just driving normally.

Then there was the smoke, unbelievable amounts of smoke. I have seen diesel cars belch out soot and particulates before, but this was something else, totally embarrassing, completely unacceptable.

But the biggest problem was that whenever I got up to speeds on motorways or dual carriageways, it sent the car into 'limp home' mode. Every time, several times a day. I couldn't live with that, no way.

I used the jumper pins and turned it down bit by bit, from the default central pin position, to a level that wouldn't send it into limp home mode, but by then, all that stonking performance had been wittled away, and yet it still ran like a bag of bolts, and it still smoked, although to a lesser degree.

After about a week with it, I took it off, and I was gobsmacked at how well the car drove again in standard tune. I was stunned, it is now a nice car to drive again, it just wasn't with the Dragon.

For: Ridiculous, and I do mean ridiculous levels of power gained, it felt much much more than the claimed gains.

Against: Lousy driveability, increased fuel consumption, smoke, limp home mode easily triggered.

It is a real shame that it didn't work out, if I could have had that level of performance, without the drawbacks, I would have been very happy.

Contacting Dragon to return it under the 30 day money back guarantee was no problem, and I got a returns number right away, their service at all times had been excellent. They just don't appear to be able to punch a few buttons on their credit card machine and refund my money.

Sorry to hear you've had so many problems....... Sounds like you may have had a faulty unit...... Or a piccy engine / ECU.

I've had mine on for just over 6 months now and have had no problems so far. I only had an occasional stutter at 1800rpm before i got the Dragon box but it's been nearly none existent since the box went on. My car was also a "smoky 'un" as standard anyway and only puts out slightly more smoke now and i have the box on setting 7 of 7!!! Fuel wise again no difference really..... I've just had 520-odd miles out of the last tank when i filled up yesterday.

To be honest as i've had it so long now i've started to get used to the extra power so don't notice it as much and don't use it as much now the initial 'new toy' factor has gone. I do notice the difference when i drive our other furby vRS which doesn't have a dragon box though.

Hope you get it all sorted quickly.

Cheers

Dave.

For me it's been a pretty positive experience if I'm honest.

I bought mine second hand its the silver type box with 7 jumper pin settings.

Smoke - No extra really, but my car wasn't very smokey as standard, I can only see black smoke if I boot it in 6th which I dont do now anyway to protect the clutch

MPG - According to the trip my average over 1000 miles dropped from 49mpg to 44mpg, but now I have grown out of enjoying booting it everywhere with the extra power this has gone up to 48mpg average... on a 40mile run of mostly dual carriageway I can get the trip reading 56mpg. Getting around 350-420 miles from a tank.

Power- I have the box on setting 6/7 as I feel this is the best compromise for drivability and found it smoked too much on 7. I estimate power to be at around 160-170bhp as it is quicker than a Clio 182 30-60 and is also quicker than a Fiesta ST off roundabouts, by quite a bit.

The only minor gripe I have is that I get a "stutter" where I feel the box "kick in" in 2nd and 3rd gear at about 1800-2000rpm (my car is an 04 BTW)

Also sometimes the car seems to idle a bit rough.

However I have now got used to this.

The only minor gripe I have is that I get a "stutter" where I feel the box "kick in" in 2nd and 3rd gear at about 1800-2000rpm (my car is an 04 BTW)

Also sometimes the car seems to idle a bit rough.

This is exactly what I found with mine

You know what? I get the stutter too - but I have the revs sub-2k so rarely that I've never thought to mention it (54-plate, as it goes). I played about with the settings on mine recently in light of the cost of diesel, and the only real difference I could find was that the overfuelling stopped higher up the rev range, the higher the setting it was on (i.e. it overfuelled all the way up to the redline on 7, but only as far as about 4k on 5) Yes, it smoked more when I first put it on, but the PD160, a new (OEM, paper) filter and a dose of injector cleaner fixed that. There's only the odd puff of smoke now at gear changes...

I think the attached dyno was off Octygone's Superb IIRC. Different intake and exhaust I suppose, but you get the idea...

I agree. Its only little minor niggles but, in my opinion, the PROs far outweight the CONs

Been thinking about the stutter thing - it's not something as simple as the turbo kicking in, is it (1900rpm)? If I accelerate smoothly from lower revs, it's not even noticeable, but if I try to hover between 1800-2000rpm it becomes quite obvious. But like I say, that's when the turbo comes in too... :confused:

Been thinking about the stutter thing - it's not something as simple as the turbo kicking in, is it (1900rpm)? If I accelerate smoothly from lower revs, it's not even noticeable, but if I try to hover between 1800-2000rpm it becomes quite obvious. But like I say, that's when the turbo comes in too... :confused:

It's like processor lag almost. My cruise is a little slower an jerkier to react as well with it fitted.

Still no sign of my refund from Dragon.

Looks like i'm going to have to start with a solicitors letter, some contact with trading standards, and take it from there.

If you're in the market for a tuning box folks, choose wisely.

youre not alone mate - im having exactly the same trouble! i had 2 boxes and both were spiky as hell so i returned them both with no trouble at all but getting money back is a different story. its taken 3 weeks now and today i sent a final email before the solicitors come into it. they have assured me that its been processed and will show up on my statement in a day or so but why am i not convinved? perhaps its cos ive heard the same thing 3 weeks since or maybe im just unreasonable. either way ive had/fitted/tested/removed and sent back 2 boxes and am still hundreds of pounds down for my trouble. hmmm. if anyone wants my advice save up a bit more and get a proper remap like i should have done:thumbdwn:

I have had a tuning box from Dieseltuning uk on my car for nearly a week and i must say i am delighted with it.The unit plugs into the injector pump wiring via Vag connectors and is adustable with a small screw on the side.When i got the box it was set at 8 out of 12 and the difference was amazing.I have since tried it on max setting and boy does it go , but it tends to smoke a little when you boot it, so ive set it on no 9 and it pulls like a train with no smoke.One of the most amazing things tho is the fuel consumption. I would have thought that with the extra power,you would use more fuel ,but my consumption is the best its ever been:confused:.Idont trust the computer when it tells me im avaraging63 .7 mpg on a 35 mile journey, but i still have a quarter tank of fuel left after 502 miles and my fuel buzzer usually comes on at around 470 miles .The car now pulls smoother and is definitely more responsive so i would reccomend the tuning box to anyone:thumbup:

The only gripe i have with it is that the lead from the connectors to the box is not long enough and siting the box can be awkward.

I have now received a cheque from Dragon, and have banked it.

I have now received a cheque from Dragon, and have banked it.

Glad you've eventually got this sorted out fella.

Cheers

Dave.

this varible resistor mod! how does it work, what actually does it do?

Does anybody have a Dragon tuning or Van aakan tuning box for sale????

. Its for the fabia VRS pd 130. Had one before but sold it but would like another as ive decided against a remap.

Thanks

Matt

i used to have a van aaken box on mine. absolutley loved it, felt faster than my remap, but the agressive way the power was delivered screwed my clutch. much more progressive with my current map.

Does anybody have a Dragon tuning or Van aakan tuning box for sale????

. Its for the fabia VRS pd 130. Had one before but sold it but would like another as ive decided against a remap.

Thanks

Matt

I am considering selling mine. I am going to remove it today and drive the car for a few days and see what I think.,

I would be looking for £150 including postage. It is the newer 7 pin model.

I am considering selling mine. I am going to remove it today and drive the car for a few days and see what I think.,

I would be looking for £150 including postage. It is the newer 7 pin model.

You'll notice a difference..... We both do when we drive the unmodded car as we have one with the dragon box and one without.

Cheers

Dave.

Does anybody have a Dragon tuning or Van aakan tuning box for sale????

. Its for the fabia VRS pd 130. Had one before but sold it but would like another as ive decided against a remap.

Thanks

Matt

Hi Matt,

I have one for sale if you're interested. I took it off my Golf GT TDI (130PD) recently and I know it has been on a Fabia VRS before. I was going to start a thread about it in the for sale section, but drop me a pm if you're interested.

Rob

I removed mine today, car definitely feels slower, but also seems to be idling a lot better and running a lot more smoothly overall.