500 miles on a Dragon...

[Decron]

The Dragon tuning box has been fitted a week now and I have done just over 500 miles (581 to be precise) so I thought I would put a review up on how it's working out. The tuning box is supposed to change the fuel map giving the car more power between 1600-4500rpm and it does exactly what it says on the tin... well almost.

About 1800 rpm it kicks in, there is a noticable switch when it does. It isn't massive but you can tell. It's then smooth up to about 2600 rpm when it changes again and it carries on till the valves are knocking on the bonnet asking for a break. Apart from the two switch points the delivery is smooth and very useful also as it's not pushing the turbo like a remap would I have no worries about it going pop. It hasn't thrown up any fault codes with any of the systems (I haven't messed with the settings on the box yet but I am thinking I will leave these as they are as it seems just fine) and I have checked twice. Ill keep checking this and the EGR readings/operation over next few months to monitor for any unwanted longer term side effects but everything is sweet so far.

I would say that based on the original performance and the performance of the 130bhp VRS then it's up around the 130bhp mark with possibly slightly less torque. It doesn't all kick in about 2000rpm as with the VRS, it's a lot smoother and a more refined (Apart from the switch) and it doesn't give me the impression I am thrashing the pants of it (Like I used to get with the VRS), the power increase feels right and effortless. Obviously the next stage is to get a RR readout and see what exactly it does do.

The power isn't that useful around town, you wont get near the range to use it most of the time so it's best put to use in the motorway/dual situation 50-70+ is now very quick making lane changes and overtaking a very pleasing affair with the change of pace being totally controlled yet enough to propel the Roomy to triple figures with ease if you leave your foot on a little to long (Not that I have tested that ). To me this makes the car a lot more competant and much more versatile. The chassis seems to handle this fine. Getting away from as standing start can be a bit more interesting but when you get the hang of it this is another thing that will surprise you, it will just fly! the only downside seems to be that my cruise control now has a slight lag in it, just a fraction of a second but just like the switch you can tell it's there. I believe this to be small delay caused by putting another processor in the system and perfectly acceptable given the upside.

How has this effected fuel economy? You would think that the overall the economy would be worse especially if your booting it more.... Nope :P Overall the average fuel economy for the last tank I used gave me a genuine 48.9mpg average over the tank which is an overall improvement of about 2mpg on what I used to get. (The MFD is telling me an overall of 50.3mpg but I know that these are always optimistic which is why I always check brim to brim) so even if you use the power every now and again it looks like there are gains to be had. At this rate it will pay for itself in about 8 months.

In summary; If your looking for a cost effective, easy to use and removable tuning option for the 1.9tdi Roomster then this has to be be no.1 on the list. It's added a lot to the car without going too far, it's much more driveable and much better on the bigger roads. Combine the whole thing with the RARB and you should have yourself a pretty sweet Roomster... oh wait.... I did :D

You may question my sanity and indeed why I bothered but the answer is simple. I did it because I could. I know what was to be gained and I took the chance. Glad I did now (Especially as the box was only £150) because I don't want to go back!

[Guest parsko]

Thanks for the report, I take it at service time you just unplug and the dealer is none the wiser?

[Decron]

Thanks for the report, I take it at service time you just unplug and the dealer is none the wiser?

You could do that. Takes 5 minutes to remove/refit.

[VRStu]

Sounds promising Martin. Nice review.

[alickswud]

sounds nice, it has to be an option!

[Salut]

Decron, good to hear your test so far.

Curious about the fuel consumption figures. I have just done a run to and from Edinburgh and averaged 60.1. This being a combo of cross country, motorway and thro Liverpool.

My Roomy now has 1800 miles on the clock and yes I too felt the car struggled a bit on the hillier parts of the journey.

The thought of a chip/remap, etc came to mind-hence my interest in the Dragon system mentioned.

Do you have any links to sales/agents?

[Decron]

Decron, good to hear your test so far.

Curious about the fuel consumption figures. I have just done a run to and from Edinburgh and averaged 60.1. This being a combo of cross country, motorway and thro Liverpool.

My Roomy now has 1800 miles on the clock and yes I too felt the car struggled a bit on the hillier parts of the journey.

The thought of a chip/remap, etc came to mind-hence my interest in the Dragon system mentioned.

Do you have any links to sales/agents?

TBH, i would be very wary of the 60mpg especially if it's the gauge thats telling you. Make sure you check with a brim. This is my fourth PD and as an average they get nowhere near that but if your really getting that at the mo then

The car will also loosen up after a few 1000 miles so expect it to get better on it's own.

Here is the link to the box I bought

<30% MORE DIGITAL DIESEL BHP 1,9 PD 100-150BHP VAG CARS on eBay, also Chips, Performance Tuning Parts, Car Tuning Styling, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 10-Apr-08 11:09:28 BST)

[Salut]

Many thanks for the details. I have started monitoring the mpg figures-as you say, it isn't always wise to believe what you see!

I have noted the link.

Again, thanks for the info.

[mdk1]

Nice revue.