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Remap tuning boxes!

8K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  Pez_mk2golf 
#1 ·
Hello all,

Just looking to see if anyone has had any experience with remap tuning boxes i.e dtuk, racechips, dte? Has anyone fitted them to there tsi or gti were there any gains? any pros and cons?

If so what brand did you opt for and what variant?

Any advice from anyone with experience using one on there tsi or gti would be welcome.

Thanks all.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Save some cash, and give JBS in Derbyshire a phone.
Their currently doing their Stage 1 remap for a very reasonable £240.
That will include a lengthy session on their rolling road, as well as the 32Hp remap, a bit of software that has now been tried and tested on possibly every UP GTI in the Midlands and Derbyshire area.

Theres several videos on their Facebook page, showing several Gtis going through their paces on their Rolling road, and theres print outs of all the Hp gains for everyone to see.

With a tuning box, you simply have no idea how much HP your standard engine is producing.

Ive no experience with Tuning boxes, as i dislike not knowing what HP my engine is producing.

You just plug the things in, and you experience the performance boost, but simply not knowing what Hp gains i am getting, NO THANKS.

Quality remap every time for me, with a print out, to see the before and after hp increase.
 
#4 ·
Fitted a DTUK tuning box 2-years ago, fantastic piece of quality kit, from standard mine now produces 131bhp with close to 200-nm of torque, with and average 6~7mpg gain, a much, much nicer car to drive.

Comes standard with a 5-year warranty and is a doddle to fit. Despite all the hype from the uniformed about it just being a box of tricks etc, which of course is total bollocks, just do a search for the DTE headquarters in Germany and see their set-up they spend millions in research and technology every year forever making improvements and sell their product's all over the world, which speaks for itself....
 
#5 ·
DTUK may well the the exception to the rule, but chip tuning boxes containing nothing more than a bunch of resistors to trick the fuel and temp sensors is most certainly not "bullshit".



As with any modification, do your due diligence before applying to your vehicle.
 
#6 ·
The thing i dislike about tuning boxes, is not knowing how much horsepower you start off with, and finish with.
You can feel the power increase, but how much, and what is is physically doing to your engine managements system.

Anything that alters or adjusts the power on a standard engine, i want to know by how much.

Some may be afraid of having their cars ECU software replaced with something they have little or no knowledge about, but at least with a remap, you know what your standard engine is producing, and what power its producing after the alteration.

That's the main reason i will always choose a remap over a tuning box.
 
#7 ·
Absolutely. Also factor in that a tuner will do a dyno run and check what the sensors are reading beforehand as well and advise if anything looks untoward, or at least they should do.
Then they will apply their base map, do a run and check and then tweak if needed from there before doing doing a final measured run. I know at SA they did about 5 or 6 dyno pulls on the Up and MX5. My Gti went from 121 to 140bhp, the MX5 from 169 to 186bhp. Both were conservative as well.

But i fear we're going over old ground here.....
 
#8 ·
Come October 1st, I will settle this tuning saga for good, and report my findings on what an extra 30hp or so will do for my GTi.
If members are still full of anxiety and dread, about the thought of increasing their engines efficiency, by only a small margin, then they should not have bought a Gti.

In today's high efficiency engines, 115 Hp from a 1Litre engine is not that much.

It's a pityful amount of power considering that other cars in the same class of vehicle, are throwing out considerably more.

It's a shame that VW didn't give the Up Gti enough power for it to be taken really seriously.

All the car journalists loved the thing, but most of them thought the car to be underpowered compared to its main competitors of the Suzuki Swift Gti, and Abarth 595,.
 
#9 ·
The main problem is not the power, it's the overly zealous TC that stops you using it. If you could turn that off easier then you could start to learn to use what's there.
I can tell you now not that it feels a lot more lively with TC turned off and no nannies holding back what's there.
 
#10 ·
Thanks so much to everyone that replied you've been a great help some really interesting points being made and going forward I would have always opted for a proper remap on a rolling road I am just keen to know what other peoples experience is with tuning boxes and it seems a large percentage would advice against it but one or two saying from first hand that they can make a noticable difference ece.

Agreed its hard to know if there is truth behind these number being quoted as unless is is on a rolling road before and after this will not be possible to tell for sure.

Thanks again all sorry for the late reply I have been away.
 
#11 ·
[/quote]
Absolutely. Also factor in that a tuner will do a dyno run and check what the sensors are reading beforehand as well and advise if anything looks untoward, or at least they should do.
Then they will apply their base map, do a run and check and then tweak if needed from there before doing doing a final measured run. I know at SA they did about 5 or 6 dyno pulls on the Up and MX5. My Gti went from 121 to 140bhp, the MX5 from 169 to 186bhp. Both were conservative as well.

But i fear we're going over old ground here.....[/QUOTE]

Hi mate where abouts do SA owork from?

I am based in Surrey and I'm finding it hard to track anyone who has a track record for tuning up tsi or gti well and reliably.

All the best.
 
#12 · (Edited)
There's an interesting article in this months VW performance magazine on tuning boxes, it's on sale in WH Smiths.
I read most of it, and it highlighted the main pros and cons.

Most of it was quite technical, so anyone contemplating buying a tuning box should check it out.

Pez, give MTM in Sussex a ring.
Their more Audi specialists, but there's no other company with limited or no Up Gti experience that I would trust with my pride and joy.

If they do not have the software, they will certainly know a company you can trust closer to home.

A few years ago, I travelled close on 1300 miles from my home in North Wales to MTM, so they could remap my A1.

I am not suggesting you drive all the way to JBS in Derbyshire, but contact MTM for their advice on your GTi.
 
#19 ·
Once more for the record:
If you go to get your car mapped then yes it will invalidate your warranty but only for certain parts. Your money, your choice. But if you think that the ECU won't log different parameters from you plugging in a tuning box then you really are deluded. The ECU will log all the plugging in and changes to sensors because that's what the ECU does in order to keep your car running correctly. And when something goes wrong and those lovely tech guys notice that certain sensors have had some strange readings just before your turbo died they're going to wonder why, they're not stupid no matter what you think.

If you go to a GOOD tuners then they will do a dyno run to measure the power the car has and to check everything is as it should be. If it isn't then they will more than likely refuse to do it. If it is then they will have a chat to you and ask what you want from the map. They will then apply their base map and do a dyno run to see what happens. After that they'll analyse the data and tweak the map if necessary. This might happen a few times until they're happy that everything is right and all parameters are still as they should be. Then they'll do a final power run to get the new figures. Also SA asked me to go down the road with the car to make sure everything felt good. You're paying for their expertise.

When you get a tuning box you're literally bypassing all that and plugging in a generic map which most of the time just fools some sensors into thinking certain things are happening when they're really not.

But it's your money and i know people will stick to what they know and have experience of. As the saying goes "you pays your money, you takes your choices".
Thanks for both your replies. And thanks for that detailed reply goes along way. it seems SA come highly recommended and are not to far of a drive away which is a bonus so I will give them a call for sure.

Completely agree to go to a good tuner over a tuning box this goes without saying I wanted to see what people's experience was with tuning boxes more then anything ? thanks again.
 
#14 ·
I am very happy with my TDI Tuning sold Tuning-Box which doesn't leave a scar on the ECU unlike a remapped ECU.My car is in Spain and if i went into the ECU the Warranty would be cancelled.Maybe the UK is different? I have seen much rubbish talked about power figures on this forum and incorrect opinions about Tuning-Boxes versus ECU re-maps.It's all in the mind.An UP Gti with a TDI Tuning-Box will not be much different on the road to a more heavily re-mapped ECU anyway. Only a GPS system like RACELOGIC would see a difference. I challenge ANYBODY to feel the difference! In the real world you would gain more time on your favourite road after 30 minutes with a Track Instructor than any mods will give you!!
 
#15 ·
Pesonally i would never buy a tuning box, but each to their own.
At the end of this month my fourth vehicle will be going down the remapping road, and most importantly, i will be able to see what horsepower my standard engine is producing, and what its producing after the rolling road set up.
Its worth popping into WH Smiths and reading the three page spread on the Pros & Cons of tuning boxes, most of it is very positive, but there are certain negative aspects with installing them
 
#16 ·
Once more for the record:
If you go to get your car mapped then yes it will invalidate your warranty but only for certain parts. Your money, your choice. But if you think that the ECU won't log different parameters from you plugging in a tuning box then you really are deluded. The ECU will log all the plugging in and changes to sensors because that's what the ECU does in order to keep your car running correctly. And when something goes wrong and those lovely tech guys notice that certain sensors have had some strange readings just before your turbo died they're going to wonder why, they're not stupid no matter what you think.

If you go to a GOOD tuners then they will do a dyno run to measure the power the car has and to check everything is as it should be. If it isn't then they will more than likely refuse to do it. If it is then they will have a chat to you and ask what you want from the map. They will then apply their base map and do a dyno run to see what happens. After that they'll analyse the data and tweak the map if necessary. This might happen a few times until they're happy that everything is right and all parameters are still as they should be. Then they'll do a final power run to get the new figures. Also SA asked me to go down the road with the car to make sure everything felt good. You're paying for their expertise.

When you get a tuning box you're literally bypassing all that and plugging in a generic map which most of the time just fools some sensors into thinking certain things are happening when they're really not.

But it's your money and i know people will stick to what they know and have experience of. As the saying goes "you pays your money, you takes your choices".
 
#17 ·
I only have positive things to say, about the three cars I had remapped in the past.
The MTM remap producing nearly 60hp over the standard 115hp, felt the most refined, it was the smooth build up of power that transformed the car, you could feel the increased urge, but it all happened in very refined manner.

I've no idea really what to expect after this JBS remap.
The Gti was never a serious performer, and I very much doubt a further 30hp will turn the car into something the chasi cannot cope with.
 
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