Diesel Tuning

[Greengrocer]

I'm thinking about getting one of these Diesel Tuning kits (plug & Play type) to boost the fuel economy (& power) of my diesel motor. Have any of you self employed or company engineers out there ever played with or installed one of these devices on your van or car?
If I believe what I read then one of these little devices can boost my 130bhp 310Nm diesel to 160bhp and 380Nm torque. The extra torque allows earlier change ups so you save fuel - 10-15% supposedly. Trouble is I suspect that the extra power and grunt would encourage a heavier right foot & the mpg would get worse not better.
I'm not talking about the cheap stuff on E-bay which are basic anologue resistors in a box which over fuel the engine but the digital software driven versions which go for £260-£500.
Any feed back on your experience & what the extra was on the insurance would be appreciated.

[tony--1]

i got 1 ov those things . got a vito 110 with box ov tricks 125mph . uses even more fuel cause just drive even faster . inproved power from 3000rpm - 4500 rpm . needle goes up fast from 3000rpm to the red . the fuel needle goes down fast too . gl with it

[Ke-Fibertec UK]

Two of the chaps at my place have chipped their diesels.
one has a VW 150Bhp chipped to 180, he says he gets better MPG as he can use a higher gear.
RE: insurance, they will never know, as apparently not even the dealers can tell if it's installed!
They both used Superchips

[Greengrocer]

Two of the chaps at my place have chipped their diesels.
one has a VW 150Bhp chipped to 180, he says he gets better MPG as he can use a higher gear.
RE: insurance, they will never know, as apparently not even the dealers can tell if it's installed!
They both used Superchips

The type I'm thinking of can be removed for servicing etc. Also allows you to return the car to stock when you sell it. I looked at chipping which probably gets you more power / torque but think it has too many drawbacks vs the plug n play add on type. I'm looking at a DTUK module circa £300 which I can fit in 15mins - or so they say. There are others out there for slightly less but this module is adjustable (power and mapping) so can be fine tuned a bit after the install. Most others are a "one size fits all" type module.
Think I'm going to give it a try. Will order online tonight & will post report shortly.

[Greengrocer]

Now that's what I call service. Ordered it last night after my last post & it arrived this afternoon.
Took 30mins to fit after a bit of faffing around with the engine plug which is in a god awfull place on on my 1.9 TDi 130 engine.
Calibrated the device on a hot engine as per the book and took it out for a test drive. Out of the box there was some appreciable extra grunt and faster pick up but not as much as I expected.
So, back to the pits for a re-tune. Changed a couple of jumpers on the gizmo & wow what a difference.
Acceleration wasn't too bad before but now it's more like a GTi than a heavyweight estate car. 5th gear overtaking on the motorway is a breeze.
Shall do some more testing / fine tuning over the coming weeks. Unitil now I've been averaging 48.5mpg so I will just have to resist planting my right foot too much or the whole point of this excercise will be wasted - well apart from the big grin on my face when I came back in the house. My Mrs thought I'd been down the pub!! Boy will she get a fright when she drives the car next.
I have to say this gizmo is quite remarkable. Just have to get the mpg up to 52-54 & it will pay for itself in a year or so - providing the insurance company don't sting me for too much extra that is. If anyone is interested in further info have a look here www.dieselperfomance.co.uk

[Greengrocer]

Just thought I'd re-visit & update this old thread & advise that after 8 months of use the fuel consumption on my 03 1.9TDi A6 wagon is now averaging 54mpg (up from 44-45). The last service & cam belt change also helped push up the average. Now getting around 750-800 miles to every tank. All this from a 6 year old car with 110,000 miles on the clock. Not bad in my view.

The gizmo was definately worth the investment. I just have to resist planting my right foot too often. Having said that I can't resist sometimes. Even fully loaded with camping gear and a roof box 3rd to 4th & 4th to 5th gear acceleration is unbelievably quick. I've surprised many a boy racer & outside lane hugger on the M1.:p