[HillBilly]

Originally Posted by Endeavour333

I'm pretty sure Ford wont be too hapy about you fitting it but everytime it goes in for service it is very very easily removable. You can just re-attach it after you get the car back and all will be back to normal. All you have to do to detach it is cut the zip tie that hold it together, unplug the Spider and reconnect the ECU cable properly. When you attach it back you dont have to wait 50km or whatever for the Spider to retune itself to your engine. It performs instantly. Atleast thats what the dealer told me. Havent tested it myself yet. I really love it so far though. I think you will too.

And now for the quintessential question! Does this affect the mileage by too much or is it an acceptable trade off for better performance?

I currently get 7.8 Kmpl on an average in city driving conditions.

[triedeverything]

I was considering plonking in some dough for the spider unit as well. However, I'm not convinced with the responses from Red Rooster. They appear to copy paste some stuff from somewhere and this really shows as a lack of interest to understand the query. Though they say they have installed this on several 2.2 Mhawks, they hide behind a company policy when asked for references. Any dealer would ideally want customer references to survive. Beats me! And with all the beating the 'roosters' are getting over here, I don't know....
Race dynamics on the other hand are willing to share these contacts. they were also willing to let me try their unit on my car (no strings attached) before I decide to buy it.

How long have these engine cal folks been in business? How does their units compare to the petes, RD and spiders? I know of only one 2.2 mhawk who installed a pete and then had issues at high speeds.. Anyone else with a 2.2 have any issues?

[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by Endeavour333

I'm pretty sure Ford wont be too hapy about you fitting it but everytime it goes in for service it is very very easily removable. You can just re-attach it after you get the car back and all will be back to normal. All you have to do to detach it is cut the zip tie that hold it together, unplug the Spider and reconnect the ECU cable properly. When you attach it back you dont have to wait 50km or whatever for the Spider to retune itself to your engine. It performs instantly. Atleast thats what the dealer told me. Havent tested it myself yet. I really love it so far though. I think you will too.

Do you know if the unit is priced differently for different vehicles? I approached Red Rooster and was not very impressed with their interest to sell. Since the Spider website says that the box can be transferred easily to another car, I wonder what value add the Rooster people are contributing. I've written to Mike the CEO in Europe, I got one reply, but am still expecting more answers. I'm guessing that the same unit is used in any vehicle as it has the ability to calibrate itself automatically. Any idea what this box costs in Europe?

[Endeavour333]

Originally Posted by triedeverything

Do you know if the unit is priced differently for different vehicles? I approached Red Rooster and was not very impressed with their interest to sell. Since the Spider website says that the box can be transferred easily to another car, I wonder what value add the Rooster people are contributing. I've written to Mike the CEO in Europe, I got one reply, but am still expecting more answers. I'm guessing that the same unit is used in any vehicle as it has the ability to calibrate itself automatically. Any idea what this box costs in Europe?

Call Feroz, he's the guy selling here in Chennai and he's been very helpful to me. His number is: 96000 92553

The box is still working great on my car. No smoke at all. Love it.

[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by Endeavour333

SPIDER DIESEL TUNING BOX REVIEW:

4. Spider is adjustable, came specifically tuned for my Endeavour

-Vishnu

Vishnu,

The more I look into this, the more I'm convinced that the spider is not tuned to any particular vehicle. I'm awaiting a response on this question, but I don't think Red Rooster does anything to this box to tune it for Indian conditions/specific vehilces. As the box can be changed between vehicles, it uses the initial 50 miles as a learning period to get adjusted more to the car's OE injection systems than it does to adjust to a different driver. Another reason for me to say this is that in Europe, take any car, any make, the cost of the box remains the same - 375$. In India, the cost changes depending on how much you paid for your vehicle The difference goes to you know who...

[Endeavour333]

Originally Posted by triedeverything

Vishnu,

The more I look into this, the more I'm convinced that the spider is not tuned to any particular vehicle.

I think you're right about that as well because if you read my review I've written that RRP made me try the Swift box on my Endeavour at first. So i'm guessing all the boxes are the same. The adaptive tech certainly makes this box unique from the other boxes and makes it fit various vehicles. A big value addition if you ask me.

Whatever you may infer from that tech, it WORKS. I love the box and have no problems with it whatsoever. People who have driven my car before and after notice the change instantly. Not just in the power but in the smoothness of the acceleration.

The only reason I said that it came specifically tuned for my Endeavour is that RRP told me that they took the box to Bangalore and tested it on a similar Endeavour. They told me they tuned it for that car. So they may have made some changes inside the box. I have mentioned that there are POWER and RPM setting inside the box that you can adjust. They probably just played around with those. In stock, the box comes set with both POWER and RPM settings at 4/8 and 4/8 respectively. Hope this cleared up some confusion.

I would recommend this box to anyone. And no they are not paying me to say this.

[triedeverything]

I agree with you, the spider is the best box out there.
I've almost made up my mind to install one. Thanks for your prompt replies. Too bad there aren't any Mhawk owners I could check with.

[neo007]

@ triedeverything I've driven the Scorpio at the RRP facility in banglore & it did surprise me with it's performance, although i've never tried any other tuned Scorpio as such to make any comparision. But you should certainly check their supension which really made a big diff in the way the Scorpio handles.
All the best.
Cheers

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Firebird

Thanks Ende for the review.

I am caught up in between Pete and Spider for my Fiesta.

Pete - 43K
Spider - 24K

After reading your review, I will probabaly give it a shot. I will visit Four Seasons this saturday and see what they have for Fiesta.

Firebird did you get the Spider tuning box installed in your Fiesta? If yes how much has the performance improved and anything different about the engine after the install?
Even I'm planning to get the Spider tuning box for my Ford Fiesta Classic TDCi purchased recently. I had checked it out at 4 Seasons, they recommended changing the air filter to BMC. How good is BMC compared to K&N? They said I only need to clean BMC airfilter once every 10K kms.

[supratim07]

On my way to Whitefield saw Pete's Detailing shop.... it's just on your right hand side towards shell bunk. Link Pete's Automotive Products Pvt Limited ...happy motoring

[Rice_tuner]

Hello everybody..
This is my first post on the website after a very long hiatus and it feels brilliant to be posting again.
I've been following a lot of threads and articles (albeit silently..) on the website during my association with the forum. Anyway, I will get to the point of the thread.

I've been a ‘petrol head’ and used to despise diesels till very recently. A few months ago, a good friend of mine had a ‘Race Dynamics Dieseltronic Pro’ tuning box installed in his Punto. This was my first experience on how phenomenally different a diesel car gets with a tuning box/chip. I've driven the Punto (75 bhp), Swift and the Scorpio 2.2 with this kit (Race Dynamics – Dieseltronic). After driving these cars and pushing them and the kit for numerous kilometers, I’ve been convinced about the capability of the modern oil burning engines and Le Mans is proof of that as well.
The performance gains with the kit installed (especially in ‘P2’ mode) are best experienced, than written about. But heck, I'm going to try and explain it in words anyway.


It’s basically a piggy back unit that comes preinstalled with four 'maps'.
Economy (E)
Stock (S)
Performance 1 (P1)
Performance 2 (P2)

The Modes :

1) Stock - Does exactly what you think it does...nothing. Keeps your car factory tuned.

2) Economy - This mode tends to give your diesel car a more "linear" feel. The turbo doesn't kick in as "sharply" as it tends to. To be honest, I found a mild decrease in performance in this mode but that is negligible considering the 10 to 30% savings in fuel economy that it promises.
Personally, I have managed 25.3 km/l in the Punto in this mode. Most of the driving was based on the highway with not too many instances of heavy footed driving. Under 'S' mode and similar driving styles and conditions, I manage about 21 km/l.

When do I use this mode?
Bumper to bumper traffic and the end of the month
Personally, this is my least favorite mode.(My Dad's/Most Dad's favorite.)

Performance 1/'P1' :
The mode I use the most! This mode gives you a good 15ish percent improvement in torque and quite an improvement in the general driveability of the car. The throttle response is much sharper than stock and the turbo feels "larger". The turbo lag isn’t as bothersome as it is in the stock setting, since the revs tend to rise quicker in general.
My down shifts have reduced considerably when in this mode. On the fuel economy front, it ranges from stock to about 10% better economy than stock. This is due to the fact that the throttle input required to attain a given speed is lesser than that in stock. Also not having to down shift often helps in improving FE.

When do I use this mode?
Most of the times. Gives me a good balance of an increase in performance with no compromise on the FE front.


Performance 2/P2 :

The colours around you get brighter, the weather gets warmer or colder (however you like it) and your general sense of well being increases by 54.72 percent (yes, I measured it with a well calibrated well being meter).
Silly humor apart, this mode has to be experienced.
It’s like every time you press the button, your car grows an extra cylinder. Considering there is no real "hardware" that has been modified or added, it’s phenomenal to see what some electronic wizardry can do to your diesel car. On the Punto, in this mode, you get some superb in gear acceleration and very decent outright performance. On the swift diesel, what you get is a tiny nuclear device matted to a gearbox.
I can safely say that the torque in this mode is bumped up by about 35 % (I could be wrong cause my mathematical ability usually goes for a toss while I'm grinning from ear to ear every time I extend my right foot in this mode).
I can only imagine what this might do to let’s say a Chevy Cruze. To be honest, I've experienced a FE drop of up to 20% at times in this mode. Well worth it though.

When do I use this mode?
Expressways; In between signals and as therapeutic medicine.

The modes are changeable on the fly via a remote control unit that can be carried with you. The change in power delivery, throttle response and a huge gain in torque (Especially in P2 mode) is felt instantaneously.

The box connects to your CRDi engine's Fuel rail and has direct fitting wiring harnesses depending on your car model. This saves any warranty issues that might arise from spicing the wiring. I'd read a post in this thread that spoke about tuning boxes controlling turbo pressure and the issues that might arise from it.
This unit controls only the injectors and not the turbo pressure.
Note: The cars I have mentioned here, which are the Punto, Swift and the Scorpio all belong to my friends who have the kits installed. I’ve driven each of these cars over varied terrain and for considerable amount to kilometers to have a fair idea on how well the kit performs.
There are a lot of diesel tuning kits out there and all of them improve your performance considerably. From reliable reviews and sources, I’ve heard Pete’s box is superb when it comes to outright performance.
I personally loved the flexibility this particular kit offers and the option to remotely change ‘maps’ is quite a party piece. Has anyone else on the forum installed the ‘Dieseltronic Pro’ kit in their cars? Would love to hear from you guys.
There is more about the product here…
DieselTRONIC - Diesel ECU ( tuning box) to increase power and mileage with remote for multiple maps | racedynamics.in
The Unit retails at Rs. 19,999 inclusive of installation and a 2 year warranty.
Also, you could ask me any questions you might have about the kit and I’ll try and help you out to the best of my knowledge. Please excuse any typos that might have occurred.

Cheers and thank you for reading

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Rice_tuner

Hello everybody..
This is my first post on the website after a very long hiatus and it feels brilliant to be posting again.
I've been following a lot of threads and articles (albeit silently..) on the website during my association with the forum. Anyway, I will get to the point of the thread.

I've been a 'petrol head' and used to despise diesels till very recently. A few months ago, a good friend of mine had a 'Race Dynamics Dieseltronic Pro' tuning box installed in his Punto. This was my first experience on how phenomenally different a diesel car gets with a tuning box/chip. I've driven the Punto (75 bhp), Swift and the Scorpio 2.2 with this kit (Race Dynamics – Dieseltronic). After driving these cars and pushing them and the kit for numerous kilometers, I've been convinced about the capability of the modern oil burning engines and Le Mans is proof of that as well.
The performance gains with the kit installed (especially in 'P2' mode) are best experienced, than written about. But heck, I'm going to try and explain it in words anyway.

It's basically a piggy back unit that comes preinstalled with four 'maps'.
Economy (E)
Stock (S)
Performance 1 (P1)
Performance 2 (P2)

The Modes :

1) Stock - Does exactly what you think it does...nothing. Keeps your car factory tuned.

2) Economy - This mode tends to give your diesel car a more "linear" feel. The turbo doesn't kick in as "sharply" as it tends to. To be honest, I found a mild decrease in performance in this mode but that is negligible considering the 10 to 30% savings in fuel economy that it promises.
Personally, I have managed 25.3 km/l in the Punto in this mode. Most of the driving was based on the highway with not too many instances of heavy footed driving. Under 'S' mode and similar driving styles and conditions, I manage about 21 km/l.

When do I use this mode?
Bumper to bumper traffic and the end of the month
Personally, this is my least favorite mode.(My Dad's/Most Dad's favorite.)

Performance 1/'P1' :
The mode I use the most! This mode gives you a good 15ish percent improvement in torque and quite an improvement in the general driveability of the car. The throttle response is much sharper than stock and the turbo feels "larger". The turbo lag isn't as bothersome as it is in the stock setting, since the revs tend to rise quicker in general.
My down shifts have reduced considerably when in this mode. On the fuel economy front, it ranges from stock to about 10% better economy than stock. This is due to the fact that the throttle input required to attain a given speed is lesser than that in stock. Also not having to down shift often helps in improving FE.

When do I use this mode?
Most of the times. Gives me a good balance of an increase in performance with no compromise on the FE front.

Performance 2/P2 :

The colours around you get brighter, the weather gets warmer or colder (however you like it) and your general sense of well being increases by 54.72 percent (yes, I measured it with a well calibrated well being meter).
Silly humor apart, this mode has to be experienced.
It's like every time you press the button, your car grows an extra cylinder. Considering there is no real "hardware" that has been modified or added, it's phenomenal to see what some electronic wizardry can do to your diesel car. On the Punto, in this mode, you get some superb in gear acceleration and very decent outright performance. On the swift diesel, what you get is a tiny nuclear device matted to a gearbox.
I can safely say that the torque in this mode is bumped up by about 35 % (I could be wrong cause my mathematical ability usually goes for a toss while I'm grinning from ear to ear every time I extend my right foot in this mode).
I can only imagine what this might do to let's say a Chevy Cruze. To be honest, I've experienced a FE drop of up to 20% at times in this mode. Well worth it though.

When do I use this mode?
Expressways; In between signals and as therapeutic medicine.

The modes are changeable on the fly via a remote control unit that can be carried with you. The change in power delivery, throttle response and a huge gain in torque (Especially in P2 mode) is felt instantaneously.

The box connects to your CRDi engine's Fuel rail and has direct fitting wiring harnesses depending on your car model. This saves any warranty issues that might arise from spicing the wiring. I'd read a post in this thread that spoke about tuning boxes controlling turbo pressure and the issues that might arise from it.
This unit controls only the injectors and not the turbo pressure.
Note: The cars I have mentioned here, which are the Punto, Swift and the Scorpio all belong to my friends who have the kits installed. I've driven each of these cars over varied terrain and for considerable amount to kilometers to have a fair idea on how well the kit performs.
There are a lot of diesel tuning kits out there and all of them improve your performance considerably. From reliable reviews and sources, I've heard Pete's box is superb when it comes to outright performance.
I personally loved the flexibility this particular kit offers and the option to remotely change 'maps' is quite a party piece. Has anyone else on the forum installed the 'Dieseltronic Pro' kit in their cars? Would love to hear from you guys.
There is more about the product here…
DieselTRONIC - Diesel ECU ( tuning box) to increase power and mileage with remote for multiple maps | racedynamics.in
The Unit retails at Rs. 19,999 inclusive of installation and a 2 year warranty.
Also, you could ask me any questions you might have about the kit and I'll try and help you out to the best of my knowledge. Please excuse any typos that might have occurred.

Cheers and thank you for reading

Superb review. I am itching to get this on my i20 diesel. Its a monster in its stock state. God knows what it will turn into with the tuning box .

Few clarification required.

How do we get to know that the modes are changed? Is there any indication or sound ?

How easy is it to remove the box and re fit it? is it a simple job that can be done by ourself? Because I plan to remove it before going for a service and re fit it myself after service.

[nitin.rai]

OT but let's take a hypothetical scenario; a car with a performance box installed meets with an accident.

How does the Insurance company treat this?

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

I had checked it out at 4 Seasons, they recommended changing the air filter to BMC. How good is BMC compared to K&N? They said I only need to clean BMC airfilter once every 10K kms.

stay away from K&N and similar oil type air filters. i have learnt it hard way after using it since long time.

the best bet currently which i think is cosworth. no oil no worries.

and when it comes to Ford, you need not look beyond Cosworth

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

..... they recommended changing the air filter to BMC. How good is BMC compared to K&N? They said I only need to clean BMC airfilter once every 10K kms.

Late reply, nevertheless... I have a BMC filter in my Spark. What the 4 seasons guy told you is correct. I used it for 11K kms before removing it for cleaning. Even after 11K, there was only surface dirt. My tuner advised me to clear off the surface dirt with a mildly wet tissue and the filter should be fine! Flawless performance from the BMC so far and very happy with it!