[Dushie]

i was in the same boat as you, where i heard about the Pete's tuning box for my Logan diesel. Pricing was around 30k for the same at that time. The issue was that it would void the warranty. I thought for going for the same but in the end changed my mind. My car is now over 4 years old and i am still interested in the tuning box. Have never looked inside it but have heard that it improves the performance of the car not impacting the efficiency that much. Also i did not find many users who could post their experience of the same on Renault diesel engine.

So i would also be interested in getting more knowledge on this and how beneficial it would be.

[gemithomas]

I guess no sane mind would risk opening up a box he bought at 30-40K. And probably thats the reason these boxes are priced so high.

If the box is not increasing the air intake along with the fuel its almost doing the same thing that a Re.1 Resistor connected to a sensor would do.

But then there are lots of cars that have done quite some good running with the boxes. So i guess someone should take a risk of using a Re.1 resistor too. But there again no sane mind would dare do that at Re.1!

[kryptonite]

Really glad I bumped into this thread. I have a Diesel Rapid, and since there are no known successful remaps for this 1.6 TDI, I went the Tuning box route. I considered all available boxes on the market (advantages and disadvantages) before freezing on Race Dynamics.

No offence to Pete's box, or the Spider box, but I'm glad I stuck to the RD DieselTronic for my Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI. These guys are really technical, really friendly, they let you use the box for a couple of days and you can return it if you don't like it (that says a lot right?), and even if you ask them to, they don't over fuel any engine beyond a particular point and insist on keeping it at safe levels, so of course there's no visible smoke as a result as there's no excess fuel left over un-burnt, then you have 3 maps to choose from a Remote and all maps are infinitely customizable; meaning (this is the best part) - you let them know what your preference is (increase in low end, mid-range or top end - or ALL over the rpm range), and they can do exactly what you need at specific rpm ranges or the entire rpm range for your car. I was absolutely sold!

If any of you are interested in looking at my Rapid's dyno graphs (Stock & +Tuning box maps), or a detailed review of my Race Dynamics experience and a review of their tuning box, - feel free to navigate from this index here in my ownership thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2595142

Cheers!

[gemithomas]

I never knew that the RD box could be tuned. I spoke to the RD guy too but he told me that the box does not alter the air intake. So i doubt if its about different maps. You need a piggy back ECU to store the maps. The RD one is a Box AFAIK and not an ecu.

Anyways good to hear that you are enjoying your ride.

[binz]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

I never knew that the RD box could be tuned. I spoke to the RD guy too but he told me that the box does not alter the air intake. So i doubt if its about different maps. You need a piggy back ECU to store the maps. The RD one is a Box AFAIK and not an ecu.

Anyways good to hear that you are enjoying your ride.

The RD box has 4 maps stored on the box and switchable wirelessly on the fly via a remote. Like kryptonite said, these maps are infinitely adjustable according to your preference.

For example, if i were to get an RD box for a car, say an Elantra CRDI, i could have the economy map of the RD box customized to give me power initially and then cut down on the fueling at my cruising rpm to give me maximum fuel economy!

Im getting an elantra in a week and this is what intend on doing.

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by binz

The RD box has 4 maps stored on the box and switchable wirelessly on the fly via a remote. Like kryptonite said, these maps are infinitely adjustable according to your preference.

For example, if i were to get an RD box for a car, say an Elantra CRDI, i could have the economy map of the RD box customized to give me power initially and then cut down on the fueling at my cruising rpm to give me maximum fuel economy!

Im getting an elantra in a week and this is what intend on doing.

Please do let me know once you get it done. Would love to get details on the customization option. I spoke to a RD guy in Blr and he told me that the only thing the box does is raise the fuel pressure within tolerance limits. The air volume is left untouched. And he never mentioned about the customization part. All he said is that i would get 3 settings that could be changed on the go.

If it is 3 different maps i think this should be a piggy back ECU and not a Box. But what i doubt is whether someone would want to give you a piggy back ECU in the name/price of a Box!!!

[kryptonite]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

Please do let me know once you get it done. Would love to get details on the customization option. I spoke to a RD guy in Blr and he told me that the only thing the box does is raise the fuel pressure within tolerance limits. The air volume is left untouched. And he never mentioned about the customization part. All he said is that i would get 3 settings that could be changed on the go.

If it is 3 different maps i think this should be a piggy back ECU and not a Box. But what i doubt is whether someone would want to give you a piggy back ECU in the name/price of a Box!!!

You can check the link in my earlier post for more details on the box. The box has 3 maps, plugs into fuel rail, and does not do anything else for now (just like most other boxes except Unichip). Their next gen box (don't know when it'll be released) can also control turbo boost.

The current box can be customized in the sense that instead of specifying a +x amount of fuel increase across the board like other boxes, they can actually specify +x at low end, +y at mid-range and +z at peak rpms - I'm oversimplifying things, but I think you get the idea. You should talk to Karthik or Pavan at RD, they'll be able to explain much better. In a nutshell, they can control where to fuel and how much to fuel across the entire rpm range.

[antorquetik]

Hi all

Would like to find out if someone has any info on TMC tuning box for 1.3 multijet engine.
Any user reviews or complaints? any characteristic behavior of the engine with this TMC box?

[latentpotential]

I have noticed my engine oil consumption has gone up after starting to use the RaceChip. I need to top up every 3000 odd kms with between 0.7-1.0 Liters of engine oil.

Do other users of similar boxes also face such a consumption pattern in their oil burners?

[VeyronSuperSprt]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

I have noticed my engine oil consumption has gone up after starting to use the RaceChip. I need to top up every 3000 odd kms with between 0.7-1.0 Liters of engine oil.

Do other users of similar boxes also face such a consumption pattern in their oil burners?

Any modification to any part of the car whilst giving you extra thrills will have it's effect on the longevity / reliability of the associated parts. In your case, the engine has been subject to additional stresses to give you the thrills of additional power. It could be the rings / valves whatever, and this is just the beginning. The increased stress on the engine will gradually lead to further increase in oil consumption as you go along. Think of it as payback time or as a learning curve for future reference.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

I have noticed my engine oil consumption has gone up after starting to use the RaceChip. I need to top up every 3000 odd kms with between 0.7-1.0 Liters of engine oil.

Do other users of similar boxes also face such a consumption pattern in their oil burners?

I'm using a Pete's box on my Punto for the last 50,000 km and never faced such a problem.

Why don't you remove the box for the next 3000km or so and see the behaviour. Also get in touch with the vendor and raise your observation.

[antorquetik]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

I have noticed my engine oil consumption has gone up after starting to use the RaceChip. I need to top up every 3000 odd kms with between 0.7-1.0 Liters of engine oil.

Do other users of similar boxes also face such a consumption pattern in their oil burners?

Dear friend
Sorry to tell this but your engine may be in for some trouble.I had an identical experience of engine oil consumption doubled with a failed turbo and compression leak from cylinders on block side.

watch the video available on the below link to do a simple dipstick test and find out if your engine suffers from a compression leak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ5FWhQJ_bY

[latentpotential]

Originally Posted by antorquetik

Dear friend
Sorry to tell this but your engine may be in for some trouble.I had an identical experience of engine oil consumption doubled with a failed turbo and compression leak from cylinders on block side.

watch the video available on the below link to do a simple dipstick test and find out if your engine suffers from a compression leak.

Thanks, while i check this, do you have the solution of this specific issue as well? Would be good to know.

So far obd scans run weekly show no errors.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

I have noticed my engine oil consumption has gone up after starting to use the RaceChip. I need to top up every 3000 odd kms with between 0.7-1.0 Liters of engine oil.

Do other users of similar boxes also face such a consumption pattern in their oil burners?

Remove the race chip and drive for 3000 kms and see if you need to top up the oil again. First isolate the problem.

If you have oil consumption then check for blow-by by removing the dip stick once the engine is warmed up

BTW which car?

[apachelongbow]

We have to understand that any tuning box, which increases common rail fuel pressure, increases air intake, or increases turbo spool range, is adding burden to the car engine, and eventually making it more failure prone.

No tuning box maker is going to accept this, and they all claim that power can be extracted without any strain on the engine. That is beating the fundamental laws of physics, more power means more fuel/air mixture being burnt, additional detonations leading to more metal strain.
If a 150bhp engine, is able to produce 180bhp using a tuning box, are the manufacturers mad not to extract 180bhp in the first place? Have they not done some analysis, and then capped the power at 150bhp? If tuning boxes were so safe, then manufacturers would have sold them as accessories, and honored car warranties.

A quick google search reveals that blown turbos, oil leaks from the engine, seals abrasion, injector failures, common rail pump failures are all byproducts of chipping or tuning a diesel engine. All these failures while being costly themselves, lead to ancillary failures eventually reducing engine life..