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VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - woodentop

There are two companies advertising plug in diesel power upgrades,one is Tunit and the other is Turbotune DT. Has anyone had experience with these devices? The companies say these modules increase the power and torque, better fuel economy and less turbo lag. My reason for asking is that I will be towing a caravan and would like to know if installing one of these devices is going to be beneficial and could there be, in the long term damage to the engine. Your opinions would very much be appreciated.

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - unthrottled

Any you'll probably get a few!

Both those kits are just generic fuel dumps that stuff more fuel into the engine. Opinions are divided. I am firmly in the camp that believes that get what you pay for; if you want a 150hp engine, then you need to buy one. There's a long discussion about it on motoring discussion, read it!

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - Englishbullterrier

There's also a line of argument that says cars are factory setup to run on the worst possible fuel available in the area (ie Europe). Chipping can help attain peak performance on the fuel being used in the UK.

I had a brand new 2.5 V6 Vectra chipped and the performance improvement was quite remarkable......ebt

Edited by Englishbullterrier on 27/01/2011 at 17:33

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - unthrottled

There are common standards for fuel across Europe-the notion that British fuel is somehow superior is jingoistic hogwash-perpetuated by purveyers of snake oil.

There was never a 2.5 Turbo Diesel unit available for the vectra-only a n/a petrol one. Even remappers admit there is little they can do with a n/a petrol to improve performance. But I'm glad that the placebo effect provides enjoyment.

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - Englishbullterrier

There are common standards for fuel across Europe-the notion that British fuel is somehow superior is jingoistic hogwash-perpetuated by purveyers of snake oil.

There was never a 2.5 Turbo Diesel unit available for the vectra-only a n/a petrol one. Even remappers admit there is little they can do with a n/a petrol to improve performance. But I'm glad that the placebo effect provides enjoyment.

a/ You are either not of this universe or are very narrow minded to believe the "common fuel standards mantra". Have you ever travelled to he Baltics (Europe), Ukraine, Slovenia, Slovakia etc. Cars made in Western European plants go to all these countries. And if you haven't read my other posts, I live inLatvia so have first hand experience for different fuel standards.

b/ Can you point out to me where I stated my Vectra was diesel ? I was replying generally to ecu remapping

c/ Do you get off on being rude to people ?

And for the benefit of the OP, I used http://www.torquingbhp.co.uk/

Edited by Englishbullterrier on 27/01/2011 at 21:51

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - unthrottled

a.) What fraction of cars from western Europe ever go the Ukraine? The owners' manual will state what standard of fuel the car should be fuelled with. If the operator ignores these recommendations, it's not the manufacturers' concern.

b.)Since the OP was talking about diesels, it would make sense to confine the discussions to diesels.

c.) I'm sorry you thought I was rude-but your claim is quite unsubstantiated and thus dimissed out of hand. The BHP website does nothing to support the claim. Not a single independent dyno run (or even an in-house one). The words "up to X% increase" are, upon close inspection, meaningless.

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - Englishbullterrier

I wonder where exactly you think the cars come from then ? No lada/wartburg etc anymore, they disappeared years ago

They're all Audi/BMW/Ford/Renault/Mitsubishi/Lexus/VW etc.

If you think companies like superchips etc have existed on false and unsubstantiated claims for so long, no wonder you think Western Europe produced cars haven't reached Eastern Europe yet. Even the Russian Federation (just 4 hours from here) is full of them.

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - unthrottled
Yes, but You'll probably find that the cars available in non EU ex-Soviet bloc countries are still EuroIII/EuroIV spec vehicles that will run quite happily on those high sulphur fuel. USA and Japan have different regs to Europe, and European cars exported from Europe to those countries are reconfigured to meet those requirements.

This is one reason why BMW only offers one diesel engine in the USA-the 3.0 twin turbo. They had to detune it, and add SCR to meet the US emissions regs. VW had to do the same with their 3.0 diesel. With the 2.0L diesel, they had to add a lean Nox trap instead.

When Mitsubishi exported their GDI engines to Europe the lean burn feature had to be disabled because ultra low sulphur diesel was not available at the time.

My point is that OEMS do not tune their engines to a conservative one size fits all standard. They carefully eek out as much as they can for each region's conditions and regulations. The conservative commonality myth is the #1 lie perpetuated by chipping companies.

Just look at bhp's website. A picture of a speeding BMW, glowing subjective testimonials, but very little hard data. Of course if you promise 'up to 30%' torque, 'up to 30%' more horsepower, and better economy, with no side effects for only £399 inc VAT people will jump at the chance. But then water4gas promise exactly the same.

Now you say that you're pleased with the Vectra's remap. Fair enough. But could you tell me how much extra horsepower it has got, and how they obtained it-cus I can't figure it out.
VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - Steven Quas

If you are planning to keep your car for years then I would consider this very carefully. Not only does it invalidate your insurance, or often give you an vastly higher premium if you declare it, but it could well damage the longevity of the car. I know several people that have done it to various cars and opinion is still very divided. Personally, I wouldn't do it - if you want a faster car then buy a standard one and avoid all of the issues.

Steven Quas , Hamburg

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - Englishbullterrier

Not sure th OP is looking for a faster car, but improved torque, which might improve his towing capability...

VW GOLF 1.9 105 bhp TDI - PLUG IN DIESEL POWER UPGRADES - bluemoo
I'm no technician and can't explain it - all I know is that the Turbotune DT I've fitted to my 1.9 renault master has been amazing. Very easy ideed to fit - 10 mins. Started her up and wow. Quieter, smoother, much better throttle response. Pulls so much better. Cruising speed has gone up from a noisy 60 to a comfortable 70. Fuel consumption has gone from 29 to 35 mpg. I've done 3000 miles with it with no problems at all. I wondered if this was placebo at first, so I used the off switch. I managed about 400 yards before stopping and turning it on again. They even give you your money back if after a week you are not convinced. Brilliant.