Hi folks, been a while since i posted to bear with me on this but after 5 months of tdci ownership i finally think its time to look into chipping the trusty diesel bus BUT after a few friends astra gearboxes exploded on them not long after doing so im somewhat disheartened by the idea as the cost of a new gearbox and down time on the car is something i cant do.

The idea of having 320ft pounds of torque and about 140bhp is calling me though but like i said gearbox goes boom boom not a happy mike.

Has anyone had any experience of chips on diesel fords and does anyone know if the gearboxes are weak after all mines a 1.8tdci 115 done 50k so in theory its a van thats done next to no miles so should be ok right?

I had my 2007 sport on 70k, bluefin tuned it and it went from 115bhp to 150bhp, goes like stink and no problems with engine at all.
Emissions / mpg / temps etc all fine.

What company did you use to get to 150!! best i can find is like 134 its the torque i like though i need the extra oomph for overtaking but a lad i know at work has friends at a place called red box i think usually specialise in the 2.0 engine can get them past 400nm of torque and 170bhp but he said theyd have a go with my 1.8 hopefully with it being an old engine it should be tough as nails already had to replace the injector overflow pipe because it spit in the cold (ran fine on 3.5 cylinders and pulled like a train).

Have you noticed anything on your mpg though the claims are they make it better and atm im getting 44.4 on the read out need more from it than that!

Search web for superchips bluefin.
That's what I used.
I get 35mpg on city roads and 50mpg on A roads and motorway.

RS Tuning in Leeds... A proven 145bhp and bag loads of torque... A mate of mine said he couldn't shake one in his 200bhp tdi golf...

Also Paul at RS Tuning is a legend lol

A guy with bluefin had the 1.8 and put it on the rollers at RS and it made 129 bhp... Little disappointing Really...

I must have been paricularly lucky with my BHP then.
Bluefinned it and then had it tested by a tuning company for comfirmation and it hit 151, 147, 149 on 3 runs.
Gave a ST2 a surprise last night as he thought he'd easily outclassed me (which he normally would do) but i stuck close enough to him to cause him to give me a curious look.
Maybe he wasn't really trying too hard.

A girl that im trying to impress at work her bf drives a chipped golf mk4 gti and now i can nail him him the corners just on the straits i get nailed ahem so yeah i wana kick him down the road lol main reason for this besides the fuel saving but if i can give a st a good kicking then bring it on .

Found out the other day at work in july when im due a company car im getting a vw up! haha no i think il keep the ford how long have you 2 had your chips on for also does it help cure the lag?

I finned mine as soon as i got it last september and it does reduce the 2nd gear lag a lot but does not remove it completely.
The lag band is much smaller so better for getting a quick getaway.

can you get performance chips for petroll engines??

AFAIK yes but nowhere near as effective as on diesels.

Hey,

my humble advice would be to take your car up to 135 bhp on ECU modification only. If you are thinking about going up, you should be thinking about DPF-off, DeCat, new exhaust, new tubo air intake (by this i don;t mean getting an k&n or whatever filter, i mean changing the way the tubo gets air, and making it get it from the coldest place you can. Many think that putting a sport intake will give them more power, and they are very wrong and right at the same time. Yes a new air intake is better in theory, but if you put it to get cold air, cuting the air circuit and getting air next from the engine is wrong). you friends may have had other issues, because the gearbox should be able to handle around 170-180 on this car, IF you don;t think you are a race driver. If you want to drive it like mad, you should get rid of the dual mass, and get a solid mass.

PS : Don;t confuse a tuningbox (that is just "clip on") and only fouls the ECU, with ECU software tuning. The first oprion is the worst you could ever use. Superchips bluefin is actualy changing your ECU sofware.
BTW, you can get a 1.6tdci 109bhp to almost 200 bhp if you have the knowledge and the money. Same goes for a 1.8 tdci. But please take into consideration that you need to invest a lot to do this. not just 400 pounds on a bluefin.

[quote name='Mozo Jojo' timestamp='1329400452' post='166992']
Hey,

my humble advice would be to take your car up to 135 bhp on ECU modification only. If you are thinking about going up, you should be thinking about DPF-off, DeCat, new exhaust, new tubo air intake (by this i don;t mean getting an k&n or whatever filter, i mean changing the way the tubo gets air, and making it get it from the coldest place you can. Many think that putting a sport intake will give them more power, and they are very wrong and right at the same time. Yes a new air intake is better in theory, but if you put it to get cold air, cuting the air circuit and getting air next from the engine is wrong). you friends may have had other issues, because the gearbox should be able to handle around 170-180 on this car, IF you don;t think you are a race driver. If you want to drive it like mad, you should get rid of the dual mass, and get a solid mass.

PS : Don;t confuse a tuningbox (that is just "clip on") and only fouls the ECU, with ECU software tuning. The first oprion is the worst you could ever use. Superchips bluefin is actualy changing your ECU sofware.
BTW, you can get a 1.6tdci 109bhp to almost 200 bhp if you have the knowledge and the money. Same goes for a 1.8 tdci. But please take into consideration that you need to invest a lot to do this. not just 400 pounds on a bluefin.
[/quote]

As much as I don't want to start a massive argument... I feel I need to have something justified...

Can u tell me where you have seen the 1.6 at 200bhp... A couple of fiesta lads I know hae spent a lot of time and money getting their 90bhp 1.6's to 150... And there is little to change on them now..

And the 1.8, 200bhp? I was under the impression that because it's the old endura diesel engine and the fact the inlet and exhaust manifold design is utterly awful... That the most anyone had seen was around 150bhp, regardless of hybrid turbos etc... I knew a guy who was planning on porting and polishing the head to try get higher bhp but hasn't got round to it yet,

If u can provide me with more info I know of many people that would be interested in reaching these figures.

Been trying to work out weather or not for an extra 20bhp if its really worth it for 400 large, now im confident that the car can do it arent there ways of getting the same results for less or am i going about this all wrong and it will change the way my car thinks and turn it into a rattling old beast lol. Also found out that ive got a semi bald back tyre and after closer inspection as to why my car was so slow i found out its in dire need of a full service oil looks like its not been changed for a good 20k. Dont want costs to go mad on this either really does any one know where you can get a bluefin for less than 400 or is that the going rate

P.S. got nailed of the lights by an audi a1 1.2tfsi last night ......... gutted

A full service will liven any car up but if you want performance then it's induction kits, sports cat / decat, performance exhausts and remap.
Loads of money and time but big gains.
Depends how serious you want to get with the performance.
A good quality panel filter and a remap will boost the cars performance but the car will always have a bit of lag due to the back pressure of a standard exhaust / cat.
Personal choice at the end of the day.
You have to remember an Audi is much lighter and therefore the power to weight ratio is always going to trump you.