madmacdom73 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hi Folks, First up this is my first post, in fact my first owners club and first forum... Okay, I recently bought a 2007 Mondeo Mk4 1.8 TDCI and was told by a friend to install a performance chip for better fuel economy and performance. My first question was, are they not a scam? and was told no they do work...!! My second question was do they not just trick the on board computer putting your engine and other parts (turbo etc) under unnecessary stress and cause them to fail? Again I was told no they don't exceed manufactures settings..! My third question was, so why don't Ford just have the best settings for their cars? and I was told its so one engine like mine has a variant from roughly 100-125Bhp so they can tempt you from the base model to the more powerful... (This I'm not so sure about... anyone?????) I then started to look and research the options, and there's tons! ranging from; OBD(2) boxes that plug in under the dash like this one (hope attaching links are ok?) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Performance-Chip-Tuning-Box-OBD2-ECU-Remap-Ford-B-Max-C-Max-Escort-Diesel-/111816484151?hash=item1a08c82537:g:kfkAAOSwLVZVuoBL PRICE £110 Then There's Diesel Tuning Box Chip that plug in under the bonnet to the to the fuel rail like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Mondeo-TDCi-Diesel-Tuning-Box-Chip-up-to-2008-/331537251467?hash=item4d3128fc8b:g:rj4AAOxy4dNS4p9S PRICE £80 On the Variation of this and on various forums there are links to REMAPPING from Spider Performance boxes from £200-£375 each http://www.dieseltuning.co.uk/ Or Superchips £359 http://www.superchips.co.uk/ Or Drakebox £80 http://www.drakebox.co.uk/ On there sites there are hundreds of testaments and great reviews and I know even on here there could be bias based on affiliation or even website key word monitoring... (Yeah I'm very skeptical) But if these really work, which one should I go for OBD2, Fuel Rail, Remap, and which make, and why that over others.. There's not a lot of information on reviews or tests in either google or you-tube... so I started looking at forums and owners clubs and I have finally arrived here! I hope my post doesn't contravene any posting rules, I did skim over them. I really would like to here honest and useful thoughts on everything above before I Shell out my hard earned cash. Many thanks Madmac :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 a good one is the RonBox. they are a great box. To be honest your options are either a plug in unit the best being tuning boxes in under the bonnet. The ones for the OBD port are useless unless they are the superchips where they perform the remap, Beyond that though, the best ones to get is a proper remap. I have the same car as you, and I was going to go for the synergy ronbox, as they look fantastic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmacdom73 Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Thanks jeebowhite, I'll look into them now too I found this extract on moneysaving website about this topic, this was one of the responses A proper ECU remap will generally give better results. Best to go for a remap or tuning box for the purposes of obtaining better performacne than the expectation of saving money. Different tuning boxes will do things differently.Is tuning bad for the car?Done properly (and I mean properly ) in my opinion no, though you can expect the extra stresses of the increased power and torque on offer - if you actually use it, to shorten the life of various car components. So may be you get 250,000 miles out of the car instead of 300,000 miles.Why don't the car manufacturers do it?The dealers do sometimes, as well as Merc. doing the Brabas tuning box BMW dealers can supply an AC Schnitzer tungin box, maintain warranty and releive of around £1000 in the process. It's no better or worse than the best of the other tuning boxes.Why not tuned this way from the factory?1. The car is tuned to an insurance group and emissions level target in accordance with the official tests which isn't neccessariyl real life2. The car is tuned so that you can use it in a wide variety of climate conduitions, arctic to the Sahara3. The car is tuned so you can stick any old s**tty diesel in it from anywhere in the world without breaking it and keeping the standard service scheduleIf you are always going to use your turbo diesel in a European climate and use the higher quality EN590 minimum 51 Cetan rating diesel fuel which is all you can buy in European you can safely optimise the tuning of the car and release the extra power potential and may be save some fuel.The laws of physics apply, if you use the extra performance you are using extra fuel - period. However the majority of the time you drive the car your cruising and better more optimal fuel (and if a good remap air flow via slight increase of turbo pressure) delivery can result in improved fuel consumption.I have a BMW 320d (163bhp standard). Last August I fitted a Spider tuning box which boosts this to 195bhp (it shows, I can feel it ) and started paying an extra £25 a year on my insurance for the privalege. On the daily half hour trip to work I was doing where there is not much open road cruising I saw a 5% increase in fuel consumption.Since then I've done a number of long distance trips cruising on the motorway where it seems the clever fuel management in cruising comes into play. On this kind of drive I see about a 15% decrease in fuel consumption. That's 56mpg instead of 48mpg on a fully loaded roof box fitted 320d tourng (E91).So if you pick the right tuning box or better yet the right re-map (I can refer you to someone if you want) it can save fuel with the vehicle driven in the right way.In order to give my cars fuel system the best treatment I can I use premium fuels liek BP Ultimate or a fuel additive like Millers Diesel Sport 4 to get the fuel quality as good as possible (also improves mpg by 5-7% so is money saving). The Spider box increases fuel pressure which means more strain on the fuel pump and injectors. One re-map I know of does it by altering the timing and duration of the fuel delivery and not the pressure - very clever.Any tuning method had better be developed with the drive train (gearbox etc.) maximum torque limits in mind otherwise you can get drive train "rumble" which indicates unhealthy strain. The engine block itself is pretty indestructable, VW group and BMW stick anything from 110bhp to 212bhp throught the same 2.0 diesel engine block in their engine ranges.Downside of a remap is sometimes a dealer will overwrite it with the standard map if there is software update they need to apply.That means travelling back to the remapper or paying their travel expenses to get the remap re-applied. They don't tend charge again for thsi kind of restoration.Hope that helps you to make an informed decision - one way or the other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Yeah they are a good read. To be honest, the consequences of tuning boxes or remaps are an element of excess stress on the car, but to be honest, as long as you dont overdo it, there really isnt that great a loss! definately worth looking at the ron box, there were a few I read on other forums who swear by them, Reasonably prices and good results, he is a one man band and looks after his customers, this is what sets him aside from the rest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 The downside of boxes are that they simply piggyback on the car's ECU & only normally alter 2 parameters, fuel & air supply , leaving the ECU to control the remaining parameters of which there are many. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmacdom73 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Cheers lads, The digital ECU boxes claim to do more than change air and fuel and are suitable for DPF desiel engines.. Where did you source the ronbox from, sorry if I've already asked this, just there are a few sights listing them on the net.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I havent yet sourced it, sadly at the time I was about to buy it, all kinds of crazy broke loose, my bank balance took a hit and that was the end of that! I will be getting one later though! as for the were, http://tuning-diesels.com/Ronbox2/rb2.htm have a look around there. even the 'fore sales support was spot on. He couldnt do enough to try help me, gave me all kinds of advice on it, and that was that! He has many a happy customer from MG, Rover and on, and so far, the products look pretty good! http://www.tuning-diesels.co.uk/our-technology/ this confirms how the boxes are made and what they do, tying in with what Mark says, they do change the air and fuel, but even then it uses a proper microprocessor, and still gives excellent results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 The test is : how many connections from the box are there ? If there are only 2, & every box I've ever seen only has 2, these are connected to fuel & air sensors only & therefore the box can only alter & manage & monitor fuel & air supply parameters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I think there is only the two on the ronbox... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 That's probably true James & as much as I admire Ron & his products, I'm sure even Ron would admit a proper remap is . . . shall I suggest . . overall a more complete, in depth way of extracting the optimum performance from an engine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmacdom73 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Cheers... just altering the fuel and air is risky, according to what I've read... more research is needed I think .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmacdom73 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Yes please all options are on the table ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 A decent tuning box should not present a risk as the original car's ECU manages all other engine requirement parameters not altered by the box, within the tolerances set by the manufacturer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Agree with Mark ultimately. A bespoke remap certainly is the best and it's each to its own. Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Agreed James . . it is an individual choice & I've tried both & I prefer a bespoke remap - other people may not 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I must admit I like the flexibility of the box. Minimal effort and easy to change settings and easy to modify to transfer to a new car :-) Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmacdom73 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thanks, the spider, superchips and drakebox all seem to remap the ECU .. any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmacdom73 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 I hope these posts help lots of other folk in the future, it is really helping me ! Cheers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 No tuning box that I know of remaps the ECU - they simply piggyback onto it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Bluefin by Superchips is a proper remap & so is a bespoke remap by Superchips & other similar remapping companies 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Agreed. Superchips is an obd controlled map tool which installs a remap and also backs up your current configuration. Allowing you to reinstall a map and revert to original at your leisure Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 ^^ Insert - The hand held Bluefin device by Superchips . . . . ^^ James :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmacdom73 Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Yeah, I'm going to try two options I think the Bluefin by superchips and the Synergie Ronbox (though they don't appear to do my model on their site), but I'll give them a call. Then the plan is try them both out and keep the one that offers best performance and efficiency ... thanks for you help gents, I'll keep you posted as we go! :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Look forward to hearing the results! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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