TDI Tuning box V ECU remap

I thought I'd start a new thread about TDI Tuning boxes. Usually, I buy 4 year old cars, so if i was looking for a little extra power, I'd opt for an ECU remap. However, i bought my current A3 2.0 TDI from new, and don't want to void the manufacturers warranty.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to TDI Tuning in Essex to grab one and fit it. Currently, I average about 48-52 MPG using VPower diesel and do varied motorway miles and town driving with a heavy foot The main reason for me getting a tuning box is for power though but ill be interested to see what effect it has on fuel economy. They've quoted me 189bhp and 416Nm torque from its standard 139 BHP and 320 Nm, all in a removable box that will revert the car back to factory standard after unplugging it.

After I've had it fitted, ill post some updates, continuing to run it on VPower diesel. It comes with a 14 day money back guarantee so I've got nothing to loose by giving it a go.

Rick, what other issues do you reckon ill come across? I know the best thing to do would be to remap the ECU, I'm purely doing this to settle my curiosity and retain the warranty. Company's selling them say they're good, as they would for selling purposes, and I can't ever arrive to a clear cut answer from reading other people's posts. This my first diesel, my car history sits with Jap cars and my last was a modified 300 BHP R32 Megane. Cheers.

Will keep you updated stote and tuddie. Yeah judderman, TDI Tuning offer it for £290 including fitting and testing, although fitting is a piece of **** anyhow. Like I said, I'm all for remapping for a full tuning experience, but I'm more than likely gonna be trading up in 2 years for either a new S3 or A45 AMG, so want the warranty fully intact for the duration.

So, just done the 220 mile round trip to Chelmsford and back to Oxford to get the box fitted, which was a 2 minute job. And even though the weather was shocking and visibility was crap on the motorway due to spray, I couldn't help myself from booting it on the return leg! The box comes with 7 different maps on it to subtely change the performance. I've opted for flat out power for the time being. To change the settings is easy enough, simply loosen a screw on the top panel, rotate the cover to access the jumper and move it along the pins depending on preference, simple!

I instantly noticed the extra power, especially in 6th around 1600RPM; I no longer need to drop into 5th when the car in front goes down a lane to get past them! And it deffinately feels a lot smoother through all the gears and pulls harder. On the flip side, through built up areas, it feels smoother but makes no more fuss than it did. Plus, as a lot of threads I've read state, I haven't noticed any additional smoke come from the back. Diesel engines are more refined these days anyway plus have the addition of the filter.

Fuel wise, I set off with half a tank and still have a quarter left. After I've had it a week, ill be in a better position to see if there has been any real change to MPG, although I predict ill be using more while I have a bit of fun using that extra umph

Overall, I'm happy with the end result of the box and as it was £100 cheaper than the remap they offered, plus a lot cheaper than the 170 engine from Audi, I'm gonna head down the pub for a pint and start thinking about weather I should get those H&R 50mm lowering springs or not...!

Well, I've just spent a full day pottering about in the car with the box fitted and, even though the power was up massively, the readings I was getting from the onboard computer relating to MPG and distance left in miles in the tank were outrageous. It reckoned I had 550 miles left in 3/4 of a tank and that I was hitting nearly 60mpg. Not likely as i was hamering it! So I pulled over, whipped the box out and did 60 miles with no box and it all settled back to normal. It was out by nearly 150 miles! I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so much so that I had the whole bumper off when I changed the front rings to black, and I like the fact that without the box, my computer accurately tells me what I want to know. So I've decided to keep it off and go with my gut and get remapped in May. Can anyone recommend someone? I've read a lot of positive feedback from Awesome GTI. Any other good ones?

Also, I've scratched the label on the box in 3 places but other than that, there is no damage what so ever. It'll be interesting to see just how pedantic they get with their 14 day money back guarantee! Ill let you know after the weekend!

Im not slating the box, it does exactly what you want, gives you more power. But for a more refined, proper job, I deffinately prefer and recomend a full ECU remap.