Pros and Cons of Tuning?

It all depends on what power improvements you are looking to get. We sell tuning boxes and remaps and have had no issues with smoking but I cant speak for the cheap chinese copies. The best starting point is to do exhaust, air filter and stage 1 remap/tuning box

All tuning boxes are the same.


Sorry to hamper this conversation - but they all look like variable resistors to me. With the added 'resistance' being adjusted by some click switch or analogue variable resistor.


Regarding the 'turbo', any intelligent vehicle tuner can increase power 'gently' and not have to touch turbo pressure - should this be a concern. Consider the 'hysteresis' area affecting DPF - personally I would remove DPF completely, but you can increase power slightly without aggravating it too much.

At a basic level, you are increasing the soot count by playing with the car, whether compensated for or not (during tuning). My best advice would be to enjoy the vehicle as it is - or have the DPF taken off before tuning. You will encounter less engine headache this way.


Regarding your gearbox - this is down to driver kindness/negligence. Nobody can form an opinion without seeing how you operate the vehicle. It is a diesel - so your engine is robust. Consider more, though, your clutch! More power = faster clutch wear!

westers said:

I did a search, but couldn't find anything specifically related to this topic.

What I'm interested in is "eyes wide open" view of getting tuning done, specifically on a 2.0, 170bhp, TDI A3 engine, and by "eyes wide open", I mean what I should be aware of with regards to potential improvements, but also the negatives.

Examples I can think of are:

Pros

• Horsepower
• Torque
• Improved efficiency (when not floored everywhere)
• Fun factor

Cons

• Long term impact on turbos, gearboxes (S-Tronic in my case), and possibly engine wear
• DPF issues (mine has a DPF - I've heard tuning boxes can make them more smokey, but the DPF should sort this, and I do mainly motorway work)

Cost and insurance isn't an issue (I can afford both - already checked), and I also understand how the car is driven will be a contributory factor - thrash it everywhere, and things will wear out very quickly.

So what is the considered opinion in all of this - I know people will have had tuning on cars for 40K miles, and that's good, however I do 20-25K a year and plan on keeping the car for 5 years minimum, hence I'll be racking up the mileage, although 100K miles is nothing for modern cars.

I hope I've explained my thoughts clearly, so what say you?

Click to expand...

I did my 2.0tdi 140 about a month ago with a bluefin from superchips and it has made the car alot better and was easy to do can also reset back to oem map any time but much more driveable now.

I think if you're worried about potential wear and tear of oem items you should stay away from tuning. If you get more power you'll drive it harder (don't say you wont, or whats the point in thinking about tuning?). Driving it harder will wear out components like discs, pads and suspension parts quicker. If you make your car handle/brake better, you'll drive it harder, meaning more servicing for you're engine with the chance that a hammered engine will give up the ghost quicker.

My '93 Audi 80 has the original 2.0 16v engine in it, its got a de-cat, a full SS exhaust, modified airbox, 2.2 throttle body. Its currently on 163k and I'm not particually gentle with it, but its not let me down . . . yet. When it does a 1.8t 20v will go in it.
I've got other mods like s2 calipers, EBC pads, braided lines, Weitec GT suspension too.

As long as you don't go silly, e.g turning up the boost silly high, setting your coilovers as low as possible etc a mildly tuned engine/car will run for just as long as a standard one. maybe in fact longer becuase you'll look after it more?

If you're planning on keeping it for 5 years I'm guessing you'll be looking after it, so tune (sensibly) away!




Andy

Jackie Brown said:

All tuning boxes are the same.


Sorry to hamper this conversation - but they all look like variable resistors to me. With the added 'resistance' being adjusted by some click switch or analogue variable resistor.


Regarding the 'turbo', any intelligent vehicle tuner can increase power 'gently' and not have to touch turbo pressure - should this be a concern. Consider the 'hysteresis' area affecting DPF - personally I would remove DPF completely, but you can increase power slightly without aggravating it too much.

At a basic level, you are increasing the soot count by playing with the car, whether compensated for or not (during tuning). My best advice would be to enjoy the vehicle as it is - or have the DPF taken off before tuning. You will encounter less engine headache this way.


Regarding your gearbox - this is down to driver kindness/negligence. Nobody can form an opinion without seeing how you operate the vehicle. It is a diesel - so your engine is robust. Consider more, though, your clutch! More power = faster clutch wear!

Click to expand...

Hi Jackie,

You are right in saying that some cheaper systems on the market are just a variable resistor and tbh put a black cloud over reputable tuning box companies like ourselves. All of our products are designed, developed and programmed by ourselves and as such allows us to put good reliable tuning boxes on the market. [FONT=&quot]The tuning boxes contain a state of the art micro-processor controlled digital system will increase your power output whilst increasing your Torque and Improving your Fuel Efficiency by 4-6 Mpg. [/FONT]The system is pre-programmed to ensure that your vehicle runs at optimal performance whilst ensuring that your engine control devices are still in full control.

Is it not hard to quantify 'wear n tear'?

i have a mk4 Golf 1.9 Gt remapped and updated suspension and brakes. For sure I drive it hard and such fun to drive but I would not say that due to the remap faster wearing parts pop more often. She's got 170k on with no issues or big bills.

Maybe I'm just lucky- are there people that have actually had crazy bills and problems from the result of a remap? Of course this would depend on the quality of the remap as well.