DTUK vs TDI-Tuning Box on A3 184 TDI

[David Lyon]

All,

I am considering a tuning box for my A3 SLine 184.

Nailed it down to two boxes, either the DTUK or TDI-Tuning?

Do any of you have experience of either?

I am unable to have a remap as it is a company lease car hence to why I want a box that I can take on and off and not have any issues with fault codes flashing up that will cause warranty issues.

I have read good / bad reports on the DTUK boxes so its a real mix but I am unable to find much out about customers experiences with the TDI-Tuning boxes.

Both are similar priced.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[mike170]

I had a bluefin from superchips on my a3 170 tdi

Loved it, but can’t compare to above, easy to install and remove when needed.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Kayobong]

I didn't even realise tuning boxes were a thing. I was looking to get a remap, now I'm not sure!

 

[Invicta]

I didn't even realise tuning boxes were a thing. I was looking to get a remap, now I'm not sure!

I guess we've both got the same idea..

 

[Invicta]

Does a tuning box affect the ECU in any way? Or is linked in between the ECU and the components that it's designed to alter and just changes the signals being sent to said components?

 

[TYb]

I’m no expert but sure I’ve read that these boxes can also leave indicators on the car, plus if it’s a lease you’ll be braking the terms of the agreement for sure.

 

[RichardT]

Need to inform the insurance company at least.

 

[v1raj]

Very interested in this thread. As well as the OP's question, does the 184's clutch handle with the extra power? Will it need replacing?

 

[Rideen]

They both claim 240PS from a 2.0 unmodified TDI with only a tuning box

Is it me or does it seem a bit unrealistic?

 

[Goner]

Do tuning boxes show up the TD1 flag when connected to Audi diagnostics?

If it does your warranty will be void from that moment on anyway so if the box flags up the TD1 warning you may as well remap it anyway.

 

[David Lyon]

Do tuning boxes show up the TD1 flag when connected to Audi diagnostics?

If it does your warranty will be void from that moment on anyway so if the box flags up the TD1 warning you may as well remap it anyway.

From the forum post that I have read a tuning box will not leave a TD1 code as you are not interfering with the ECU in anyway.

This is why I am looking at the tuning box route as a remap will flag the TD1 code and void the warranty which will be expensive and in my case land me in hot water with the leasing company.

One of the main reasons that I want a box is that it is not traceable and it will improve the driving experience along with economy.

Just trying to find someone who can advise on whether TDI-Tuning or DTUK are the best way to go???

 

[David Lyon]

They both claim 240PS from a 2.0 unmodified TDI with only a tuning box

Is it me or does it seem a bit unrealistic?

Those figures are probably on the high side, until somebody shows a dyno print out to prove those numbers then I am suspicious. From experience I would say that a tuning box will take the car to 210 - 220 bhp max.

Still a decent enough increase though.

 

[David Lyon]

Very interested in this thread. As well as the OP's question, does the 184's clutch handle with the extra power? Will it need replacing?

No I don't think that you will, I ran a BMW 177 320D for 3 years and 90,000 miles with a tuning box and the clutch was absolutely fine.

 

[Goner]

From the forum post that I have read a tuning box will not leave a TD1 code as you are not interfering with the ECU in anyway.

This is why I am looking at the tuning box route as a remap will flag the TD1 code and void the warranty which will be expensive and in my case land me in hot water with the leasing company.

One of the main reasons that I want a box is that it is not traceable and it will improve the driving experience along with economy.

Just trying to find someone who can advise on whether TDI-Tuning or DTUK are the best way to go???

If the TD1 flag doesn't occur then i will have to look into this myself.

 

[Glasgoe Joe]

I remapped my diesel and taken the car to audi for servicing numerous times and they haven't said anything about it.

 

[Kayobong]

I remapped my diesel and taken the car to audi for servicing numerous times and they haven't said anything about it.

How'd your remap go? Which engine do you have?

 

[Glasgoe Joe]

1.6tdi it's good 25% increase in power and torque made the car driveable as before it was very poor. No problems in 50,000 miles touch wood

 

[Kayobong]

1.6tdi it's good 25% increase in power and torque made the car driveable as before it was very poor. No problems in 50,000 miles touch wood

Picked up my 8v today, it's a 2.0 TDI 150PS so not sure if it's worth the remap as it pulls quite well as is.

 

[Invicta]

1.6tdi it's good 25% increase in power and torque made the car driveable as before it was very poor. No problems in 50,000 miles touch wood

You remapped it and they never said anything about it? How very strange.

 

[RichardT]

I suppose it’s if it’s in warranty and something goes wrong that there’s a problem.
50K - it’s probably out of warranty? So it’s the owner’s business what he does with it and the dealer will do a service as requested.

 

[AlS3BE]

Tuning boxes will not directly flag your car with td1 unlike a remap. The way td1 works as far as I understand is when your car is plugged in it communicates with The mothership and if there are significant differences to factory spec your car will be flagged. It’s not a marker on the ecu! It’s how your cars details are stored against factory spec.
It will only become an issue if you try and make a warranty claim. So if you tried to make a warranty claim for engine and there’s a marker for ecu modification then they will try and reject it. However if you make a warranty claim on the electric windows it won’t be an issue. Vcds tweaks and changes can potentially flag your car but it probably won’t hold up in a warranty claim.
Tuning boxes tries to work around this as it doesn’t affect the ecu, all it’s doing is intercepting signals and sending something else down the line, however sensors and other things store values. So if factory boost is meant to be 1 bar and the sensor has stored 2 bar then during a warranty claim they will dig into this and find these anomalies. When this happens you will be flagged.
Other thing is on the a3 I think the boost sensor or fuel rail sensor is underneath so the chip is a pain to remove/refit before and after a service.
Hope this makes sense.

On another note I’ve used the dtuk boxes on my 177 and 190 tdi and it was a great piece of kit. You definitely felt the difference. Racked up 1000s of miles and had no issues with clutch or the dsg box.

 

[Rideen]

I remapped my diesel and taken the car to audi for servicing numerous times and they haven't said anything about it.

You pay them to do a service. That is the difference, they don't care if you are the one spending the money. If you claimed warranty in case something went wrong, they would tell you something doesn't add up.

 

[Kondax]

1.6tdi it's good 25% increase in power and torque made the car driveable as before it was very poor. No problems in 50,000 miles touch wood

I have a 1.6tdi and would quite like a boost in power and especially the torque. Car comes a bit of a burden when there's more than two people in it. Might have to go with a tuning box in that case