Diesel chip tuning on eBay

[mondeoman]

Just wondering if the chip tuning kits on eBay are any good: massively cheaper than anything else, but do they do the business?

[OGR4M]

If you're talking about the c.£20 kits, they simply trick the engine into thinking it's running cooler than it is.

This means that the car constantly runs with a bit of auto-choke on, and as a result fuels the car more richly and therefore more power for any given throttle.

Potentially catastrophic for fuel economy, although not damaging to your engine, because it only 'thinks' it's cooler than it is.

Personally, I would avoid and try a plug-in kit from the likes of TDI-Tuning.com which is what I had on my VW bora and it did nothing but good things, although at around £100-£150 they are significantly more expensive

[daemon]

mondeoman said:

Just wondering if the chip tuning kits on eBay are any good: massively cheaper than anything else, but do they do the business?

As above i'd avoid the dopey ones at a few pounds as they're invariably some sort of resistor in a box.

I've used a couple of the ones in the £80-90 bracket and they've been great. Made a big difference.

[smileymikey]

PSI and Tunit are good. You really do get what you pay for.

[Kev T360]

YouTube mighty car mods ebay chip, they did a rolling road with before and after with a $20 ebay chip from Poland.

Long story short it did nothing, just powered a led to let you know it was on.

[mondeoman]

Thought that might be the case when I read that they plugged into the fuel temp sensor, much prefer a 'proper' tune. I'll get looking...

[daemon]

mondeoman said:

Thought that might be the case when I read that they plugged into the fuel temp sensor, much prefer a 'proper' tune. I'll get looking...

So it was the ones at a few pounds you were looking at, not the £100 ish upwards ones?

[smileymikey]

Back in the day I used to charge around three eighty for a min of thirty bhp and fifty Nm torque extra. Based on something like a 110bhp tdi, with a refund if you didnt meet those figures. Power gains went up exponentially, the larger the original output. You get what you pay for.

[mondeoman]

daemon said:

mondeoman said:

Thought that might be the case when I read that they plugged into the fuel temp sensor, much prefer a 'proper' tune. I'll get looking...

So it was the ones at a few pounds you were looking at, not the £100 ish upwards ones?

I was, but figured at that price it was too good to be true, hence the question. It'd rather pay a sensible price for a decent product

[r11co]

Plenty of good quality, well engineered tuning boxes available second-hand on ebay - ones that would have cost several hundred new but you'll grab for under three figures.

Helps to know what other cars used the engine you are seeking the module for as a lot of sellers only advertise them as for one particular type of vehicle when they will fit many more (reduced the exposure of the advert so you are more likely to get a bargain).

Examples - 1.6 TDCi diesel engine on Ford Focus/Kuga is the same as that used by MINI/Volvo and many Peugueots.

1.9/2.0 CDTi Vauxhall engine is actually a FIAT unit, also deployed in SAABs and Alfas.

And of course the obvious 2.0/2.2 TDCi Ford diesels also used by Jaguar.