320d diagnostic tool + tuning box questions.
Discussion
I've recently bought a 52 plate BMW 320d. I know they're not the most exciting of cars for some, but it ticked all the boxes for my current needs. I'm a uni student (although I'm 25), so economy was important. It's done 91,000 miles with one previous owner and in good nick.
I'm planning to do much of the servicing/repairs myself as it'll save some money, and considering the car is reasonably high millage, shouldn't effect the re-sale value too much. I'm therefore gonna need a diagnostic tool to re-set service lights etc. I was wondering if anyone knew the best ones to get, taking into account the price of the unit too? I've seen some claim that they can also re-set the SRS warnign light (something that's recently come on on my car), is this true? How's this one for instance? Also, do second hand ones crop up on the classified's here? Some people must have bought one and then sold the car.
My second question is to do with tuning boxes. I have researched how they work, and understand that in many cases a propper re-map would be the better rute. However I'm hoping to pick up a second hand tuning box off ebay / the classifieds here (again, do they crop up?) to save some money. I'm not in a rush for one as I find the performance of the car reasonable, but for £100-300 the improvements are enticing.
There's one going on ebay at the moment here. Anyone had any experience with this particular brand? If it doesn't go up much, it could be an absolute steal for an extra 27bhp.
Sorry for the rather long post by such a new member. Thanks in advance for any input, it will be greatly appreciated.
I'm planning to do much of the servicing/repairs myself as it'll save some money, and considering the car is reasonably high millage, shouldn't effect the re-sale value too much. I'm therefore gonna need a diagnostic tool to re-set service lights etc. I was wondering if anyone knew the best ones to get, taking into account the price of the unit too? I've seen some claim that they can also re-set the SRS warnign light (something that's recently come on on my car), is this true? How's this one for instance? Also, do second hand ones crop up on the classified's here? Some people must have bought one and then sold the car.
My second question is to do with tuning boxes. I have researched how they work, and understand that in many cases a propper re-map would be the better rute. However I'm hoping to pick up a second hand tuning box off ebay / the classifieds here (again, do they crop up?) to save some money. I'm not in a rush for one as I find the performance of the car reasonable, but for £100-300 the improvements are enticing.
There's one going on ebay at the moment here. Anyone had any experience with this particular brand? If it doesn't go up much, it could be an absolute steal for an extra 27bhp.
Sorry for the rather long post by such a new member. Thanks in advance for any input, it will be greatly appreciated.
IIRC the majority of your service indicator lights etc can be reset using the buttons on the steering wheel and stalks - it should only be error lights you'd need a diagnostic for. In that case, it would probably be cheaper to take the car to a BMW indy and have them reset your SRS light.
Tuning boxes are much of a muchness, IMO. Having said that, I'd rather have one made by a decent sized company who will offer aftersales support. DTUK have links with the BMW community, keep an eye out for one of their boxes maybe?
I'd check ebay rather than the classifieds here for second hand boxes, too.
Tuning boxes are much of a muchness, IMO. Having said that, I'd rather have one made by a decent sized company who will offer aftersales support. DTUK have links with the BMW community, keep an eye out for one of their boxes maybe?
I'd check ebay rather than the classifieds here for second hand boxes, too.
Thanks for the replies.
I've done a little research on swirl flaps and it's certainly on the to-do list. They'll set me back £40 and could be invaluable. I found an online guide Here but this is not the same as my car. The manifold extends much further back towards the bulkhead in my BMW (diference between the older 136bhp and newer 150bhp engines perhaps). I did only look very quickly when I fancied having a look at what was under the plastic cover, so maybe I've missed another cover that comes off, I'll re-check. I couldn't see a strut brace to remove and the manifold actually extends under where the windscreen mechanism is. Looks like it's gonna be an increadibly fidly job unfortunately, but one which is worth doing when I get some time.
I didn't realise you could re-set service lights using the steering wheel/stalk controls. Thanks for that, very handy to know. I'll try a little garage next to me that always has bmw's in there and see what they'll charge to diagnose the SRS fault and re-set the light once I fix it. I understand the most common thing to go is the pressure sensor for the passenger seat.For £50 I can buy a by-pass box to 'fix' the problem, probably prefer to do that than spend more to get it fixed / pick up a second hand one from a breakers and maybe have it go again in the future. I don't care in the slightest if the passenger airbag deploys in the even of an accident even if there's no-one sitting there!
I'll keep an eye out for a DTUK tuning box. The one I linked to on ebay is still at £100 though, so if it doesn't increase further I'll give that a try first as it's a bargain.
Thanks alot.
I've done a little research on swirl flaps and it's certainly on the to-do list. They'll set me back £40 and could be invaluable. I found an online guide Here but this is not the same as my car. The manifold extends much further back towards the bulkhead in my BMW (diference between the older 136bhp and newer 150bhp engines perhaps). I did only look very quickly when I fancied having a look at what was under the plastic cover, so maybe I've missed another cover that comes off, I'll re-check. I couldn't see a strut brace to remove and the manifold actually extends under where the windscreen mechanism is. Looks like it's gonna be an increadibly fidly job unfortunately, but one which is worth doing when I get some time.
I didn't realise you could re-set service lights using the steering wheel/stalk controls. Thanks for that, very handy to know. I'll try a little garage next to me that always has bmw's in there and see what they'll charge to diagnose the SRS fault and re-set the light once I fix it. I understand the most common thing to go is the pressure sensor for the passenger seat.For £50 I can buy a by-pass box to 'fix' the problem, probably prefer to do that than spend more to get it fixed / pick up a second hand one from a breakers and maybe have it go again in the future. I don't care in the slightest if the passenger airbag deploys in the even of an accident even if there's no-one sitting there!
I'll keep an eye out for a DTUK tuning box. The one I linked to on ebay is still at £100 though, so if it doesn't increase further I'll give that a try first as it's a bargain.
Thanks alot.
Edited by dullonien on Friday 5th November 17:51
Managed to pick up a tuning box (www.tuningbox.com) off ebay for £60 second hand. Fitted it this morning, and it's made a big difference. Took it for a quick spin and it feels much quicker now. The leaflet claims to up the power by 25% which would take it up to ~ 185bhp, but that's probably a bit optimistic, probably more like 175-180bhp.
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