Chiptuning an THP200

[Anonymous]

Thanks Adrian,
Exactly what I have been saying.In-line is the way to go (If someone wants to tune the car) although I hear what you are saying ref an accident but I have always notified my insurers so that would not be a problem and of course your insurers/the Police are not going to invalidate the cars warranty.

 

[Anonymous]

Does the ECU Learn? I know the Rover ones in My MG used to..

Decat the car and after bout 500 miles it realises there is Better airflow and adjusts fueling as required...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Doc,

Sorry to disagree with you but dealers most definitely can tell if a car has been re-mapped/re-flashed.That is why I would only ever consider an in-line tuning box as these make no changes to the ECU and of course can be removed prior to going into Peugeot for a service etc and therefore leave no trace behind that a tuning aid has ever been installed.I myself will be having a tuning box fitted to my car once the 1000 mile check is done,as I have done on all my new cars since 2000/2001 and have never had any problems either with the results of the tuning box or with manufactures warranty etc.

Hi Andy,

But do these actually work and provide a noticable power improvement to everyday driving??????
If so would you say they are worth it/value for money and how much would you expect them to cost for the rcz?
Thanks

 

[FGRob]

Does the ECU Learn? I know the Rover ones in My MG used to..

Decat the car and after bout 500 miles it realises there is Better airflow and adjusts fueling as required...

This becomes a problem when it's MOT time, also removing the cat may not always give you any gains, you could lose power.

Rob

 

[FGRob]

Hi Doc,

Sorry to disagree with you but dealers most definitely can tell if a car has been re-mapped/re-flashed.That is why I would only ever consider an in-line tuning box as these make no changes to the ECU and of course can be removed prior to going into Peugeot for a service etc and therefore leave no trace behind that a tuning aid has ever been installed.I myself will be having a tuning box fitted to my car once the 1000 mile check is done,as I have done on all my new cars since 2000/2001 and have never had any problems either with the results of the tuning box or with manufactures warranty etc.

Is this the same type of box which just up's your boost and therefore has no bearing on your map.

Rob

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bradders and Rob,

These boxes do a lot more than just up the boost but as they run in-line then all changes are made after the ECU and therefore they do not have any impact on the safety parameters pre-set by the manufacturer.
As for the performance increases you would not believe the differences not only in power/torque but in overall driveability and more often than not an improvement in MPG as well.
I have these fitted because of all of the above (I am no boy racer) but these boxes really do make a noticeable difference, although worth pointing out that the best engines for this type of modification are without doubt turbo diesels.
I will be getting around 200 bhp and 330 ft/lbs after the box has been fitted which as far as real world driving is concerned will give 20-70 mile an hour acceleration times far better than that of the 200 THP engine.

Regards,


Andy H :thumbup:

 

[Anonymous]

These boxes are a possibility, but they are not specified for your RCZ, if you are lucky, they are universally suitable for all engines of that type, if it is worse, for many types. So the result is not the same like an ECU-onbord-tuning. Because of the way, they work, they might be very unhealthy for the engine and/or will not produce a result which ist as good as an ECU-on-board-tuning.

doc

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Doc,

I agree,if you are not dealing with one of the few GOOD tuning box companies but if you are (as I am) then these units are specific to the particular engine and indeed can be further tweaked once installed, in a similar way that re-maps can be i.e via a laptop.
I would say that for out and out performance etc then a re-map is probable better but it WILL invalidate the warranty here in the UK and that has been the point I have been trying to get across.In no way am I suggesting that there is a problem with re-maps with regards to performance just that the re-map will be picked up during routine servicing.

Andy H

Lets not forget the RCZ diesel engine is the same unit as used by Ford, and so there has been a lot of tuning work done on the ford 2.0 TDCI unit both re-maps and tuning boxes.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bradders,

Expect to pay around £400.00

Andy H
:beer:

 

[FGRob]

Lets not forget the RCZ diesel engine is the same unit as used by Ford, and so there has been a lot of tuning work done on the ford 2.0 TDCI unit both re-maps and tuning boxes.

Hi Andy.

This is where this topic is a little off at the moment, the original post was about the petrol 200bhp not the diesel and reading through the various posts we have a mixture of both.

Just to touching on re-mapping / ECU's etc, I run a completely different ECU in my MR2 and that has to be mapped if I make the smallest of changes to any part of the engine, rolling roads / mapping is not cheap and you should remember you need to add that into your costing of any unit you buy which requires mapping, my average rolling road costs was about £500 - £600 per session, at somewhere like Noble Motorsport.

When you start to add these costs in you have to ask yourself, is it worth it on this type of car, warranty is the biggest issue for any new car and of course you need to tell your insurance company - mind you they do monitor these type of sites so it's not difficult to track you down :crazy:

Rob.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Rob,

I hear what you are saying but I am not making any physical changes to the engine so the tuning box is the only performance enhancement aid therefore as the tuning box is pre-set for the particular engine it is being fitted to then there really are NO issues.
As I have stated before I have had this type of unit fitted to a total of 6 cars since 2000 and have never had any problems.Also I have always notified my insurers so again no problems there.
As for the different engines i.e diesel/petrol the points I have been making are still valid for both.
Also please see paragraph 1 as to why a rolling road set up is not required because the tuning companies will have already done this (The good companies) then all subsequent units for that particular engine will be sent out pre-set with that data.
Regards,

Andy H

 

[Anonymous]

Does the ECU Learn? I know the Rover ones in My MG used to..

Decat the car and after bout 500 miles it realises there is Better airflow and adjusts fueling as required...

This becomes a problem when it's MOT time, also removing the cat may not always give you any gains, you could lose power.

Rob

Simply refit your cat :lol:
Would have thought that an engine like these, simple turbo, no VVT etc would benefit from less restriction in the breathing. Even if it's just to spool the turbo faster.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bradders and Rob,

These boxes do a lot more than just up the boost but as they run in-line then all changes are made after the ECU and therefore they do not have any impact on the safety parameters pre-set by the manufacturer

Always better to work with an engine rather than fool it post ECU. Fair enough on old Skool DERVs which have stronger engines than the petrols but when you try to "tune cheap" you take the reliability in your own hands.

 

[FGRob]

Does the ECU Learn? I know the Rover ones in My MG used to..

Decat the car and after bout 500 miles it realises there is Better airflow and adjusts fueling as required...

This becomes a problem when it's MOT time, also removing the cat may not always give you any gains, you could lose power.

Rob

Simply refit your cat :lol:
Would have thought that an engine like these, simple turbo, no VVT etc would benefit from less restriction in the breathing. Even if it's just to spool the turbo faster.

I did that with my 2 for 2 years - in the end I put a sports cat on - the BHP went up :dance:

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Figo,
Nothing to do with "cheap tune" just optimizing what I have without losing my warranty.If i start messing with the engine itself then clearly the warranty will be voided.

 

[Anonymous]

Fair play Andy!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Guys for all the comments.
Obviously, open to individual preference and willingness to take a risk!
Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Figo,
Nothing to do with "cheap tune" just optimizing what I have without losing my warranty.If i start messing with the engine itself then clearly the warranty will be voided.

Your warranty is void the moment you plug the box in as you are modifying the cars systems thus causing the engine to operate outside of the manufacturers specs. The manufacturer doesnt see this as any different to you physically messing about inside the engine. You are messing with something that directly affects how the engine works. Peugeot have in the past written to the dealer network stating will not pay for engine/drivetrain work on cars with tuning boxes following several 407 HDis blowing up and the problem being traced to the engine running outside of specs because of a tuning box.

If a tuning box company had told you their mods dont void the warranty they are wrong.

Obviously the manufactuer has to catch you but im pretty sure they will have a good look at the car before paying out thousands on a new lump for example.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi RCZGT200,
The tuning box is removed in about 5 mins and leaves no trace that it was ever fitted,therefore before servicing etc I always remove the box then refit it afterwards.9 years and 6 cars and I have never had ANY problems either with reliabilty or warranties.
AndyH

PS: I do understand your position as a representative of a Peugeot main dealer but as a former Dealer Principal ( 9 years,total of 23 years in the industry,including 3 years with the old Perrys ) Then you and I both know that correctly fitted/set up tuning boxes do not harm engines as they do nothing to impede the manufactures built in safety perameters.
:beer:

 

[Anonymous]

I dont have a problem with people fitting them as long as they are aware of the issues that can arise.

If they do nothing to impede the manufacturers safety margins where do you believe the extra power comes from? The manufacturer builds a safety margin into the engines ecu to ensure longevity and reliability of the engine and drivetrain as they have to allow for people using crap fuel, not servicing the cars properly,ragging the car from cold etc. Components such as the clutch and gearbox will have a torque rating that the manufacturer wont exceed. Chips and tuning boxes remove this margin leading to increased stresses and wear on components hence the manufacturer voids the warranty which is why people like superchips offer a seperate warranty to cover components that the manufacturer voids the warranty on.

I have personally seen a 407 Hdi 170 that had the pistons virtually melted into the block due to running incorrectly because of a tuning box .

My Audi quattro has been chipped from 220bhp to 262bhp with an additional 75 lb/ft. I dont have a problem with this as the engine can run 400bhp without internal mods and the drivetrain is easily capable of taking 500+bhp in standard form :dance: I dont have warranty issues as its warranty ran out 19 years ago :mrgreen:

If you are so sure they dont have any effect on reliability or cause any other issues why do you feel the need to remove it if the car is in for servicing/warranty work?