Hi - As above really, do the Plug in performance enhancers work , the ones that say they improve power and torque, with an improvement in fuel economy

Anyone used one in the past/currently ??

 

I've used them and yes they work (DTUK ones anyway). However they won't reduce fuel consumption - any fuel/ecomomy meter in the car is misslead due to the increased fuel pressure (or however the boxes work!).

I ran one on a Astra 150bhp TDI and it made a huge difference, I'd say a 20%+ increase in torque. I've also tried one on a 320D and that worked too, a little less though, maybe a 10-15% increase.

 

Thanks for that , I was thinking of putting one in a Pug !.6 TD HDi engine, with the massive standard power of 112 horses !! one box I read about would boost this to 147 I think it said, with a usable bit of torque to boot

395 it was though

 

Far better for going for a proper map, or a good matched unit

The cheap plug in overfuelling boxes are just that, they fool the airmass meter into thinking that the car is running lean, and thus dump more fuel in.

The downside is more unburnt diesel being spat out the back as soot/ smoke.

If you have it done properly ie a remap,this will can save fuel and improve performance, or alternativly some of the better box type units can have 3 or 4 different mini maps on them allowing you to chose wheter you want performance or economy.

Some cars are more suitable than others... VAG/Audi/Seat, are usually a good return, others ..Saab not so good or impossible


However one-thing to bear in mind... if you fit one and omit to inform your insurance co... yada yada


Mart

 

I fitted one to my old Freelander, it had 9 settings to alter power low down, mid-range, top end.
This gave an instant improvement and made it a lot better car to drive and didn't seem to use more fuel.
After a month or so the car would run on when switched off and a garage said it was something fuel injector related - not sure if the tuning box caused this (box plugged into fuel rail) or a coinsidence?

 

I always have a re-map rather than a tuning box. Just be careful though as the extra power/torque with eventually knacker your clutch/Flywheel.

 

Agreed, a remap is the way to go, but for me a tuning box was the best option. I also sold it on when the car went so I only 'lost' about £80.

 

Cheers for the comments I guess will have to watch warranty issues aswell as the car will under one - supposedly the ad says they are easily removable/fitted and not traceble by the dealer..

 

Simon, I had one on my Audi A3 TDi 130 Quattro and it made one hell of a difference to the power delivery and torque.

I'm talking 5 years ago and I can't remember the make, it cost about £350 and the manufacturer reckoned it upped the power to around 170bhp/310 lbs ft torque. It did improve mpg up to 53mpg from around 47mpg, and believe me that car got a hammering every day.

But it did make the car a lot nicer to drive with frightening power delivery, it would annihilate a certain members Civic diesel.

It was a company car and I wouldn't have bought it after it went back to the leasing company.

 

Cheers Ty - funny I was thinking of texting you to see if you had ever had one Did you used to take the box off for services etc ?

 

No I didn't bother myself and the main dealer never complained either, and my boss never minded the increased mpg either.

It never caused any engine management lights to come on or any other problems, but get a good 'box' with settings that can be altered to suit how you want it.

I used to have some fun with the hot hatch brigade as well.

 

had one on my old p38 range rover and transformed it but as said above get a decent one Aa most o the cheaper ones are just a resistor in a box but a remap would still be the better option unless as you say don't want to void the warranty