Chipped diesel
 

Anybody out there chipped a 1.9tdi (105bhp) Audi A3 or that motor? Tempted by a little black box to increase power and torque (there are loads out there but like the look and sound of
Diesel Tuning UK LTD | Improved Diesel Performance | Digital Diesel Chips

What do you reckon? Before all the smart people say buy a more powerful car to start with etc etc it is a company car and being the new softtop probably needs a little more umph.

Thanks

It reads well.

I have the CRD2 box fitted to my Vectra CDTi (150) took it to a rolling road in November and it produced 180 bhp and 311 lb/ft of torque, the box has made a vast difference to the performance of the car but compared to other cheaper versions of the same thing there is very little performance difference.

Andrew (owner of DTUK) runs the Astra Owners Network, if your after anymore information on the box then take a look at the numerous websites devoted to the Vauxhall range as he has sold countless boxes to members in the VX community.

Consumption wise I run at 64 mpg for long drives and 54 for combined town and motorway. If you want the choice of maps then this is the box to have however if you want to run it at a high map but not be able to adjust it there are other boxes available for a fraction of the price and will give you the same top end figures.

Steve

I fitted one of these to my 90 Bhp (yes 90) and it made one hell of a difference.I removed it when i sold the car, i now have my Scoob and a 03 Passat Diesel 130.

Im tempted again :-)

Go on try it, I have the same car and wondered the same, you can be the guinea pig lol

How do you measure the fuel comsumption?

Agree that DTUK are great though.

Fill the tank to full then run it to as near as empty as you want, divide the mileage driven by the fuel used and it should give you a more accurate figure than that on the trip computer

Example 580 miles driven, fuel used 7.8 gallons 580/8.8 = 65.9 mpg

This was from a random trip of 573 miles from York to Chester and around town and back to York.

http://www.clubvec.com/v7/uploader/files/7/fuel.JPG

Not sure what the fuel consumption in gallons was but that is from 1 tank :)

Most people that have these boxes fitted say that their trip computer is tricked into saying the consumption is better, something I fell for when I first fitted the box and looked at the trip computer, was telling me I had 28 miles left in the tank but ran out of fuel a few miles down the road :( gutted as I had passed a petrol station about 5 miles before and had planned to fill up at the petrol station 2 miles further on. Never let her go below a qtr tank now.

There is a box on Vectra-C.com (referred to as the Caterham Box) that people rave about as it produces the same top end performance as the DTUK box for around £75 but it is one map only and not the combination of 28 settings that the DTUK CRD2 box has. I got mine at a discounted price as I know Andrew and am Co-Admin on another Vectra site.

Jenn (or Steve?!) - I did seriously think about that box for my Astra (same engine as yours) but I'm just not convinced of the reliability.
Already had "swell flap" failure at 40k miles (dealt with VERY badly by a local dealer) and am not sure if the gearbox is strong enough - it also torque steers a bit already. The extra performance is amazing though but keeping ours for a while so reliability is vital. A shame as I wouldn't mind a bit more poke.

Its Steve :) there are a few reported problems but that seems to be engine dependant, Ive been running the box in my car for about 18 months now with no reported problems mind I am sitting in Cyprus at the minute whilst the car is sat with my Ex in York being used as a kid taxi.

The astra seems to get better results with the box than the vecs do, with most getting to around the 200 bhp mark but the torque is pretty much the same. TBH if I was to do it over I would probably go for a remap than the box.

We are in the process of getting a 02 bug eye for out in Cyprus, running costs are so much cheaper out here and Jenn has always wanted one so come the middle of Jan we will have one to play in, have spoke to DAP performance in Huddersfield and Dave is looking into taking the Vec to stage 3, reckon Im gonna need it if I have any chance of keeping up with Jenn in the Scooby :(

Does chipping them make any difference to reliablity, I suppose to a degree you can rev less with the higher torque figures which in theory should make it less wear, assuming you do that :)

Is there a limit to age and miles that its wise to chip an oil burner?

I've fitted a few DPT boxes to A3 1.9TDIs

They go pretty well :D Last one was a old A3 1.9Tdi Quattro.

DIY fitment on the PD engines is slightly awkward as a wire needs to tapped off the MAP sensor and acess to the connector is awkward (only need to do that to check the wire goes to the correct connector pin, as the wire colours vary on different model years). Other than that, a doddle.

If its the later common rail engine, its just plug and play (although it performs better with the installer's model-specific program instead of the factory default program though).

I've read in other forums Audi/VW peeps use High-performance vehicle tuning, ECU remaps, Exhausts and Styling

I'm sure the engine is fine, I was more worried about the running gear (gearbox/clutch/etc) coping properly.

IIRC the astra gear box and clutch can take upto 340 lb/ft torque without any probs so there shouldnt really be any problem, it defo wasnt one of the items changed when they upgraded the SRi to the T8 or T9 and both produce around 200 bhp and around 320 lb/ft.