Comparison Of Tuning Boxes

[ProBiker]

I was interested in taking a Tuning box for my Punto 90hp.
I found 5 different tuning chips, a couple of remapping companies.

However I was not sure which 1 to take, how are the gains, what is the effect on Mileage, Long term effects on engine, etc.
So too many questions.
Then tried to google for answers.
However I found very little info on the same.
I did not find any Dyno charts for any of the products.
So I contacted all these people & told them that I wanted to test them thoroughly.
I told them that we'll be testing them & comparing.

The comparison is to check the

1. Drivability
2. Mileage
3. Performance
4. In-gear Acceleration
5. Turbo Lag
6. Dyno Tests
7. Acceleration figures 0-10,20...max
8. Refinement
9. Pollution - Figures
10. Overall Feel

Cars we are using for the comparison are -

1. Punto 90hp
2. Punto 75hp
3. Indica Vista Quadrajet
4. Linea Multijet 90/ Indigo Manza Quadrajet 90

Already I received a couple of boxes.
Testing started on some of the parameters.
Yet to receive the remaining boxes so that the V-box & dyno tests can be started.
Some of the big players are actually not Comfortable in the complete test - reasons are obvious.
Yet we'll try to source them from other means for this comparison.

This article after completion will be the most exhaustive & comprehensive testing on Tuning boxes available currently in India.

 

[ProBiker]

Pete's Box Update

The Pete's Box is a small Tuning box.
It is of the size of a cordless phone.
Fits in under 10 minutes of time.
It slots between the ECU & the CRDI control unit.
Quality of the wiring is good.

Now the most important part - How does the vehicle feel after the installation??

The Answer - Its terrific
The increase in the power is evident.
The Punto 90 has a tendency to do wheel spins when shifting to second gear.
Now it spins in third gear also.
The vehicle becomes lot quicker off the block.

We tried it on the Vista Quadrajet also.
Even in the less powerful engine it shows the effect.
The 0-60 comes a second quicker than usual.
Even the run to the top speed is lot quicker.
Actual figures will take time.
Till then a synopsis.

Drivability - Lot Better then before
Mileage - dropped by 3kmpl under flat out driving, economy mode showed a marginal increase in 0.3kmpl
Performance - Good improvement - actual figures - later
In-gear Acceleration - terrific improvement - actual figures - later
Turbo Lag - Reduced by a good margin
Dyno Tests - will take time
Acceleration figures 0-10,20...max - will take time
Refinement - a minor drop - neglegible
Pollution - Figures - will take some time
Overall Feel - this is the last thing to be said here.

 

[ProBiker]

So, After all the wait the time for the results is now.
Before that some information of everything done for a long time.

The tests were done on two boxes which are sent from companies and three from customers of the companies.
They were flicked from the swifts in which they were installed & tested on this car.
Again cross checked the results by plonking all the boxes in swifts also.
V-box was replaced by GPS trackers from mobiles for timings, top-speeds, etc.
Reason - unable to procure the V-box.
Tests were conducted with similar conditions for all the Boxes.

Some companies may claim that we used older versions for tests and due to this results are being not on their favour need to excuse us as they did not send the boxes after repeated requests.
So we have used the boxes which were purchased this year by their own customers which we believe should be the final products.
If any company has any objection with the result can always contact us with the necessary objection.

Coming to the results we do not have a clear winner on all the parameters.
Each parameter has a different winner, runner up, etc.
So its the customer who has to weigh down the importance of each parameter & then decide which box to go for.

Made a point system ranking which makes up for a winner here.
Each of these factors have 5 points.
Winner in each category will get 5 points, second will get 4, so on...
The one with maximum points can be crowned as the overall winner.
Stay tuned for more on the same..

For now only the Toppers in each category is being published -

1. Drivability - Unichip
2. Mileage - Race Chip
3. Performance - Pete's
4. In-gear Acceleration - Pete's
5. Turbo Lag - Unichip
6. Acceleration figures 0-60 - Pete's
7. Acceleration figures 0-100 - Race Dynamics
8. Acceleration figures 0-150 - Race Dynamics
9. Top Speed - Race Chip
10. Refinement - Race Chip
11. Pollution - Race Chip

The Re-mappings were omitted from this as we need to compare the products in the same category.
Re-mappings will be tested in the next few weeks.

 

[Surfer]

ProBiker Can you also put the price figures please?

 

[point_city96]

By looking at the toppers,
you(pro biker) may have selected race dynamics.Is it?

 

[shailinder]

Great thread Probiker. Just a suggestion, keep updating it on regular basis and add price as well so that people can take advantage of your hard work.

All the best.

 

[ProBiker]

The Final Results are out -

Ranking with name & total points.

1. Petes - 33
2. Race Dynamics - 28
3. Race Chip - 26
4. Unichip - 21
5. Tunit -12

This is a general comparison.
However depending on your order of preference the rankings will change.
For example -
The cheapest is Race chip so it got more points & costliest is unichip so it got less points.
Race chip gave the best mileage while Tunit gave the worst.
If Price & mileage are of high importance then I'll chose Race chip.
In- gear acceleration & 0-60 are best in pete's so I'll chose pete's if I drive only in city & performance is my only importance.

So if some 1 wants an advice to purchase a tuning box please mention order of importance for the following parameters.
We'll be able to give you the closest match for you.



Drivability
Mileage
Performance overall
In-gear Acceleration
Turbo Lag
Acceleration figures 0-60
Acceleration figures 0-100
Acceleration figures 0-150
Top Speed
Refinement
Pollution

 

[P3T3R]

The Petes Box is actually a PSI from Belgium. There are also similar offerings from TMC, UK and Dimsport, Italy.

 

[anurag]

did you test them on petrol or diesel cars

 

[ACMohan]

Nice thread probiker.And I think petes(PSI) tuning box is easily available in market.So it will be the best choice.
Race Dynamics tuning boxes are made for indian cars,I think.
Please post pictures of it.

Cheers

 

[ProBiker]

New Update -

Spider Tuning Box & a newer version of the Race Dynamics Box with Wireless remote controlled changer are on the way for testing.
These 2 as per the info on the net may change the whole scenario here.
We may be looking for a new topper.
Stay tuned for more updates.

 

[ProBiker]

Disclaimer

This whole test is sponsored by Motul Engine oils & Co-Sponsored by Motoroids.
I disclosed half of the info on Forums which can be disclosed as per the agreements.
This is to Keep It Short & Simple.
If more info is required it can be divulged to members over Phone ( Read Verbally).
For general questions which can benefit every 1 the answers will be posted in the thread.

The Link for the Test is -

User Review: Comparo of diesel tuning boxes

If More info is required please PM or call.

 

[raj_ch2002]

ProBiker: Great comparison.

But i've few thing to clarify. These boxes come with predefined factory settings. Take for example RACECHIP comes with factory default of only 18-20% of performance as confirmed with racechip tech support.

I believe pete's has no options to change performance levels.
Did you try changing the default factory settings of racechip to maximum performance settings for your tests?

Regards,
Rajesh

 

[ProBiker]

Dyno Test done

Initial test results had put all the new boxes to be higher than the older boxes ( The Boxes in the last test).
The difference in these boxes is very marginal in most aspects.
These boxes are proving to be superior than the earlier versions due to newer technology.

So Did some Dyno Runs on these Boxes ( The top 3 only for now).
Race Dynamics, Spider & "X" were put on the Dyno.
Even in the Dyno runs they are pretty close.
Dyno Results will be published at the end of the new test.

Now I'm looking for a new sponsor!!!

@ Rajesh
All boxes have the settings in them.
They are manually done.
The New ones are different by the way they can be tuned - similar to a remap ( Live also possible).

 

[ProBiker]

Update

There is a long debate on the accuracy of GPS services in Phones.
We tested them against a V-Box.
The results -

I-Phone is having an error of close to 3%.
Nokia phones have an error of less than 1%.