Tuning Chip Review From Germany

[blitzchaser]

i got this chip for my d4d hiace and its on it the last 2years 8 months its GREAT no problems... just some advice, i would not go adjusting them leave them factory set, i got a orginal tuning box for a tdi vw caddy van paid 650euro for it adjust it and van was not able for it lights coming on dash would not start for me and so on... I think there great left at factory set and good power + reliable very happy

[Crasstoe]

650 Euros?! Thats insane! Did it come with its own Engineer? :P

[blitzchaser]

650 Euros?! Thats insane! Did it come with its own Engineer? :P

that was back in 2004 in boom years and its Irl prices we get ripped off towards British prices..+ i think vw's are not able for tuning box's in my eyes. Very happy with Race chip box's

[Mr Singh]

How much extra on average has it cost everyone on insurance?

[Crasstoe]

My premium went up £15 a year ;)

[Mr Singh]

OK well my insurance wont even touch it.

I'm starting to get annoyed with the car, i mean its only 1 previous owner from new.. 10,000 miles below average mileage and it has awful amount of road noise on the motor way to my Audi A4.. and then theres the huge lack of power.. its flat as hell under 2200RPMs.. boardering on suicidal driving it in Milton Keynes! :ffs:

[Daveyonthemove]

Road noise is mostly down to the tyres.

I would guess that you have Dunlop SP 01 fitted?

If the car is flat, then you need to check the EGR and give it a clean out. A dose of BG244 wouldn't hurt it either, and i would suggest trying a decent fuel (V-power) if you don't already.

As for insurance, most run of the mill companies don't like Mod's, so you need to look at specialist insurance like Adrian flux, chris knott, brentacre, sky or Greenlight.

A Tuning box will improve how your car drives, but it has to be driving well to begin with to get the most from it.

[Crasstoe]

Road noise is mostly down to the tyres.

I would guess that you have Dunlop SP 01 fitted?

If the car is flat, then you need to check the EGR and give it a clean out. A dose of BG244 wouldn't hurt it either, and i would suggest trying a decent fuel (V-power) if you don't already.

As for insurance, most run of the mill companies don't like Mod's, so you need to look at specialist insurance like Adrian flux, chris knott, brentacre, sky or Greenlight.

A Tuning box will improve how your car drives, but it has to be driving well to begin with to get the most from it.

I couldn't agree more with the 2 parts i've highlighted. I found I get an extra 5mpg when using v power over store brand stuff, not to mention no black smoke. And if its seriously go no guts under 2200rpm either it needs an oil change (or top up), egr cleaning or you need to build the turbo up first, that took me forever to get used to, now its touch of throttle earlier than I would normally to spool up then plant it after a second :)

[Mr Singh]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Tyres are Michleins.. but due to the fronts being low on tread I put the rears on to get most use from them... now i just have an annoying hum and ringing sound much like early signs of a wheel bearing failure...

Anyone have a guide to cleaning the EGR? I did it on my Audi once, easy procedure (PD130) but not had a major nose about under the bonnet to be fair.

Thanks guys, and sorry to go OTT.

[Daveyonthemove]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Tyres are Michleins.. but due to the fronts being low on tread I put the rears on to get most use from them... now i just have an annoying hum and ringing sound much like early signs of a wheel bearing failure...

Anyone have a guide to cleaning the EGR? I did it on my Audi once, easy procedure (PD130) but not had a major nose about under the bonnet to be fair.

Thanks guys, and sorry to go OTT.

Have a look HERE

Its easy to do, and probably worth it if yours is clogged up

[sponge55]

how is everyone getting on with their racechip pro?

any issues/faults?

[Crasstoe]

 

how is everyone getting on with their racechip pro?

any issues/faults?

Hey Sponge,

No issues to report, and after tweaking a while back I am really happy with how the car performs. I am averaging 48mpg with a mix of town and motorway driving, and I'm not hanging about either.

Managed to get 57mpg on a drive to Durham, and I am hoping to average 60mpg in September on my holiday to Scotland!

The Toyota Engineer who serviced my car asked if he could come out for a ride with me when he saw the box, and he gave it a nod of approval... I did take him by surprise when I gave it some boot in 2nd lol 

[sponge55]

thanks for the feedback crasstoe.

racechip pro £200 vs toyota £375 - think i will have to order this over the toyota chip.

what settings have you settled with?

[Crasstoe]

I'll open it and let you know. Toyota Chip? You mean Kingo?

[lazer_mjj]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Tyres are Michleins.. but due to the fronts being low on tread I put the rears on to get most use from them... now i just have an annoying hum and ringing sound much like early signs of a wheel bearing failure...

Anyone have a guide to cleaning the EGR? I did it on my Audi once, easy procedure (PD130) but not had a major nose about under the bonnet to be fair.

Thanks guys, and sorry to go OTT.

Swapping the rears to the front on these cars doesnt work all that well on these cars, did the same on my T180 but because of the Toe angle of the rear wheels the tyres wear unevenly. As a result I was getting steering wheel shake and alot of road noise

[sponge55]

I'll open it and let you know. Toyota Chip? You mean Kingo?

thanks for that, i am going to order the racechip pro at the start of august.

yeah sorry i meant the kingo chip.

its more or less double the price which doesnt seem justified.

[Crasstoe]

I'll open it and let you know. Toyota Chip? You mean Kingo?

thanks for that, i am going to order the racechip pro at the start of august.

yeah sorry i meant the kingo chip.

its more or less double the price which doesnt seem justified.

There are enough people on here who could vouch for them. Never done a direct comparison of the RaceChip Pro or the Kingo Special, but I imagine they do the same thing. I don't think you would be disappointed with either.

[Daveyonthemove]

The only way to justify the price is to try them both out for yourself.

Kingo offers a money back guarantee if you try it and don't like it with (7?) days.

Alternatively, you could ask someone who has one of them to let you try it on your car and decide from there.

I bought Kingo's simply because I trust him and he can't do enough to help people on here. His knowledge and experience is second to none, and he works for Toyota, so you know that the product he sell's will be up to standard or he wouldn't be allowed to sell them under the name of his dealership.

Yes, £375 isn't cheap, but neither are engines if you have a problem from a lesser quality box ;)

(I'm not saying that Crasstoe's box is inferior by the way).

[romulon]

Just adding my pennyworth...

The racechip pro unit is a fairly "stereotypical" diesel tuning box in that it works like most of them do i.e. it modifies (reduces) the fuel pressure signal sent to the engine management controller, which 'fools' it into injecting more fuel. The amount of extra fuel injected is dependent upon fuel demand and engine RPM.

The Racechip Pro unit in particular has two adjustable parameters - the level of additional fuel injection, and the upper engine speed (rpm) limit where additional fuel injection is cut off. These need (careful ) adjustment to get the best performance out of the engine, as the setting when supplied is nowhere near optimal in this respect.

It does have the advantage of 'simple' wiring, especially as it gets all the power it needs from the sensor wiring loom itself.

The Kingo (PartsKing) unit is a little more complex (dare I say, more sophisticated ).

As well as performing fuel pressure signal modification as above, it also modifies the air boost pressure sensor signal at the same time i.e. it reduces the boost pressure signal sent to the engine management controller, which 'fools' it into increasing the boost pressure. The amount of additional 'air boost pressure' is again dependent upon fuel demanded, engine RPM, as well as turbo boost level. Note that the amount of additional 'boost' involved is relatively small - the majority of power increase is still achieved via the increase in fuel injected.

This part has more complicated wiring, as it not only connects to the fuel pressure sensor but also connects to the air boost pressure sensor. It also needs it's own permanent supply from the vehicle Battery (2 wires, + and -).

Older (mk. 1) units are not adjustable, but the latest units (mk. 2) have (at least) one rotary adjuster. The unit is supplied already set to a 'standard' setting, which should provide very satisfactory power improvements - no further adjustment is necessary, unless the user wants to reduce the level of power increase, for example.

Why increase the air boost pressure? I hear you ask. A damned good question...

Well all I can offer by way of answer is an unproven 'theory' as to why it might be good idea (in moderation!).

I believe this unit makes some attempt at avoiding the classic problem of higher soot generation that 'typical' add-on tuning boxes can promote.

Pushing a bit more air into the mix (by increasing air boost pressure) should help to burn that extra fuel, so reducing the amount of smoke (soot) passing into the DPF. (Oh, and give a little bit more power as well B) )

The point is, anything that helps minimise the amount of additional soot (particulates) generated is a very good idea with the Toyota D4D D-Cat engine, especially for the long-term life of the DPF.

It's a shame it costs more, but at least there is 'some' justification for it in my view, as I've tried to explain.

Basically, it costs more because it is a more sophisticated (and perhaps better?) solution to the problem of getting a bit more power from this engine without breaking anything.

I can't be too sure about the theory behind it, however it seems like a plausible reason to me for the extra complexity.

ps. I bought a Kingo unit recently, an early mk 2, with single adjuster. This has just been replaced with one having updated firmware in it, which overcomes a slight 'hesitation' (flat-spot) in throttle response at small throttle settings that the early unit had.

Kingo: I got the new unit today and can confirm ultra smooth, progressive throttle response - all the hesitation is gone .

It cost me nothing to upgrade by the way - plus Kingo decided to swap my 3 month old unit (where the only problem was old firmware that needed updating) for a brand new one without charge - how's that for superb service

I'm not convinced that the same level of service would be offered from all the other tuning box suppliers.

Not that I've anything against the RaceChip pro unit - after all I did buy one and tried it for a while (well, 1 month!) before I bought the Kingo unit.

As classic tuning boxes go, I'd rate it as one of the best, especially at the price. It's well made, and looks like it's made to last.

But it's not as sophisticated as the Kingo part.

"Ye pays ye money and ye takes ye choice"

(pps Anybody want a RaceChip Pro box ... ? ;) )

[Daveyonthemove]

A very well written post with some good explanations about the products.

[sponge55]

Just adding my pennyworth...

The racechip pro unit is a fairly "stereotypical" diesel tuning box in that it works like most of them do i.e. it modifies (reduces) the fuel pressure signal sent to the engine management controller, which 'fools' it into injecting more fuel. The amount of extra fuel injected is dependent upon fuel demand and engine RPM.

The Racechip Pro unit in particular has two adjustable parameters - the level of additional fuel injection, and the upper engine speed (rpm) limit where additional fuel injection is cut off. These need (careful ) adjustment to get the best performance out of the engine, as the setting when supplied is nowhere near optimal in this respect.

It does have the advantage of 'simple' wiring, especially as it gets all the power it needs from the sensor wiring loom itself.

The Kingo (PartsKing) unit is a little more complex (dare I say, more sophisticated ).

As well as performing fuel pressure signal modification as above, it also modifies the air boost pressure sensor signal at the same time i.e. it reduces the boost pressure signal sent to the engine management controller, which 'fools' it into increasing the boost pressure. The amount of additional 'air boost pressure' is again dependent upon fuel demanded, engine RPM, as well as turbo boost level. Note that the amount of additional 'boost' involved is relatively small - the majority of power increase is still achieved via the increase in fuel injected.

This part has more complicated wiring, as it not only connects to the fuel pressure sensor but also connects to the air boost pressure sensor. It also needs it's own permanent supply from the vehicle battery (2 wires, + and -).

Older (mk. 1) units are not adjustable, but the latest units (mk. 2) have (at least) one rotary adjuster. The unit is supplied already set to a 'standard' setting, which should provide very satisfactory power improvements - no further adjustment is necessary, unless the user wants to reduce the level of power increase, for example.

Why increase the air boost pressure? I hear you ask. A damned good question...

Well all I can offer by way of answer is an unproven 'theory' as to why it might be good idea (in moderation!).

I believe this unit makes some attempt at avoiding the classic problem of higher soot generation that 'typical' add-on tuning boxes can promote.

Pushing a bit more air into the mix (by increasing air boost pressure) should help to burn that extra fuel, so reducing the amount of smoke (soot) passing into the DPF. (Oh, and give a little bit more power as well B) )

The point is, anything that helps minimise the amount of additional soot (particulates) generated is a very good idea with the Toyota D4D D-Cat engine, especially for the long-term life of the DPF.

It's a shame it costs more, but at least there is 'some' justification for it in my view, as I've tried to explain.

Basically, it costs more because it is a more sophisticated (and perhaps better?) solution to the problem of getting a bit more power from this engine without breaking anything.

I can't be too sure about the theory behind it, however it seems like a plausible reason to me for the extra complexity.

ps. I bought a Kingo unit recently, an early mk 2, with single adjuster. This has just been replaced with one having updated firmware in it, which overcomes a slight 'hesitation' (flat-spot) in throttle response at small throttle settings that the early unit had.

Kingo: I got the new unit today and can confirm ultra smooth, progressive throttle response - all the hesitation is gone .

It cost me nothing to upgrade by the way - plus Kingo decided to swap my 3 month old unit (where the only problem was old firmware that needed updating) for a brand new one without charge - how's that for superb service

I'm not convinced that the same level of service would be offered from all the other tuning box suppliers.

Not that I've anything against the RaceChip pro unit - after all I did buy one and tried it for a while (well, 1 month!) before I bought the Kingo unit.

As classic tuning boxes go, I'd rate it as one of the best, especially at the price. It's well made, and looks like it's made to last.

But it's not as sophisticated as the Kingo part.

"Ye pays ye money and ye takes ye choice"

(pps Anybody want a RaceChip Pro box ... ? ;) )

thanks for the detailed description on the two products.

just out of interest, how much do you want for the racechip pro?

[romulon]

My RaceChip Pro box was bought for a 2.2L D4D D-cat (177PS) engine (Auris SR180 and T180, also some RAV4's and Avensis's have this engine).

Not sure it is suitable or adaptable for the 2.0L diesel engine...

Anyway, I'm also not sure if I'm allowed to sell it openly on a forum thread like this..

... might contravene forum rules 'n regs?

[sponge55]

My RaceChip Pro box was bought for a 2.2L D4D D-cat (177PS) engine (Auris SR180 and T180, also some RAV4's and Avensis's have this engine).

Not sure it is suitable or adaptable for the 2.0L diesel engine...

Anyway, I'm also not sure if I'm allowed to sell it openly on a forum thread like this..

... might contravene forum rules 'n regs?

yeah your prob right about rules and regs.

wrong engine anyway =p

[Crasstoe]

Just to confirm, this isn't my box as I am in no relation linked to the company that makes these. I simply bought one and put my experience on here for others to see :)

Sponge, RaceChip are happy to help with any questions you may have and helped me a lot before I bought mine. I'm not saying their service can rival Kingos (their in Germany after all) but they certainly aren't bad. Again, which ever option you choose you will enjoy.

[Parts-King]

I try not to interfere too much in threads about our tuning kits, Ive been there, got the T Shirt and a kick in the plums for my trouble

There was a thread running on here probably a year or so ago that got out of hand, certain members put up obsticles about our T180 kits at every turn, even though we offer a 30 day money back guarantee and two year warranty, so now I leave members who have purchased our kits to leave their own testimonials about our products, the testimonials speak volumes, I don't really need to add anything. All I would say about our kits are that they are a quality product, you pay for quality. I'm often asked what the difference is. All I can say is I make comparisons about the modern PC. You can buy a cheap one that will connect to the net, but if you want to game or run programmes at the same time, you might want to add a better processor and more memory. Well our kits are able to handle information and make adjustments a bit like a better PC does, yes they all do a similar job, others are able to do a better job with a better bit of kit inside the box, and for that you pay a bit more. I also think we offer a good service, I am at the end of a phone if required, that cannot be said for a lot of auction site based sellers

Kingo