Tuning Box - the good, the bad and the ugly sides everyone should know

The 'black box', as I prefer to call it can either contain nothing more than resistors with some electronic switching circuits with flashing LED displays to impress you...

...or more complex one has microprocessors to work in tendum with the ECU.

In both cases the black boxes 'fool' the ECU to make it 'think' the engine is running cold hence increase the amount of fuel delivery into the engine. It works best on forced induction engines at the expense of fuel consumption  at low end of the power band where there is still surplus of boost pressure though. 

A more complex black box has microprocessor/controller to sustain higher boost pressure proportional to the amount of fuel being injected into the combustion chamber hence higher torque. Of course the car may accelerate quicker but can not be maitained long enough as the engine rpm is increased. Bare in mind that it is NOT the gain in maximum bhp as claimed.

Nevertheless around the middle of the power band (beyond the surge line as shown in the chart below) the amount of boost pressure is almost at its limits and slowly drops towards the higher end as the stock turbo can no longer meet the demand of the air volume flow rate.

The black box or the remap still can fool the ECU to inject more fuel but the engine will be out of breath hence no more power gain even how much the fuel is available to be burnt. Thats why there lots of carbon soot at the tail pipe! So does the fuel consumption.

Theoretically without changing to bigger turbo unit or/and increasing the engine compression ratio it is impossible to increase maximum power output by just installing a black box or remap! 

Again... that's why 175BHP and 200BHP EP6-series engines have bigger turbo unit for higher power output. Don't assume the EP6-series engine designers are stupid for not just using 'black box' circuitry or remapping the ECU to increase the maximum power. Think about it.

p/s who knows in side of your RM1800 "Tuning Box" could be just  like this ...(hint..hint!!)

Can ECU re-mapping be detected?

Tuners normally claim that their re-maps are undetectable. Is it true?

Think for a second before you proceed if your car is still under warranty - is there any tuner braves enough to provide a written guarantee that the re-map is 100% undetectable and if it is detected and the car warranty is void will he bare the repair bill if proven the damages are due to improper re-mapping?

Of course re-mapping does not involve any physical change to the engine and it will not be apparent on first-glance that your car is re-mapped but it is relatively easy to find out by comparing the contents of the ECU with a standard one - i.e by verifying the checksum. Besides that ECU has a counter hidden away to count the times it's been flashed.

Re-mapping may NOT be undetectable.  So, if you want to keep your warranty you shall not re-map the car ECU before the warranty expires.

DIY re-mapping. Anyone?
"FlasherTHP"/"LionHEART" by eTuners is the solution for  Peugeot THP owners who prefer DIY. This is actually a 2-in-1 "low-cost" software [Diagnostics and Flasher] specially developed to read and flash Peugeot and other cars powered by THP Engines [EP6-DT*]- that let us choose the right "firmware" we would use on our car.



It would also able to be used in diagnosis and fault-finding, in case things would start going wrong rather than keep on changing the "firmware" by trial-and-error without solving the root of the problems.

Happy DIY and Motoring.

ECU Remapping may Damage your Turbo if...

Turbo Engines engines rely heavily on computer controlled Engine_management Control Unit [ECU]. Basically the engine has an array of sensors which monitor lots of things such as throttle position, crank position, airflow etc. These signals are sent to the ECU, which processes the information received to give the best engine performance for any given driving condition.

ECU remapping can alter engine performance for higher output and/or for better fuel consumption, nevertheless be extra careful even if the tuner a top programmer.

There are many tuners offering what seem like custom ECU remapping. Most of these tuners use and alter programs that are cheaply available through the internet or other sources and are not 'ngam' with the car engine requirements. These can actually damage the turbo/engine.

Remaping alone may not be adequate for the upgrade. Get a professional to do the job and you must get ready to spend on hardware upgrade as well - without which you will need to spend more money on repair bills later.

For performance you will probably reprogram the ECU to control ignition timing advance, force more fuel and more air into the combustion chambers, and make the turbo overspin and hold on to higher pressure than the turbo unit/system can handle and delay/never let the BOV open, which will ultimately damage it. Solution - get a better turbo system before remapping!For fuel economy and power - if you are familiar with nitro-methane RCM car engines you will know what to do at the expense of engine overheating, simply make the air-fuel mixture lean. The same applies to EP6DT engines. Go on reprogram the ECU at your own risk and save money on fuel to partially pay for the damage later on.For instance, PSA produces different EP6DT engine outputs [140THP, 150THP, 156THP, 175THP, 200THP....] based on similar engine but for each output there is not just the difference in ECU program but the turbo system and other hardware are unique .

Btw, even a stock Pug 308 THP140 is capable of hitting 100km/hr in around 9 secs, 1000m standing in less than 30sec, top speed more than 200km/hr .... still not enough for a 1.6liter family hatch?

Think about it! Again and again.

ECU re-mapping vs Piggyback

So much discussions and friendly arguments found in auto forums on the subject already. For me, I would advice to choose the former because... amongst others ECU remap disables speed limiter and increase rev limit, piggy-backs don't. Simple.

Technically, I don't see how these add-on "chips" can be as good as a remap. As far as I know some piggyback [if not all] just fool the injectors into over-fueling the engine. Might increase performance, but can't be good for the engine in a long run - i.e they are at the cost of high emissions, higher engine temperatures, and general abuse of the engine. This may result in poor running, black smoke emitting from the exhaust, clogged injectors, rough idle, and engine cut-out... and could be one of the reasons for the infamous De-pollution Sensor Fault!

I read somewhere that most of these 'boxes' are just plastic boxes with resistors. The impedance fools the ECU [to make it think the engine is cold] to inject more fuel hence richer fuel-air mixture....not sure about pee-Tronique though.


Remap FAQ....

Power gain?
Petrol (Turbo) 20% to 50%
Non Turbo 10%-15%

Any warranty issue?
Remap is not undetectable. Warranty issues may crop up.

Will remap affect car insurance?
As with all modifications, you should inform your insurance company.

What if I don't like the remap.
Some tuners offer if you are not completely satisfied with your remap within certain fixed period you will not be charged, and will return your car back to standard.

What if I want to sell my car?
If you decide to sell your car, you can either choose to sell it with the map, or you can have it reverted back to standard.