Recently bought an 8 month old Ford Galaxy 2.0TDCI Zetec. I'd previously seen ads for diesel chips and thought I'd take a look at the claims. As per the following, IF the claims are true this seems like a no-brainer.

http://www.chipexpress.com/diesel-tuning-box-ford-galaxy-2.0-tdci-kit-466.html

Are they actally as good as they are sold to be? Are there any disadvanages? My car only has 2,700 miles on it, would there be any issues with chipping such a new engine?

Thanks

wait until its out of warranty? I'm going to get mine done at a proper place, not on the cheap, when it gets to 60K so is well out of scope of dealer intervention

you cant see the chips in the tech data.

if you get a proper one like superchips are real good we used to use them alot.

dont mention anything when servicing and noone will be any other the wiser 😉

The engine in the Galaxy is the PSA (Peugeot/Citroen)2.0 HDi, the engines are tuned to the european market (some countries have poorer quality fuel and are less stringent regarding servicing) with that in mind chipping won't put any un-necessary load on the engine as we in the UK have a good quality fuel and tend to Service cars more often. However don't use a plug in chip/product, these just tend to fool the cars engine management into thinking the ambient temperature is cold, this will encourage the engine to throw in more fuel wich will increse performance, you actually need to go to a company who can actually re-map the ECU….. Someone like this,ECU chipping

Chip is old tech and involves physical removal of the bit that holds the programme in the ECU. Its more like the less intrusive remap….

Do it now, run the vehicle in with the new map, it will be fine I am sure. Did an Audi at 3 months old and 5k miles. Faultless for the next 120k before I sold it. Done it at 1k on a new T5 van as well as removing the dpf filter, its faultless since. Go for a reputable company, dont get a cheap tuning box or a £2 resistor off ebay.

Don't expect a load more mpg, but a better drive all round. It is a no brainer IMO

Ok, looks like remapping is the better option. Anyone know if these guys are any good?

http://www.ecu-remapping-service.com/remapping-explained/

Where do you live mate? I've used these before very good, VES, West Yorkshire based.

rickmeister – did you actually gain mpg at all as I'm trying to justify that it really is worth it not just purely for performance gain. My petrol 2.0 zetec only appears to gain 10bhp and possibly 10% on fuel. Looking at THESE GUYS

andydicko – I'm in Bristol

Bit far away then mate, maybe speak to the guys I suggested they might be able to recommend someone.

With the increase in bhp and more importantly, torque, I reckon you will have more fun at the expense of mpg gain tbh. Best mpg gain for me was a de cat exhaust. If your a petrol driver the gains are not as big as a diesel engine.

Curently my van has a diesel particulate filter removed and software changes. It has given both mpg and power improvements that a remap alone didn't give. After doing it a few times I think:

Remap = better performance, minimal mpg change
Remap + decat performance and mpg gain.

Neither IME had MOT problems. Its a smoke test and a good remap will not make smoke, unlike plug in boxes that do ( though there are few exceptions).

Revo
Superchips
Celtic Tuning
GIAC
Pendle Performance
Custom Code

all seem to get good press… I am sure there are others too.

HTH

I had a car remapped using my local dealer and a Custom Code remap.Worked excellently

you cant see the chips in the tech data.

Looking at the circuit board it's mainly PSU and isolation plus one micro-controller. I'd guess it adjusts sensor values in a slightly more subtle way than a resistor.

All up it's not £50 worth of simple electronics mainly designed to allow ease of customisation of the operating parameters.

Diesel is pretty easy, especial turbo, just get the ECU to throw in more fuel under wide open throttle and you get more power/torque. Then back off and let the original map take over. Result is cruise speed is reached quicker so overall fuel economy uneffected or marginally improved as more time is spent operating at lower revs compared to pre fitting where the nuts would have been revved out of the engine.

Remapped ECU will be far better than this box of tricks as long as it's done well by a company who has had the car model on a dyno when setting up the new map.

To be honest does even a possible 10% fuel saving make sense – at £400 that's around 40,000 miles (40mpg) before any return. Increased power under WoT might feel good for a bit but once you put 4 adults and associated luggage into the car it's only going to make a very small difference to the acceleration.