Andy2174 Astra SRI 2.0cdti

[andy2174]

Last time on the rollers for me was back in 2004 ! much longer ago than I thought, used to be two places locally with dyno's, both closed their doors now

A lap of the TT would be awesome !

[andy2174]

Ha ha ha, the lure of more power eh ?

I did notice yesterday an interesting development for racechip, it now comes with a bluetooth option, so that you can adjust power settings on the fly, the downside is that its not available for the Astra J, not sure if it is because it cant be done or work in progress, quite interesting though

I think you would certainly notice a nice improvement if you did go to a maxchip

I had a 100mile round trip into the office today and enjoyed the drive, even 6th gear seems to have some decent pull sub 50mph

I cant say I want for anymore power, but, now it has me noticing that maybe the suspension should be fettled, followed by the brakes!

Haha. That maxchip did pop up on sale again on Amazon. (163hp)  I even added it to my basket,  just didn't pull the trigger. Thought I might end up with buyers remorse come the morning. so  do I really need it..... Or should I remap it........ decisions decisions. Cheers

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just remember chaps claimed bhp etc mean nothing without a dyno run and proof
and max figures will be at max settings so lets see your true results
we need a dyno day haha

No need to ruin this thread with the facts.  Haha, yes I do like a dyno run which reminds me I have not had my last 4 cars on a dyno. Used to be mandatory for me for checking mod effectiveness.

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I notice that maxchips have now revised their website information, currently the maxchip pro dual now sits at a maximum increase of 41bhp to 206bhp, reduced from 221bhp 

https://uk.maxchip.de/shop/chiptuning-ma...ps-121-kw/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maxchip-Astra-e...hip+tuning

I wonder what that is all about then ? unless they have "downrated" everything to accomodate their new flashchip ?

[marcus]

Ha ha ha, the lure of more power eh ?

I did notice yesterday an interesting development for racechip, it now comes with a bluetooth option, so that you can adjust power settings on the fly, the downside is that its not available for the Astra J, not sure if it is because it cant be done or work in progress, quite interesting though

I think you would certainly notice a nice improvement if you did go to a maxchip

I had a 100mile round trip into the office today and enjoyed the drive, even 6th gear seems to have some decent pull sub 50mph

I cant say I want for anymore power, but, now it has me noticing that maybe the suspension should be fettled, followed by the brakes!

Haha. That maxchip did pop up on sale again on Amazon. (163hp)  I even added it to my basket,  just didn't pull the trigger. Thought I might end up with buyers remorse come the morning. so  do I really need it..... Or should I remap it........ decisions decisions. Cheers

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just remember chaps claimed bhp etc mean nothing without a dyno run and proof
and max figures will be at max settings so lets see your true results
we need a dyno day haha

No need to ruin this thread with the facts.  Haha, yes I do like a dyno run which reminds me I have not had my last 4 cars on a dyno. Used to be mandatory for me for checking mod effectiveness.

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I notice that maxchips have now revised their website information, currently the maxchip pro dual now sits at a maximum increase of 41bhp to 206bhp, reduced from 221bhp 

https://uk.maxchip.de/shop/chiptuning-ma...ps-121-kw/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maxchip-Astra-e...hip+tuning

I wonder what that is all about then ? unless they have "downrated" everything to accomodate their new flashchip ?

Haha. There is definitely some creative marketing going on to make the more expensive ones more appealing. Did your car feel slower this morning now that you know the power is reduced on the website ?

I haven't pursued the maxchip option as ultimately I will remap it when I get a chance.



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I bet that these 2 companies are connected in some way. Those tuning box designs are very similar and they probably share maps. Even the pricing is very similar.

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[bruce_19]

I had noticed the same when searching to see about my car that the Maxchip Premium and the flash where the same but now there is a difference.

Obviously its to try and give people more of a range to choose from and also so they can sell you the more expensive option at £200 more because I would rather have the box than a flash if it was give you the same figures.

I think I have found 3 or 4 companies now that have the exact same looking boxes claiming the exact same figures and the only difference I have found is 1 or2 offer a flash.

Funnily enough Irmscher are one of those companies only difference with their casing is they have it moulded with there logo and costs 4 times as much as the maxchip that will give you slightly higher figures.

[andy2174]

Have you seen the price for AC Schnitzer tuning box upgrades to BMW's ?

http://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/performan...3127-p.asp starting at £1750.09 ! I assume a huge part of that is a fee for providing a warrnaty for the bits BMW would no longer cover ?

[marcus]

Have you seen the price for AC Schnitzer tuning box upgrades to BMW's ?

http://shop.ac-schnitzer.co.uk/performan...3127-p.asp starting at £1750.09 ! I assume a huge part of that is a fee for providing a warrnaty for the bits BMW would no longer cover ?

Mad money. That moulded case looks familiar... 1000 quid for the logo.

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[bruce_19]

I can get my Auto box flashed, the maxchip flash for the ecu and pedal box for less than that and have an extra 34hp on the 114i.

I would have enough change to buy they wife something so she wouldn't notice the above too lol.

[marcus]

Getting back to the reduced power output figures on the Racechip / maxchip websites, those figures may well have been with the tuning boxes turned up to the max. Perhaps they have decided to make them more conservative to match up to their recommended dial settings. At least they will keep the complaints at bay where people have disappointed dyno results with the tuning box ..... Who knows...

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[andy2174]

Getting back to the reduced power output figures on the Racechip / maxchip websites,  those figures may well have been  with the tuning boxes turned up to the max.  Perhaps they have decided to make them more conservative to match up to their recommended dial settings. At least they will keep the complaints at bay where people have disappointed dyno results with the tuning box ..... Who knows...

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Totally agree with you, I am sure the figures are probably more like what you get straight out of the box, which makes sense, as I am sure the default setting is what most people go for

I have sent maxchip an email asking why they have two products on sale with the same name, but, with differing power figures, will be interested in their response

[marcus]

Getting back to the reduced power output figures on the Racechip / maxchip websites,  those figures may well have been  with the tuning boxes turned up to the max.  Perhaps they have decided to make them more conservative to match up to their recommended dial settings. At least they will keep the complaints at bay where people have disappointed dyno results with the tuning box ..... Who knows...

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Totally agree with you, I am sure the figures are probably more like what you get straight out of the box, which makes sense, as I am sure the default setting is what most people go for

I have sent maxchip an email asking why they have two products on sale with the same name, but, with differing power figures, will be interested in their response

I got this gem back from racechip support when I asked them why the power output had changed.
***
Concerning the second point, no, we didn't change the software of the RaceChip.
We only adapt the values on our homepage.
***



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[andy2174]

That's a detailed response!

Typical sort of "guff" you would expect to receive in writing from any company though I am sure

[andy2174]

Amusing update :-

Maxchip have changed their figures for the pro dual box yet again, gone up 4bhp (but down 14bhp on my box)

I sent them an email asking why they had two identically named products for sale with different "claimed" bhp, (Amazon and direct from them)

Their response to me is below

Hello there,
we have done some major changes on the Boxes , and so in our website you get different prices and different products like before.

When your Box is 3 Weeks olt, than it should be old stock, so it schould bring maximal +58BHP.


Amusing translation from German/English

My guess is that the figures they claim are nothing more than claims and the constant re-jigging appears to be for marketing purposes and product price point separation

I have my car booked in for a rolling road session on the 4th June, i'll be interested to see what the figures actually are

[tucpal]

there have been lots of talk about racechip and max chip doing this for quite some time on other forums ford etc
very over exaggerated figures sure the box works but as i have said you can not say you have a certain bhp figure till you test it

[marcus]

Amusing update :-

Maxchip have changed their figures for the pro dual box yet again, gone up 4bhp (but down 14bhp on my box)

I sent them an email asking why they had two identically named products for sale with different "claimed" bhp, (Amazon and direct from them)

Their response to me is below

Hello there,
we have done some major changes on the Boxes , and so in our website you get different prices and different products like before.

When your Box is 3 Weeks olt, than it should be old stock, so it schould bring maximal +58BHP.


Amusing translation from German/English

My guess is that the figures they claim are nothing more than claims and the constant re-jigging appears to be for marketing purposes and product price point separation

I have my car booked in for a rolling road session on the 4th June, i'll be interested to see what the figures actually are

Yeah, wishy washy response indeed. In
fairness, i think the lot of them tuning companies are cut from the same cloth. I'd certainly be interested to see what you get when you get it on the dyno. Cheers




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[andy2174]

My Astra looking very sorry for itself, not been driven since my new 2nd car has arrived..........





Moved on the Corsa VXR pretty quickly, I just didnt really gel with it, I fancied something really different this time around, picked up a low mileage 2010 Smart 1.0 mhd Pulse, so far covered around 300miles in it and I find it quite good fun.  I am sure when I jump back in the Astra it will feel like a rocketship limo !

[tucpal]

I would not want a crash in that
but it is a very good city car

[marcus]

Haha. Might need to wear a kidney belt on dodgy roads. My FIL is on his 3rd one. I think he has the turbo diesel one now. Enjoy.

I've not driven the vxr corsa but have driven one or two of the lesser ones when my wife was looking to replace her jazz. It was truly awful. She ended up buying another jazz.

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[mrtc]

The shell of a smart is a roll cage so u will be fine in a crash, I had a 2009 for two mhd for 2 years, keep an eye on the mhd belt as if it breaks it's new engine time, as it will overheat be the Lil red light shows.

I did 36k miles it was fine no issues, if it snows put a weight in boot, will be so much better, don't get anything from smart parts direct oh and go on www.evilution.co.uk for loads of information on how to do things to it

Speed humps are a nightmare due to larger rear wheels,

[GOKIWI]

Cool little shopping trolley, maybe you could do this to it ?

[andy2174]

The Smart had a new mhd belt about 3 months ago covered 500miles since then, its on my weekly check list, thanks for the other tips

[andy2174]

Finally got the Astra moved from the back driveway today, I had not started it since the 6th June !

Moved it into the front drive and gave it a good clean, boy, was it dirty from tree fallout

I am going to use it for work for the next week and give the Smart a rest

I think I now have too many cars!

[marcus]

Andy, you still happy with the maxchip?

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[andy2174]

Andy,  you still happy with the maxchip?

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I sold the maxchip a while back and have gone back to standard setup, only really use the Astra two days a week at most these days, rest of the time I use the Smart

[andy2174]

Latest update

I have been neglecting my Astra of late, in fact, other than when my Smart is in the garage (which has been more frequent than I would like, 15 days out of the past 30 days) I havent been using the Astra a lot

However, I still really like the car and wont be parting with it anytime soon

I am not really into tweaking the exterior/interior looks of a car, so my focus is on performance/handling/braking

Having tried two previous tuning boxes I thought I would try two other methods over the next month

First up I ordered this http://www.racechipgalaxy.com/ who knows if it works or not, but, with a 30 day money back guarantee at least Ill only be the return postage charges out of pocket, found them on ebay at £139.00, submitted an offer of £115.00 and it should arrive Monday, I aim to fit the following weekend to the car

Lastly I have the car booked in for a proper remap on the 30/9, it will be using a Quantum map, priced at £349

Should the OBD prove to be worthwhile, then I may reconsider the remap, but, my gut feel is that the OBD device wont be very effective, if at all, but, I am quite interested to see if it does, I do know that racechip now offer a similar device (not for my 2.0cdti 165 though) and also equip it with bluetooth, for adjusting live

Watch this space

[marcus]

Would be interested to hear what the obd port tuning device is like. I'd still like to get a remap done but at this stage I'd have the additional expense of having to ferry my car over the UK to get it done. No local tuners here in Ireland seem to have the tools for cracking the latest ecus.

Anyway, keep us posted. My racechip is collecting cob webs in my shed...

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[andy2174]

Is there not any tuners in the North ?, having to get a ferry to the UK is certainly not ideal, not only adds to the expense but, will certainly be a full day away

I think Murray motorsport does offer remaps, they are based in Newry (certainly have a good reputation as they used to prepare Rallycross supercars)

[marcus]

Thanks Andy. I'll check them out. There are certainly quite a few tuning shops offering remaps here but only on older models.

As you say, not really an option to put the car on the ferry unless I was going over anyway. Ryanair ftw.

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[tucpal]

Sure that will be going straight back

[andy2174]

The OBD box arrived last night, first imnpressions, decent packaging, very good instruction booklet and the obd box itself seems well made

Simple install process carried out this morning and a very brief run, followed by a box reset to synch, we shall see what difference it makes on my run to and from work today (circa 100miles)

The box needs to be permanently connected, luckily it can be easily tucked away in the little drop down storage compartment beneath the steering column





Update to follow this evening

[marcus]

Andy, nice, Interested to hear more about it.

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[andy2174]

Quick update, 100miles covered today, very subtle with its power delivery, especially compared to the tuning boxes

Certainly is developing more power, no hunting or erratic idle, will see how it goes over the next few days and decide if I am to keep or to return

[marcus]

Nice, keep us posted. I'm still a little puzzled how it works being a generic type box. Thought mapping would be more engine specific... ?

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[andy2174]

Totally agree, its just a generic "diesel" box, in fact I did actually think it wouldnt do anything at all, I had a back to back (30-70mph) with my mates Golf GTD 184 last night and now the Astra eases ahead, whereas before he would pull away

[marcus]

That's impressive then. Obd port access is certainly better than having to fit the tuning box wiring harness around the engine bay. Or having to remove it in a hurry if you need to like....... Accident /Insurance claim etc.

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[andy2174]

Totally agree, so much easier than fitting under the bonnet, each time I added a new tuning box (or removed one) the plugs were always a pain to get unfastened and it isnt the work of 5mins

I am booked in for a RR power run next week, so we shall see what it produces

[marcus]

Cool. Keep us posted. Cheers

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[tucpal]

I like results interesting to see

[andy2174]

Quick update, I cancelled the RR session as the box appeared to lose its sync with the car

Messaged the company and they said, start the car up and depress the reset button for 3 seconds, which I did, improved performance noted again

However, two days later its doing the same thing again..............

Messaged the company, however, the obviously translated to English response didnt make any sense, so I will be sending it back for a full refund.....

Shame, as its appeared to be a good solution, however, if it needs resetting every couple of days, its hardly ideal, especially if its cable tied into position under the dash
Looks like remap on the 30th it is then

[tucpal]

Well at least you tried
the ECU may be fighting back and altering the map back to standard
or as you say it may just be dropping out and losing connection
let us know the results of the proper remap i am wanting it done also.

[marcus]

Pity about that. Hope you manage to get your money back from them.

Your comments about it loosing it settings after a few days reminds me a bit about my tuning box where it was grand for a few days and then the performance seemed to taper off over time to the point where it started to feel like there wasn't any noticeable performance increase.

Tucpal is probably right that the ecu is smart enough to learn and compensate the settings...

Cheers

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[andy2174]

Quick update, the Astra will be back in use as my daily, the adventure with the Smart Fortwo was proved to be nothing but gearbox problem after gearbox problem, currently starting a battle with the finance company to reject the vehicle as not fit for purpose

So, I got the Astra back out of my rear drive and gave it a good clean, looks much better and drained the drivers door which had collected some water in it

It was really nice to drive it again, it feels like a limo/rocketship compared to the Smart, oddly, the cockpit feels more snug and you sit much lower, I really dont understand why so many VAG owners slate Vauxhalls, the Astra J isnt a bad place to spend time driving, having had a Golf Mk5, its certainly has a better build quality and far less rattles

The only issue I find with the Astra is that it does feel like a heavy car, not particularly adept at swift direction changes and even with the 2.0cdti a little on the sluggish side at lower speeds

The Astra is not far off the longest I have had a main car (currently 10.5 months!)

Its a shame the Astra will be back as my main daily as I didnt want to rack up so many miles on it (hence why I bought a second car) as I do a minimum of 30k miles per annum