The Vehicle Tuner - Vehicle Tuning Warrington
I'd been considering a map for a while but had an issue with clutch judder which was putting me off pulling the trigger. My mechanic wasn't sure it was a worn clutch/DMF with only 60k on the clock so we tried a few things with no luck before eventually getting the clutch and DMF replaced. The difference was night and day, no judder in any gear once driving and considerably less vibration through the engine when idling. The reduction in vibration was so dramatic I thought the van wasn't running the first time I fired it up. So with that fixed my mind turned back to mapping.
The Vehicle Tuner was recommended by a user on this forum. (thanks @Sfrain145
)
After speaking to Gabs, the owner, on the phone about my concerns, including mapping a 5 speed box, he assured me he understood my concerns and was able to offer a bespoke map to address these issues.
So I bit the bullet and got booked in for the following day.
He's got his own rolling road which he uses to test out the van prior to any mapping to ensure it will be suitable.
He then takes the data from this run and creates a bespoke map which he then flashes to the vans ECU.
He has a viewing area right next to the rolling road so you can watch the magic happening, which I did, or you can use the waiting room next to his office if you prefer.
Once the flashing was completed he ran a further 2 tests on the rolling road then produced a print out showing the BHP and torque results before the map and after.
My results were....
BEFORE: Engine Power = 108.4HP @ 3803RPM and Engine Torque = 250.8Nm @ 1763RPM (getting 108 to begin with was pretty good going for a 102 which suggested my engine was fine)
AFTER: Engine Power = 159.2HP @ 3149RPM and Engine Torque = 388.1Nm @ 2699RPM
But those figures are only half the story.
The graphs show what's really going on.
Prior to the map the power and torque basically flatlined after about 1700 RMP. If you have the 102 variant this is why you're changing gear by the time the van hits 2000 RPM. There's hardly any additional power or torque after 2k. In fact BHP vs revs steadily DROPS after 1800RPM and torque only increses marginally.
After the map the power and torque curves are exactly the same up to 1700RPM, which I think addresses the potential problem of too much torque going through the gearbox by keeping it the same as the factory settings, but instead of flatlining after 1800RPM the BHP and torque continues climbing all the way to 2700RPM before falling off again.
So what does this mean for my driving now?
Simple. Less gear changes. I start in 1st the same as before up to about 1700RMP but the rest of the gears I can take up to about 2400RPM before feeling the need to change up if I'm accelerating hard. If I'm pottering I usually change at around 21000RPM.
If I'm cruising along @ 60 on the motorway I can now overtake easier as there is power up to 2700RPM. Prior to the map there was negligible additional power after 2000RPM.
Acceleration is so much smoother making the van so much more pleasurable to drive.
I still have concerns that this extra power may cause issues down the line if abused so I drive it pretty much the same as before the majority of the time by accelerating gradually to avoid too much torque going through the gearbox but the fact I've got an extra 2-3k rev range before changing up for normal driving and up to 7k more when required for overtaking occasionally really has made all the difference.
The cost for this service? £200. All completed in a little over 1 hour.
I've seen prices ranging up to £600 for this type of service and I'm almost certain you won't get a better service than what Gabs provides, and every chance you'll just get a generic map with no rolling road tests from a lot of providers, but he provides a top notch bespoke map for a much fairer price because he does everything in house. No sending your data off to someone else to create a map who then charges extra. He does it all himself.
Been running the map for 6 weeks now and normal driving yeilds a similar MPG to what I was acheiving before. Obviously harder driving won't but it's certainly a lot more fun so you pays the price in MPG!
All in all I'm glad I took the plunge. Drives less like a van and more like a car now.
Cheers Gabs. You thoroughly deserve this review.
NOTE: This isn't a 'paid' promotion. I'm just a regular customer and wasn't asked to provide this review. I'm just pleased at the level of service I got for the price paid and felt I should share this with the forum, a resource which has been invaluable to me this last couple of years, as some form of payback and if this gets Gabs any extra custom as a result then he thoroughly deserves it.
I'd been considering a map for a while but had an issue with clutch judder which was putting me off pulling the trigger. My mechanic wasn't sure it was a worn clutch/DMF with only 60k on the clock so we tried a few things with no luck before eventually getting the clutch and DMF replaced. The difference was night and day, no judder in any gear once driving and considerably less vibration through the engine when idling. The reduction in vibration was so dramatic I thought the van wasn't running the first time I fired it up. So with that fixed my mind turned back to mapping.
The Vehicle Tuner was recommended by a user on this forum. (thanks @Sfrain145
)After speaking to Gabs, the owner, on the phone about my concerns, including mapping a 5 speed box, he assured me he understood my concerns and was able to offer a bespoke map to address these issues.
So I bit the bullet and got booked in for the following day.
He's got his own rolling road which he uses to test out the van prior to any mapping to ensure it will be suitable.
He then takes the data from this run and creates a bespoke map which he then flashes to the vans ECU.
He has a viewing area right next to the rolling road so you can watch the magic happening, which I did, or you can use the waiting room next to his office if you prefer.
Once the flashing was completed he ran a further 2 tests on the rolling road then produced a print out showing the BHP and torque results before the map and after.
My results were....
BEFORE: Engine Power = 108.4HP @ 3803RPM and Engine Torque = 250.8Nm @ 1763RPM (getting 108 to begin with was pretty good going for a 102 which suggested my engine was fine)
AFTER: Engine Power = 159.2HP @ 3149RPM and Engine Torque = 388.1Nm @ 2699RPM
But those figures are only half the story.
The graphs show what's really going on.
Prior to the map the power and torque basically flatlined after about 1700 RMP. If you have the 102 variant this is why you're changing gear by the time the van hits 2000 RPM. There's hardly any additional power or torque after 2k. In fact BHP vs revs steadily DROPS after 1800RPM and torque only increses marginally.
After the map the power and torque curves are exactly the same up to 1700RPM, which I think addresses the potential problem of too much torque going through the gearbox by keeping it the same as the factory settings, but instead of flatlining after 1800RPM the BHP and torque continues climbing all the way to 2700RPM before falling off again.
So what does this mean for my driving now?
Simple. Less gear changes. I start in 1st the same as before up to about 1700RMP but the rest of the gears I can take up to about 2400RPM before feeling the need to change up if I'm accelerating hard. If I'm pottering I usually change at around 21000RPM.
If I'm cruising along @ 60 on the motorway I can now overtake easier as there is power up to 2700RPM. Prior to the map there was negligible additional power after 2000RPM.
Acceleration is so much smoother making the van so much more pleasurable to drive.
I still have concerns that this extra power may cause issues down the line if abused so I drive it pretty much the same as before the majority of the time by accelerating gradually to avoid too much torque going through the gearbox but the fact I've got an extra 2-3k rev range before changing up for normal driving and up to 7k more when required for overtaking occasionally really has made all the difference.
The cost for this service? £200. All completed in a little over 1 hour.
I've seen prices ranging up to £600 for this type of service and I'm almost certain you won't get a better service than what Gabs provides, and every chance you'll just get a generic map with no rolling road tests from a lot of providers, but he provides a top notch bespoke map for a much fairer price because he does everything in house. No sending your data off to someone else to create a map who then charges extra. He does it all himself.
Been running the map for 6 weeks now and normal driving yeilds a similar MPG to what I was acheiving before. Obviously harder driving won't but it's certainly a lot more fun so you pays the price in MPG!
All in all I'm glad I took the plunge. Drives less like a van and more like a car now.
Cheers Gabs. You thoroughly deserve this review.
NOTE: This isn't a 'paid' promotion. I'm just a regular customer and wasn't asked to provide this review. I'm just pleased at the level of service I got for the price paid and felt I should share this with the forum, a resource which has been invaluable to me this last couple of years, as some form of payback and if this gets Gabs any extra custom as a result then he thoroughly deserves it.
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