tunning module info

[craig boyd]

Has anybody out there bought or had a plug in tunning module fitted to there surf or know of anyone who has.
ive seen them advertised in the 4x4 mags at around £299. they claim a
20% increase in power and torque with a simple plug in diy connection
which in turn saves fuel ??
hope to hear from you boffins out there,

[da SLUG man]

Has anybody out there bought or had a plug in tunning module fitted to there surf or know of anyone who has.
ive seen them advertised in the 4x4 mags at around £299. they claim a
20% increase in power and torque with a simple plug in diy connection
which in turn saves fuel ??
hope to hear from you boffins out there,

find out exactly what it is first... some are proper and some are a rip off... i.e. the £5 wonder chips off ebay!
your best bet is to get it done properly on a rolling road where they tweek the ecu exactly for your engine... costs about £400

[Guest]

Has anybody out there bought or had a plug in tunning module fitted to there surf or know of anyone who has.
ive seen them advertised in the 4x4 mags at around £299. they claim a
20% increase in power and torque with a simple plug in diy connection
which in turn saves fuel ??
hope to hear from you boffins out there,

Heard about them but I'm not sure that they work, however I wait to be proved wrong. The ECU on the Surf is not that state of the art and basically these tuning modules just take over from some of the functions of the ECU as far as I know and allow more Turbo boost, richer mixture etc etc.

I'm not sure how anyone increases power and saves fuel but if anyone out there has good experiences I'm open to being shot down in flames.

Plus I am not sure I'd want an extra 20% power out of my engine when I don't know how good the bottom end is - same thing with increasing Turbo boost. More power means more stress which in turn means shorter engine life.

If you want a really powerfull Surf put a V8 in it. You won't save fuel and your tyres will wear out twice as fast however you won't half have a lot of fun.

Cheers

[rowleav]

Long time no reply

I know this is ages after this was posted but I have a 3rd Gen and I have had it remapped.
The amount of data that could be remapped was very small but it has made a significant difference.
Mine is a 3.L but I'm told it will work on the 2.4 too.
It does actually save you fuel! If you think along the lines of 'more power therefore I'll use it' then you will actually use MORE fuel than before.
If however, you use the gains in torque to drive the same rate as before, then the increased torque means less throttle required means less fuel used.
I'm getting around 3 - 4 more mpg since it was done, but we're still in development at the moment. I have had the cam belt changed, the fuel pump adjusted to give more pressure and a wastegate valve fitted that seems to have made little if any difference.
Next step is a Race1 box (tuning module) which I'm waiting for.
Also, the exhaust has been replaced from the downpipe back with a full powerflow system and quad pipes at the assend.
So far, the car seems far easier and smoother to drive with only very light throttle needed to make good pace.

[Apache]

Who remapped it? Details would be good.

[Slugsie]

This sounds interesting. Was the work done in stages, with measured results taken at each stage. E.g. Fit tuning module, measure, fit exhaust, measure, fit wastegate, measure etc.

Also, what's the project cost you so far?

Keep us posted.

[rowleav]

Hi,
Well, yes and no....
Let me elaborate....

Initially, I visited a local company called ChippedUK. They are a very well respected chip remapping company based in my hometown of Bromsgrove.
They reckon that they can chip just about anything because they actually write the ECU maps themselves.
So, the first thing I did before any work was done by them was to bypass the EGR. This got rid of the black smoke and made a noticeable difference (albeit small) to the overall performance.
Next step was for ChippedUK to take a gander. They did some research and decided that the first modification that 'should' make a big difference was to fit a small control valve just before the wastegate. This appeared to make no noticeable difference, even after 'running it in for 50 miles'
tSo, they did more research and were told that a minor remap and an adjustment to the fuel pump to give more pressure was needed.
The remap was done at the same time as the fuel pump adjustment. This did make a significant difference with now only small throttle operations needed to make good progress. Just before this modification, I had a powerflow exhaust system fitted locally. From the downpipe back, there are two small boxes and then straight pipe back to the rear of the axle where the pipe splits into two and then twin tailpipes at the end of each pipe.
No rolling road measurements have been done as none of the modifications have made any 'real' difference as ChippedUK had hoped for.
Yes, there is a noticeable increase in power, but nothing at all like they had hoped.
It's been left now for them to acquire (I think they called it) a 'Racebox' or 'Race 1' box.
This is being supplied to them by an Italian company who they deal with. (I'm guessing DimmSport). When this arrives, they are hopeful that a significant difference will be made and then we can run it on the rollers to see what gains we have. Once this is done, I'll post the results so anyone (and I'm guessing quite a few!) can call ChippedUK and see what they can do for you.
So, in summary, only me, the driver can report the power gains. Good but not yet great.... but still in development.
Will keep you posted.
If you want to speak to ChippedUK, call Simon or Jayson (with a 'y') on 01527 579345. Mention that you have seen the postings on the Toyota Hilux forum from Andy Rowley and he'll know what you're talking about then.
Both Simon and Jayson are very knowledgeable and will give you all the advice they can. You'd have to go a $$$$$$ long way to beat their prices too.

[Slugsie]

Thanks for the info.

I'm curious though, without having done an initial rolling-road test, exactly how you are going to be able to quantify what the overall gains have been?

[MadcapMagician]

Actually, I'm curious as regards your quad-tailpipe. Any chance of a picture?

[rowleav]

Hi Slugsie,

Well, so far, the EGR bypass and the remap can be removed in a blink of an eye.
I did discuss this with ChippedUK at the time and he said just that, so rolling road data can be recorded before and after so to speak.
THere may be a very tiny difference with the initial figure due to the fuel pump adjustment, but it will be minor.

Hope that helps.

All the best.

Andy

[rowleav]

Hi Madcap Magician!

I will do just that for you. as soon as I can fgure out how to post pictures :-)
Will do it today.

[rowleav]

OK, did it :-)
Sorry tha these pictures were taken with the car dirty. They shine like new pins when it's clean :-)

[Apache]

I'm a bit puzzled that the adjustment to the fuel pump AND the remap were done at the same time. Apparent gains in power can be made by fuel pump adjustment (overfuelling). What gains would a remap make? Surely a remap would only adjust the fuelling - the Surf ECU is the human equivalent of a total retard in ECU terms - ie, its old fashioned and not very bright, and doesn't excercise a huge amount of control over the engine.

My other question - why aim for big power gains? All you'll do is end up with a slightly less slow, poor handling truck with a bigger thirst.

[rowleav]

Well....
The adjustment to the fuel pump was apparently not to overfuel bu to increase the fuel pressure ready to cope with overfuelling which was hopefully going to happen with the remap.
Please bear in mind that ChippedUK had never done a Surf before, so it was a learning curve for them too.
Jayson actually writes remaps himself and as you quite rightly state, the Surf ECU is a complete retard. So, the only changes he could make were to the torque curve and he did that. It was only a very small data write.
He had done research on each phase and had been told by others that the modifications he had done should have made a good difference... but they didn't.
Lots of head scratching later and a phone call was placed with one of his major suppliers to see what they could offer. This is the part we're waiting for.

You ask why I'm aiming for big power gains.
I'm not really. I do computer repair work for ChippedUK and they 'help' me out with my cars. Our other car is a BMW 540i and they chipped that from 286bhp to 315. The modifications to the BMW resulted in a very good difference in fuel consumption (on cruise at 80mph = 36mpg!).

I asked what they could do to make an improvement to the Surf and they started the party.

So, apart from a gain in 'driveability', we were aiming to better it's standard fuel consumption too. I don't drive the Surf hard, but it would be good to have that extra grunt when you need it. I don't expect economy to suffer, but improve when driven 'normally'. Apparently, significant gains can be made, so slightly less slow should be considerably more responsive.
Handling is poor, but I don't tend to go fast round bends. I just like to be able to make good progress off the lights or along the straight where a tiny throttle opening keeps me moving at the legal limit ;-)

All the best.


We wait with anticipation

[Apache]

You ask why I'm aiming for big power gains.
I'm not really. I do computer repair work for ChippedUK and they 'help' me out with my cars. Our other car is a BMW 540i and they chipped that from 286bhp to 315. The modifications to the BMW resulted in a very good difference in fuel consumption (on cruise at 80mph = 36mpg!).

We wait with anticipation

All sounds refreshingly un-max-powerish

Like to keep the baseball hat wearing rabble out of here you see

Dont those pipes bang on the underside of the bumper??

My exhaust is 'functional' but I see by your tyres you're a road warrior.