[Discohead]

Ok, fitted the TMC to my car yesterday and did about 50miles. The following are my first I impressions, bear in mind that my car only has 450 miles on the clock so I'm not about to rag the engine and it was quite wet yesterday.

Fitting - I've done a little bit of fitting add-ons before but I am no mechanic. Bit nerve racking but was actually very easy, took about 15 minutes.

Driving impressions

Positive - much more pull, especially in higher gears, less need to change down. Car much more eager.

Neutral - more noticeable lag on the turbo, but I actually quite like the slightly old school turbo kicking in feel.

Negative - not 100% smooth, little jerky on the throttle.

Overall, a lot of bangs for your buck but a little nervous driving with it until I've got comfortable with the box and the engine has a few more miles. At the moment haven't changed the factory settings at all.

 

[A1LDU]

Glad you like it ,agree with your comments,did you remove the engine cover to gain access to cam plug? I to ,am leaving it on factory settings,for the time being,interesting to see what it does on 7,8,.!!!!

 

[GPL]

Good info guys
I wonder what the point is having so many settings, and you are also saying you can adjust for less power than standard from factory?????
If i recall was it 9 setting on this TMC box, seems a lot

 

[Discohead]

Yes there are quite few setting, not really sure why so many. I have left on the preset six which I guess is the one which gives the best balance between performance and reliability. There is a note that the higher settings may kick the car into safe mode. Would be interesting to get a bit more from TMC about the settings such as why so many and why preset to 6?

 

[Discohead]

Didn't need to remove cover as I could get to the plug ok. Bit tight but have had much worse on other cars. I remember hanging upside-down in the footwell of a discovery 3 trying to get to a radio fitting once.

 

[GPL]

Yes TMC could give us a bit more information about all these setting i think.
on how much power each setting gives. fom 1 to 9.

 

[A1LDU]

Regards settings,You can go down to 0 ,which I believe is standard map,and am sure TMC told me ,probably not to use 9,as it could go into Limp mode,I believe the adjusters were brought in due to many customer requests,I cant see the point of this,Just want max/safe Warp Factor!!! I suspect TMC will come on this topic with answers.

 

[Jae]

Each number is an increment of 4% on bhp

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TMC]

There were a few reasons for adjustment, number one the boxes are sold worldwide, many countries such as Australia, Singapore and Malaysia have very hot summers, also countries like Indonesia, China and India don't have high octane fuel so in some cases they need to reduce the power to suit the fuel and/or hot weather. Also there are customers out there who fit lots of other mods like exhausts, intercoolers, induction kits etc. who wanted to be able to increase further so we have tried to cater for all these things. Each setting represents roughly a 4% step either increase or decrease. On the setting 6 it runs the normal map that we program in by laptop, this should be sufficient for most owners but you always have the option to go up or down, if you're happy with it on 6 then just leave it there. Cheers

 

[TMC]

By the way your performance should be even better if you run the car on super 97/98 or 99, Tesco do a 99 ron at a good price, you won't harm the car by running on 95, all that can happen is under hard acceleration if the engine senses detonation/knock it will retard the timing slightly to stop it, this will result in slightly less power. It may be worth a try for those who have the box fitted to try a tank of super just to see if you can feel the difference, please also bear in mind that your engines are new and will improve constantly as they loosen up with more miles.

 

[A1LDU]

Many thanks TMC,I was just about to ask about fuel,also for the info regarding settings,actually I knew that,but better coming from you. :lol:

 

[Discohead]

Thanks TMC for the info. It's really useful.

 

[GPL]

So by setting it at number 6 that should give you an extra 6x4% = 24% increase in power which takes you from
122 to 151 bhp with a maximum power output of 166 approx using setting 9.
Will it handle setting 8 ok without getting close to going onto limp mode, if so that would be a nice 160BHP.
I would still like to use 95 octane.

 

[TMC]

Thats pretty much how it works, I couldn't guarantee you'll get the higher figures on 95, any tuned petrol engine turbo charged car is mean't to run on super UL to get the full performance benefits, however I run mine on 95 over the winter because its not driven hard with the roads being damp and greasy.
Also 8 or 9 may exceed allowed manifold pressure limits and trigger limp mode.

 

[GPL]

Ok thanks
7 to be on the safe side then with 95 octane sound ok.

Cheers.

 

[TMC]

I think so, if you want to test the higher settings its ok, the limp mode is a safety feature designed to stop the engine exceeding set limits so its nothing to fear, it just cuts engine power but allows the car to 'limp' home, normally switching off and on the engine a few times resets it but its always handy to have a little hand held scanner to erase codes, they can also save you alot of money going to the garage to get a code checked if you ever get one. I have one I got off Ebay for just under £50 its called Autel but there are lots for sale around that price or less, you don't need a PC for them the little unit has its own screen and buttons and powers itself off the car. They are a great item to have as it works not just on VAG but many others too. Heres the type I use, there are lots of others but this has never let me down
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trks ... Categories

 

[GPL]

Thankyou for answering all of our questions, it is a big help.
Looks like i might have to wait till APRIL before i can test one of these units
There should be loads of feedback on them by then tho.
Cheers.

 

[A1LDU]

Just been for a drive,weekend car use only,1.4S-line + TMC box, Fantastic drive,loving the car even more!!!.Supposed to get some shopping from local supermarket,could not stop,done about 50mls ,came home with nothing,pleased her indoors ,not. TIP,Switch off efficiency program,some good music,and just drive,Life is to short.

 

[GPL]

TIP,Switch off efficiency program

What is this.????

 

[shakeystevo]

TIP,Switch off efficiency program

What is this.????

Start/stop functions, gear change reminders etc etc...