TESTING TUNING BOXES! Are they any good? DARKSIDE DEVELOPMENTS

[@otacon4065]

when they tried to fob you off did you inform them that you were wearing a lab coat?

[@ryanp6138]

They were not fully aware, but I did have it on whilst emailing for good measure!

[@otacon4065]

@@ryanp6138 Haha I'd expect nothing less Ryan! Nice one for this video, so many people would just be about the money punting on shite and not safe guarding fellow enthusiasts...

[@DarksideDevelopments]

@@otacon4065 hopefully it just educates people, dont mind if we dont make anything from it!

[@otacon4065]

@@DarksideDevelopments that's the difference between scummy corporations vs true enthusiast run businesses

[@MrZain34]

😂😂

[@oldgreggscreamybaileys6618]

When the lab coat comes out you know it’s serious.

[@ShalomBrother]

U no somerts abart ta go darn!

[@yeru1975]

He is always serious, loves his job. No bullshit guy!

[@CIC4EVA2K7]

Why anyone would dislike this video is beyond me. Ran a racechip ultimate on my Amarok 5 years ago, then “serial condition.” Sent it back for my refund within a week. Only change I noted was more exhaust smoke. Back then, there weren’t any real tuning options in my country, but now we have a local revo dealer. Greetings from Trinidad, WI. The local VW scene is very keen on your Amarok videos.

[@jonscoupe]

Thank you so much for this video. Very thorough explanation of the differences between tuning boxes and remaps. Have been tempted in the past to go for a tuning box, mainly because of the simplicity of fitting the box, but as your video shows I think you're much better off leaving tuning to the experts such as yourselves. Thanks again. Cheers, Jon.

[@henriquesousa2341]

someone should send this video to the guys at Car Throttle xD

[@Fantastika]

@@jage6126 they stopped using racechip

[@swansmeister]

@@jage6126 exactly, autotop nl are retards realy, slave to the money. Not the mention they have to most ridiculous accent, an exhaust is exhoooooooooost for them.

[@EAD_0]

Car throttle channel is a joke anyway. Let them crack on using these naff tuning boxes. 😀

[@vPerformance]

Massive balls for doing this with transparency. Well done. Custom remaps will win every time, but I had a great result from a dtuk box a few years ago on a saab 93. Like you said, it was cheap at the time (about £130) so it was worth it. It was never going to be able to match a proper remap though.

[@johnconnor513]

Dude the content of your videos always grips my mind . Love your content. Also, the pace and tone of your speech is just what I need to calm me down after all the hyper youtubers trying to make their channel interesting by shouting. Salt of the earth mate. Good on you

[@DarksideDevelopments]

1.25 speed if you want to americanise me, lol. Thanks for the kind words.

[@mbarn]

As soon as I heard the accent, I knew you were local to me. Thanks for saving me the cash, as I was tempted by RaceChip

[@ForWhhY]

They didn't moved the jumper inside the racechip. By stock it comes with medium settings. You have adjust manually to maximum.

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

I have a racechip, you notice a difference but you might as well just get a proper tune for the price of it

[@levente4424]

I can see the difficulty you guys having telling people the truth without getting sued by those companies, well appreciated and most of us anyway we were thinking the same but now we know for sure because you did dyno more than one tunning boxes and on top of that that car performed way higher with the remap. One might be wrong but since none of them touched the "claimed power" it's clear they never do and it's just advertising. Anyone reading this comment and looking for a solution , it's clear now that remap is the only right thing to do. Good job Darkside Dev.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

You can only get sued for lying, I'll prove anything to anyone :)

[@michaelthompson7006]

Fair play lads. Very informative at a big risk of being attacked for showing some interesting findings. Thanks for taking the time to do this

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Its no bother to us, just providing facts!

[@MrAlfajames]

I've had 4 bluespark tuning boxes on 4 different cars, petrol and diesel so far and although I've never had them on the dyno so I can't say about peak power I can 100% say they improved low down power and boost response on every one of the cars or I wouldn't have bought another. I have done the same route to work for years and as an example on my car with the last box (jaguar xj 3.0 diesel) the difference with the box fitted was very obvious. There's a steep hill on the A23 called Handcross Hill and on cruise control with no box at 65mph the car had to drop a gear, with the box on it never did and I tested this multiple times. The best part was when I sold the cars I removed the boxes and either got them retuned for the next car or sold them on

[@muffindell]

I agree that the Bluespark box does work very well, the company also has great after service back up; but the main thing that sold it to me was that Bluespark also remap cars on their Dyno in the traditional way so have a great knowledge base for both ways of tuning without bias

[@rob-mo7gb]

I've got a Bluespark Tuning Box on my Mitsi L200 was it worth it (to me) Hell Yeah!@@muffindell

[@busterstig7830]

I've been looking at a bluespark box that's what led me here and to say these are around the £400 mark they seem a bit of a joke where as the blues park are like £80 lol

[@danielmarshall4587]

GLORIOUS. ... As a punter this is what I'm looking for and/or this is where the cost is the time it takes to look at what's happening with the cars and engines and what happens when you start changing set-ups.Yes once I get enough money I'll be darkening your door and asking you to look at my car, a garage I use (good, good group of folk) and they suspect my car has "been maped" on account of the volume of VolksWagen Cancer Death spewing from the exhaust whenever it gets hammered. But the thought of simply plugging a box into the engine and off you go..... no thanks. Anyhow thanks again all the best.

[@thediyandpianoguy8665]

Kinda like opening an 8 pack of KitKats and finding 4 shitty Tesco basics versions inside, and being told "Well they were actual KitKats when we packed them, it must be your eyes".....click

[@finnroen2334]

A friend of mine is one of your customers and he is over the moon happy. He made me aware of of the name Darside and I have seen tons of your videos that I enjoy. You are doing excellent work. Thanks.

[@TIM612826]

Really informative! A custom remap is the way to go then! I was tempted with one of those tuning boxes, but can see how they manipulate the engine. Ok 4 a lease car maybe, but a no no if u intend to keep your car for a while! Thank you for explaining so clearly!

[@larryshere2422]

Ive gone from a TDI tuning box to an remap. I can say, yes I did get more power from the tuning box but I did get problems with overfueling at times which would then cause my car to limit itself at 3k. But now with the remap I have MORE power, MORE torque and no problems at all!

[@paulfarghi]

Right then.....a great exposee on the world of tuning box's. Brilliant presentation, and shows the bull that "tuners" put out there. More power to your elbow boys. Keep the terrific vids coming You've saved me a wad of cash 💰 happy days Can't wait for the "nearly secret" Darkside box.....

[@vidsinmotionchannel]

So glad I've seen this, puts recap vs tuning box argument to bed in my mind.

[@IgnitionMedia]

Very interesting video and I wish I could of used this info 3 years ago. My Mk7 Golf GTD (CUNA, 184bhp) had a DTUK CRD3+ box on. It dynoed at 198bhp when quoting 240bhp (240bhp is the holy grail of custom maps, most get 235). The Golf actually blew an injector after 2k miles (engine was on 11k). Always wanted to pin it on the box but had no proof. Andrew and the goons at DTUK are awful and some practices are illegal. They'll be your best friend and reply within seconds up until they get your money, after that they'll outright ignore you and used to (not sure if they still do) charge 20% restock fee if you return the box which would work out to around £90 of the unit you sampled. Biggest mistake I ever had, made the frequent slips into limp mode under full throttle seem like normal. (Edit: The mobile app, DTE Powercontrol that they use also requires location, storage and phone call permissions to work on Android... Why?)

[@Ciaran334]

Say no more, my God. I bought a RaceChip. Didn't actually improve my car. So I ended up sending it back. But thanks for sharing your experience.

[@Mac_F87]

Tried a DTUK box on my mk7 Golf R. Didn’t feel any better to be honest and ended up going into limp mode after a month, so I took it straight off. Luckily I scanned the car with VCDS before it went in for a service, there was all sorts of fault codes stored. So much for their main marketing pitches, the fact they are undetectable which in my case was absolute rubbish.

[@IgnitionMedia]

@@Mac_F87 same here mate, I had VCDS on mine and fuel trim data would of given it away too. I so badly hope someone in law or with a bit of money clocks onto this and wipes the floor with them

[@wastelander6341]

When I had the tdi vrs I was going to get a tuning box but decided to go for a dyno tune. Ended up with 227bhp was very happy. Since then I've switched to petrol vrs with a dyno tune at 307bhp I'm happy. More to come eventually but its fine for now

[@niceguy235uk1]

Surely you can adjust the power of the box as it has three settings?

[@KnightWolf2012]

Amazing work! Thanks for taking the time to dyno test each of these options and finally put an end to the tuning box debate with solid evidence.

[@AGChiptuning]

Your 100% correct about most these companies claiming higher figures than a good ECU tune. Customers believe it though.

[@daibennett9224]

I had a racechip on my mk7 gti wen it was under warranty,it was a pile of sh4t,I payed like 620 for it,inconsistent in power delivery and would make my epc light come on,if driven over 4 thousand rpm,I smashed it up with a hammer in the end,I couldn’t justify selling it to someone else,load of crap,top job for doing this,you are the man

[@DarksideDevelopments]

I wish you made a video!

[@daibennett9224]

Darkside Developments I didn’t make a video it was a spur of the moment thing,I’m happy that people like you are showing these plug and play devices for what they are tho.

[@alancobbin1310]

Wouldn’t piss on a tuning box if it was on fire and this is not because of ya video it’s what I’ve experienced over the years ,I had a similar conversation with another channel the other day about getting tduk box for his bmw 330d ,I would never risk engine components with a tuning box ,good video though and a wake up call for some 👍

[@Ciaran334]

@Mojo This video literally just disproved the tuning box claims. Surely you don't believe it can complete with a custom remap. Especially from Darkside Developments.

[@GaryDownes]

@Mojo spoken like a true noob to modifying vehicles.

[@GaryDownes]

@@Ciaran334 I can guarantee he's never had a an ECU remap. That, or he works for some POS tuning box company

[@DarksideDevelopments]

@Mojo Highly unlikely

[@Boostaddicts_YT]

Mojo gotta say I’ve seen some crazy good results from the Stienbaiuer but they are stupid money

[@hadleighmurad]

Nice video, complete black and white transparency! I was tempted to get a box due to no remapping places nearby, but I've always heard people online say "always get a remap, stay away from the boxes" this video confirms why. Cheers !

[@2HYPE4U_OG]

Have a Race Chip Black in my C63s and the difference in power is enormously noticeable. I’m satisfied with it and would recommend.

[@john.connor1]

I'm concidering getting a racechip, is it true that the power comes in gradually up to 500 miles? Is driving in all modes until then important?

[@tommysimsek5639]

You needed more power in your c63??

[@marksystemed4678]

I installed a GS2 chip tuning box in my car a few months back, occasionally, when I was in 3rd or 4th gear and I changed up a gear, it wouldn't change up. I have a Honda Civic i shift. Also when the engine was cold and I went to change from 1st to 2nd, it would stay in 1st. Anyway, I disconnected it today and if I want more torque and horsepower I'll just get a proper remap by a pro. Thanks for the video, really great.

[@julianpollock5323]

Love Darkside, absolute straight up guys! Just wish they could tune my 3.0d 300ps XF.

[@davidjanes99]

Seriously good video as always, I had a tuning box on a Hilux a few years ago, it went okay but it did have a tendency for the engine light come on a few times. Have a sensible F30 320i now with the B48 engine and had it remapped and it really does pull well now, 184bhp to around 270bhp.

[@youtubed9695]

I've tried tuning boxes before and I genuinely couldn't tell a difference at all... but if darkside did one... I think I'd try it

[@LJC944]

Mines sound had it a year way more punch

[@mikew1069]

A really good test and summary of the "plug-in" tuning boxes, good work and very fair, big thanks. Mike, Australia.... (VAG fan & owner, like your videos. SQ5/B8 Passat BiTdi/MK7.5 R Special Edition[Revo S1 tuned])

[@hardcoretam]

The only idea of "tuning boxes" i liked was ones i seen somewhere, where your car can have a custom rolling road remap set up, but it's stored on the box instead of the ECU. The only other time i'd consider a tuning box is on the old Transit Connects, or the older Vauxhall engines where the boxes increased fueling mainly, then boost was done with a manual boost controller. I feel for the vast majority of the time, a generic non tailored, non rolling road remap is still probably better than a tuning box on most modern diesels. I feel if you have some simple bolt on mods like a turbo back exhaust, upgraded intercooler, it's worth getting a custom tailored map on a rolling road when possible.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Search POWERGATE on our site

[@wezdarsit]

Very interesting and informative the lads at Darkside know what they are talking about exposing the rubbish that’s being pushed out on internet auction sites well done really enjoyed learning about this

[@FourRingsAuto]

Great video again Team Darkside! Looking forward to the next video. Would you ever think about creating your own piggyback or tuning box that would allow you to do remote tuning or similar worldwide? Chosen resellers workshops logging pre and post tune for R&R. Also, just a suggestion for another video, what about a video explaining darkside's beginning up until now? Explaining where you came from professionally, the family side of it with SRS, and your technical backgrounds. Maybe a quick overview of the present team? A look at staff projects? I'm guessing you and your brothers were vw or audi technicians or apprentices originally? I think it would be good to show more of who you guys are, more than just "Reet then Ryan" (nothing wrong with you Ryan!). Cheers again guys!

[@blairfotheringham5742]

I have fitted a few DTUK tuning boxes to customers cars and tbh been a little bit disappointed. To be fair to them, they have always tried to assist and have even refunded me when my customer was dissatisfied, so can’t fault them on this however agree with you summary. Can’t compete with a good quality remap written by a good programmer. Remap every time in my book. Great work....👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@IrishPikeHunter]

By the sound of it the best tuning box to have sometime in the future is a "darkside development" true power box,,people would just need to watch a few of your videos to know that they won't be getting ripped off!

[@alanthorndyke5241]

Very impressed by the way you conducted this video and your dyno setup and I can assure you I dont say that very often. We had a known "tuning box" company come and use my rolling road to calibrate there diesel tuning box, what a bunch of amateur's. Sticking more boost down it with no increase in fuelling, when it was questioned he didn't know you had to, basic maths if you make more power you almost certainly have to increase fuel! I have been telling people for years the dangers of this boxes, do they listen...NO. Will they listen after your video...NO!!

[@DarksideDevelopments]

It's a joke really and they have the cheek to say we are dishonest! Ha

[@alanthorndyke5241]

@@DarksideDevelopments We have this all the time, comes in shouting about his mates car (on some dodgy roller set) made 50 BHP more, then you look at the graph and it is showing a stupid driveline loss calculation. If we put a modern car on our rollers its shows bang on the same as the manufacturer quotes, apart from a few weird ones.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Same here, car today with a 180hp tune made 160. We safely got another 40lbs and 20hp!

[@lukewolstenholme4618]

Skip to 2.45

[@MB88977]

Thanks

[@ahmeddoghmane9962]

Good lad👌

[@KodeName.X]

1:57 had to remove my headset as i thought my car alarm was going off haha

[@rokornel4325]

Keep up the good work! We consumers need ppl like you

[@Kj16V]

The delivery of the information is dry as a bone, but the information itself is pure gold.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Thanks, exactly as intended!

[@link6032]

Great video, thanks for this. DTUK have always been hit and miss, they get really stroppy when you question them, and even return a box based on performance. I fitted one of their boxes and the engine colling fan kept running after turning the car off, it was like the car was always trying to perform a dpf regeneration. Anyway, sent it back and got a very very cold response.

[@CASHO76]

So glad I watched this,you’ve just saved me spanking £490 on a box..the box I was looking at was stating it’d increase my bhp from 190 to 240..

[@DarksideDevelopments]

It was certainly a lie!

[@karldyson7466]

Same with the DTUK tuning box in my MK3 VRS tdi. Seemed to make a bit more power but throwing up fault codes all the time.

[@tyjakkty8668]

well done mate about time someone did a non sponsored,video telling us in real world speak,keep up the good work

[@thefrenchruraldream8069]

I’ve been thinking about a Racechip box for my 1.5 tsi so glad I saw this 👍🏻😊😊....would have wasted £450 😠....thanks guys brilliant video and will definitely save people money and an expensive bill if it ruined their engine. 😊😊And even though I don’t have a diesel anymore definitely just subscribed 😁😁

[@PiOfficial]

450! Had my car tuned properly for 250

[@andrewhollidge4522]

Dan I've had my vw v6 amrock tuned by you running 352 bhp and over 600nm torque it's as fast as a 2023 Honda type r from the lights And you have turned my vw transporter 110 bhp to over 180 bhp on the custom remap I've tried outer remaps there rubbish you spent nr 5 hours custom tuneing the transporter it was way better than my old 180 bi turbo on a remap alone I will book the amrock in for more work to 430 bhp soon love what you guys do

[@Sparkplugsteve]

Great informative video. Im not Really a diesel guy but I still Watch your videos and really wish someone would do this in the Ford fiesta tuning scene. 👍

[@Ben-fx5pb]

Great bunch of guys here been asking about getting my car tuned and they've been pretty helpful with thier response definitely gotta get my car booked in after Xmas

[@davidlowe3854]

Shame about the DTUK one, I ran one on my old Leon FR 184 back when they first came out and "nobody can tune them" I was being told (I didn't know about Darkside then) but it did feel punchier, it could have been from weight saving in my wallet however!

[@ryanp6138]

Most likely! haha

[@IgnitionMedia]

Read my comment, dynod at 198bhp which is just about noticeable

[@steveallan692]

I’ve got a DTUK box on my Octavia vRS 184, works brilliantly. DTUK claims 240bhp.. I reckon it is pushing that not just a little punchier but considerable more power. Have been using the box for 3 years, never looked back!

[@audittrs2885]

I would never buy any of that tuning boxes. Remap every time miles better results.

[@mushy1983123]

People just go the cheap way out and think it's the same

[@robbiegibbs1772]

Not only will a remap get you marginally better results but they can be cheaper lol. Why do people bother with these chips

[@mushy1983123]

@@robbiegibbs1772 my brother got a chip for his VW I told him not to then took it to a tuner and he didn't even gain any power from the chip lol

[@wigos688]

Warranty issues

[@BassSuperPower]

Other than a constant check engine light and slightly worse fuel consumption, the race chip in my 535d was absolutely amazing. It felt like it had so much more power when I drove it. Tuning boxes are actually good.

[@spoonyspoonicus4648]

I had a DTUK tuning box on my Golf gtd 190 for nearly 2 years and then it stared causing codes to appear. I spoke to DTUK on the phone and was told it was somehow my fault and i must of fitted it wrong after it had been on the car for 30k miles no issue. They then made me pay for the shipping only to be told it was fine. whilst the box was away i had done nearly 6k miles with no codes, i fitted it and within 100 miles the codes were back and i was in limp mode. took it off and fine again. DTUK then refused to do anything other than charge me to update it. I ended up having to get my bank involved to get my money back and it was a massive hassle. never again will i use a tuning box.

[@IgnitionMedia]

Standard DTUK response mate haha. "Nah can't be our product even though loads of people complained, it's your engine / fuel / climate / driving style" lol

[@lthallinto8802]

Thx for info

[@simonbaker5984]

Been waiting for one of these reviews for years 👍. Massive respect for telling us old farts what we have known for years😅😅. Remap all the way!!!. I'm going back 20 plus years when you would remove the ECU, add FSE Power Boost Valves, K&N induction kits, twin webber carbs etc.. Decat, straight through exhausts. Skip Brown Tunning, Super Chips, to name just a few I have had on my cars in the past F Fwd 10 yrs & it's flash via the OBD. Never been convinced, of the claimed figures. And had numerous debates over remap vs tuning box. Great video Ryan 👍.

[@matthewclarkmc]

Great video custom remap best option. I have always been wary of those tuning boxes and this confirms my suspicions. Cheers

[@perpetualintellectual2026]

I'm so happy I looked for this video I'm collecting a g11 730d tomorrow and my tdi box has just arrived!

[@r20rob]

I’ve got a mk6 golf r stage 2+ tuned by Rtech and it smashes my mates APR 2+ tuned car, custom tune over a flash/tuning box map all day! If I ever get a diesel I will be bringing it straight to darkside for a custom map!! 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[@HarryG98]

100% custom over generic but tbf APR isn’t a bad choice for a off the shelf tune

[@mazza7282]

Ive had stage 1 petrols and diesels mapped by Rtech too, even on a stage 1 transforms the car. Custom tune all the way! - Thanks Darkside for putting this argument to bed again.

[@natel5370]

How people like DTUK say 240hp for MK7 GTD is beyond me, my car is a low millage well looked after manual and it doesn’t get anywhere near 240 even with a proper remap. Glad you outed the box goons ..

[@BkSMedia]

Loving the lab coat Ryan! Informative video, nice to see you respectfully calling out other companies and giving them a chance to explain potential errors. Good work! 👍

[@Jenuin]

I loved watching this video because it answered my question on ECU flash compared to a tune. Most places around me so far are just flash tuners. 😅

[@09degz]

That completely changed my Mind on them I was looking into a TDI one for my Golf GTD I’ll have to just get a remap now

[@hh7258]

Same

[@eltmedia]

This needs to go viral amongst the community. Problem is people with the boxes will claim misuse by dark side. I trust the legitimacy of it though

[@DarksideDevelopments]

i'll do the test with the men who own the company next to me, but we have to do it live :)

[@theberengersniper]

I have a RaceChip installed on my F40 M135i and it's definitely making a difference in my case. There is now no performance gap between my car and a stock M140i all the way up to 156mph (we were absolutely side by side each time we tried), which there certainly is with a standard F40 M135i (306bhp plays, what, 335bhp?). These new generation BMWs appear very difficult to remap, either though OBD or a bench tune, so until that's better understood, this might be one of few options.

[@TC16842]

And they fail to tell everyone that you will kill your warranty with a so called "real tune" because it leaves footprints and a tune box will not!!!

[@jason21jburg]

@@TC16842 they can still find out if you had a tuning box it’s not as obvious as a remap obviously

[@john.connor1]

I'm concidering getting a racechip, is it true that the power comes in gradually up to 500 miles? Is driving in all modes until then important?

[@theberengersniper]

@@john.connor1 What the race chip does is intercept the signal coming from several sensors, changes the value, and then sends the signal on its way to the ECU. The ECU then 'sees' a signal, different to what it really should be, but still within acceptable parameters, and takes whatever decision the fuel/timing/boost/etc tables tell it to. In that way then, the ECU is still going to do that with or without the race chip. Just drive it normally. If the value the race chip sends to the ECU are beyond what the ECU can cope with it'll throw 'out of range' codes. It's partly why there is a limit to how much extra these race chips can actually give you, because they're stuck working within the inherent limits of the stock ECU. A full remap isn't so closely limited.

[@theberengersniper]

@@john.connor1 I have my F40 M135i Race Chip for sale if that's the car you've got John?

[@conradcullen8029]

Well, I`ve been using a TDI box with my BMW X1 E84 177HP and yes I could feel a huge difference to stock power, unfortunately after checking ECU I could find lots of DTC fault codes. Many times tuning boxes create lots of fault codes stored in ECU as they cross limiters , professional remap made by professional tuner maby give you a little less of power but will keep everything under limiters and won`t give you fault DTC codes . Also, absolutely don't use mobile tuners as they will copy/paste a universal map to your ECU, each engine is different, even the same 177HP and each engine tunes up in different ways so that's why always use a professional tuner who will prepare an individual map to your specific engine. Cheers

[@RichieST08]

I had a racechip on a 2.0 tfsi and it worked very well, better than a stage 2+ bluefin map however I have a dtuk pd2 on a pd130 and it’s terrible. Luckily I only paid £40 for it.

[@MrDelcol]

So glad I follow you guys. I had convinced myself to go for a dtuk box over a remap. As their figures for my 17 plate octavia tdi vrs looked very impressive claiming 240 bhp and 500flb over stock. I was always a bit sceptical on their claims. But your video has just saved me 600 quid buying their box and pedal box. I'm going to have to research remaps for my mk3 vrs now

[@ryanp6138]

No need to research, just come here!

[@MrDelcol]

I would if I was nearer to you,

[@DarksideDevelopments]

@@MrDelcol Search Powergate on our site!

[@olivergunn2796]

great video! I think these people are criminals, if a OEM made such ridiculous claims they would face consequences, why should it be any different for these clowns. I think you should do a reaction/fact check video to TDI tunnings video (What is a Tuning Box?) check 1:58 in that video, my head hurts listing to that answer, someone needs to call them out on their lies.

[@nuttycommuter3718]

I didn’t realise how expensive those things were - a custom map from my guy is £360. An “off the shelf” map is £300, but even then, because he’s conscientious, he’ll still tweak it to suit the specific car in front of him on the day.

[@ctv4646]

I’ve always thought with tuning boxes it’s like poking a bull blind folded with a stick. It might run but there’s a good chance it’ll turn around and thump you.

[@jamesdaley75]

I've got a '16 Veloster Turbo. I've had the GTS Black installed for almost 2 years. When it was installed the car had 6K miles. It's now got 41K. I've had no trouble up until last Dec 15th. (which is still at the dealership as of 2/1) On the way home from work, all of a sudden I immediately had a power loss, as well a whining sound like an old fire engine. Long story short. It threw a code for a boost sensor. Got the call from the service manager about a week ago. Turns out it needs a new turbo, intercooler, plugs and the top part of the engine to be cleaned. I do plan on putting it back on the vehicle when I get it. Am I crazy?

[@ukvette]

Custom remap from Darkside, got to be the way to go.

[@williamoakes664]

Great video 🙏🏻...proves my experience...I’ve tried boxes but they’re all gimmicks by comparison to the proper map. My t5 (1.9) van, bmw 330d f31 have custom maps both proving true results and stark differences in performance (torque mainly on the van and explosive results on the 330d👌🏻329bhp 650nm...just needs an lsd really). Same principal applies with bikes...I’ve just put a full system on my Gsxr 1000 k5 and although the seller has given me an appropriate map for my PC3 it’ll just be the Dynojet preset with options applied. The bikes going to a tuner on Tuesday for a full custom RR tuned map. It’s more expense but I’d rather it was running absolutely spot on.......and furthermore (the other very key point I’d like to state that your comparison didn’t mention) by taking the bike to a specialist allows him/you to give it a look over and check everything’s in good order before turning the wick up....this is invaluable by comparison to the box ......having a healthy gain as opposed to breaking your pride and joy is worth more in the first place.

[@williamoakes664]

....worth paying more in the first place

[@BMH1965]

Many Race Chip customers have complained (also in social media), and I understand why after looking at this video.

[@MuzzyT]

Put a racechip on my A1 and I feel as though its severely reduced the life of my engine. It made the engine knock (with correct fuel), was overboosting and even after I took it off, over took a car on 2 different occasions and put my car in to limp mode + engine light. Would never use one again. Complete trash. Its an engine breaker.

[@wildazme2006]

When using a racechip you have to upgrade your plugs, if you didn't that's the problem.

[@john.connor1]

@@wildazme2006 I'm concidering getting a racechip, is it true that the power comes in gradually up to 500 miles? Is driving in all modes until then important?

[@wildazme2006]

@@john.connor1 mileage does not matter, once you hook it up and turn it on the power is there

[@john.connor1]

@@wildazme2006 Ok thanks, I appreciate your reply.

[@timothyfox4191]

Perhaps the 3 companies were quoting estimated power at the engine and not at the wheels? Good honest video.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

We are talking FW figures all the way through.

[@iloveloopy]

Had a DTUK on my current Leon FR184, after a few weeks I had every single light on the dash after starting the car, disconnected it and sold it on. Cars been fine since thankfully. Can't say as I noticed any difference really either, but it's a chugger not a thrasher.

[@Cous1nJack]

I bought one for 184 leon second hand. It was rapid but the risk on the engine wasn’t worth the extra wear on the brakes. Sold on within a week.

[@Dan23_7]

Very interesting, DTUK are supposed to be one of the best out there, yet failed miserably on this test. I actually ran one on a Vectra 1.9 cdti years ago, it was a twin channel jobby. It did make a difference, maybe not the claims BUT I got it for £50 off eBay so it seemed ok at that time. I watch a guy called “Torque cars” he has said he runs a TDI tuning box on his vehicle (I don’t know what he has) and he said he’s happy with it. But then 20 Hp extra you will feel a difference. I looked on their site and for my Beetle PD, they’re £199, they claim from 100 hp to 130, knowing most folk don’t, and won’t bother dyno testing after installing they’ve got their customers right there. I must thank you guys for giving me advice on a new inlet manifold I emailed you about, last weekend I replaced my ATD inlet with a PD 130/150 one and a race pipe egr delete, on my driveway, I was lucky as I had no seized nuts or bolts, but being a beetle it was a bint of a job😂. I have the eml on but it seems to run ok. I’m definitely getting a decent remap from you guys asap (wife permitting when 😂) All the best, Dan Edit… My car does seem to run a lot smoother and feel a bit torqeyer, am I just imagining it ?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Some people are happy paying a little and gaining a little, not knowing that they can get more, as they already think they have the inflated numbers quoted. No problem on the rest too, some of it might be placebo but it should help too 😉

[@Dan23_7]

@@DarksideDevelopments I’ll deffo be in touch about a remap guys 👍🏼 Cambelt etc has all been done recently. It’s only done 113k on a 2003 bug I just need to sweet talk someone first 😂 She’s not a car person 😂

[@luciusael]

I'm Canadian so I had great trouble understanding you with the accent. But I do appreciate your advice, sir. I may not, after all, get the racechip that I was considering.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

haha, the desired effect was achieved!

[@Tallandcharming]

I respect everyone’s individual opinion and that’s fine but I’m onto my 2nd Racechip box now, first one was on my BMW 428i after a failed custom tune where they wiped my ECU (cost them thousands to fix and 3 weeks off the road), my 2nd Racechip box is now in my VW Arteon which was 280HP standard and Racechip claim it’s now 335HP. In my personal experience the Racechip Box has been excellent in both cars, no faults and a noticeable power gain. I’ve not done a test of the claimed hp but I’m happy with it. I bought the Chip owing to wanting to keep my warranty but I’m now considering an APR tune after seeing this video. By the way my Arteon does 0-60mph in about 4.5 ish seconds with the RaceChip, I’ve also got the seperate controller to adjust the tune and control via the App.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

If you dont care about being lied to by the sellers, they are better than nothing for sure!

[@john.connor1]

I'm concidering getting a racechip, is it true that the power comes in gradually up to 500 miles? Is driving in all modes until then important?

[@audilad9]

Great video Ryan, been wanting to see the proof of this for years.

[@sinicalbob4585]

Great video darkside, purely factual and not particularly slating the piggyback systems but presenting the results and giving the oem's a chance to explain why they didn't achieve the claims. A level of honesty not seen often enough when it comes to tuning, well done 👍

[@DarksideDevelopments]

If they were better the video would still be valid and I would have a listing on my site!

[@sinicalbob4585]

@@DarksideDevelopments absolutely mate, if they were that good everyone would be selling them lol! Anyone can make a diesel make more power but it takes a lot of hard work and experience to make a vehicle more powerful with good drive ability and road manners as you guys know yourself. Big fan of the channel keep up the great work 👍

[@TarmanYoloSwag]

I've developed a "Chip" for my own car (Mazda 2.2D skyactive). Attenuates boost and rail pressure signals based on cam speed. BT Android app to edit the tables in real time. I didn't care for sourcing connectors and just hardwired it in. BOM cost is around £20 without connectors, It's insane that these sell for >£300.

[@NiallJones1986]

Really good to see, shows you exactly who you can trust. Proves too many tuners will just stick a map on and hope for the best, where your completing dyno runs 👌 and proving the work

[@NiallJones1986]

Darkside hope you don't mind me asking, do you have a preference on diesel engines ? For example Mercedes, Bmw or Audi v6 diesels ? Looking at a few personally, always had vag but i know the Bmw 6 cylinder is fantastic, probably looking at moderate tuning based on what you have reccomended in your videos 👌 cheers dude much appreciated

[@OLDSKOOLRAVER1]

HONESTY at last .You have saved so many people money .CHEERS .

[@atomeromu]

This video says everything what need to know. Great job! Just a quick suggestion for next video idea. I would like to see a comparison between a custom map what you do and a remap which done by uploading a already tuned map for example made by Alientech. As you know they make the same map to the car which has done only 45k and 200k as well as long as it has a same software. I guess many people will be interested in seeing this. Keep up a good work guys!

[@BMXHS]

On my gtd the dtuk did add power most defiantly, ruined thhe drivability especially with the dsg box, it also did nothing but put it in limp mode on warm days dont know why 🤷‍♂️ took off anyway

[@davidbillyard6629]

defiantly, or maybe definitely..

[@goodough]

It’s a known thing in the diesel truck world that the “can tunes” that come on your programmer are just there…..you always get a custom tune specific to your ride and load it on your programmer easy peasy……

[@Salad_Dodger77]

This was extremely good to watch. Totally proved how these companies are willing to mug people off.

[@jonasDoguedeBordeaux]

i bought a 2nd hand tdi tuning box and it works well. on the highest setting it sends loads of power to wheel spin in third while accelerating.I had to lower the setting my experience with remap and tuning box's similar results buy a 2nd hand tuning box for 50 quid try it quids in

[@LJC944]

@@jonasDoguedeBordeaux I’ve got one on a c1 1.4 hdi £80 brand new from Italy been good far so far 1 year just watch the cold starts and that’s about it. Smoked a 1 series the other day that’ll do me in a c1😂

[@kingflash2009]

This is the video I've been waiting for 🙌😩

[@_lawsy4057]

I had a DTUK FSR + box on my MK3 octavia VRS and this caused two of my injectors to pop and high pressure fuel pump to break. A nice £1500 bill followed. Never get a tuning box for your car, I have a proper stage 1 remap now and trust me you will never look back 👍

[@brendansteen4360]

I also had a dtuk box on my 2.0 tdi passat. Did two injectors and HP pump also!

[@skippysmith7526]

Very interesting I think this will finally put the tuning box v remap debate to bed.

[@anthonymillar6183]

This video has made me reconsider getting a tuning box Thanks guys 👍

[@gragumilo]

Installed a Racechip on my 2013 JCW, dyno showed a 3 hp DECREASE in power over stock! Sold it online and got a custom Manic Stage 2 tune. Best decision ever, car is a beast now, dyno shows 270 whp.

[@kennywright8537]

I had a dtuk box on my Fabia vrs around 10 years ago, just used to go into limp mode if you pushed the car hard.

[@kyleb5518]

Kenny 130pd that’s what my old crafter did they reckoned it went up to 200bhp, I ragged it with a trailer on the back and the fucker went in to limp mode on the motorway, fairly new van aswell that

[@Splitscreen83]

You mention the benefits of the custom remap and the typical customer of the tuning box being a lease, PCP car driver. Isn't the whole point of using the tuning box due to the fact that the custom map is seen straight away on a service and subsequently deleted during their mandatory ecu updates etc. Great video by the way 👍

[@DarksideDevelopments]

But a tuning box once removed will still leave fault codes in many instances

[@Maga28DS]

Excellent video and explanation. good job! congrats, keep up the sharing of some tips and knowledge

[@magoo47]

Great Video and totally agree always a custom tune over any piggyback. However when your car can't be tuned (2020 Bmw M340i - locked DME), these boxes are your only option

[@DarksideDevelopments]

They will be unlocked within a few months!

[@Trevski220]

Do you run a piggyback on your M340i? As these are still not tuneable without sending away the DME to Russia I’m considering a piggyback so would welcome any input you may have?

[@andrewandlm]

Genuinely sat on the fence on whether I should go for a remap or bolt on for my x1 125d. No question about it you guys rock, I'll be def remapping now. Gained a subscriber aswel. 👍

[@tmxSTi]

Good explanation loving the lab coat!! Least you guys know what your on about unlike a certain other doctor of BMWs

[@Crap5hite]

Great video Thanks! I have had bad experiences of Tuning boxes in the past, I guess they haven't got any better :(

[@FLASHAHOLIC_TV]

Do you need a remap for new tail pipes?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Certainly

[@jamie-hb8gy]

Tuning box costs more and doesn't do anything : )

[@tonyw2960]

Just wish the gr yaris ecu was unlocked for track use only of course 😆

[@Shaggy12321]

Very interesting video, I've got a chip from TDI-Tuning and love it, I've got a Mercedes A200 W177 and stock its 163bhp, with the chip its claimed 201bhp and I believe it. The thing absolutely flys like mad with it in, in fact I drove it the other day with it turned off (and I forgot it was off), and when my engine warmed up I was wondering why it felt so slow? it took me 10 minutes to remember I turned the chip off, so pulled over by the road, turned it on, and boom! flying again. Big big differences in 2nd to 4th gear with the pull, plus my MPG has gone up a lot.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Dyno and come back. We never said they don't do something.