Technical blue spark tuning box on a 3l 160

[shotgun]

anyone fitted a blue spark tuning box
if so are they any good and do you get better mpg

 

[The Seasider]

Cant honestly say I've ever had/used one on my Cit Relay / Ducato Motorhome but then again I'm getting the high 30's MPG & just "Trundle about" sight-seeing & getting to where we're going "Eventually"
Mate of mine has one on his Iveco 35-15 (he runs a "Franchised" delivery Co) & his thoughts are "They are the "Bees Knees" fer "Ecking the last drops of fuel / MPG out of his vehicle" ....

Have you read the "responses" on their Forum ???? they seem pretty positive

http://www.bluesparkautomotive.com/

Keith

 

[shotgun]

I have a 3liter 160 57 reg its a twin axle motorhome and I get around 21 mpg on the trip but when I tow a car some times goes to around 18 mpg

 

[rolopolo]

I had a box on my old 120 57 plate, all it did was boost fuel rail pressure, and trick the computer in thinking it was 3-4 avg mpg better. Once I removed it, mpg figures went down 3-4 mpg, yet fuel usage was the same as with it fitted!

Based on doing same 95% motorway delivery run 5 nights a week.

I would recommend a remap any day, why... Because a proper remap company, super hips did my 3.0 180 in 2012 at their Buckingham head office, spent a day on it as it was the first 180 they'd seen, no base figures so they went to town on her,

A good Remap caters for your van, not an average 3.0 160 (in your case)
Taking all parameters like, temp's, speed, air flow, throttle position, revs, etc etc and they can set power/torque correct for your and vans needs, as opposed a box that only boosts fuel rail pressure,

 

[shotgun]

a box is £80 whats the price of the remap

 

[rolopolo]

What's the price of a blown clutch, fuel pressure regulator, injectors..... All what you put at risk with a box, and the fact it could actually give you no benefit! You spend your £80, I'm sure they are that price for a reason.

As for remapping cost, go on superchips website, mine was free due to it being the first euro 5 180 they had seen, if you put in a 2012 180 3.0 the results are my van.

You asked for an opinion, in years of running vans doing 100,000 miles a year as a courier, my views are based on fact, on what benefit you do or do not see over time. If £80 boxes really worked, everyone would have them and tuning firms would be out of business,
Just saying

 

[shotgun]

ok cool it mate I only asked the price

 

[rolopolo]

Sorry, apologies. the way you wrote your comment, I read as kind of having a go at remap costs (for perceived same results as the box)
Re maps are more, but definitely worth the little extra for peace of mind,

 

[shotgun]

the thing is I only do 2000 mile a year so don't want to spend lots but better mpg would be good

 

[rolopolo]

I would ask the question with a couple of tuners, drop them an email, superchips have local guys dotted around the country, I used they're head office, quite a setup they have, alternative there are loads of tuners again located all over UK who use quantum tuning, (my last van I used a chap based in caterham South London) he hooks up his laptop, reads the ecu, sends it to quantum and they send a remapped file back and he uploads it, preferred superchips service though as they spent a day on mine to do a thorough read of the on board systems and to write the new map,

Drop them an email asking what your looking for with details of your motor home, pretty sure they will answer all your questions and the pros and cons of remapping v tuning box

 

[andydiver]

Hi. We have a camper we use as a second car, about 5000 miles a year. Not nearly enough to mess about with the engine. Based on 2000 a year, 20 mpg before mods, 1.20 a litre, you pay £550 a year on fuel. Improve that by 10% and you save £50. Be better to spend the mod.money on something else in my opinion.

 

[ecunotemu]

Improve that by 10% and you save £50. Be better to spend the mod.money on something else in my opinion.

What he said then bear in mind, Clutch + flywheel = £1400 or 28 years of savings :idea:

 

[Deefordog]

We too have a 2008 MH with the Euro IV 160 engine. Apart from the change from Euro IV to Euro V with the 180, how did Fiat achieve the extra 20 bhp? Obviously, the 160 lump and drivetrain will take an extra 20 bhp as Fiat have shown.

Did they alter the software or was there more to it? We had our 160 remapped 12 months ago by Quantum (c.£300) and over 3000 miles at nearly 5000kg weight, the average mpg is 23-24. Hit a best of 29.2 and a low of 19.8 and all figures are by brimming the tank.

Only drove the MH once before the remap and thought it was quick from the onset - turns out the previous owner had fitted a tuning box. We could have either kept the box or binned it and return to a "standard" set up but in the end opted for the remap.

One thing these Euro IV 3.0 engines seem to suffer from, especially on MHs, is a slight puff of black smoke when going up through the gears or getting back on the gas. Seems a lot of MH owners change gear at around 2k rpm but now we've learnt to let the turbo spool up a bit more, we change gear at 3k and no more black smoke. Suffice to say that even when we had the box and now the remap, changing at 2k gives a smoke puff. Quantum spent many hours trying to iron this out but couldn't get anywhere. Ideally, as many will know, we should have had the remap done on a rolling road/dynamometer but no one we approached could fit our MH in their workshop at 8.6m long and 3.2m high.

Edit - we also had the EGR mapped out to try and help the mpg. No problem with the MOT in December 2014 and the emissions were well within the test parameters.

 

[Pasty007]

As Rolopolo says a remap is good, However I use a Chip Express tuning box which is mapped for my vehicle (2014 ducato 180 Euro 5.) The reason for this is that the vehicle was new (Now 1 year old) and the equipment can be unplugged when the van goes in for Service. If Fiat sees that it has had a remap it would invalidate the warranty. I always get between 38 to 44mpg. It will save me a lot in fuel costs as I do over 30000 miles a year. I only keep my vans for a max of 3 years and then get new as I do a lot of trips to France, Belgium, Holland & Germany.

 

[rolopolo]

As far as I'm aware, it's mostly the whole induction & emissions systems only that differ between Euro 4 & 5

Turbos are now variable Vein units (same with 2.3 130 & 150 engines 150 bring variable) also injectors, EGR valves now being electric and probably a few other bits n bobs,

So yes the 160 will take the extra bhp, the torque is more important and knowing how much the box or remap gives as clutches etc will tolerate a max, which a good tuner should know, and will tune your vehicle to within the tolerances,
Some good points made, and it's all down to personal preference and usage, value for money. I preferred to invest in the better option as my van is my income and I certainly do the mileage to get the value. And after having a box that made no difference other than tricking the computer it was a no brainer for me,

 

[UFI]

Do Ducatos have an ECU torque limit in 1st-2nd?