John_K
Member
Hi,
After getting mentions elsewhere on this board, I decided to bite the bullet and throw some money at Angel Tuning to get my 2.0JTD Ulysse remapped.
I'd previously set aside some cash to get a tow-bar fitted to the car, but as my dealer did this for free (as a result of my order getting massively delayed last year), the money set aside was burning a hole, and this seemed like a good way to use some of it.
For tax reasons (my car is a company car and I have a funded company fuel card also, and do a lot of private mileage), I chose the lowest of the low engine-wise on my Ulysse, and although initial performance of the 2.0JTD isn't particularly bad, it does lack some 'get up and go', particularly at motorway cruising speeds. It's also a bit sluggish to respond in city traffic.
So, given that Angel Tuning offer a 7-day no quibble money-back guarantee, I decided to give them a go.
After some re-scheduling of the work (the guy who does it got hit by chicken-pox at the time we were to have done this), I finally popped in to see them yesterday.
They do other cars also, and as I arrived, they were just finishing off on an Alfa 2.4 litre saloon. I had a sit in the back as they took this for a post-upgrade test, and it was like being in a race-car (I went very green, and not just because I was jealous!).
Anyway - they took a reading from my car (takes 5-10 minutes max), sent it off to the people who do the analysis and ECU remap programming, and within a few minutes we had back a 'standard' upgrade map to put on my car (total about 20 minutes).
We then took it for a test-drive. At this stage, they kept quiet about exactly what had been done, as they wanted to see what I thought first (I was the first 2.0JTD Ulysse that they had done)!
My humble 2.0 Ulysse had been transformed. It had power to pull away quickly on demand at all 'legal' speeds. Initial impressions were it was like a different car.
I drove it home (about 70 miles), and had a little fun testing it out with some motorway driving and also some non-motorway driving, however it was the tale-end of the evening rush-hour, so apart from noting that the car was now a lot more responsive, I really didn't have much of a chance to form an initial view. Having said that, at one point, I was driving along a dual-carriageway, slightly up-hill, away from a set of lights; in front of me was someone in a little Lotus Elise. He was showing off and roared away from the lights. I floored the Ulysse and he was unable to leave me behind! He gave up after about a mile!
Today was the first real test with the new map - I had a trip from Dudley to Central London and back - motorway and city driving. The journey started early (too early), but meant that the roads were clear! I decided to risk it and try a top-speed test! I was able to get an extra 15mph over my previous best (I won't say more about that just in case), and more importantly, at 80-90, there was still a reasonable level of acceleration when needed (whereas previously it would have been slow to pick up any further speed).
As for town/city driving, having that extra power on tap immediately when needed (rather than waiting for the car to get going a bit) made reacting so sudden changes in the traffic so much easier.
Also, I noticed no notable change in fuel economy for the journey (one I make a lot)!
In a nutshell, I'm impressed. My 2.0JTD now behaves much more like a 2.4!
I asked them what they did do, and they basically took the 2.0JTD (rated at 109bhp) up to about 140bhp, although there is potential for more out of this engine.
As a company, Angel Tuning are small, but have some impressive credentials and technical backing, and they know what they are doing. They also seem genuinely interested in the results of their work, and as for their approach to customer service, I can't fault them!
Watch this space for an update as I put the car through its paces over the next week!
John
After getting mentions elsewhere on this board, I decided to bite the bullet and throw some money at Angel Tuning to get my 2.0JTD Ulysse remapped.
I'd previously set aside some cash to get a tow-bar fitted to the car, but as my dealer did this for free (as a result of my order getting massively delayed last year), the money set aside was burning a hole, and this seemed like a good way to use some of it.
For tax reasons (my car is a company car and I have a funded company fuel card also, and do a lot of private mileage), I chose the lowest of the low engine-wise on my Ulysse, and although initial performance of the 2.0JTD isn't particularly bad, it does lack some 'get up and go', particularly at motorway cruising speeds. It's also a bit sluggish to respond in city traffic.
So, given that Angel Tuning offer a 7-day no quibble money-back guarantee, I decided to give them a go.
After some re-scheduling of the work (the guy who does it got hit by chicken-pox at the time we were to have done this), I finally popped in to see them yesterday.
They do other cars also, and as I arrived, they were just finishing off on an Alfa 2.4 litre saloon. I had a sit in the back as they took this for a post-upgrade test, and it was like being in a race-car (I went very green, and not just because I was jealous!).
Anyway - they took a reading from my car (takes 5-10 minutes max), sent it off to the people who do the analysis and ECU remap programming, and within a few minutes we had back a 'standard' upgrade map to put on my car (total about 20 minutes).
We then took it for a test-drive. At this stage, they kept quiet about exactly what had been done, as they wanted to see what I thought first (I was the first 2.0JTD Ulysse that they had done)!
My humble 2.0 Ulysse had been transformed. It had power to pull away quickly on demand at all 'legal' speeds. Initial impressions were it was like a different car.
I drove it home (about 70 miles), and had a little fun testing it out with some motorway driving and also some non-motorway driving, however it was the tale-end of the evening rush-hour, so apart from noting that the car was now a lot more responsive, I really didn't have much of a chance to form an initial view. Having said that, at one point, I was driving along a dual-carriageway, slightly up-hill, away from a set of lights; in front of me was someone in a little Lotus Elise. He was showing off and roared away from the lights. I floored the Ulysse and he was unable to leave me behind! He gave up after about a mile!
Today was the first real test with the new map - I had a trip from Dudley to Central London and back - motorway and city driving. The journey started early (too early), but meant that the roads were clear! I decided to risk it and try a top-speed test! I was able to get an extra 15mph over my previous best (I won't say more about that just in case), and more importantly, at 80-90, there was still a reasonable level of acceleration when needed (whereas previously it would have been slow to pick up any further speed).
As for town/city driving, having that extra power on tap immediately when needed (rather than waiting for the car to get going a bit) made reacting so sudden changes in the traffic so much easier.
Also, I noticed no notable change in fuel economy for the journey (one I make a lot)!
In a nutshell, I'm impressed. My 2.0JTD now behaves much more like a 2.4!
I asked them what they did do, and they basically took the 2.0JTD (rated at 109bhp) up to about 140bhp, although there is potential for more out of this engine.
As a company, Angel Tuning are small, but have some impressive credentials and technical backing, and they know what they are doing. They also seem genuinely interested in the results of their work, and as for their approach to customer service, I can't fault them!
Watch this space for an update as I put the car through its paces over the next week!
John
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