No mention of invalidation of insurance. In an accident most loss adjusters check under the bonnet and/or use the OBD port to check for remaps. I have had my Fabia diesel remapped with terrific results, MPG has stayed the same and driveabillity is much better. I told my insurance and they charged me about 10% extra. A small price to pay for much improved car and piece of mind.

In the Rover/ZT Forum, ‘Marina Brian’ in Newcastle was the ‘go to guy’ for remapping, upping power from 116 to 160hp with increased fuel economy.

The "system" is just spoofing sensor values, making the standard map supply a bit more of everything.

Ah, so glad that you’ve been to Pitstop in Brize Norton. Ralph Saunders is an absolute living legend. Proper original old school expertise that cannot ever be replaced. Jack, you should do a video on Ralph!

Interesting stuff Jack, I've had many cars mapped over the years..... Last one I had mapped before buying a hybrid was a Peugeot 308 2.0 hdi 180bhp... It was mapped north of 230 bhp and it pulled really nicely also did 60k miles without complaining! Excellent stuff as always buddy 👌

Ive been happy with a RaceChip unit on my N47 Mini for 3 years. Runs better all round, advantages over remap : removable, reversible - say if car is under warranty, risk of claim denied, dealer can’t flash over at service, move to another car with 1 free reprogram. LV insurance didn’t alter policy fee after disclosure. Think a remap might give me 5-10pc more, but there are amateurs with a laptop and a cheap set of discs and codes out there who can damage the ECU. Maybe some of them are objecting to chip boxes on here?

Be nice to see a proper live mapping session and see how a proper bespoke map compares .

These tunning boxes just alter the fuel rail pressure. They dont alter the boost pressure. You'd be better off having a rolling road tuning session. But for the money they are a good bang for buck. 😊

Loving this series on the Rover. Interesting stuff and, more so, watching Jack waft along comfortably makes me realise that this is a real car for grown ups. Which is no bad thing. Growing to love it more and more.

Like the KEF speakers , GOOD CHOICE .

Inside these fancy shiny boxes, usually there is nothing more than a resistor (costing pence from any electronics supplier). It is this resistor which fools the ECU into a false reading. The spec of this resistor is critically important to whether the system is safe.

Jack you bought a Rover 75 very nice wood and leather luxury and fitting a tuning box and to be happy with it a win

No they don’t work. They just increase full rail pressure and nothing else.not good for the cars health,you’ll start melting pistons.. You’re better having a proper remap.

Great video - thx 😊 - but the box only raises the rail pressure which from my experience is ok up to 15-20 % extra until the ecu goes into limp mode due to too high pressure. A chip in the box (real chiptuning) will take you much higher than the + 10 in power and torque - i have seen 160-170 bhp on this engine and 40-50 ftpounds - maybe you can try that and do one more video? 😊

Would love to see the economy results for the bluespark. Good idea for a video 😎👍💪

Interesting, I’ve always been hugely sceptical of box type solutions, rather than specific remapping, but it looks like you’ve got some decent gains from this with little in the way of downsides. Great video Jack!

Another good video Jack. Given the viewer numbers etc you might want to mention the need to declare it to your insurance company as they will refuse to pay if involved in a claim and a tuning box is found (they know what they are looking for!). I’ve had good experiences with these but just to keep people legal would be great, as many will see it as not necessary

Great car and good boost module - I had a similar box and it transformed a sedate estate to a quicker and more enjoyable ride. Keep the car!

I've had a Bluespark unit on my van for around 8 years with no issues and works well. It immediately removed the asthmatic performance even though I never altered the original settings. Well worth it if you ask me, it's just nicer and more flexible to drive. 👍

I've got one of these from Tiger tuning on my Freelander 2. I had one one my 2006 Volvo S60 D5 from the same place as it was about £60, but the transformation is incredible. This sort of thing used to be really expensive, but now they're peanuts and amazing. Recommended them to a colleague who bought one for his BMW 320d, somehow it passed it's MOT with it fitted!

Still have my tuning box off my old Rover 75. it made a hell of a different. a guy in Scotland made them. he was an electrical engineer , so knew what he was doing. the units called SYNERGY. there still going now.

I had their 'Pro + Boost' module on my Mk2 Fabia Montecarlo 1.6tdi for my 6 years of ownership. Never had any issues and made a noticeable increase in power. Installation was easy, siting the module was the tricky bit. I would defo recommend Bluespark.

Hi Jack. Thanks for a fascinating video as always. These sort of boxes, and remapping generally, puzzle me, as a cynical old northerner. If it is that easy to get more power AND better economy from an engine for so little expense, why doesn't the manufacturer do it in the first place? Is there a downside (there surely must be?) and if so, what is it? Would be interested to hear what you and everyone else thinks. Thanks for some great videos; I always enjoy them. Bests, Tim

I found out my old ZT cdti had been superchipped from 116 to 150bhp after I bought it. Had a fair bit of shove for what it was.

try a proper chip tuning company no piggy back device required. my e91 bmw 330d went from 231bhp/500nm to 275bhp/600nm for £300. Made a HUGE difference…

Good vid. With a topic like this you are gonna get negative comments and positive. Its all part of the conversation, and these comments are all very interesting to read.

I'm guessing this is similar to the tuning box I put on a Mercedes ML I had a few years ago. I did adjust it slightly, there was a screw to do this and it did seem to make it feel a bit quicker without hurting fuel economy. The downside was it made it smoke under acceleration more, and I can't help wondering if it caused injectors to start leaking.I understand it works by increasing fuel injector pressure by adjusting the output from some sensors, so I guess this is plausible.

I had a Rover 75 estate which I had chipped, took it from 113 to 145 bhp and made a hell of a difference. Beware the mass flow sensor...

Installed a Synergy 2 (Rover Ron) some years ago and it the car was again fun to drive. The install did include a new MAF sensor which will have some impact as well.

Bluespark do good value boxs. Definitely noticeable difference 👍🏻

I’m generally sceptical about this sort of budget tuning but as you’ve proved it can work. I think the key is finding the sweet spot and preserving ‘drive ability’ as you managed.

For the wider market engines such as yours have quite a pessimistic map to cater for variable fuel quality and maximise drivetrain life. The power and economy improvement with these generally comes from a map that can take advantage of more favourable assumptions. Mechanical stress may be increased but that's a balance for the customer to accept. The caveat is that if you don't tell your insurance company and have an accident you will usually find you have no cover, even if you're just using it for better economy.

I have a SYnergy 2 tuning box from Rover Ron if anyones interested, you can do more or less economy, more or less power and it compensates for a degraded MAF - which is its biggest plus point in my book.

I have done a flash retune of my 2015 Subaru BRZ with similar results. From the factory, both of the Toyobaru twins lose about 20 ft-lb of torque between 3300 and 4700 rpm; right where you're most likely find your tach needle sitting during daily driving. They have high revving engines, so dropping down two gears puts you back into torque and power when you need it. But it's when you're in first gear and there's no gear to downshift to, that the lack of torque becomes annoying. The flash tune really eliminated the lack of torque in those rpm ranges and fattened up the entire rev range from idle to 7300 rpm. Gas mileage hasn't suffered.

I had a box by DTUK on my Audi Q3 2.0 TDi DSG Quattro (184ps) which I fitted about 6 months after buying the car new. Before the box was fitted, I was averaging 38mpg, with the box fitted it never dropped below 45mpg and typically added 150 miles to each tank of fuel (so overall almost a 25% increase in efficiency). When I'd take it to the dealer I'd remove the box to avoid any warranty conversations and it just felt awful without the box the fitted and economy dropped straight back down to ~38mpg again..... The only downside was the gearbox was less refined with the box fitted, although I could have fitted their transmission box as well which would have sorted that too.

A great video Jack, without being the merchant of doom and gloom this is the type of content I'm missing now that you've gone the way of car reviews, whilst it's always interesting to see other cars (I own 11 including some really disparate stuff e.g. a 924 Turbo, Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo and a Fiat Stilo Schumacher) seeing today's video makes me realise how much I miss your earlier stuff with the various peaks and troughs of car ownership. I know you have to make your stuff commercial but why not do more stuff on this Rover interspersed with the various test drives?!

I had the cheaper blue spark on my MG ZT-T auto, deleted the egr valve too, that impressed I have one on my Honda Accord CDTi now, great product

Cannot say I'm a great fan of the 75 but am really enoying this series of videos. More please Jack!

Great results, Jack! It seems that you're having some happy motoring with the Rover (which is a keeper and you should do more videos on it, btw). I know it's hard to get similar results for n/a petrol engines but I had hopes that Bluespark had something for the V6 75s...

I'd bet good money that the bag is NOT intended for mounting in the engine compartment. First of all, the drawstring design allows for coming open unless you tie it shut with a decent knot (a much better design with some other form of closer would have been used if this is what it was for). Second, it makes the tie-wrap's grip on the unit less secure- it could slide right out of the bag of you don't use that good knot I mentioned. Third, it can absorb moisture and crud. Fourth, it defeats the purpose of putting any cooling capability into the finned design of the unit's aluminium box. No, I think the bag is just for carrying the thing around when it's not mounted to the car. On to the performance. The results aren't really surprising considering the extent to which most modern engines are undertuned for so many reasons. There's almost always more performance to be wrung-out of them. I of course wonder what effect this unit has on the long-term reliability and lifespan of the engine, but the improvements, at least there in the middle setting, are modest-enough to not worry too much. Looking forward to the updates!

It would have been nice if you did a 0 to 60 before and after.

I think I paid about £180 for my Alfa GT Blackline (1.9 turbo diesel) and it took it from 140bhp to just under 190bhp. Made a hell of a difference to the cars performance. Only trouble was the clutch slipped in top gear on the motorway when you went to overtake. I changed the clutch and it is better but I have notice it slip a bit as well in top gear.

It seems a pretty quick and effortless way to get a bit more oomph out of what was never exactly a quick engine. Like other comments below, I had my 163 PS V70 'mapped' to just over 200 (the same unit puts out 215 in later models, so the internals are well up to it) by a chap with a laptop. £275 later I was trying to feel if this power increase was actually there (no rolling road for me). It took a while to realise that indeed yes, it was! On an engine with as much turbo lag as the D5, the power and torque increase is subtle but actually really useful, the engine pulls from almost tickover, and in virtually any gear, and 0-60 in under 8 seconds + 140 mph top speed - don't ask - is what the later 215 PS V70s get, and now so do I. Not that you'd want to keep flooring a 16 year old V70, even with its lowly 157K on the clock. But a really useful video for those of us who are endlessly fascinated by internal combustion (-;)~

Its nice toget some feedback that some of these things actually work. Historically, a lot of these boxes were rumoured to just be tricking the ecu as to how much air was present, and it would then just add fuel. Looks like a worthwhile piece of kit this. Nice one

I have used a number of Blue Spark diesel tuning boxes to good effect on different cars. Never had any engine issues as a result either.

Thanks for the video. I had a Bluespark box for a couple of years. It was nice to see proven what I already know. They work! the lads at Bluespark very helpful and happy to advise. If / when I change my car (Mitsi L200) I'll be getting it retuned to go on my next car (but, not in the near future) I love my car

Left of the gear selector is a switch you can put it into sports mode try that also to see how the gearbox changes

I would recommend the RoverRon synergy 2 tuning box

Not exactly difficult to get more power out of a turbo engine, just turn the boost up enough that the customer notices but not so much the engine explodes, confirmation bias will ensure they also think they are getting better mpg.

Oh look at you, Jack !!! Cures a sick Ferrari, now an Automotive Technician 😊

There is a proper remap for the diesel 75 the 160hp remap. So maybe worth trying that and comparing that with the box

Rover tried many different tunes on the M47 - 136 was where it stopped as the emissions of particulates were too high to go further. I tried a few and they were quick but smoked like a chimney. So - not sure always a great trade.

I used to have a TDI Tuning box on my last diesel car and found it was more responsive to drive everyday driving, although I didn't find I got more MPG but certainly more enjoyable to drive.

Very interesting to see this test on a tuning box

On diesel cars with DPF, these things cause issues with them clogging up. I had one of these on a 2002 Golf GTDi 130 and it was fantastic, but on a 2005 Seat 150 TDi I did get issues with over-fueling, occasional engine light and lack smoke out the back. I then had one on a new at the time 2013 BMW 330D, and had issues with it going into limp mode and then at 4 years old the DPF needed to be replaced due to it being clogged. I took off the box and I still have the car and have had no issues since. I also put one on a 2003 Navara which worked well with no issues. Then on a 2020 Navara I had DPF issues and oil dilution twice in 7000 miles, again probably due to over fueling from the box. I would not recommend them and a proper remap is the way to go.

I ponder that having the CPU chip unit in a bag may not do well for the CPU cases head blades. Love your channel!

What's the trade-off? Where does the power come from? Presumably it tricks the ECU into supplying more/less fuel. Maybe it's now slightly less safe if using poor quality fuel.

I thought the car looked familiar; I was watching it on eBay and it sold today. I would have been interested if it wasn't an automatic!

I had my ‘12 Panda chipped back then. Still enjoying it. The real reason was torque in the city, that awkward no man’s land between 2nd and 3rd is a distant memory. But the numbers equal an early ‘80’s GTI, and that never gets old on a rural stretch. The guy that did it, a true Saturday Night Special nerd at Savali’s successor, was revered by the mechanics in the shop. And by me. He figured it out all by himself, gave me a software update and an undeserved discount. I would’ve hugged him every day of my life if he’d let me. Unsung hero. Chipping is alright in my book. Edit: hang on, you’re about to physically exchange a chip there. Mine was just connected to a laptop and magicked onscreen. By hand, cursor and craft.

I had a Racechip basic module on my Mercedes A200d 2.2d. All they do is increase the fuel pressure on the common rail, which in turn means more fuel and more power. Mine made an additional 32bhp and 50nm. Which for £110 at the time was not bad. My car averaged 68mpg for the 105,000 miles i had it.

Thank you for the informative and great content as always Jack Sir! ✌👍

Great vid Jack we always. Impressed

This was a great vid Jack, lets see how much better you can make the 75 run????

Nice Wheels , Im particular about wheels ( not uncommon ) and generally dislike or hate wheels that are styled with warped shapes and kind of geometric patterns or overly fancy ( many VW wheels , Hyundai and others m they usually look like somebody tok a chance or was being artsy or thematically bold and its like a tattoo on a nice looking or women that just distracts from the natural pleasing look and like classicly styled wheels ( which is like jewelry that isnt over the top ) and these are like a 6 spoke of a style I like that is understated but performance or function follows form type ( I like the very almost bland 90s ZR1 Corvette style stock wheel for instance which is on a car of debateable design for many but the wheels help compared to the standard wheels which are actually higher concept design , NON CHROME OF COURSE) and with this being a luxury sportish sedan the etra bit of style with the other thinner rounded 12 spokes melds that VERY NICELY to my taste and looks UNIQUE without trying overly hard, stock or custom they fit this cars aesthetic and purpose spot on IMO even smallish compared to todays wheels . Its very easy for me to get distracted by wheels that dont work for me and this BLEND is very nice,

Would have also been interesting to see the actual difference in economy (good to see that'll be in an upcoming video), but good that you car's got a nice pep up in performance :). I would be somewhat concerned though that this box intercepting the rail pressure sensor is simply jacking up the fuel pressure. Can the injection pump handle that in the long run?

I fitted a smiliar product to my 75 and the clutch couldn't handle it. It certainly raised the power but the car would need lots of other mods to be usable.

Hi Jack ,, All that's in this box is a Resister nothing more , so many make these

Having a real experienced chip tuner do the job properly would have made at least 30hp+ and 80Nm+

I drive a 27 year old Mazda Bongo with a Ford Ranger diesel engine and I'm guessing I couldn't use this device with that kind of archaic technology. But what always puzzles me is that if it is such a beneficial modification then why did the car maker not apply it to the car from new. Very interesting video and thanks - I would be interested to get before and after figures for MPG if that were practical to do. P.S. I like the Rover 75 and think its a bit of classic style in its own way - I was never happy with the way Honda were treated considering that it seemed it was their intervention that had turned the Rover brand around and got them alongside BMW in (reliability/quality/styling) appeal back in the 1990s (I think it was? Rover 600?). I've often wondered if BMWs main interest was in subsuming a brand that might have been holding back UK sales of BMW in the 'Rover 600' market.

Now i'm wondering if i should tune my lazy 318 dA.

Testing the Rover I see you use the same roads as Harry .

To be honest these seem really poor gains. I had a Volvo s60 d5 that gained over 40bhp from a tuning box and the difference was really noticeable. My E class has been remapped and I gained 70+bhp on standard diesel and over 100lbft allbeit from a larger detuned 3.0V6. Good video though as always.

I put a cheap one of these on my 335d E92 and they stated the box needed to "tune in" to the car, around 100 miles. Not sure if yours will be the same. I never faffed with the variable setting (a screw) on mine, though it did improve the MPG from 23 to 27 approx. Did not notice a vast difference though the traction control does kick in a bit more frequently!

I took mine off my Mercedes sprinter as the MPG dropped. and yes same sort of driving.

Shame you didn’t show the process of installing it for people who haven’t a clue…like me! Interesting vid though👍

Used pit stop many times great guys.

Aren’t most ecus learning ECUs these days to help them adjust to variables. Iv always wondered if they could learn their way back to standard with chips or remaps.

I didunt be realise the Veee-Hikull M47 is a tiny 2 Liteŕ, 4 Cilindéř

Jack, cool car, but you know it will never be on the cool wall...its a diesel Keep up your wonderful work, love ya man

Very interesting but im like Ralph at 61 and 45 years on the spanners im sceptical and I've been a technician for Ford to Maserati and believe more in proper re engineering than fooling the computer. Lets see how she goes long term.

Very good…. Great real world test.

What do insurance companies think of the box I wonder 🤔

I mentioned this on the first video.

There's something about Italians and Rover 75s. I did a little scoot through Lazio and Campania 20 years ago and they were everywhere. It made me laugh because all I wanted then was an Alfa 156. Some Symmetry!?

My Rover 75 V6 Saloon has Just reached 300300 km

Could have got a proper remap from super chip with mobile installation for 239 which gives more power and torque than what you had

Are you aware that Bluespark have tune setting inside. I had a Punto JTD, I put on the max setting of 141bhp/237lb/ft from 83bhp/144lb/ft it doesn't effect my engine for many years.

Nice straightforward session, Jack - thanks. Are you sure it’s supposed to be mounted in the cloth bag? Seems odd to me stuffing material like that under the hood…er bonnet I mean.

I have a PowerCommander, and a TRE {timing retard eliminator} on my motorbike, having had a remap to suit a freer flowing air filter and exhaust cans. Got a fuel economy boost of about 6 MPG, albeit the engine does run a few degrees hotter. No white deposits on the plugs though, so it's all fine. A mate's mk2 Toyota MR2 showed much the same results after he got that remapped. Both of us had dyno work done. Reliance on website maps for similar setups are never as good, most likely erring on the side of richness, to avoid a meltdown ! Keep a close eye on things Jack. The same pal of mine had some plug in box or other on his Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 crdi diesel and it ate its turbo.

If the aluminium fins are for heat rejection, the module should not be covered by the pouch, in service.

Like the pretend cutting the box seal 😅

Don’t forget to tell your insurer. Most don’t like these things I believe.

So it’s a fuel economy map that doesn’t turn up boost and therefore actually saves fuel instead of use more?

I would concerned about emissions testing. I could see something like this leading to possibly a failure, if not an outright fine.

Just a thought, there's really no point in a milled aluminium casing if you then put it in a bag which will impede the cooling of the unit. Just sayin'.

Interesting. I've always been afraid of aftermarket chips.

Do you have to tell your insurance company jack

All it does it ramp the fuel line pressure, looks like a RoverRon in a new box........yes it will work, but a remap is better. Killed my TD4 injectors as they were not 100% , tweaking up the power saw it run rough as crap, they couldn't handle the extra fuel pressure. Rover 75 / MG ZT has the same BMW E46 320d derived M47R engine iirc.

If course power can mean mean economy because the engine doesn't have to work so hard. I had a 50cc scooter and at 45 mph it was being screwed and drank fuel for what it was. Only drawback is with more and power the ability to use it, the tenpation comes to floor it....Especially in a petrol, it's human nature.

Go for it, more pawah we need to know 😊