Bluefin & other mods

Well after two years of having my td4 dynamic, think it's finally time to take the plunge and start modifying it, can't resist the urge any longer.

Plan over next six months:

As I am in Gibraltar the easiest way to tune engine would be tuning box, or remote tuning. Decided on superchips bluefin. Grew up in Buckingham so know the company and they have excellent reputation. Also adds 48bhp, and up to 89nm torque

Question is any decent alternatives I should consider budget is £3-400

Next suspension, I don't have AD, so going for KW coilovers, which can drop over 55mm, (this is a street cruiser) done the off road thing and ended up ripping the front bumper off, so next time will rent a disco.

To widen stance I will use eibach 20mm spacers all round, I have style 7s so sticking with these, do gave an urge for 22s, but style is so important so doesn't look over wheeled.

Will also do a few tweaks to colour coding like the revere model

[img][/img]

[img]=http://s1083.photobucket.com/user/GibGti/media/image_zps0dae3a0c.jpg.html][/URL][/img]

This seems to be a hot topic with JLR at the moment

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A number of major powertrain units received through the Warranty Returns process have been damaged by the
installation of unauthorized power upgrades to the Engine Management systems.
Changes to a vehicle's power characteristics have far-reaching consequences on many systems including the
entire driveline, braking system, emission control devices and in particular the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)
circuit.

The Engine Management System performs regular regeneration cycles to purge the DPF of particulate matter
and unauthorized upgrades can seriously affect these regeneration cycles leading to catastrophic failure of the
DPF.

Power upgrades are typically achieved either through the download of unauthorized and potentially illegal
calibration files into the Engine Control Modules, or through add-on hardware. Other power upgrades may also
be available, and in all cases, warranty responsibility on any affected component does not lie with Jaguar Land
Rover.

The resulting power increase is achieved at the expense of:
• Engine and transmission longevity.
• Increased fuel consumption.
• Increased pollutant emissions.

We would also draw your attention to the following statement from the Owner's Handbook:
'The fitting of non-approved parts and accessories, or the carrying out of non-approved alterations or
conversions, may be dangerous and could affect the safety of the vehicle and occupants, and also invalidate
the terms and conditions of the vehicle warranty'.

Where there is evidence that a vehicle has had an unauthorized power upgrade, authorized repairers should
send an email to ************** with known modification details and the VIN number of the
affected vehicle so that a Warranty restriction can be applied and shown in DDW. In the event of related vehicle
faults, customers should be advised to contact the vendor of the vehicle, supplier of the power upgrade or be
advised that they will incur repair costs.

Authorized Repairers must not be in any way be involved in the promotion, marketing, or installation of such
unauthorized power upgrades. Evidence of upgrade is almost impossible to conceal, even when original
equipment is refitted following unit failure. Any major unit failures suspected to be resulting from unauthorized
power upgrades will be thoroughly investigated and warranty payments will be withheld or withdrawn as
appropriate.

(16-02-2014 10:05am)Davevx Wrote:  This seems to be a hot topic with JLR at the moment

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A number of major powertrain units received through the Warranty Returns process have been damaged by the
installation of unauthorized power upgrades to the Engine Management systems.
Changes to a vehicle's power characteristics have far-reaching consequences on many systems including the
entire driveline, braking system, emission control devices and in particular the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)
circuit.

The Engine Management System performs regular regeneration cycles to purge the DPF of particulate matter
and unauthorized upgrades can seriously affect these regeneration cycles leading to catastrophic failure of the
DPF.

Power upgrades are typically achieved either through the download of unauthorized and potentially illegal
calibration files into the Engine Control Modules, or through add-on hardware. Other power upgrades may also
be available, and in all cases, warranty responsibility on any affected component does not lie with Jaguar Land
Rover.

The resulting power increase is achieved at the expense of:
• Engine and transmission longevity.
• Increased fuel consumption.
• Increased pollutant emissions.

We would also draw your attention to the following statement from the Owner's Handbook:
'The fitting of non-approved parts and accessories, or the carrying out of non-approved alterations or
conversions, may be dangerous and could affect the safety of the vehicle and occupants, and also invalidate
the terms and conditions of the vehicle warranty'.

Where there is evidence that a vehicle has had an unauthorized power upgrade, authorized repairers should
send an email to ************** with known modification details and the VIN number of the
affected vehicle so that a Warranty restriction can be applied and shown in DDW. In the event of related vehicle
faults, customers should be advised to contact the vendor of the vehicle, supplier of the power upgrade or be
advised that they will incur repair costs.

Authorized Repairers must not be in any way be involved in the promotion, marketing, or installation of such
unauthorized power upgrades. Evidence of upgrade is almost impossible to conceal, even when original
equipment is refitted following unit failure. Any major unit failures suspected to be resulting from unauthorized
power upgrades will be thoroughly investigated and warranty payments will be withheld or withdrawn as
appropriate.

Well aware of this, the fact is the early TD4 has exactly the same engine/power train components as the SD4 (including the higher rated injectors) I have also physically checked this on mine. The only difference is the engine mapping which effectively reduced power from 190bhp down to 150 bhp (the Bluefin effectively restoring the vehicle to a pre designed manufacturer set limit (plus a whole 8 bhp).

Additionally superchips off the following info in regards to warranty (and a big reason I was leaning towards them):

Superchips Warranty

The other thing is I cover very low mileage (only 6000kms in 2 years) so the chance of any component fatigue as a result of tuning is minimal. As for DPF - I have a simple solution if any problems, and that is to remove it. (no need to worry about emissions test with the MOT, as it will still fall within legal limits).

(16-02-2014 11:23am)GibEvoque Wrote:  As for DPF - I have a simple solution if any problems, and that is to remove it. (no need to worry about emissions test with the MOT, as it will still fall within legal limits).

Sorry, but from this month, it will fail the MOT if you remove the DPF. See

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-r...ate-filter

Quote:Garages and testing stations will be required check for a diesel particulate filter (DPF) in the inspection of the exhaust system as part of the MOT test (or annual test for heavy vehicles) from February 2014.

The vehicle will automatically fail the MOT test if the filter had been fitted as standard but is found to be no longer present.

Do UK/EU MOT rules apply in Gibraltar? Is a Gibraltar registered vehicle likely to be forced into a Spanish Govt testing station (if they have such things) and checked out? I doubt it and judging by Gibevoque's tiny annual mileage I think he doesn't take the car very far out of Gib anyway (if he can even get it across the border these days)

(16-02-2014 02:15pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Do UK/EU MOT rules apply in Gibraltar? Is a Gibraltar registered vehicle likely to be forced into a Spanish Govt testing station (if they have such things) and checked out? I doubt it and judging by Gibevoque's tiny annual mileage I think he doesn't take the car very far out of Gib anyway (if he can even get it across the border these days)

While we are compliant with EU laws (uk laws do not apply), I also work with the largest car dealer in Gib, and we have good relations with the MOT centre (we only have 1 which is government controlled), so not really a concern. I can also just force a regeneration if I need to in our work shop (just rev the nuts of it for 10-15 minutes, job done),

As for Spain, been once since last July (I did over 4000kms in the first 6 months in oing the car, now not so much). The queue thing is ridiculous, often 3-4 hours or more. Though hope things will calm down in the summer, as we do tavel up the cost a lot, and want to take a couple of trips to Portugal.

(16-02-2014 02:41pm)GibEvoque Wrote:  While we are compliant with EU laws (uk laws do not apply), I also work with the largest car dealer in Gib,

George Bassadone/TGS?

(16-02-2014 05:48pm)mighTTy-RRE Wrote:  George Bassadone/TGS?

that would be telling