# Van Aaken smart box v Ebay smart box



## wakk44

I am contemplating upgrading my Fiat 2.8 JTD with a plug in smart box,after searching on here it seems the Van Aaken gets excellent reviews.

However there are some on E-bay which seem to be ok,and after checking his feedback everyone is pleased with them.

Apart from the price difference what are the main differences between the 2,or is it a case of you get what you pay for.

Steve


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## 102685

Hiya Steve

I have a Van Aaken smartbox for a 2003 Ducato 2.8JTD, £150:00 if you want it, only used it for 2 days, power increase was phenomenal.

Saw our dream van on the journey home from Van Aaken workshop to Stoke-On-Trent & bought it on the spot, sods law that we didn't see our new van on the journey down, could have saved myself a few quid.

Bryan


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## trevorf

Hi Brian

If Steve does not want it, then I will. PM me.

Trevor


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## Chascass

Hi Steve

I have been contemplating having one fitted myself, and I am still looking at the pros and cons of prices etc.
The best advice I can give at the moment is enquire locally, with garages that do car tuning etc. if they deal in them, or know of dealers locally.
The best deal I have found so far is from a small garage about 5 miles from where I live who tune cars, he will supply and fit (showing me how it is fitted and removed) with a 3 year guarantee for £239, the smart box is manufactured in Germany. (his comment on the 2.8jtd engine is that these boxes respond very well to this particular engine)
The only thing stopping me going ahead with it is, I would like to find out a bit more about the box he deals in, whether you can ever compare like for like is debatable.
Hope this helps

Charlie


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## 102685

Hiya Trevor

I'm not a subscriber & as such i can't send you a PM, & if i'm not mistaken this is my last free post.

My mobile is 07917203014

Bryan


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## camoyboy

I bought a tandem tuning box off ebay, been on a couple of years now. Main reason for purchase was we lost a bit of momentum on hills when towing the car on the "A" frame. With the tandem box it performs better with the car on the back than it did without it before fitting. When not towing the drivability of the motorhome is improved across the whole rev range, especially between 2000-3000 RPM, minimising downshifts from 5th gear. The box can be fitted in 15 minutes from taking out of the bag to driving away.
Colin


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## boosters

I still wonder why anybody still chooses to fit a plug in box over a proper professional remap, the benefits of a remap is firstly nothing has to be fitted to the vehicle, therefore nothing to go wrong, also plug in boxes work only with 1 parameter of the engine basically fuel, they achieve the result by simply increasing the amount of fuel into the engine, with a proper remap you are working with all the parameters eg injection at part load, injection at full load, turbo boost pressure, torque limiter and smoke limiter. With a proper remap you will not get plumes of black smoke when accelerating which is very common with plug in boxes, also with a remap it is tailored to the vehicle and driver of that vehicle and can be adjusted to suit not the case with a box, you are stuck with what is programmed in the box. I hope this explains a few of the benefits of a proper remap and as you can see the difference is a mini and Rolls Royce. My company removes loads of these boxes in the course of a year in order to carry out proper remaps and the difference is unbelievable. The price difference if you have your vehicle remapped at a motor home show is very comparable and also because we attend most of the shows should you require a tweak to suit your driving style we can do this on site at the shows with no extra cost to yourself. If anybody would like any further advice or information please do not hesitate to contact me
Regards
Alex


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## wakk44

Useful information re engine re-mapping.I am presently going down this route and having my Fiat 2.8 jtd upgraded.The choice is either have the ecu overwritten as Alex has described above-ie nothing fitted to the engine or fit a smart box type booster,which is a 'plug and play' module.

For anyone considering this I suggest reading DAB's excellent post which gives the pros and cons of both tuneing methods,



> While I stand by my earlier post as "big hand, small map" advice on this question, there are further subtleties MHF potential purchasers might like to ponder.
> 
> It is true that more factors can potentially be adjusted through re-mapping than through the use of a smart box; any and all of the information inside the ECU can potentially be changed with a re-map. This does not necessaily mean better power and torque gains, however, as the factors that are usefully adjusted inside the ECU to give these gains are the same factors that are adjusted by the smart box - the fuelling and sometimes the injection timing. Most of the factors inside the ECU that can be potentially adjusted are of no benefit to the power, torque or reliability of the vehicle; it's just a question of whether the changes are made inside or outside the ECU.
> 
> A re-map is not completely undetectable. Many modern vehicle ECUs now store a log of when they have been flashed, how many times they have been flashed and what file they have been flashed with. Vehicle dealers and manufacturers are more than capable of telling that an ECU has been overwritten simply by connecting the vehicle to their diagnostic equipment.
> 
> In addition the software that is stored on a vehicle ECU is as prone to bugs and glitches as any complex software and vehicle manufacturers do sometimes make updates to correct problems. These updates will be flashed to your ECU during servicing and can overwrite your tuned map. Once this is done there is no way for you to recover your tuned map; you would need to go and have the ECU re-flashed again in order to recover your lost power. You may have to pay again for this privilege, and is a point I encourage MHF re-mapping purchasers to check explicitly. This loss of data is obviously not possible with a smart box.
> 
> It would be a rare occurrence for a smart box to cause a fault code and most fault codes that can be set by the smart box illuminate a warning light on your dashboard so you would be well aware that a problem had occurred before you went to the dealer. There are codes known as "soft codes" that can be stored in the ECU without illuminating the warning light but these tend to be for very minor faults that do not relate to the running of the vehicle so will not point to or be caused by aftermarket enhancements.
> 
> All fault codes can be triggered in numerous ways and there are no codes that will immediately point to an upgrade being fitted. It is also common practice for dealerships to clear fault codes and retest the vehicle to see whether they re-occur before investigating further.Dave


I suggest to compare that info with boosters post before making the decision which way to go.

Steve


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## boosters

I agree to disagree with some of the comments in DAB, S post, firstly the software we use for remapping which incidentally we have the uk licence for therefore nobody else in the uk is using it, when the ecu is reflashed the original manufacturers tag is rewritten and no extra tag is attached to the file, also the flash counter is reset to the original before reading. Therefore everything looks original. I agree other companies who use different software when rewriting the ecu it leaves a tag of date etc when reflashed. As for other parameters inside the ecu we tailor maps specifically for individuals use, ie bringing in torque earlier for towing etc,this cannot be achieved with a box, you are stuck with the parameters programmed in the box, sometimes on some boxes slight adjustment can be made, as for most cheap boxes they work simply by plugging into the pressure sensor at the fuel rail and upping the pressure to physically push more fuel into the engine, not good when you already have a high pressure system and extra load on fuel pump. As for the more sophisticated boxes that plug into the injectors to work with injection timing, all they are doing is opening the injector for a longer period therefore pushing more fuel into the engine. My company also sells the steinbauer tuning box, which we really only use if a proper remap cannot be carried out i.e. jap vehicles etc.The total improvement on a power box is between 15-20% bhp and torque where as a remap is 30-35% and still leaving all the safety parameters intact. Lots of power boxes produce black smoke when under load; this is not the case with a remap because the smoke limiters can be adjusted. Also dead spots in the power curve cannot be removed they are just pushed further along the power band due to the overfueling,where as remapping using our s/w completely removed dead spots resulting in a perfect power curve. Also the issue of the dealer discovering the vehicle has been modified, the only way a dealer would suspect a remap is by road testing and seeing the difference in performance or running on a rolling road to see output of vehicle. The main issue with power boxes i have come across is that the vehicle is involved in an accident and recovered to repair garage, the owner has not notified insurance of modification and the insurance assessor spots the box fitted, then you have problems with your insurance.
Regards
Alex


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## bigfoot

Surely you still have to notify the insurers even if the vehicle has been remapped. Does remapping affect the warranty also?


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## trevorf

Hi Alex

Well I am sure you will always say your way is best and Van Aaken, Powerclick etc will always say there way is best :lol: :lol: :lol: 

All I know is that I met Bryan yesterday and bought his Van Aaken box for £150. Fitted today in about 1 minute and I am well chuffed with the result. No evidence of black smoke and a notable increase in performance. Not tried up any long hills yet but pulls strong and clean from 40mph in 5th. Flooring the throttle in 2nd almost spins the front wheels 8O 

Trevor


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## StAubyns

I made my decision in December and went for the smartbox.When the smartbox and the remap where the about the same price I was in a dilemma. The remap did sound good.

The decision was swayed by the fact that Van Aaken was reduced in price from £470 to £300 ( cost does come into the equation with me, I'm not rolling in money) and at the back of my mind is the thought that we may just be tempted to swap the van. If we did, I have a very saleable smartbox. If I had the remap, it stays with the van. That, along with the good reports on the Van Aaken pushed me along the route I have taken.

And I am not disappointed, in fact I'm still smiling.

I have informed the insurance company, Comfort, who charged me a £15 admin fee to change my details.

I'm sure I would have been just as happy if I had gone with the remap, But there comes a point when a decision has to be made and the price did it for me.

Geoff


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## wakk44

*Decided on a re-map*

After searching the threads on MHF about engine tuning,I eventually decided on a re-map of the existing ECU.It was a choice between a Van Aaken smartbox or the re-map.Both of them I believe give similar results,and it depends on who you talk to which is the best.

The tuning box manufacturers and dealers will say their method is best,and the re-mapping experts will defend their system,both sides usually can't resist criticising the other for obvious commercial reasons.

I prefer to trust fellow forum members who have the practical experience of engine tuning and can give an impartial review.A few were very pleased with the Van Aaken smart box and had travelled thousands of miles,and the same results for those who had the ECU remapped.

I don't think there is much difference in performance with either method,both do the same;-pump more fuel to the injectors and alter the injection timing,therby increasing bhp and torque.

So other factors had to be taken into account-cost,ease of fitting,plug in box can be removed,the quality of the software for a re-write and possibly invalidating the vehicle warranty.

I originally decided to go for the Van Aaken smartbox which was on special offer for £300 delivered.After an e-mail and phone call to them leaving my details 10 days ago I still am awaiting a reply.

Whilst still thinking which way to go I found This.A very good price(most re-maps are double that)

He had excellent feedback so I bought it.The re-map was arranged to be carried out within 3 days,he travelled to my house to do it,it took him around an hour,and then we went on a short test drive.This chap(Jason)also guarantees a refund if you are not satisfied with the results,if you do this he will then return the ECU to it's original state.

The claimed increase in power is 35bhp,taking the Fiat 2.8jtd from 127bhp to 162bhp.Of course there is no way to verify this without a rolling road test,all I can say is the improvement in performance is staggering.Better and smoother acceleration,more low end torque,no exhaust smoking,and the engine temperature was exactly the same as before.

My Ducato has the 'long' 5th gear which was good cruising motorways at 60mph but virtually unuseable below 45mph,it will now pick up at 30mph(on the flat),in 4th it will pull away at 20mph.I even managed to spin the front wheels when testing the improved acceleration from a standing start although the road was wet.

It makes driving on A roads a lot easier with fewer gear changes,and hopefully will have little effect on fuel consumption,although I will report on that at a later date when I have done more mileage.The acid test though was a 1 in 12 hill near us,before the re-map the van use to struggle up in 3rd and then I had to change down to 2nd near the top when it started gasping for air.After the re-map it zoomed up in 3rd and would still accelerate near the top.

I think I would have been satisfied with either the tuning box or the re-map,deciding factors a were keen price,it is done at home,the engine is 3 years old so out of warranty,and the chap uses quality files bought from Germany.

Steve


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## zappy61

*re mapping*

Hi Steve,

I have read the above which tells me enough. Please ignore my thread in towing on an A frame.
Regards,

Graham


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## Pusser

Exustrek said:


> Hiya Steve
> 
> I have a Van Aaken smartbox for a 2003 Ducato 2.8JTD, £150:00 if you want it, only used it for 2 days, power increase was phenomenal.
> 
> Saw our dream van on the journey home from Van Aaken workshop to Stoke-On-Trent & bought it on the spot, sods law that we didn't see our new van on the journey down, could have saved myself a few quid.
> 
> Bryan


That is well spooky. I too had the Vaan box fitted and the following weekend put a deposit down on Porky but this box I think clinched the sale when the buyer test drove our last m\home Possl 2.8 Pussbus


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## 100701

Hi all
I bought a tuning box from "Tandem Tuning" on ebay for my Fiat 2004 2.3jtd and it did totally change the way the van drove. When i fitted it and took it down the road as i accelerated the engine MIL light came on, the box was adjustable so i put it on its lowest settings and tried it again all seemed ok so i left it at that and it was left on the van until we went on holiday to Wales, then when on holiday i had cause to have to accelerate really hard, the MIL light came on again, disconnected it and it has not been connected since.

My advice when fitting a box make sure you test your vehicle under maximum acceleration.

I did try to contact the company and ask if there was a way adjusting the box further to prevent the MIL light coming on but got no response. 

Martyn


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## robrace

*2.4 transit*

I am thinking of either a remap or tuning box for my Ford 2.4 Transit!So have been watching forums on this subject.I have been reccomended to"VANTUNER"who will remap for £150 if I send the ECU or £250 if i take vehicle to him.Don't know what to do!Does a remap effect reliability?I tow a lot so am after more torque!Not bothered about going any quicker.My Transit has the high ratio diff and requires a lot of revs to get moving when towing.Not good on the clutch etc.My old Transit 2.5tdi you could let clutch out on tickover and it would pull away.This one will stall as I found out several times.Any one else got any experience with similar!


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## pieterv

Am I the only one thinking that if it was so easy to improve power and/or torque without negative consequences on reliability and life of the engine Fiat (or other manufacturer) would do so?


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## CliveMott

I believe Van Aaken are no longer trading.

I seriously considered having my engine in the camper re-mapped. Then when it was offered for free I thought even harder and finally concluded that I prefer the reliability and was not in that much of a hurry anyway.

I did have a Landrover Disco significantly boosted a few years back but the follow on consequences were more expensive than the power increase costs. I would not do it again unless it was a special vehicle for track days or the like.

C.


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## Don_Madge

I had a Van Aaken smart box fitted to our Timberland LWB Fiat Ducato 2.8jtd five years ago and it was fit and forget.

It allowed me cruise all day across Europe at a steady 90KPH without having to change down every time we met an incline some thing that was impossible to do before the box was fitted. 

With the van almost up to it's MGW (3500kg) using the cruise control I can get up to 40 MPG on long trips even in the UK if you pick your time to travel and lady luck is on your side.

I suppose it's down to usage, we have done almost 70,000 miles in five years of continental travelling. 

Safe travelling.

Don


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## jb6981

pieterv said:


> Am I the only one thinking that if it was so easy to improve power and/or torque without negative consequences on reliability and life of the engine Fiat (or other manufacturer) would do so?


Well said; My 2006 Ducato 2.8JTD is the 144bhp version only available in LHD; the British RHD engines, up to 2006, were all 127ps.

Fiat (Iveco) achieved the performance gain by fitting a different turbo and ECU plus a larger intercooler.

The 2.8 JTD (2798 cc) made by Iveco (Sofim) was used in second generation Fiat Ducato, it produces 127 PS (93 kW) or 146 PS (107 kW; 144 hp).

It would be cheaper and quicker to just re-map the ECU but Fiat (and Iveco) with their huge investement in automotive R & D and diesel engine technology, chose not to go down that route and came up with modifications that would not effect, in their view, the longevity and reliability of the engine.

If you simply plug a 'box' into the ECU without uprating the turbo and fitting a larger intercooler you may be shortening the life of the engine or it's key components.


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