After a lot of research, I decided to purchase the TDI-Tuning inline tuner box for my Td6 diesel. I've been looking at tunes since I ordered my truck, 5 months before I actually even got it. I have experience with ECU tunes and probably would prefer that but I'm warming up to the inline tuner for multiple reasons, (newer vehicles have made it more difficult to tune these ECU's, particularly over the OBDII port.)

I remember watching YouTube videos on the TDI-Tuning products about a year ago back when I was looking for a tune on a previous vehicle I used to own (F10 M5) but forgot to consider if they had one for our application on the D5's.

What I like best about the TDI-Tuning product is that it has two plugs, one for the fuel pressure sensor and another for the boost sensor. Some tuner boxes only have the one connector for fuel pressure and so they aren't able to adjust your boost. This is huge, in my opinion, since there is a lot to work with (safely) in artificially aspirated (turbo and supercharged) motors. I believe the company to be very reputable and their products reliable and proven. If you're interested they are still offering 25% off for Black Friday with BF25 code!

https://tdi-tuning.com/en-us/car/lan...uning-box-chip


Range Rover with Sd6 diesel

Range Rover with Sd8 diesel

 

Did you compare TDI-Tuning with Chip Express? They both show the same maximum power, but Chip Express shows more maximum torque gains but costs $80 more. I wonder how each chip behaves and performs at the lowest and highest settings. I use a RaceChip box in my Audi Q5 TDI and love it, but they don't have a chip for the Disco Diesel.

 

The Chip Express product looks good. The TDI-Tuning product has a Bluetooth module that it doesn't appear the Race Chips product do. I'd still probably prefer a proper remap (Celtic Tuning) but they and I can't find any way to get it via the OBDII port as of yet.

 

Race Chip does have a Bluetooth App but you have to pay extra to use it. I'm researching the advantages of using a chip box for towing purposes and to improve gas mileage. With the Race Chip in my Audi Q5 I get better gas mileage using the highest setting (42 MPG on an 80-mile highway round trip at the maximum setting vs 40 MPG at the lowest setting, at similar outside temperatures and traffic congestion, testing it multiple times). I also get the best performance so I see no point in using anything but the highest setting, especially since I try not to push the car to the maximum performance "very often".

The TDI-Tuning chip says the lowest setting gets you the maximum mileage improvements. I wonder if that's true. I do like it that it has a Bluetooth app, unlike Chip Express.

 

If you select Range Rover LW 2013+ you can select the Td6 diesel from the drop-down, (doesn't let you do that on the Discovery V), but wow, they do charge a tad more for what would arguably be little difference between the two other than the dyno and day that they tested each one on. For an otherwise stock vehicle, a tuner box makes sense and it's nice that you can revert it back without a trace. Once an ECU remap becomes more accessible (OBDII port), and I have absolutely no warranty left, I would probably still prefer the ECU tune.

 

DHL came through like a champ and delivered my new tuner box yesterday! Ordered it Tuesday afternoon and received it Friday. DHL flew it out of East Middlelands (EGNX) and connected through Cincinnatti (KCVG). The packaging is very good and looks quite professional. I like the little Made in Britain logo on the back of the box, as well. The enclosed literature was printed in color and lays out everything you need to know very well.



Installation: The boost sensor was easy to get off but the fuel pressure sensor required a tad more effort. I ended up putting on a mechanics glove and after verifying with a mirror and comparing with the connector on the wiring harness from TDI-Tuning (they are identical,) I knew what I had to do in order to get the plug off. I squeezed real hard until I heard the click, and then it slid off relatively easily. Not a lot of room to work with down there but in the end, it's really not that bad. After that, I took an extra couple of minutes to think about where I was going to route my new harness and box. Before I secured it all down with the cable-ties, I turned on the ignition to verify it was working correctly and programmed the Bluetooth connection. The install video from TDI-Tuning on YouTube does a great job, well.


How does it drive? Upon my first driving impressions, I was limited to a 35mph speed limit on my neighborhood roads but you could tell the throttle response was vastly improved. Later in the night, when I was able to get out and open it up a little more, the next thing I noticed right away is that the turbo lag was all but gone. I never even had to put my foot all the way down because the power and torque are immediate and immense. Going up an incline and wanting to get away from the traffic, it just scooted up the hill like I had a big tailwind. The tachometer needle rising clockwise almost reminded me of my DCT in my old F10 BMW M5 where it just goes through the RPM band so fast. It's a whole new vehicle and thus far I'm extremely satisfied. 300+hp and 500+ lb/ft tq in this D5 is a beast.

Summary: All in all, this is a relatively easy thing to do and you can always go back to stock. Even with the Td6 and one turbocharger, (always wished I had the Sd6) these Lion V6 diesels have a lot more power to give than the V6 EcoDiesel that I had in my MY15 Jeep Grand Cherokee, (and that was even with the Green Diesel Engineering (GDE) tune, by the way.) The Bluetooth module works well and although it's convenient to be able to use it to change the setting, I'll probably keep mine on 7 all of the time. One cool thing about the Bluetooth module is that you can theoretically upgrade the tune on your module remotely via Bluetooth. I put in my email address and module serial number and it said of course, not surprisingly, that my tune was the most current. The tuner-box or in-line tuning technology is well proven (look up how Banks has invested into the new in-line tuners as opposed to ECU flashes,) and this particular product is from a company that is very reputable and is known for making good but safe tunes in all of their products. The price is actually an excellent value to begin with but with a 25% Black Holiday Sale, it's an absolute bargain! Look on YouTube for more videos of their products, I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

Our 2020 was delivered with the out of date software that had horrible throttle lag. We took it back into our dealer and complained about the lag, and they updated the software for free. (Why my dealer didn't check for the latest software updates during PDI is a mystery…) It got rid of a lot of the lag, but not all of it. If you (@AirRyan) are saying that the TDI-Tuning box gets rid of the rest of the throttle/turbo lag when starting from a standstill, I'd be very interested.

We primarily got the Td6 because we want a diesel SUV to tow our 6,000-pound camper more economically than our Raptor does. (We'll still use the Raptor when we're going seriously off-road, but for pavement or forest road camping, the Disco would be more economical.) So while we're very pleased with our current fuel economy (22.9 MPG overall), better economy is always welcome!

We'll be eagerly following your experience with the TDI-Tuning box!

 

I'd be surprised if you weren't as thrilled with the results of this tune as I am. Throttle sensitivity (even down low) just feels better all around and the turbo lag that used to be there has just been flattened so well, I'd dare to say it's all but gone. The increased torque down low also means it takes that many less rev's to get it to move and I would only imagine that your towing experience would be much improved, as well. The beauty of this tune on this motor in this vehicle is not so much in spirited full-throttle acceleration runs, (because that isn't what the vehicle is designed for,) but in the real world normal driving and towing. Drive like you normally have and you will probably find yourself not having to mash down on the accelerator as much to get the vehicle to move where you want it.

I haven't been able to get it out on the highway yet where I recently spent a little over 2,000 miles on a round trip into Iowa, but even stock the Td6 just hums at 80mph so well, and you have so much torque that passing is as simple as raising your eyebrow. With the tune and increased power across the entire RPM band, I can only imagine how well it must handle on the highway. I'd highly recommend this product and a quality diesel additive to boot, I can't imagine you wouldn't be happy with it.

 

Sorry to hear about your lag. PDI = Pre Delivery Invoice.... Our TD would rev & stall randomly; it took dash cam footage to make our dealer take it seriously. But we drove the snot out of several loaner Rangeys while they dug into this over several weeks + not a gear change below the red-line

 

So I decided to pull the trigger on the TDI-Tuning box using the discount. All in it was roughly $335. Seemed like a small enough price to give it a shot.

It arrived last night and I can't wait to install it and see what it'll do.