d150 AB Tune BAS Queery

[ngarigo]

hey guys, what difference is there in off road performance with the 150 AB tune in a 2.4 puma....?

[djam1]

To make it easier for people to answer define "Off Road"
Do you mean dirt tracks (yes this is off road to some people) climbing sand dunes or pulling through sandy river beds fully loaded?


hey guys, what difference is there in off road performance with the 150 AB tune in a 2.4 puma....?

[ngarigo]

i was interested in the observed differences and experience driving the vehicle after the tune, off bitumen, whether it be shlepping through sand or tootling around fire trails... to be clear, i’m not so much interested in making the vehicle faster, i live in alice, 80% of my driving is unsealed road and track, stone and sand... i don’t tow caravans and could care less about hooning around on the blacktop.... the remap for me is about getting the damned egr shut and a smoother driving experience will be a bonus.... i am happy with how the wagon currently performs off road and was just wondering what changes, if any, folks noticed after the tune when driving in low box.... thanks

[ninetubes]

I went the 170 and bigger I/C from BAS. my bus: https://www.aulro.com/afvb/introductions/245354-perth-defender-90-a.html#post2634379

The torque increase is impressive and pretty handy. Sand is the only place I've noticed a significant difference though.

Also of note, when i got it the 170 was something like $50 extra and comes with the 150 tune too - so you can swap about standard / 150 / 170 as you please.

[clive22]

Hi

On my Defender Puma 130 the 150 or 170 tune - does not matter which - improves life off road mainly because the low rev/partial throttle (fuel delivery?) is far smoother.
As you have said outright power makes little or no difference in most off road driving - soft sand excepted.

In fact removing all the drive train backlash was the biggest improvement off road I have made to my 130. . The BAS tune helps by making it easier to avoid shunting the drive line when tackling slower off road situations.
For comparison my old V8 1985 County was far smoother (& better - engine low end response, drivetrain and softer suspension) off road than my new puma - but I'm getting the Puma there.


Clive

[Zeros]

Great question ngarigo. Thanks for feedback all. I'm thinking if getting a BAS tune and I've been thinking similar questioning re off road performance. Feedback in all conditions would be great to hear. All the focus so far has been on on-road performance. ...Low down torque improvement and even better throttle control would obviously be great...is this everyone's experience with various BAS tunes?

One thing that's slowed me down re ordering BAS has been the fact that you no longer get a spare ecu with the package. I asked BAS but they said it's become too expensive. I wonder if a special group buy might help re-introduce the spare ecu? Anyone interested?

[FV1601]

I have the 150 in a 2.4 130, mainly to bypass the repeated EGR failures. I don't find it hugely different to the standard tune, unless I really put the Welly into it, which is not my style. The torque is noticeable up in the high country, less gear changes as it hangs on while climbing, which it does remarkably well for a vehicle of this size. The rather erratic fuel consumption I had (up to 150 km's difference a tank for no discernible reason) has also evened out.
I had heard some rave revues about the tune and the huge change it makes to the 2.4 which did seem a little far fetched, and took with a grain of salt, so the tune has delivered what I expected.
Hardest part was getting my head around doing the actual retune, not exactly a simple step by step guide for the IT illiterate, thankfully I was able to handball it to my favourite Motorcycle mechanic. (thanks Kelly).
Rich.

[Zeros]

I have the 150 in a 2.4 130, mainly to bypass the repeated EGR failures. I don't find it hugely different to the standard tune, unless I really put the Welly into it, which is not my style. The torque is noticeable up in the high country, less gear changes as it hangs on while climbing, which it does remarkably well for a vehicle of this size. The rather erratic fuel consumption I had (up to 150 km's difference a tank for no discernible reason) has also evened out.
I had heard some rave revues about the tune and the huge change it makes to the 2.4 which did seem a little far fetched, and took with a grain of salt, so the tune has delivered what I expected.
Hardest part was getting my head around doing the actual retune, not exactly a simple step by step guide for the IT illiterate, thankfully I was able to handball it to my favourite Motorcycle mechanic. (thanks Kelly).
Rich.

Thanks for the straight up feedback. Sounds like its been worthwhile. Cheers

[ngarigo]

thanks folks that sounds pretty useful still.... i was concerned it was all about improving on road performance... 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[cuppabillytea]

I didn't have my defender more than a year and a half when I put the tune in. What I noticed first was how much smoother it was in low range over very uneven ground. It makes it a breeze. Never tried the standard tune or 150 on sand but in the 170 it scoffs at sand of any kind. On all kinds of dirt roads it seems to be more controllable but that could also be put down to more experience in the vehicle and the greater knowledge gleaned from this sight. Although you're not really interested in on road, the difference there is a revelation to say the least. Get it. You won't regret it, I promise you. [thumbsupbig]

Also, the ability to clear faults is a major bonus, especially in your neck of the woods, I'd imagine.

[tact]

My reason for buying the BAS 150AB tune was exactly in line with the OP: Just wanted some control over the EGR and smoothing out the driving experience that is a bit rough with the standard tune.

The BAS 150 delivered exactly that. it really ticked those boxes well. However the extra ponies delivered so well by the 150 tune hooked me totally and it was just days later I asked BAS for an upgrade to 170AB tune and ordered the larger intercooler.

Have taken both the 150 and 170 tunes offroad in my barge (details below). Both allow you to hold onto taller gears, in situations where stock would slow down, lose momentum and make you look for a downshift. That sometimes translates to delaying the need for low range.

[Graekynn]

From everything I've read here and online there are definite advantages to getting the tune, ability to clear codes and switch between different tunes is very cool. My 2.2 is still stock however, mainly because I'm still relatively new to diesel and I'm concerned about tuning out reliability and the ability to weather a bad tank of fuel when remote for performance.

I know that these motors are deliberately 'downtuned' to provide that additional reliability which is why they respond so well. To that end I'm wondering whether:

A - a standalone IC upgrade would yield a performance benefit on a stock tune whilst preserving stock reliability and
B - if a stock and a 170 tune vehicle were driven in the same fashion would the tune yield better fuel economy

Sorry if im hijacking, but does anyone have any insight on this?

[cuppabillytea]

A: not much.
B: a little.

You need the IC for sustained High performance or in hot abeyant temperatures.
If you drive the 170 tune as you would the standard tune you will get a little better fuel economy. The real bonus is the smooth, the 170 HP when you need it and the 440NM is just so uplifting. Whether you kill your motor with it is entirely up to you. You could probably kill it just as quickly with the standard tune if you were silly enough.

[roverrescue]

Doesn't seem any have done what I chose

I have 2009 130 and chose the BAS
De-EGR with standard tune

This gave me de-EGR plus the tool for diagnosis etc

I was not interested in upping the ante but have the ability to one day???

In any case the "new" tune with EGR closed is much smoother than standard especially in low throttle low speed situations

For what you seem to be chasing it could be an option

Steve

[tact]

[...]I'm concerned about tuning out reliability and the ability to weather a bad tank of fuel when remote for performance.


Whether tuned or not tuned a bad tank of fuel will do what bad tanks of fuel do - to your engine. Totally separate issue.



I know that these motors are deliberately 'downtuned' to provide that additional reliability which is why they respond so well.


Some of the last special Defender models made had a 150hp tune from factory. The 2.2l ford ranger with Puma engine goes out from showroom with 118kW (158hp).

The basic principles of thermodynamics still apply. Burn little fuel, you get little heat (power). Burn lots of fuel and you get lots of heat (power). A higher state of tune just raises the upper limit regards max amount of fuel that can be burned (by controlling boost pressures, injection timing and duration etc).

If you had a 170hp tune, and put a brick under the loud pedal such that you never feed in enough fuel to generate more than 120hp. You are effectively not asking more of the engine than if it had a stock tune with the loud pedal floored.

So if never demanding the engine output more than 120hp is the key to longevity it is possible to do so regardless of state of tune. Just sayin'.

A poorly developed tune, poor quality, could destroy an engine even at stock 120hp levels. (Overfuelling, underfuelling, injector timing logic poorly implemented...)





To that end I'm wondering whether:

A - a standalone IC upgrade would yield a performance benefit on a stock tune whilst preserving stock reliability and
B - if a stock and a 170 tune vehicle were driven in the same fashion would the tune yield better fuel economy

Sorry if im hijacking, but does anyone have any insight on this?

A - if the stock intercooler were not efficient, allowing higher than optimal intake air temps, then an IC upgrade will help. (longevity mostly, not so much performance improvement)

B - depends on the relative quality of each tune. In theory, all else being equal, if you drove both vehicles the same way and never asked either engine to deliver more than 100hp then economy ought to be pretty much the same.

However if the 170hp tune was of a better quality than stock tune - meaning things like more (or better positioned) throttle mapping points for more precise metering of fuel/air across all the rev range and pedal travel etc... then there may be differences in how power is delivered with positive impacts on fuel economy.

[ngarigo]

Well chaps, by way of an update....

The BAS tune has been in about four days, and it’s simply fantastic.

It’s very subtle, but the drivability is seriously improved.... gear changes are considerably smoother... the vehicle feels a good deal more ‘relaxed’ and free flowing... and best of all no squealing egr clean cycle...!

Pete was outstanding to deal with, a standard of service that is all too rare these days...

If you’re on the fence, jus do it....

I’ve loved driving this wagon since 2011, and now it’s almost like a new landy, but not... it’s my old familiar friend all buffed up...!