Frequently asked questions about the box-units

Our box units are certainly not given away, and you can find far cheaper ones on the market. If you look round you might even find one for € 25… And having said that, if you take a good look round the market you can find anything: very good, less good, very bad and even dangerous. Certain devices increase the injection pressure, others don’t hesitate to alter the turbo pressure, with all the dangers this brings with it. Others are quite simply empty (yes, really!)

For our part, we work only on the injection timing, while keeping all of the original safety parameters active, which is the most suitable way of improving performance levels. Our price is justified by the quality of our component parts (boards, cables and connectors which are always original), and by our software systems which are individually developed for each vehicle. This policy enables us always to offer box units which increase performance in an optimal manner and without any risk to the vehicle.
We can also quite truthfully state that we offer an after-sales service unrivalled in the additional box unit sector.
Quite sincerely, you will not find a better price-quality ratio, but do not hesitate to make your own enquiries in order to make your decision in full possession of the facts.

On the contrary. As you can read in our section on consumption and in the reports of automotive journalists and others who have tested our additional box-units, fitting a P-Tronic product will enable you, applying the same driving style, to reduce your fuel consumption by around 10%. The only things which increase when you fit one of our box-units are power, torque, and pleasure behind the wheel...

« Saving: 1 litre per 100 km! » - Auto & Loisirs

Yes, no problem. P-Tronic additional box-units act on the injection of the engine, not on the gear box. They are therefore perfectly suited to all types of transmission: manual, automatic, automated or robotised gear boxes. The effect of the gear box is comparable under different configurations.

First of all you should know that not all power box-units for diesel or petrol engines are of equivalent quality. This difference involves both the components and the way in which the box-unit provides the extra power, that is to say the programming, which is what interests us here. Certain power box-units and other procedures for increasing performance have recourse to unscrupulous reprogramming, without taking into account any of the vehicle's parameters. There is clearly a danger here, both for a new vehicle and one which is run in.
With P-Tronic, every power box-unit which leaves the workshop has been subjected to development down to the slightest detail, and to optimisation under simulation of real use conditions on the diesel or petrol engine for which it has been designed. The electronic parameters are regulated in a way which will not damage the engine in any way, with the reprogramming values being always within the tolerance margins laid down by the car manufacturers. These precautions keep users of P-Tronic power box-units away from any worries, from the very first hours of use of turbo-diesel or turbo-petrol engines.
This does not of course mean that the prudence required when driving the first few kilometres with a diesel engine which has just come out of the factory can be abandoned, or that you don't have to treat your vehicle as a responsible owner should.

No, P-Tronic box-units are regulated so that they maintain vehicles at the combustion norms in application within the car industry. Your car will neither smoke nor pollute more. But the decrease in fuel consumption brought about by the box-unit will also be the basis for diminishing your noxious emissions. It is logical - if you consume less, you pollute less.
It is quite common, though, to be overtaken by speed merchants - whose power has clearly been increased - followed by a plume of nasty black smoke. In these cases, either the engine has a problem or the reprogramming has been carried out with poor quality equipment.

It is correct that certain systems for increasing power harm the particulate filter.

P-Tronic is not concerned by this problem, however. Because the latest generation of our digital additional box-units are equipped with a variable programme which adapts to the constraints of a particulate filter.

This software evolution enables total compatibility of all products from the P-Tronic range with vehicles fitted with a particulate filter.

The P-Tronic chips for diesel or petrol engines (additional box-unit), by contrast with other products on the market, are regulated so that they do not lead to any premature wear on the engine.

In our experience, and as is confirmed to us every day by our clients, our diesel and petrol chips even also appear to lengthen the life of the engine. This is a relatively logical observation when you realise that the increase in power generated by a P-Tronic chip often gives better output from the engine, liberating the intrinsic power of the vehicle which has been limited by the manufacturer. With a P-Tronic chip, a diesel engine therefore turns over more 'roundly'. On top of this, the driver has to put less strain on his engine to arrive at a similar result. The engine is no longer permanently suffering as is too often the case when the driver is looking for performance he can't find...
And there are very many manufacturers who use technology identical to this in every respect, in order to offer different levels of power and torque in their catalogue from the same engine.

With certain power kit brands, yes, there is a risk. But not with P-Tronic kits. Turbo-diesel and turbo-petrol engines are limited at the outset. Ideally, they should be able to develop their real power so that they can express all their potential and give their best performance. P-Tronic power kits are designed precisely to allow the engine to discover its optimal configuration without going to its limits. There is therefore no risk of the engine breaking.
It should always be remembered, though, that to guarantee the longest life to a turbo-diesel and turbo-petrol engine (with or without box-unit), it is advisable never to exceed 2000 revs when the engine is cold, and to let the engine idle for 30 seconds after a journey before turning it off. By respecting these simple rules, you will never have a problem with your engine. You don't risk damaging the turbo either.
But beware, it is always possible that a vehicle has a fault from the beginning...

As is the case for gear boxes, manufacturers design their clutches so that they can accept an extra 40% of torque over and above their original values. P-Tronic additional box-units, voluntarily, never reach higher values. They cannot, therefore, be the cause of a vehicle's clutch breaking or slipping.

As is the case for clutches, manufacturers design their gear boxes so that they can accept an extra 40% of torque over and above their original values. P-Tronic additional box-units, voluntarily, never reach higher values. They cannot, therefore, be the cause of a gear box breaking, whether it is manual, automatic or sequential.

It is so easy and simple that most of our clients do it. The fitting instructions supplied with each box-unit are illustrated and of child-like simplicity. No knowledge of car mechanics or electronics is required. Most P-Tronic box-units are simply plugged in parallel onto the injection circuit using rapid connection plugs. This choice of connectors is the most reliable, the most long lasting, the most secure. And it is also the simplest. A simple click and it's done! To know more about the installation of P-Tronic additional box-units, go to our 'Fitting' section.

It is very unlikely, but if it does happen, our technical assistance centre is at your disposal from Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 12.00 and 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm, as well as Saturday from 8.30 am to 12.00 to guide you by telephone. If you still can't manage to plug your box-unit in with the aid of our technician's vocal assistance, you can fix a meeting with our technical staff for free installation in our workshop.

Yes, no problem. All P-Tronic tuning boxes have plugs by the original manufacturer. They can be inserted and removed as often as you want without causing any wear or malfunction. This can be compared to a socket of an electrical device which can be connected and removed to infinity...

It is common to hear that reprogramming is more effective than the tuning box because it acts on more parameters. Regardless of whether reprogramming becomes increasingly difficult to achieve on newer vehicles due to loss of warranty, this statement is false regarding P-Tronic. Our case is several parameters very precise injection device, which provides real results equal or superior to some reprogramming.

You mention reprogramming by using the OBD (On Board Diagnostic System) which involves injecting new information into the vehicle's original cartography via a diagnostics check. This system works, but produces two major problems.

The first is that during a service, most dealers and garages systematically re-set the original programming of the vehicle, which re-establishes the vehicle's original electronic configuration. This means you have to start again after every service, which is a costly matter.
The second problem: you have no possibility of modifying this new programming if you should want to (in contrast with an additional box-unit which simply needs unplugging), without paying once more for someone to come and do it again.

If you want to increase the power of your turbo-diesel, the additional box-unit is therefore a much more flexible solution, with identical performance, and less costly.

For several very good reasons:

- By contrast with installing a chip, the installation of a P-Tronic box-unit does not imply any modification to the original cartography, which is both dangerous in new vehicles where the electronics are more and more advanced, and irreversible.

- Chip tuning requires hours of installation, and soldering; in short, it has to be done by a professional. A P-Tronic box-unit is plugged in with no need for mechanical or electronic knowledge.

- An electronic chip can only be fitted once, on a single vehicle. The P-Tronic box-unit can be removed in the same way it was fitted: in just a few minutes. It can therefore easily be taken off and fitted to another compatible vehicle.) . Une puce électronique ne se monte qu’une fois et sur un seul véhicule.

- The chip tuning operation consists specifically of increasing the turbo pressure, with all the risks that entails (breaking the engine). P-Tronic additional box-units only affect the parameters of the injection of diesel.

P-Tronic additional box-units do not increase the top speed of the vehicle, but they do increase power and torque of its turbo-diesel or turbo-petrol engine. They thus enable the top speed to be reached more quickly, but do not seek to surpass this limit (although it does happen that a vehicle equipped with a box-unit gains a few km/h).

This is explained by the fact that P-Tronic is careful to respect the tolerances set by the manufacturers, and that an increase in speed without modifying the suspension, the brakes, the tyres and other mechanical parts in certain cases could constitute a risk for the vehicle and its occupants.
It should also be noted in this respect that a P-Tronic additional box-unit does not have any influence on the speed limiter fitted to certain vehicles.

P-Tronic supplies a petrol additional box unit only for engines equipped with a turbo. We equip the TSI and TFSI engines from Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda, THP engines from PSA Peugeot Citroën, CGI from Mercedes-Benz, T-JET at Fiat / Lancia, TB at Alfa, Si4 at Rover, SCTi at Ford, 1.6 Turbo at Mini, TCE at Renault, 1.4 and 1.6 Turbo at Opel and 4.8 Turbo at Porsche. These box units are systematically equipped with original manufacturers connectors, just like those for diesel engines. These adaptors enable rapid and reliable connection and disconnection and require no skill at all in the automobile domain.

For petrol engines with classic injection, we estimate that no box unit on the market enables convincing results from such a product to be obtained. This is why we currently refuse to extend our range to these engines if they are not equipped with a turbo.

With concern for the legal environment in which it is evolving, P-Tronic is a manufacturer very much concerned by the recognition of additional box-units as car equipment in their own right. We are fighting to have a European framework established in this matter.
Certain countries have already demonstrated their positions fairly clearly in favour of the additional box-unit. This is the case in Germany, where the well-known certification organism Tüv has accredited certain additional box-units (most of which are manufactured by P-Tronic) within the framework of anti-pollution legislation. When a box-unit is approved and registered, the vehicle to which it is connected is officially recognised as 'a vehicle whose power has been increased'.
P-Tronic would like the German model to spread to countries like Belgium and France, where a current legal void exists.

Three possibilities are open to you:

The first is to sell it on with your car, because it adds value to the vehicle.

The second will be suitable for you if your new vehicle is fitted with same type of injection system as your old one. You can then re-use your box-unit on your new car. Do not hesitate to contact us to find out if your box-unit is compatible, and if this is the case, to find out the procedure for re-programming.

The third possibility is to sell your additional box-unit, either on a web-site specialising in cars, or a web-site offering private sales (such as ebay). Once again, you can contact us to find out the value of your P-Tronic box-unit on the second hand market. When you are composing your advertisement, pay particular attention to the following points: make it clear that you are selling a genuine P-Tronic additional box-unit (imitations sold at a discount are going round the market), detail the precise type of P-Tronic additional box-units that you are selling along with the turbo-diesel vehicles to which it can be fitted, indicate that your box-unit is equipped with connectors compatible with the originals and do not hesitate to talk of the simplicity of fitting - you will merely be telling the truth.

Several formulas are possible. 
The simplest is to order on-line and to pay by credit card (American Express, Visa, Mastercard), paypal or bank transfer. 
Another possibility is to fill in our form or to send us an e-mail, detailing exactly the nature of your request. Ordering by telephone is also possible.
It is also possible for persons residing outside the European Community to order P-Tronic additional box-units. In order to find out about the purchase procedure, we invite you to contact us by e-mail or to fill in our enquiry form.

P-Tronic has a well-filled catalogue, but not all the vehicles on the market are included, nevertheless. Our offering involves only turbo-diesel engines and certain turbo petrol units.
If your vehicle is fitted with a turbo-diesel or turbo petrol, it may be that it is more than 12 years old and has mechanical injection. If this is the case, we have no solution for you, as P-Tronic can only act on electronic injection.
It is possible, however, that your vehicle is in the catalogue but that you have been unable to find it. Certain models are, indeed, sold with different types of injection (Siemens, Bosch, Lucas, Piezo, Nippon-Denso), which obliges us to use a number of references for just one vehicle in order to be sure to offer the box unit suited to each type of injection. The same goes for a particulate filter.
And finally, if your vehicle is brand new it may be that the P-Tronic box unit to fit it is still being developed.
Having said this, if you don’t see the box unit you are looking for in our catalogue, please contact our sales service by e-mail or telephone. They will be more than happy to help you.

No, not at all. The P-Tronic tuning unit is equipped with a device which not only enables the driving modes (Eco, Sport, Comfort, Individual, etc.) to be kept operational but also optimizes their characteristics. Thus, the Eco mode will be even more economical, the Sport mode even more sporty, etc... All this, in full compliance with the manufacturer's recommendations.