Quote Originally Posted by AdamD View Post
There have been instances of warranty claims being denied to cars tuned with a tuning box in the UK. I've not heard of any denials in Australia, but it usually comes down to whether the car is flagged as TD1, or if the ECU has obviously been tampered with. Some cars are coming from the factory now in tamper-proof cages, although apparently the clips/tabs that must be broken to gain access to the ECU can be replaced easily so I'm not sure how effective that method is.

Either way, based solely on the performance of the device and its ability to work more effectively (both in terms of engine management, performance and economy), a good tune will always outperform a tuning box. The advantage of the tuning box is that it's sometimes easier to install, and is potentially less likely to be detectable down the track - although in both cases there are exceptions to the rule.
We're basically saying the same thing. A box is much less likely to trigger a TD1 as you just remove it prior to taking it back to the dealer, whilst still providing very decent gains over stock with minimal risk as the stock safety devices are left intact.

The only one i would be even slightly worried about are the AFR. As the ECU is seeing stock boost levels, it keeps the same AFR with in reality an additional 5 psi of boost. Because of this, the ECU will only make the AFR richer when it sees EGT rising - not ideal.

Anyway, people having been running quality tuning boxes (ie. DTUK, JB1, JB4 etc) for many years successfully. I consider them good bang for buck with the added benefit of likely warranty retention.