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Old 10th March 2007, 14:13   #1
nairda
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Rover 75 Saloon ConnSE CDTi 2003 in luvverly Moonstone Green, van Aaken SmartBox/RoverRon Synergy

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Just been giving the 75 a going over since getting it and thought I would use some of the wonderful hints and tips gleaned from here. Checked the plenum drain tube, (glad I did, looked like at least a pint of water ran out!), checked for boot oeaks too.

But what surprised me the most was a box velcroed to the battery box emblazoned with van Aarken SmartBox! So I took a look at the website that was on the box and it would appear to be something similar to a RoverRon magic box. Now I have a Synergy at the top of my wants list, but has anyone heard of van Aarken? How do they compare to the mighty RR?

I suspect the Synergy is infinitely more tweakable, however any info about this would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Also, I discovered I need some boot finisher retaining clips and a new pollen filter, so any help with part numbers and/or suppliers would be great too!

Last edited by nairda; 10th March 2007 at 14:18..
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Old 10th March 2007, 14:27   #2
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Sorry can't help with Diesel toys or clips.
You can get your OEM pollen filter at discount price from ECP

Part No JKR100183 OR JKR000030

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MG-ROVER-75-MG...QQcmdZViewItem

Or by phone call Nick or Rob 01767 682100
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Old 10th March 2007, 14:55   #3
nairda
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Many thanks for the pollen filter info GG, I will take a look at the link!
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Old 10th March 2007, 15:19   #4
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van Aarken do alot of turbo kits etc for many cars........ some good reports, some bad. but i dont know how they rate against a Synergy.
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Old 10th March 2007, 15:56   #5
nairda
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Well, I can certainly say that the 75 'goes'! I was wondering why other 75 owners were saying they suffered flat spots when mine goes like the proverbial! Now I know why!

It's a sealed box, (I did take some pics but they were pretty naff as I'd used the camera on the mobile), and is connected to the battery and the round connector. Once the rechargeable batteries in my digital camera have recharged, I'll take some proper pics.

There doesn't seem to be any visible user adjustments possible, so that would lead me to think it's less useful than a Synergy.
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Old 10th March 2007, 22:48   #6
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http://www.vanaaken.com/europe/index...++++++++++++++

and

http://www.vanaaken.com/europe/index...ename=smartbox

V.A.D been around for years in the tuning game, and are well respected

HTH
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Old 11th March 2007, 01:23   #7
nairda
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Thanks for the links mach1rob, I did spot a url on said box and duly investigated. There doesn't seem to be much tech info apart from the added bhp and torque data.

From my investigations so far, it would appear that these SmartBoxes sold at quite a premium and were fitted 'in-house' rather than DIY a la RR's wunderbar devices.

Without and rolling road data, it's difficult to tell what improvements there are over stock CDTis, but I'm guessing that there's no maf compensation as there are no connections to the maf sensor as far as I can tell. This would suggest that it's just TU3 equivalent and, therefore, not as comprehensive as a RR Synergy.

Either way, if I floor it in fifth, it seems as though I'm 'doing' a Buzz Lightyear...to infinity and beyond...it just keeps going!
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Old 11th March 2007, 09:53   #8
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They are based at the Trafic Research Laboratories in Finchampstead. I used them a few years ago to dyno test a vectra, and they seemed to be a good company.
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Old 11th March 2007, 10:31   #9
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This smartbox was one I considered 2 years ago before fitting one of these

http://www.tdperformance.co.uk/main_movie.htm

Pity Rons box wasnt available at the time

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Old 11th March 2007, 18:21   #10
nairda
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I've had the acoustic cover off today and the cabling from the SmartBox goes to the injector wiring and swaps out the original connectors. There's some cabling that looks as though it does a similar thing with the maf sensor and there's two wires connected to the battery and the secondary fuel lift pump.

So I'm assuming that the box is remapping the fuelling parameters in relation to various factors. The only downside really is that there's no means by which to tweak anything a la the RR Synergy.







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