801 replies to this topic

[husky]

Does anyone Have experience with and ARD Tune? I realize that this is Lucky's From IPD new Spot. I am thinking of getting the "Blue" tune for my 2000 V70R, just looking for some reviews or feedback too. HOw does this tune compare to IPDS, besides less then half the price?

[Spanky]

No experience with the ARD tunes yet, but I do know all the cool kids are doing it!!! Hope that helps

[mrbrightside2009]

just get it, has to be good, lucky knows what hes doing, i'm getting one soon.

[AverageVolvo]

Get it. Lucky wouldn't have left IPD if he didn't' have a few tricks up his sleeve.

At the very least it would be at least as good as an IPD tunes. most likely much better as he is not licensed to MTE and free to do as he pleases

[Gideon35T]

its from Lucky, thats all you should need to know ;-)

[ARD - Lucky]

Thanks guys appreciate the kind words. There's few guys running ARD tunes here so hopefully they will post up.

Edited by ARD - Lucky, 27 June 2011 - 05:44 AM.

[fastwagonhawaii]

I have to agree with the above I am going to do something special in august. And I am happy as hell that I don't need tt to do it. Just get it, he really knows his stuff and if you have questions just ask him.

[VolvoForLife91]

Dealt with Lucky when I got my IPD tune and he was awesome. My next tune will definitely be by him.

[Kit Vexed]

i have experience with ARD. it is absolutely without a doubt the BEST tune i've ever had. i've had iPd stage I on my old 15g, then a stage II on my old 16t, then a stage III on my now 18t. when Lucky went on his own i'd asked him if there could be any improvements to the iPd stage III. i felt like it was kinda sluggist and i wanted to improve the torque and around town power curve. he said, "i can optimize things for you a bit..." i put that in quotes cause he was being quite modest! he suggested i upgrade my injectors to whites and would tune accordingly.. we have similiar setups so he put whites in his own car and tuned it in real-time for the maximum torque the stock rods and tranny could handle! i gave him a list of my mods and he optimized the ECU for not only that, but also my climate and 91-93 octane fuel! he also left a "little extra" in the tune in case i wanted to upgrade to aquamist in the future.. when i received the ECU i didnt know what to expect. let me tell you, my car is a totally different animal. the torque and power curves are SO smooth/linear it's deceiving! the iPd stage III would build and spike in the later RPMs, whilst the ARD tune came on earlier (gave me power earlier) and would climb quickly; yet not "spike" You end up getting the best of both worlds - power earlier when you need it, and still that nice peak in boost. the psi hold FIRM! i tested it on the highway and it basically did whatever i wanted it to. id give it some and it'd downshift and get up to 14psi; a *tad more on the pedal, 16psi. to the floor, 18-19psi and holding! and SMOOTHLY. granted i have ALL supporting mods (hd cbv, tcv, iPd intrcooler, RIP, etc etc.) so the tune absolutely capitolized. he went above and beyond and really took the stage III to another level. i see my car more as a stage IV now because the stage III doesn't include upgraded injectors, a big intercooler, or this custom tune.. i'd be bold enough to say i'd beat any iPd stage III car tune for tune now. beyond all i've said - the gosh darn price should have you guys lining up for miles.. NO CELs, service or any lights. throttle response is much improved and i find myself boosting it more often than ever cause the car just feels so much more fun to drive. he will tune your ECU to whatever your driving style is - just tell him what you want! customer service/feedback is the best i've EVER delt with. he will let you know every step, ask about future mods, and update you when it will be done and provide tracking when shipped. i can't say enough about Lucky/ARD - as personal and comfortable as it gets. he's the best. get a quality tune and save yourself a ton of money guys

[rbodor3]

my big quesiton is can they do an auto-> manual tune.
Game changer.

[Justin S70T5M]

No experience with ARD, but I have done business with Lucky and was very pleased with all transactions.

Where does one get this ARD tune? Is there a website? I'm interested now. I think it's rediculous how much the IPD tune costs. I never really even considered it because of the price.

[greekone]

No experience with ARD, but I have done business with Lucky and was very pleased with all transactions.

Where does one get this ARD tune? Is there a website? I'm interested now. I think it's rediculous how much the IPD tune costs. I never really even considered it because of the price.

http://ardideas.com/volvo.html

[flyfishing3]

my big quesiton is can they do an auto-> manual tune.
Game changer.

QFT

[ARD - Lucky]

Auto to manaul is no problem, well even have 850 manual tunes WITH obdII compliance in the near future. ME7 is a little ways out yet, later this summer is my target!

Thanks for posting up with your experience!

[swc75]

Cant wait for ME7 Tune.
Can you tell us your plans for it?

[sconeman]

I would not hesitate to buy a Tune from ARD. Lucky knows what he's doing. He's programmed tunes for IPD, worked with the head TME programmer, seen many other maps that are out there plus he's a talented engineer and knows all the little tricks and details about Volvo to maximize the maps plus he is passionate about it. Through my communications with Lucky and ARD it's clear that his knowledge and level or expertise exceeds most others in the arena.

Kristian

[Zappo]

If I didn't already have TT, I might have gone with his Black tune. At the time I bought TT there were no other choices for my setup.

[POSTITSORGTFO]

Well this made a desicion easy on what I wanted to do with the C70 .

Blue Tune !

01 T5 Motor
K24
M66
IPD Intercooler
Green Injectors

CAKE !!!!


- Having Danny Send you an ECU

[ARD - Lucky]

Point of clarity, All Ipd tunes are from MTE. I was not the person that did the tuning, simply a technical liason at best. However I have been tuning cars for almost 9 years now, including BMW, VW, and Volvo.

As for future plans, the cats sort of out of the bag so I'll give a bit of info...

I kinda fell into tuning after I left Ipd, I had enough experience but no real intention of becoming a 'tuner'. BMW parts had my attention and I started with some hot rod type coils for later BMW models. Working with a friend locally to get them out in the industry. After some requests came in for custom Volvo tuning and hearing the stories about how no-one wanted to help them, especially after they had spent time/money building a car only to be left high and dry with no tuning help, I started to look into it. I had the basic DAMOS that had some info in it but the map definitions were wrong, half the time the checksum calibrations didn't work, and had limited control of the BIN files, and it wasn't really well suited for what I was looking to do.

I had a background in firmware programming so I spent about a month reading the comm protocols for Motronic systems and read datasheets till my eyes bled. I had a stroke of luck when an online user I knew from my days at Reynolds sent me a nearly complete comm protocol, that saved me weeks of time (thanks to Henry on that!). I wrote the DAMOS on VB6 based on my research and what he had provided as well as what I had seen in the software at Unitronics and their motronic versions including Me7 for other European models like VW/Audi/BMW. I confirmed my programming on my stage III 850, which was running a stock map at 14psi , and started making maps.

So here we are today, now with all that said I've uncovered some interesting information.
1. All M4.3 and M4.4 ECU's can be programmed through the OBDII port, live time, in the car. Takes approx 7 minutes to flash an ECU.
2. The subroutines in the ECU can be rewritten, meaning new logic can be implemented. For instance maybe you want the ECU to flash the check engine light when you reach redline, like a shift light, or take un-used I/O pins on the ECU to control water injection, nitrous, etc..
3. M4.3 can program at any voltage over 10v but M4.4 will only program above 13.8v

I've got some new programming languages to learn so I won't be providing all this to the community for a few months. So please do not ask when it will be ready.

Here's the order of what I'm planning on providing in the future.
1. Virtual Tuner (VT). A windows program that allows you to enter in your vehicle specifics i.e. year/make/model and engine configs including check boxes for all the common upgrades we tend to do to these cars (FMIC, RIP kit, 18T, etc..). The VT then assembles a build sheet for you and shows a predicted boost curve map so you can see what power delivery will look/feel like. Send the build map to us and we'll create it, program it to an ECU for you. For non turbo cars this will focus on the timing curve rather than the boost curve.

2. A.R.D.V.A.R.C. Upgrader. Active Research & Development Volvo Advanced Real-time Computer upgrader. This is step 2 to the Virtual Tuner but will be a few months out. This is effectively what the ME7 cars are doing but one step easier. You build your file in the VT, send it to us and we make a program for you. Download to you laptop and load to the car via the A.R.D.V.A.R.C USB cable. There's one wire in the harness that has to be moved in the ECU connector for this to work but otherwise all 1994-1998 cars are applicable. This should include non turbo as well but we'll start with the turbo initially.


I know this is a lot of info to digest so please read it and re-read it carefully before posting questions. Much of this has been tested so it's not just speculation but some will still take some time to sort out how it will ultimately work for the end user.

BTW, what tends to make ARD tunes so much more driveable is the nature of the boost curves. So many other tunes use exponential boost curves rather than linear so the throttle control of boost isn't all that smooth. That is what is ultimately responsible for Kit Vexxed experience, of course the adjustments for his injectors, fuel quality and environment all play a role as well it's really the difference in boost curve that makes the boost so much more controllable with the throttle.

[theForgottenone]

I have to post the obligatory question. Will there be any tune for the first gen S/V40. No, I don't need it but for other members on my forum