Is it possible to have the coop re tuned for better fuel economy....why do i feel like ducking down and covering my head with my hands after asking that....but is it?

You could always fit an engine from a Fiat punto.

Seriously though you might get better fuel economy by fitting an in car boost controller and turning the boost down a bit in general driving.
Then you could wind it back up when you need to travel faster.

I prefer the air cooled note of the 126 :-)

yes, it is possible, although it could be harmful.

When I had my Unichip fitted, it was wired up incorrectly, which meant that the ECU was constantly trying to lean off the mixture. I was having to reset the ECU in the morning and again before I drove home from work (40 miles each way)

If I didn't reset, it would be running quite lean by the time I got home. However, the fuel consumption was great - I was getting an extra 50 miles per tank - not to be sniffed at.

The lean mixture would have been bad for the engine if I had run any decent amount of boost, or prolonged full throttle. Seeing as I knew it was marginal, I kept to base boost and no more than about 2/3 throttle at most.

I've often wondered if a Unichip could be fitted with a "lean map" setting, which could then be turned on or off, depending on how you were driving. i.e. for the daily commute, turn the Unichip on, turn the boost off and get 30+ mpg. Come the weekend, turn the Unichip off (thus reverting to the ECU's own map) and turn the boost up.

There's a flaw here though - I was running forged pistons at the time, which are stronger and thus more resistant to the high temperatures caused by running lean. Standard pistons may not cope - you have been warned.

The best suggestion has already been made - get an in-car electronic boost controller and turn the boost right off for the daily commute.

Because of the cost of fuel, I've been trying this exercise this week. I normally get 280-300 miles from a tank - about 3.5 days commuting. This week however, I got 360 miles - an extra day's commute. At my normal boost settings, my daily commute costs were about £17 - with the reduced boost, I saved about £5.50 a day.

Given my state of tune, I'm still producing about 280 bhp at 0.8 bar, so its hardly slow. But even a standard 20VT will still produce 150 - 160 bhp at base boost (0.6 bar) - so it will be plenty quick enough to keep up with most traffic.

the beauty of an in-car electronic controller though is that if you spot an opportunity to overtake, a simple press of a couple of buttons and you're back up to full power again.

When they setup the unichip can they not just lower the AFR on full throttle & boost to a safe 11.5 then gradually increase it as throttle is reduced so that when cruising it to a more efficient 14.5?

Where do I sign up for an in car boost controller. My poor coop rarely sees a motorway. 90% of my trips are short start stop city driving and so like yourself Nigel I get around 280 miles per tank.

if you're mostly doing city driving, you're probably not using much boost anyway, so turning down the boost controller is unlikely to make a lot of difference.

To be honest, 280 miles per tank from city driving is pretty good on a standard car.

If you still want an electronic boost controller, you need to look for Apexi AVC-R, Greddy Profec B or Blitz SBC ID-III

Price range is from £150 - £300

There is a group buy on for Gizmo boost controllers at the moment - untried by Coupe owners as a whole, but Grant, the vendor, states they are well-received elsewhere. Might be worth a look - about £80 IIRC

I was running one of Cosmograph's switchable boost controllers on mine. Essentially, it switches between whatever you set your max boost at (via EBV or PRV) and base boost, which is about 0.6bar.

Main reason I did it was that when you're in town, etc, it's actually a nicer drive - you don't get that thump in the back as the revs build, so the car doesn't hurtle away so quickly and it makes the whole drive smooother. However, in answer to BJ, yes, I found that it made quite a considerable difference to fuel consumption. I can't remember the numbers currently as it's a while since I used the car but I do remember it was a very noticeable difference.

I just had a discreet little switch under the RH dash panel which you could reach down and push as the mood takes you.

Can't remember how much it cost but I think about £25-ish - cheaper than a boost controller if you're actually looking to save money in the first place!

As an aside, I remember the first time MrsC drove it. I had it switched to base boost on purpose. She put her foot down and said something like "wow, this really goes well" so I switched to full boost and said "now try". Scream if you want to go faster - I think that describes what happened next!

Thanks Guys, Seems like a slight difference in opinions and and big difference in prices. £25ish sounds good. £80 - £300 is a little off putting if Nigel is right and maybe I'm not going to see much of a difference. I tend to make a conscious effort to keep the revs low and very rarely would I ever redline her in any gear. Is there a how to on how to fit them? I'm pretty compotent when i have an idiots guide in front of me but pretty lost when I dont, unless its something I'm used to doing - brakes hubs servicing etc.