Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you charge TAX (VAT) on your products & shipping?

By law you pay VAT on everything within the UK & Europe e.g. you pay for a Coca-Cola in a shop > VAT is already included in the price. Once a business is VAT Registered they must charge VAT on all products and or services e.g. Shipping as its classed as a service. VAT is collected for the government by us then we must pay it to them. This is the law. We cannot waiver VAT as its not a choice & is classed as tax evasion.

Why do you show Excl VAT Prices by default?

We show excluding VAT prices as we ship worldwide. Outside of the EU VAT is not applied however once the product lands you pay your countries own TAX in the way of import duty instead which varies dependant on your countries laws.

I have VAT Number, Can I purchase without VAT?

Yes we can offer VAT free sales outside of the UK once we have your VAT number. Please note the VAT number must be sent to us and checked before we can issue a VAT free invoice, the address in which we deliver must be the same as registered under the VAT number. We are not allowed to deliver to another address other than the address registered to the VAT number. Within the UK, it is known that if you have a VAT number you must purchase as normal then use your VAT Invoice (Supplied by us) to claim back your VAT. 

Will this item fit my vehicle?

If you wish to confirm if this item is suitable for your vehicle could you please contact us via our contact methods including your vehicle chassis number in your message. 

What is your returns policy on parts?

Please refer to our return & refund policy here.

Is the item a genuine product?

Please see the item title or description.

How long does delivery take?

Please refer to our Shipping Information page.

Can I collect in store?

We can offer this service but please contact us prior to calling to ensure the product is in stock and ready for collection.

Remote Area postage?

Please note that sometimes some locations may be “classed” as a remote area & you will be contacted regarding this as an extra charge may need to be paid. For example, the Scottish Highlands – An extra charge is applied by DHL.

Do you ship to my country/internationally?

We ship worldwide. If your unsure if we ship to your country, please contact us via our contact methods.

Do you offer combined postage?

Yes, if you are making multiple purchases & shipping seems excessive, please contact us & we will try & make a better shipping price. (Please note this isn't always possible).

How can I pay?

Payment can be made via any of the available payment options at checkout. Simply choose your option & checkout. 

Can I pay over the phone with my card?

Our preferred method of payment is via the web shop or alternatively we can send a payment request via email. Only in extreme circumstances will we take card payment via phone due to Security Risks. 

What is your return policy on Tuning Products?

We are pleased to offer a 30 days’ refund policy from the receipt of all Tuning products such as TMC Tuning Boxes, TMC Autoflash, Powerpedals & Personal Remapping Tools. Only if the products are complete and are in an unused and undamaged condition. The returned goods must be in a resalable state and any goods or accessories that accompany the returned product must also come back to us. The goods should also be returned with their original box, packing and accessories. To return an item please email info@tmcmotorsport.com with the order details. 

How much is the Shipping and Handling Charge?

All shipping prices include packaging, shipping is calculated in the checkout cart & also at the payment page.

Special Order Items?

Some items are specially ordered or made to order. If not stated in the product description, we try our best to contact customers within 5 working days regarding the purchase to confirm your happy with this. Special order items unfortunately cannot be returned. 

I didn’t get an order confirmation why?

How quickly you receive our email confirmation can depend on your email provider and whether the email has been incorrectly marked as junk. Please add info@tmcmotorsport.com to your safe senders list to ensure safe receipt. If you still cannot find it, please contact us via our contact methods. 

How can I amend or cancel my order?

If you have placed an order but then wish to change or cancel it, please contact our Customer Service department as soon as you can on either 03333355119 or info@tmcmotorsport.com. We will try our best to make any changes, but we will be unable to do so if the order is already being processed in the warehouse and/or dispatched. Unfortunately, goods that have already been dispatched cannot be amended or redirected to an alternative delivery address.

How can I see value of my order in my local currency e.g. Euros, Dollars, Yen?

Please note we only accept payment in £ Sterling Pounds. All charges, sales, returns & exchanges are calculated in £ Sterling Pound, we TMC Motorsport cannot be held responsible for any changes in currency value.

Will I have to pay customs charges in my country?

If your delivery address is outside of the UK or EEC, you may have to pay import duties and taxes, which are levied once the shipment reaches your country. All international shipments may be subject to cross-border inspections by customs authorities while customs policies vary widely from country to country. You must meet any additional charges for customs clearance, and we recommend that you contact your local customs office for further information.

Your country may ask you for duty fees, or other taxes based on the product origin and/or value. As stated above this can vary widely dependant on your country's policies. If you the "receiver" of the order refuses to pay these taxes or fees. We TMC Motorsport will have no other option but to instruct the carrier such as DHL to abandon the package. Typically abandoned packages are destroyed at the carriers warehouse or at the local pickup point. We TMC Motorsport are not to be held responsible for any abandoned packages due to these circumstances.

Where should I return my goods too?

Only return goods provided you have contacted us requesting the returns form. Once agreed with us (TMC Motorsport) you may return any items in the original packaging (unless faulty) with your completed returns form inside stating your Name, Order ID & Any Other Relevant Information you feel necessary included to the following address: TMC Motorsport, Unit 8, 766 Upper Newtownards Road, BT16 1TQ, Northern Ireland, UK.

How long will my refund take?

Once we have processed the refund it will usually take 3-5 working days for the funds to show in your account. This may vary depending on your bank.

Do you offer 0% Finance?

We don’t personally offer Finance however we do accept PayPal Credit & Klarna Pay in 3. Please visit each providers website for more details on these or alternatively contact us for more information.

Are all Items in stock?

Whilst we try our best to keep everything in stock, sometimes this is not always possible. For accurate stock levels please contact us for availability. If you order an out of stock item, we always try our best to notify customers within 5 working days. Please note we do have stock control enabled however whilst we try to keep this as accurate as possible, sometimes stock inventory can be incorrect. 

Tuning Box FAQs:

How do your Tuning Boxes work?

There are two main methods of tuning modern diesel and gasoline engines , one is by chip tuning or re-mapping , this involves using a special interface to read out the program from the cars computer or ECU and then writing in a new program to increase performance. The second method is to use an external plug in Tuning Box or as some people refer to them 'Piggyback ECU' , these units connect into the existing wiring of the vehicle generally using original manufacturers connectors , a control unit (Tuning Box) is then attached which can over-ride the signals coming from the engines sensors to the cars ECU and alter them to allow the injectors or common rail to inject more fuel at certain times and increase turbo pressure to keep the air/fuel ratio correct.

Why does my tuning box look different to that on the website?

Don’t worry this is normal. We only show one image on the website as it would be confusing to show more than image. We have several different designs & colours of casings, these are used to accommodate the different sizes of circuit boards we use as different technologies are used for different makes and models of car.

ECU Remap or Tuning Box which is best?

It’s a personal choice really, both should give similar results at the Stage 1 level. For some people a Tuning Box is preferable if their car is under warranty as the unit can just be removed for servicing and re-fitted afterwards. ECU Tuning also gives excellent results and means that the method of tuning is invisible to the eye, one downside is that if the vehicle dealer has to install updated software from the vehicle manufacturer the chip tuning will be erased and will have to be re-done meaning you will pay again.

Will my vehicles emissions increase and therefore my vehicle may fail its MOT/Government road safety test?

No increase in emissions is negligible, some kits even reduce emissions!

Is it legal to increase the performance of my engine?

There are no laws against increasing your cars performance, your insurance company however require that you inform them of any modifications you make to your vehicle including changing wheels or fitting sports exhausts, it is your own choice if you wish to do this however many of our customers who have informed their insurance companies of their performance upgrade did not incur any additional loading on their policy or at worst had to pay a small sum for the increased cover , this is a small amount to know that if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a collision that you will be fully covered.

Is the unit difficult to fit if I wanted to fit it myself?

Generally not , most can be fitted by one of our trained technicians in less than 20 minutes , however some require items like intercooler to be lifted off the top of the engine to get the connectors on to the injectors underneath , this is not a job we would recommend to someone with no mechanical experience , most kits though are very simple to fit , we can give you advice depending on your particular car. The important thing is to make sure the unit is not fitted close to any high sources of heat and that all cables are safely tied to avoid getting caught in moving engine parts.

Could the unit damage my engine?

Our units are specifically designed to run within the manufacturer’s safety limits and tolerances, the extra performance runs within the tolerance of the engine and gearbox. The service intervals of the vehicle will not change however it is important that they be done on time and using original manufacturers parts , it is also very important to regularly check the engine oil level and top up if necessary with the correct oil as most modern diesel engines are designed to use some oil to increase the lifespan of the engine. It is also important to remove the unit before visiting your dealer as many car manufacturers will have issue with any performance upgrades. We offer additional engine warranty for those who wish to have added cover for mechanical parts, this is purchased as an additional item.

Our units are also safe to run on all vehicles fitted with diesel particulate filters.

We offer excellent customer service and offer installation at our approved workshops or help for anyone wishing to self-fit . We offer these units for almost all of the modern range of diesels and also for most modern turbo charged petrol/gasoline cars as well as diesel vans and 4x4’s. 

Why should I buy the TMC Motorsport Tuning Unit over others that are on the market?

There are many good tuning kits available from various companies, but also many very bad ones which may cause serious damage to your engine leaving you out of pocket for hundreds or even thousands of pounds! The biggest difference between our tuning kits compared to most others on the market is that we use Multi-Channel Technology, the advantage of this is most noticeable on newer cars from 2007 onwards especially diesels fitted with Diesel Particulate Filters, a DPF is basically a collector of carbon/soot and is designed to capture most of the polluting carbon coming from your engine whilst you drive on short town journeys then when you use the motorway/highway at a maintained speed the vehicles ECU (computer) puts the DPF in to regenerate mode and uses extra fuel to superheat and dispose of the carbon away from the populated areas. Where problems arise is if you tune these engines just by increasing fuelling as you would have on older diesels, this creates more carbon/soot and the DPF can become blocked and if the dealer cannot manually re-generate it you may need to replace it and these are very expensive (in excess of £1000). With our multi-channel kits we also increase turbo pressure adding more air with the additional fuel, this will stop the DPF from becoming blocked and the car will also have more power than one tuned simply by adding fuel.

TMC Motorsport can guarantee that our Digital Tuning Modules are of the highest standards available , most units carry the highly regarded German T.U.V certification/approval and are rigorously tested and guaranteed for 2 years. Some of our units can also be adjusted to nine different power settings by the customer depending on the level of power required.

What kind of increase in performance can I expect from the TMC Motorsport Digital Tuning Unit and will it improve my M.P.G?

All of the units supplied by TMC Motorsport will give up to 40% increase in B.H.P and up to 40% increase in torque depending on the vehicle, the vehicle will be noticeably stronger pulling away and over-taking , these units are superb for those having to tow a large trailer or caravan . All performance figures quoted on this website are given as an approximate guideline and will vary from car to car, figures can also be influenced by outside factors such as temperature, air quality, quality of fuel and accuracy of the dyno the vehicle is being tested on as well as maintenance of the vehicle.

On fuelling : the units are sold mainly for their performance increase however almost all customers who have fitted one have noticed that if driving sensibly M.P.G will increase by up to 20% , this is not due directly to the tuning unit but more to how the vehicle drives after the tuning unit is fitted , its really down to common sense , if the vehicle pulls away easier in lower revs you don’t need to keep changing gears as often which reduces the amount of fuel used . This also means that you are not having to rev the engine hard to get performance which reduces stress on the engine and again reduces fuel consumption.

What’s the difference between analogue and digital tuning units and why Multi Channel Technology?

Quite simply the analogue unit has no electronics inside and no microprocessor, its generally made of resistors inside a plastic box with a screw to increase or decrease fuelling , these are very cheap to make and are usually found on well-known auction sites, the risk with these units is that they have no set program to deliver the increased fuel or turbo pressure at specific points , instead they just increase fuelling or turbo pressure continuously even at idle which can cause the engine to run erratically and over time will likely cause damage and usually create a lot of smoke from the exhaust and possibly damage the turbo.

This is a real danger on the newest vehicles fitted with Diesel Particulate Filters on the exhaust because if the filter becomes blocked and cannot be regenerated you will have to replace it at great cost .

The analogue units generally will not work on a large number of modern cars due to the latest intelligent computers running the engine which can detect them and will cause the engine warning lamp to come on and the engine to go into safe mode (greatly reduced power and limited revs).

A digital tuning unit has a microprocessor controlled computer board inside which is programmed with specific parameters for each individual vehicle to obtain the maximum performance without reaching the safety cut off limits set by the manufacturer, each unit is set up on a dynamometer so the results can be accurately measured , the digital unit will also not function until the accelerator pedal is pressed beyond a certain point at which you are demanding extra power , this means that no extra fuel is being added at idle and the extra fuel being injected is reduced again when the engine approaches maximum revs to avoid damage , put simply the digital unit is carefully designed using the latest technology to achieve the maximum performance safely from each individual make and model of vehicle, also the parameters in the digital tuning kit are hard programmed into the control chip so they can never alter over time or temperature.

Multi-Channel Technology is used on almost all of our tuning kits, the advantages to this technology are huge, we have the ability to control not just the amount of fuel being injected into the engine but simultaneously the turbo pressure can also be altered to make the air fuel mixture correct. We can also use input signals from the engines camshaft sensor to read the engine RPM and make Live Tuning as you drive instead of a fixed map which can have too much increase at low revs and can put additional strain on the engine and gearbox. Our units also have the ability to read engine temperature so the tuning can be delayed until the engine reaches a safe running temperature before power is increased. This technology is much more complex than single channel tuning kits made by most other companies and costs significantly more to produce but the benefits both in quality and performance make the extra cost worthwhile. We also use 32-Bit and 64-Bit microprocessors for the fastest processing speeds.