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Gary Shaw
- - March 13, 2026
Rising Fuel Prices: Why the Iran Conflict Matters to UK Drivers
Fuel prices across the UK have begun rising again following the escalation of conflict involving Iran. Global oil markets are extremely sensitive to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East because the region plays a critical role in global energy supply.
One of the biggest concerns is disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. When tensions increase in this region, shipping and production can be affected, which drives up global oil prices.
As a result, crude oil prices have surged above $100 per barrel, pushing up petrol and diesel prices worldwide.
Because the UK relies heavily on imported oil, these global price changes quickly translate into higher costs at the pump.
The Impact on UK Petrol and Diesel Prices
The effects of rising oil prices are already being felt by drivers across the UK.
Recent reports show that:
UK petrol prices have already
- - October 17, 2023
The Alfa Romeo Giulia has been turning heads and setting hearts racing since its introduction. As a symphony of design, performance, and passion, the Giulia isn't just a car—it's a testament to Alfa Romeo's commitment to automotive excellence, something we know all too well here at Bluespark, as it’s never a dull moment when we tune these.
In this latest tuning and dyno testing, we take this Giulia 2.0 Turbo and custom tune it, adjusting the software with our remapping tools and fine tuning the results with the rolling road dyno testing. The result… Some pretty impressive performance gains!!
Firstly, we take the Giulia at a completely stock level, no level of tune applied. We get it strapped up on to the rollers, and take it for the first set of tests to establish what the factory mapping is producing. No big surprises with this one, a pretty standard stock dyno graph can be seen below, as power results are showing pretty close to the mark at 208hp. Torque showing slightly higher than what
- - August 23, 2023
For our latest dyno test we had this 2022 Ford Transit Custom 300 2.0 130hp in for an install and testing. We installed our Pro + Boost chip tuning box and loaded it on to the rollers…
This 2022 Transit Custom uses the SID212 ECU, which all Ford Transits have used since late 2019 onwards. This ECU can’t currently be remapped due to security protection within the ECU’s software.
This customer was looking for a warranty friendly solution, so our chip tuning box is an ideal alternative in this case. This Transit has 130hp & 385Nm as stock. Ford produce higher performance variants of the same Transit Custom, with the exact same engine. For example the 170hp & 405Nm model.
Dyno testing before and after shows healthy gains across the rev range, with a significant increase in power and torque.
Peak power was increased, we were able to lift it from 130hp at stock, up to 169hp with our box. Taking a look at the dyno graph you can see how the curve changes, bringing that power in right down from
- - November 11, 2021
At Bluespark we receive a lot of questions about performance modifications and what mods are the best for improving performance.
Alongside tuning boxes, ECU remapping, air filters and inductions kits, Sports cats or de-catting are one of the most popular modifications people carry out on their cars.
We had a customer return to us with his already tuned by Bluespark, 2.5 226bhp Ford Focus ST after having a decat fitted. After tuning and dyno testing his stock engine earlier in the year, we tested the car to show the difference this combination of mods would make to performance.
Dyno Run 1 - Stock vehicle with Bluespark System(July 2021)
As a stock engine with no modifications, the engine produced 214bhp and 329Nm of torque on the dyno, not too different from the manufacturer claimed 224bhp and 320Nm.
After fitting our Bluespark Pro Petrol unit and making a few tweaks to the mapping, our engineers were able to increase performance by 31bhp and 42Nm. Not only did we increase peak figures to
- - January 30, 2021
We are often asked questions regarding code readers, scanners and diagnostic tools.
There are a massive range of devices out there and it can be daunting as to what is the best choice.
We will attempt to answer some common questions and give some advice on what might be best for you.
What's the difference between a code reader and a scanner?
Both of these are colloquial terms, and are used somewhat interchangeably. Typically a "code reader" might refer to a more basic machine and a "scanner" might be more advanced. Neither of these are really an industry term or have a specific technical definition.
Basic generic OBD2 readers available for somewhere around £50GBP ($70USD) or less will usually give you codes relating to engine issues, but won't give information relating to all the other systems of the car.
Advanced diagnostic tools for workshop use (frequently around £5000GBP/$7000USD) will often allow you to interrogate, diagnose and reprogram most modules within most vehicles.
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