Hello,
Another UK guy here.

My back ground is that I work in IT, I've got plenty of experience in using microprocessors etc thanks to a degree in electronic engineering. (so if it all goes wrong I'd be reasonably confident, with any chip removal/bench programming that'd need to be done -so far that's my only known way of reprogramming chips anyway, in circuit programming is a bit of a grey art to me, though I understand that it's a lot more simple than requiring chips being pulled!)

And know a little bit about how a car engine works (basic principals at least), I'm hoping to marry the two together to make my tired old 206 a little bit more fun to drive, and at the same time a little more frugal with fuel...

Decided to join this community above the others because from the posts I've read people seem to actually want to help here instead of keeping tight lipped and saying it's too complicated to ever explain. And that it should be left to the professionals.
(whereas I suspect that a lot of "professionals" who are doing this have no dyno, or test facilities, are just as clueless as me at making maps, all they have is a load of maps purchased from other tuners and some tools to upload them! -I suppose to be fair to them it's not that the won't help it's that they can't help? and just pretend it's that they are real clever?)

I've got no real interest (or time) for a second job pretending to be a car wizard, and I've no inclination to loose friends by breaking their cars either.

I hope to fit in well and learn a lot here.