Mate re the exacts of the MTE / RICA products i would give Don a call he knows his poo...
But the ecu mods, if plug and play would be like the old power commander , not the wide band later units with the adjustable elements (low mid and high rpm adjustability)... but yes they would have been set up on the model engine with typical free flow exhausts etc...i.e. you'd be getting a 90% best fit solution at a correspondingly low price..
a custom map (if your car is tuned in an uncommon way) will always give you the best result for your application...can also build in features to protect your engine pendning age condition and any mods done..
That said Don et al, may start with a generic model software for you model car, and tweak it on the rolling road ... gets you quickly from 90% close to optimal...

Generally, an off-the-shelf chip will be as good as anything for a standard car. If you've changed some hardware, you'll usually benefit from a custom map. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount to choose between RICA and TME technically...other than to point out that the power advantage RICA claim appears to be 'dubious' - I'd consider them to be more or less on the same level in terms of power gains, etc. Some say the RICA is more 'aggressive' - bringing the boost in harder, etc. I guess it comes down to how you like your car to behave, and driving style, etc, at that point.

In terms of changing hardware...you could fit a larger turbo from the TD04 family (i.e. 18T or 19T), and along with a 3" turboback exhaust, that would represent a noticable difference. If you don't want to change your exhaust, I'd not bother with a larger turbo...you might as well save the money for spending on all the fuel you'll be burning having fun :)

cheers

James