Is superchipping/remapping worth it? Who to use?

[Jasonz]

Hi all, great website.

I've just bought myself a Golf TDI 130 0 51plate with 83k miles on the clock. I like it loads, and the economy is brilliant while being very nippy below 50mph.

Now, i'm thinking of having it superchipped (or remapped), but have lots of questions:

1) will economy increase, decrease or stay the same? (Assuming you're driving normally, e.g. commuting to work). I definately don't want to lose economy at all.

2) will wear and tear increase? Obviously it will if you drive harder, but if it's just normal driving will it effect it? I assume I just carry on with normal servicing when the computer says it needs doing.

3) who to use?

www.superchips.co.uk say plus 31bhp (24%), and plus 56nm (18%) torque. I really like the guarantee with these people, but £500 is steep compared to others.

Also, i'll be adding an air induction kit. I assume you think this is worth it? Seems a win win situation as you won't have to buy £20 airfilters from VW every year. Oh, i'll be getting a K&N one.


So, is it worth it? Who do I use? I just want the best performance, without losing economy but don't want to blow up the engine either.

I live in Portsmouth, and would go anywhere south of London to get this chipping done.

[devonutopia]

1) economy is likely to increase given same driving. Custom remap will be tailored to your car so you should see (slight) gains

2) Well, yes of course, but TDIs are rock solid and with proper servicing and car, you should be fine (my pd130 is currently at 260bhp with no issues)

3) If in Portsmouth, use JKM - google them (direct link http://www.jkm.org.uk/ ). They're a REVO dealer and would sort you out. Tell them someone from Briskoda.net sent you, and you might get a little discount. ;)


Airfilters - Just get a green cotton panel filter. K&Ns are notorious for killing MAFs (which are expensive to replace)

Word of advice. Avoid superchips. They have a bit of a history with mapping diesels, and although they might be good now - I would rather use REVO or a custom mapper like Jabbasport.

[Jasonz]

Thanks for the quick reply. :)

Wow, you can get your car from 130bhp to 260bhp. That's one incredible gain, have you done anything else to your car?

I'll look into JKM. Ideally I would like a garage to do the airfilter too, as other work needs doing (replacing the break caliper as it's snapped apparantly), and 2 front new tyres.

What air filter make are you refering to, so I can search for it on the net. Also, I want it to sound a little more juicey, but want the option to take it off if I ever do sell (although I think I will keep this car for several years).

Another place i've found is angeltuning.co.uk. They say they can get +50bhp more, i'm just emailing them.

[Jasonz]

Oh, one other question I have. The golf seems to be pathetic for acceleration above 50mph which is prime overtaking speed for me, would a remap help with this? I used to drive a BMW, 323 petrol. Nice car, drank shed loads of petrol, but was very good at high speed acceleration.

[Jasonz]

Would you choose a REVO device or a standard remap? I don't really think I need a device to change settings, as surely I would leave it on the best setting all the time. The anti theft feature sounds good too. How long does it take to change settings (e.g. few mins)?

Jabbasport say they can get better performance, but it's quite a distance away from me. I'll think i'll scrap superchips, REVO is £400 from JKM and sounds better.


I guess the question is what would you all do if you had bought my car?

[madmonk]

i have a 02 130 gt tdi golf totaly standard apart from wheels and i'de say the acceleration around the 50mph mark is wicked i'de get someone to have a look at that mate these golfs out run most boy racers in there petrol cars any day

[VanWheeler]

I'm a ChippedUK dealer and have done loads of these. Feel free to contact me details in signature.

Gains are 40-45hp and 80-90nm torque.

Thanks, Mark

[Jasonz]

i have a 02 130 gt tdi golf totaly standard apart from wheels and i'de say the acceleration around the 50mph mark is wicked i'de get someone to have a look at that mate these golfs out run most boy racers in there petrol cars any day

I guess I'm being a little harsh, it does have a lot of power but lacks behind my (totally uneconomical) old car. I just want a bit more with a remap...



Thanks for the PM Mark. I have a few questions, but still reading about some things. I'll probably come back to you tomorrow.

Thanks.

[prolfe]

remember the possible hike in insurance if you do get a remap. but if that's not an issue then there's no better way of gaining 45bhp.

A full performance exhaust will only give about 15% increase.

New injectors might also give some more power and help with efficiency and response.

[Jasonz]

I don't think i'll go for a new exhaust, i'm not looking to get every ounce of power possible and I won't be racing (honest), I just want to know power is there when I need it. So, i've come to the conclusion i'll only do an air induction kit and remap.

I do have some nice alloys on there already; so it looks good!

Insurance is a funny business, I did ring up for a quotation and they said it didn't change the premium; but this is mainly because I previously had a insurance group 15 car, and now have an insurance group 13 car.

I need to check more into this, and will probably only affect the renewal price. My only worry is some insurers will suck all the air possible through their teeth when I mention it, and then refuse to offer a quotation . I'm only paying £390 pa fully comp at the moment - a far cry from over £1k when I got my first car (i'm 26 btw).


Edit: As your talking about insurance, how much % wise did it increase your premium?

[prolfe]

Edit: As your talking about insurance, how much % wise did it increase your premium?

Someone has mentioned it before about the increase and it's been quite a lot. the only way to find out is to call them i suppose.

have a quick search of the threads for remaps.

The air filter will only give a small gain 4-5% and will mess with the weak VAG MAF. The std filter gives good air flow anyway, why get a different one?

[Jasonz]

Well, I originally looked at one because it is a simple mod for your car (easy to remove if I sell), that sounds good, increases power (albeit only slightly), and is cheap (i.e. it will save on the £20 air filters VW charge every year).

I guess the Mass Airflow Sensor could break, but never really thought about it. How much would this cost to change if it did break, and how much damage could it potentially cause?

Angel tuning are saying the BMC Carbon Dynamic Airbox (also changing the air intake to pull air from the front of the car) adds 10bhp with their remap.


Would you not recommend I change the air filter then?