Play and Play ECU Flashing

[mikeyboy64]

I live in Malaysia and have a 2010 A4 1.8 TFSi S-Line. However the ability here to have the ECU itself re-mapped is severely limited.
I am aware of handheld devices that attach to the OBD II port of the car which allow for the ECU to be re-flashed to upgrade HP and torque.
So far I know of two companies that provide such a service - Bluefin and BSR - does anyone have any feedback on these companies or is anyone aware of any other companies that provide such a product? Thanks in advance.
Of course the Title should have been Plug and Play!

[kite]

Contact Shark performance, a sponsor of this site

[shark_90]

Our unit will be available very shortly for the 1.8TFSi :)

[mikeyboy64]

Our unit will be available very shortly for the 1.8TFSi :)
Thanks just emailed you about it! Any idea when? Weeks or months?

[Plife]

I have Bluefin on my current car and also had it on a Focus ST before. I have no issues with them at all. The bluefin for the 2.0T quattro was developed on my car and they have a good set up. I got before and after graphs showing the improvement and on both the A4 and Focus the difference is noticeable. The A4 feels much more responsive lower down in the rev range - this was one thing I felt was lacking compared to the Focus.

I like the way I can take it off whenever I want - the one thing that does concern me is the errors it throws up in VCDS - I can clear them all and they don't reappear but I expect this would be a clear sign to the dealer that you have been messing around with the map!

[shark_90]

Thanks just emailed you about it! Any idea when? Weeks or months?

Defintely a matter of weeks :)

[ScottyUK]

Mr Shark,

When it comes to peak boost etc can this be cleared using VCDS? The odds on a dealer looking are of course incredibly remote. Is there a way of hiding the clues?

[shark_90]

Unfortunately with MED17 (petrol) and EDC17 (diesel) there is no way of hiding the clues, at the moment at least.

As some people may already know, most switchable maps aren't actually switchable at all, just when you are running as "standard" the boost is limited and often the timing is changed to make it drive more like a standard car. It is NOT standard nor does it appear standard to diagnostic equipment.

Some switchable units (like ours) program the car back to actual standard, so if interrogated the ECU is exactly as it left the factory and the checksum matches what it should be.

Unfortunately with these new ECUs it's not even possible to do that. They are protected by 1024bit RSA encryption which would take more than a little while to crack, and so the method used to remap these ECUs is to basically alter the area where the maps are stored and patch another part of the ECU to bypass the signature checking which allows the car to start.

All very clever stuff, but basically whether you leave the map on, or put it back to standard, they can take one look at the checksum and tell if it's been remapped or not at some point in it's life and then you've got some explaining to do.

So unfortunately, for now at least, you can't have your cake and eat it.

As for peak boost values, I don't know to be honest.. but they're clearly the least of your worries given the above :)

[ScottyUK]

Cheers for that. :beerchug:

Any one would think Audi don't want us modding the cars ;)

[mikeyboy64]

Thanks for the detailed info Mr Shark. What are you expecting the upside in terms of HP and torque to be for the 1.8TFSI?

[suadiablo]

mikeyboy64,

I'm from malaysia too.. just curious, what reflash did u finally opted for? any review?

[mikeyboy64]

Yes I have seen you on the Malaysian forum for VAG. I got the Shark Performance one. Very happy with the performance upgrade - also when it was shipped I had the vendor describe it as a Data Processing Unit (zero tax or duty!). Can definitely recommend. I flash it back to normal before each service just in case.

[suadiablo]

Bro,

What's your nick on VAGMY? Anyway, mind sharing the price you got it for (maybe you can pm me here or at VAGMY)?

Btw, how does the unit look like? In terms of flashing, how long does it take?