to remap or not remap?

**brummieboy** · 02-06-2009,08:22 PM

The ramblings of a confused man.......

i like the idea of a remap - lots more power, better driveability, maybe better mpg - all for a reasonable cost. BUT, what are the cons? if extra power and all the benefits are available so easily, why do the manufacturers not do it at source? If the answer to this is emmissions based, won't the emmissions be an issue post-remap at MOT?

I've a 2.0TDI 140. It seems this can be remapped to somewhere about 185bhp - lets call it 170 for ease. So, its the same as the 2.0TDI 170 then! Whats the difference between these two engines in real terms - is it just a power boost? If not, and i suspect its not, surely i need to be considering these issues as part of the power upgrade - turbo, valve stems, ect, ect? Can the 140 engine really take 185 without issue?

Handing over a few hundred £s is so easy, but i could be ruining an £11k car!

This site seems to have lots of positive references to a remap, are there really no horror stories, no-one who wishes they hadn't?

ramble over......

**kodkod.84** · 02-06-2009,09:09 PM

As far as I can tell the original engine map of a car is tailored so that the engine can be marketed to all manner of countries depending on the climate and grade of fuel available etc. without many problems.

Another reason is that if all engines were power hiked at source, people would be buying the lower power engines and remapping hence taking sales away from the more expensive models.

EG 2.0T in mine is 220ps, a remap will take this to 260ps similar to S3 albeit that will have some beefier engine components and it is 4wd to put the power down more efficiently.

**sr-performance** · 03-06-2009,12:11 AM

Hi mate,
kod more or less got it right, remapping optimizes everything and still is within manufactures spec..
So will not fail an m.o.t on emissions etc, but in some cases makes it better as the engine is running more efficiently.

**McNeill** · 03-06-2009,04:18 PM

Just had mine remapped from 140 bhp up to 180. Drives so much better now.

**irishejit** · 03-06-2009,06:42 PM

im thinking of getting mine done now,
phoned a fella today that quoted me
£280 with before an after printouts on a
crank dyno system.
is that a good price??

**motechmike** · 03-06-2009,07:55 PM

We offer a 14 day money bacl garranty if you not happy..
Come and try it out !!

Mike

**McNeill** · 03-06-2009,07:57 PM

Originally Posted by irishejit

im thinking of getting mine done now,
phoned a fella today that quoted me
£280 with before an after printouts on a
crank dyno system.
is that a good price??

I think its a good price. I paid £399 but i wanted to go to a place that seem reputable (Star Performance) and was fairly local.

Ive got before and after prints too which are nice to eye.

**sr-performance** · 03-06-2009,08:31 PM

Hiya irish,

very good price that mate, see what warranty he gives you on map as well..

**pacamack** · 03-06-2009,10:43 PM

One con you need to consider is the impact on your insurance. My insurer has already stated that they won't insure a modified car. Premium without a remap is currently about £260, modified the quotes are coming in at more like £500.

I'm looking to install an induction kit, uprated DV, sports exhaust and a stage 2 remap that would see power up from 200 to about 275bhp.

Concerns for me are around torque steer (it's fwd) and the additional load on the clutch.

I'd also be interested to know what impact these sort of modifications would have on re-sale or part-ex, are dealers likely to shy away from a modified car when it comes time for me to change?

**sr-performance** · 03-06-2009,11:35 PM

Hi,
My franchise is with Evolutionchips and they have a deal with greenlight insurance. any vehicle remapped by us will not have there ins loaded as they believe they can afford to do this as being a specialist insurers they fully understand and appreciate the benefits of tuning done by a professional and reputable company.