Central Audio
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Any experience of the ups and downs ?
Engine Remapping
- Thread starter Central Audio
- Start date
Depends on the car/engine, can be a great improvement, can be a very quick end to your dual mass flywheel and clutch assembly... I have in the past with no regrets, I have simple cars without expensive clutches etc that break. Go with someone reputable, our Audi will be going to MRC within the next 6 months for a little tweek, but its an auto and they know how to safeguard the (chocolate) gearbox.
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
Which car/engine/gearbox? How old and what mileage?
Central Audio
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It’s a BMW 520d auto tourer 47k 12 plate, I don’t need more speed but I would like it to be more responsive from the get go, I think it starts in 2nd gear and as you give it more gas it drops down to first and lunges forward, it’s very annoying.
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
I had a 1.9 115BHP golf that I had remapped. It was tuned for economy and used to get 70MPG after the map.
It was also loads torquier and quite a bit quicker.
Ultimately it cost me a new dual mass flywheel so id be very careful, theres no such thing as a free lunch.
It was also loads torquier and quite a bit quicker.
Ultimately it cost me a new dual mass flywheel so id be very careful, theres no such thing as a free lunch.
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
Some cars can have their autobox remapped, might be worth looking at.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
My Jag 2.2 Diesel responded very well to a remap - and the dual mass flywheel never beeped in something like 60K of driving after the remap. The torque difference was astonishing and the 'go' in 3rd/4th when the overboost came on song was just incredible. And still returned much better mpg too.
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
OP’s car has an auto gearbox, so no worries about DMFs.
He has an issue with the gearbox driving away in second and then occasionally dropping to first gear.
I’d try to find a local remapping centre, not a man with a ban and laptop, who can remap the gearbox (if possible) and maybe do a deal on engine and gearbox remap.
Is there a chance, OP, that the gearbox needs a service? Maybe chat with a local BMW indie garage?
He has an issue with the gearbox driving away in second and then occasionally dropping to first gear.
I’d try to find a local remapping centre, not a man with a ban and laptop, who can remap the gearbox (if possible) and maybe do a deal on engine and gearbox remap.
Is there a chance, OP, that the gearbox needs a service? Maybe chat with a local BMW indie garage?
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Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
I suspect most modern multi-ratio auto boxes start in second, unless you floor it from a standstill and even then, you may catch them out.
manicatel
pfm Member
I had an Alfa GT Diesel remapped quite a while ago. Nothing really extreme, but it transformed the performance. I had it for about 2 years after the remap with no negatives whatsoever. Better performance, better mpg.
I also had a Merc c class coupe diesel remapped, adding about 40 bhp. Again, no downsides whatsoever.
If you took remapping to the extreme, I guess it may add too much stress to the gearbox & drivetrain & it may shorten the life of those components, but a mild-to-medium level remap can work wonders.
You can discuss your requirements with the mapping company, eg better mpg, better acceleration, where the torque band is etc etc to get what you need.
I think it tends to work better with Diesel engines than it does with petrol?
I also had a Merc c class coupe diesel remapped, adding about 40 bhp. Again, no downsides whatsoever.
If you took remapping to the extreme, I guess it may add too much stress to the gearbox & drivetrain & it may shorten the life of those components, but a mild-to-medium level remap can work wonders.
You can discuss your requirements with the mapping company, eg better mpg, better acceleration, where the torque band is etc etc to get what you need.
I think it tends to work better with Diesel engines than it does with petrol?
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
I suspect that’s mostly because modern diesels are all turbocharged, so mapping can change both fuelling and boost, whereas petrols have, until recently, mostly been nat. asp. so less opportunity for tweaking. And the new generation of turbo petrol engines tend to be small, and highly boosted as standard, so less susceptible to upping the boost for more power.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
I am fairly sure that it would affect insurance and emissions, and not in a good way.
Let him pay his own insurance, then he will be less keen
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
Indeed! If he can afford a remap, he can afford his own insurance!I am fairly sure that it would affect insurance and emissions, and not in a good way.
Let him pay his own insurance, then he will be less keen
SteveG
pfm Member
There seem to be two remaps available for my petrol car - one for economy (same bhp but claims to improve fuel consumption by 8%) and another for performance that's claimed to improve power by a fairly substantial 37.5% (which seems like a lot for less than £300!).
I suspect that there might be different tune levels of the same Mercedes base engine, with mine being one of the lower tuned ones - hence the reason why it's capable of being increased that much without any other mods. I'm quite tempted!
Snufkin
pfm Member
It’s possible that the engines with a higher state of tune from standard are built with stronger components so some research might be prudent.
SteveG
pfm Member
It does look like the C200 (which is what I have) and the C300 are the same engine, and the chip tuning numbers are only slightly higher than the base C300 tune. I suspect the auto-boxes are the same, and my C200 is the AMG trim so already has pretty big brakes etc. - so suspect it'd be fine although I'll definitely check on the Mercedes forums first if I did decide to go ahead.
The standard car is reasonably quick however the upgrade is tempting as the C300 is about a full second quicker to 60mph (at just under 6 seconds) which would be fun from time to time.