Engine re-mapping - Thoughts?

[Xein]

Evening all,

Apologies if there's already threads around this.

Just trying to get some outsiders perspectives on whether it's worth re-mapping your engine (to increase BHP/torque).

just a couple of questions really.

A) was it worth it? (do you notice any improvement over stock/standard/factory tune)

B) How much did your insurance premium go up? if at all and who do you insure with?

C) would you recommend it?

It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I was thinking of re-mapping my Volvo V40, figures suggest a 52% increase in BHP (from 120 to approx 190 (at peak)) but just trying to gauge whether it's actually worth it or not.

Thanks

 

[Diagro]

Up to you really.

Yes they work, but I'd never get an off the shelf map.

 

[Jarrod]

I never got a car remapped - I did get a tuning map box put on my 1 series, I quite liked it because I could "change" the map when ever I wanted for better mpg or better performance, and also I could remove the box if I ever needed to

 

[ttaskmaster]

Depends how you drive.

A) My car would get about 40BHP increase from a standard remap, so 130-170. Having driven the 110 version and seen how gutless it felt compared to my 130, I would guess the 170 would have a notable amount more poke... and seeing how many other owners got theirs done, that popularity would suggest that it's generally considered worthwhile.

B) It's a second hand car and I just drive it - I wouldn't have a clue if it's been remapped or not. It doesn't even have an EGR delete and everything else looks factory standard.

C) Me, no. I'd just get a better car... unless you really, really loved everything else about this particular one.

 

[Xein]

Up to you really.

Yes they work, but I'd never get an off the shelf map.

Was planning to go to a specialist rather than bodge it myself and no doubt break something

I never got a car remapped - I did get a tuning map box put on my 1 series, I quite liked it because I could "change" the map when ever I wanted for better mpg or better performance, and also I could remove the box if I ever needed to

Interesting

Depends how you drive.

A) My car would get about 40BHP increase from a standard remap, so 130-170. Having driven the 110 version and seen how gutless it felt compared to my 130, I would guess the 170 would have a notable amount more poke... and seeing how many other owners got theirs done, that popularity would suggest that it's generally considered worthwhile.

B) It's a second hand car and I just drive it - I wouldn't have a clue if it's been remapped or not. It doesn't even have an EGR delete and everything else looks factory standard.

C) Me, no. I'd just get a better car... unless you really, really loved everything else about this particular one.

I really enjoy my car, just wish it had a tiny bit more 'punch' to it. but I guess I also need to look at resale value and how much it would affect it potentially.

 

[ttaskmaster]

I really enjoy my car, just wish it had a tiny bit more 'punch' to it. but I guess I also need to look at resale value and how much it would affect it potentially.

Well, you'd be looking at almost 60% extra, which is quite a bit more than 'a tiny bit'.
Give it a go, see how you like it... You can always return it to standard if you don't like it.

 

[Xein]

Well, you'd be looking at almost 60% extra, which is quite a bit more than 'a tiny bit'.
Give it a go, see how you like it... You can always return it to standard if you don't like it.

Yeah that's very true.

 

[rodenal]

I've had my current car mapped for around 3 years and had a few done previously. I only really had the current car done as I was already at the top end of the model/engine range and felt like it could do with a little bit more power.

Has it been worth it? Overall abaolutely but in practice you'll adapt to the revised power level very very quickly and not even notice it. If the car is manual and you use the power your consumables will wear quicker too - not necessarily to any sort of extreme level but it's fairly impossible for this not to happen.

My insurance suffered next to no cost impact through mapping (I'm sure there's some difference but be lucky if it's £20), however if you also have a couple of other modifications you can quickly drop out of the target market for some of the big insurers. This is fine if you tend to get competitive quotes from the likes of Greenlight / Chris Knott etc but I have rarely had these guys able to offer me anything at the right sort of price and because the car has a few (really minor but a mod is a mod) modifications I end up comparing Admiral/LV/Aviva/sometimes Flux or Chris Knott and that's about it. If for some reason your premium is about to go up (I had an accident last year for example) it can be harder work to get a sensible price.

Ultimately my premium for both cars only went up £50 as the result of a fault claim this year but I had to work to get it there and that's still a 10% increase.

As a last comment I wouldn't be happy with an increase of 50% solely from a map, how can that be a true figure and or reliable? I'd also be worried about the ability of the current brake setup to deal with the increase.

 

[andy_mk3]

Had my previous car mapped (A3 2.0TDI), took it from the standard 170 to just over 200bhp, with a hefty mid-range punch of torque. Really transformed how it drove. Drove 40k+ miles after the map and never any signs of an issue.

As a last comment I wouldn't be happy with an increase of 50% solely from a map, how can that be a true figure and or reliable? I'd also be worried about the ability of the current brake setup to deal with the increase.

It's a big increase because generally they use the exact same engine for different power outputs and only change the map on the ECU to restrict it. Most cars tend to have perfectly adequate brakes for the increase in power too. It's not like the old days whey they had 230mm solid discs which were pretty scary

 

[Fluke?]

Really tempted to do this on my crapbox corsa 1.7/130. Should take it to ~165ps and 300->380 torque.

 

[bainbridge]

I had my mx5 custom remapped from 158bhp to 180. It's not just about the power increase, it's about driveability. The tuner did over 40 dyno runs over the course of a morning, slowly tweaking the engine after examining the results of each run until he was happy.

It's like a different engine. The mx5 basically has hardly any torque, but it's just so much livelier and more eager to rev. It's like the engine the car should've had. The previous comment about getting used to the remap is true, but sometimes I switch to standard map for contrast and it's almost like going into limp mode.

 

[rodenal]

Had my previous car mapped (A3 2.0TDI), took it from the standard 170 to just over 200bhp, with a hefty mid-range punch or torque. Really transformed how it drove. Drove 40k+ miles after the map and never any signs of an issue.




It's a big increase because generally they use the exact same engine for different power outputs and only change the map on the ECU to restrict it. Most cars tend to have perfectly adequate brakes for the increase in power too. It's not like the old days whey they had 230mm solid discs which were pretty scary

That's quite a generic statement though isn't it (accepting I done the same thing to an extent)? I understand the point but I'd want to be confident I could stop with an extra 70bhp added to what must be a fairly low spec car/engine combo.

I went for upgraded pads on the Focus ST after only adding 25bhp or so through a map - that's on a car I rarely hit the brakes hard on the road and that was hardly under braked to start with

 

[MrRockliffe]

I’ve got some experience with a remapped car.

Biggest difference was motorway drivability for me - better low rev pulling power at ~60mph

MPG wise, I saw a decrease in my MPG, probably because you naturally become heavier footed, or because for the same accelerator pressure, you’re getting more power.

It went from 47 average down to about 43.

On a motorway, I couldn’t really say - it seems as though it’s not as eco, as I can’t seem to get above 57 anymore, but I couldn’t say for sure it’s as a result of a remap.


I did have some instances where the car threw a hissy when I put my foot down in first/second, probably due to the turbo being overworked.


Ended up removing it, since the trade off of a faster car for risk of damage wasn’t worth it.


Mine was a custom map

 

[andy_mk3]

That's quite a generic statement though isn't it (accepting I done the same thing to an extent)? I understand the point but I'd want to be confident I could stop with an extra 70bhp added to what must be a fairly low spec car/engine combo.

I went for upgraded pads on the Focus ST after only adding 25bhp or so through a map - that's on a car I rarely hit the brakes hard on the road and that was hardly under braked to start with

I do see your point for sure. I depends on the driver too, the map for me meant getting up to speed a lot quicker out of junctions, slip roads etc and some more overtaking grunt. It wasn't about actually going any faster so I think the brakes were barely an issue. Never got through a set of pads in the 40k+ I did in it either.

If you're pushing along on a twisty road then yes you certainly might well see the brakes become an issue, but I think you would have to be pushing hard. I wouldn't be surprised if a Volvo V40 had the same brakes across the entire range.

Edit: Hopefully someone who is having a big increase in power who is aiming to push along pretty well is aware that brakes might well need an upgrade

 

[DazQ87]

I've had several cars mapped (all turbo petrol hot hatches) in the past and never had any issues with them, currently driving a manual F56 JCW with a custom map on it, now at 280bhp up from 230bhp; whilst the stock car was quick enough, it always felt like it was artificially limited and ran out of puff above 5krpm, I asked the mappers to keep the low down driving characteristics the same but increase the power higher up the rev range to make it more rewarding to rev it out.

I can definitely notice a bit more torque low down (320nm up to 400nm) but when on a spirited B road drive it's much more fun to keep the revs higher now, rather than to just ride the mid range torque which is how the car felt like it was setup to drive in stock form.

I'd say go for a remap but do your research, I'd rather have a custom map or a more conservative map which has better drivability than some of these generic maps that claim to produce the highest numbers.

Regarding insurance I'm 33 now and my premium went up about £12 a year with the remap declared.

 

[squerble]

I'd like to have my 1.0 Ecoboost remapped from the standard 125 to the 140 that was offered on certain models in the Ford range, though this may require some new parts. A moot point anyway, as the factory engine torque output is also the torque limit on the auto gearbox so I'd rather not push too much through the 'box and lunch it!

 

[EdGey]

I've been tempted numerous times and then equally put off when I look into it properly. There's an element of risk that you need to be prepared to accept, which I'm not. I think I'd rather just bite the bullet and buy a faster car.

 

[Si105]

Depends on the car really, but in terms of insurance I can get my car insured at 370bhp (stock 225) for cheaper than stock via modified insurance policies. What you need to take into consideration is wear on the other components particularly clutch/dmf and potentially gearbox etc. Would avoid generic maps unless its a commonly modded car with decent pre made maps available. Don't worry too much about power figures either, how the map drives is much more important.

 

[Chris1712]

Depends on the car and the map. Some cars have plenty of headroom and it’s almost a no brainer, some cars are at their limits anyway and you’ll just overheat them and reduce the lifespan considerably.

Both cars I’ve had remapped have been well worth it though. My previous Z4 35iS was nearly 400bhp and the 4C goes from 240 to 290hp. No brainers both of them, absolutely the way the cars should have come from factory.

 

[pugheaven]

If the car is Naturally Aspirated (i.e. not super/turbo charged), don't bother, waste of money tbh. However, if it's forced induction then YES. My Saab 93 V6 2.8ltr was 252bhp and 247lbs. Post remap, was 318bhp and 444lbs... and the difference was incredible. Totally reliable and turned quite a quick car into a seriously quick car. All personal preference, but I've remapped; 205GTi, RX8, Saab and my Jeep SRT8. Only one of those was FI and the difference was night and day.

You have to make sure your clutch/auto tramission can handle it? Normally auto's are better equiped in FI engines. Everything will be under more strain... it's a matter of taking the chance and you MUST make sure you change oil more and maintain it a little better as everything is maxing out!!! Also, spark plugs and coils, cheap ones will fail a lot earlier so stick to Delphi!