Remapping. Risky? Your thoughts?

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the_worrier

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So, iot improve towing performance I am considering having my 2015/64 VW Passat 2.0L tdi 177ps (manual estate) remapped.

What are your thoughts and experiences? Would this just be too risky for you in terms of clutch/dmf?
 
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I've only ever had motorbikes remapped after changing the exhaust system. The increased fuel efficiency alone makes it worth it and pays for itself, you'll also have no flat spots over the rev range. This is assuming it's the same for cars and they use a rolling road and the guy knows what he's doing etc
 
Got my Audi TT TDI Ultra (190) manual remapped when I had it years ago with a Revo remap. Wasn’t cheap but really did improve the performance and did 30k miles with no issues at all.

Still miss that car today for some reason, you wouldn’t think that a diesel TT would have been much fun, yet somehow it was.
 
Generally speaking, I don't think the risks are too significant these days in terms of reliability when it comes to decent maps (i.e. not a bloke from Facebook Marketplace who'll flash map your car on the driveway in half an hour and be on his way) but if you're doing a lot of towing, then it would probably be sensible to budget for a new clutch at some point as making use of the increased torque output all the time will probably put enough extra strain on it to make it start slipping sooner or later. It always seemed to be the clutches that suffered from my anecdotal observation of people remapping in the vRS owners groups I was in.

(Also consider impact on insurance, whether you'd declare it etc. etc. which is an entire debate in itself - mine is declared fwiw)
 
Not sure it's really worth having a 2L diesel remapped, especially a Passat.

It'll feel a little more pokey for the first few weeks and then you won't notice it.


IMO best reason to get a remap is to change the power delivery characteristics of a petrol car, rather than more torque.


I've never seen a noticeable increase in MPG from remapping. The common reason I hear is "but you don't need to put your foot down as far" - in reality, this is due to the change in throttle map. I've seen a larger change in MPG from inflating tyres when they were quite low on my S5. In fact, it's how I could always tell the tyres were low and needed doing.
 
My car is mapped and it's quicker than standard as measured on a dragy, mpg is about what i expect. It's been mapped by a small/not well known tuner so may well have it remapped by someone better known (i bought it this way).
 
I got my Volvo mapped about 4 years ago, it was the official "Polestar" map done by Volvo at a Volvo dealership so figured it would be reasonable safe.

I would say however, it was expensive and very underwhelming, it supposedly increased the horsepower from 150 to 180 but I hardly noticed a difference.

The other thing is a lot of insurers see that as a performance modification and just outright refuse to insure you.

I'm with LVE who fortunately are quite considering when it comes to modifications and are also quite competitive price wise, but I'm basically stuck with them.
 
I wouldn't pay too much attention to mpg increase claims as the mpg readout is often thrown off by a remap. lots of cars measure the mpg by the measuring the volume of air the engine takes in and as you usually turn up the boost the engine consumes more air and will throw off the MPG reading so unless people are working it out at the pump and odometer i'd ignore it.

Modern maps seem to be pretty good from decent brands and not some facebook guy and if i had a car with a turbo i'd get one, where i think they really shine is on vehicles like my old work caddy van with a 2.0 VW engine but it was only 102bhp but with a remap they were back up to where a 2.0 tdi would be in a passenger car of around 170 so well worth doing in that case. Also driven a remapped VW polo tdi and that made a very dull car quite entertaining
 
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I have used Revo several times including my current Audi S4 (B8 3.0 V6 Supercharged version). Once you have a forced induction car remapped, you really do appreciate the added torque it brings in, I can have a car full and it feels every bit as responsive as it does when just one up. Ive never noticed any additional servicing etc and as long as the accelerator isn't treated like an on off switch, longevity really shouldn't be a problem unless there is an existing weakness.
 
I had my Skoda Yeti 2.0TDI mapped from 140 to 170bhp. Felt the slight increase at the beginning then got used to it. Added around £50 to my annual insurance premium if that helps... mpg averages around 55 - 58 on the motorway.
 
My mate had a A3 2.0 TDI 150BHP/340NM Torque Remapped.

It drove fine, had better power delivery and pulled more for longer towards the end of gears.

It was then a little faster than my Standard Golf GTD which are 184BHP/380NM.

I actually had a 150BHP/340NM A3 and it was considerably quicker.

I think something went bang on it eventually, but it was a 100k miles driven hard car.
 
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Ive always toyed with a remap, and would only ever consider it from a reputable dealer. I have the 2ltr TSI engine in my mk3.5 Octavia VRS, im expected to get anywhere between 55-75 more horsepower from a stage1, but with it being front wheel drive ive decided against it, as even with a tiny amount of moisture on the road it can spin quite easily, so 300+hp would be practically useless.

a friend of mine has a stage2 mk7 fiesta which was pushing out around 240hp. However that has just had a full engine replacement due to over fueling and cracking the cylinder liners, most fingers point towards this being caused by an aggressive map and cost him a cool £3500 for the pleasure.
 
I had a Rover 2.0L diesel a good few years ago, probably one of the last years they were produced, think it was a 2004 or 2005 model?
It was a bit of a brute and sluggish on roundabouts so I toyed with the idea of a remap. After reading up on remap for that particular model I decided against it and solved the problem by changing the car.

The replacement was a Hyundai Coupe, original model, one of the best cars I ever had.

I think remaps are probably a lot more reliable nowadays than they used to be.
However, it may be worth investigating remap enhancements on a per model basis rather than a more generalised remap or not type approach?
 
I thought about remapping my T5, there is an official Polestar tune I can get for silly money or cheap as chips 3rd party one.

Polestar tune brings it from 227 to 250 BHP which is quite healthy (almost) 10% gain. Torque from 236 to 273.

The only thing putting me off is the extra load it put on the drive train, considering the car’s age now.
 
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My V70 D5 has just had its DPF removed along with a supposed 212bhp remap.

Performance is identical so I can only assume it’s was already remapped before I bought it as my mechanic has been telling me it must have been.

Removing the DPF has transformed the car, the average mpg is up by roughly 10mpg, it’s far more flexible through the gears and it goes like stink although it always has!

I’m prepared for a clutch being required at some point, that said, I’ve owned it for the past 20k miles and the clutch bites just fine and I’m careful not to put too much load on it.

The one thing this “new” map has given me is a flat spot between 1100-1300rpm, I can easily drive around it as such but it is irritating.

I’d highly recommend mapping.
 
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