Is remapping bad or not.

5tephen

5tephen

5tephen

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I've spent probably hours now reading about remapping and seem to hear almost nothing but good about it, but I'm trying to convince myself how something so good cannot have its downsides. As my second ever car my E60 530D is more than fast enough for me (given that my previous one was a 2.5 straight diesel 12-yr-old c class) but as always, it seems fast until something faster comes along. So why would I not get it remapped? I'm more concerned about not harming the car rather than getting more power since the car's relatively new to me and it took a hefty chunk out of my bank account to get it, so I'd like it to last me a few years without too much pain.

There is a local guy who is rated among the best in N Ireland and is literally 5 minutes from where I live (website can be found here and there are guys that send brand new range rovers, porsches etc. to him.

I understand that every engine can perform better as they've been manufacturer-restricted for emissions regulations and what not, but are there any side effects? I'm thinking life of the turbo, extra noise from the engine, shortened life of any other engine components? I know these can be shortened by driving style regardless of state of tune, but I do look after the car well in giving the engine time to warm up before really pushing it, and if it has had a run of horsing I would allow at least a minute or two of relaxed driving before switching the engine off (this is supposed to help the turbo, I don't know how much but I do it out of good practice anyway).

Opinions/facts on remapping please :)
 
5tephen said:
my second ever car my E60 530D is more than fast enough for me

Opinions/facts on remapping please :)
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I think you answered it right there, perhaps.

Much depends on the company afaik, however it has become more of a reliable and mainstream over the last few years.

As long as you drive normally and get it done somewhere reputable, should be fine imho.
 
A car leaves the factory with the ability to drive on many roads on many fuel grades with many different driving styles.

I'm sure a remap can be a good thing whereby you correct all the above to your driving and fuel grade.

I'm also sure that a remap for more raw power can have an adverse effect. The components were designed to take some pounding, but give them that pounding all the time and the wear and tear will quicken. So your car life could be shortened, but if that life was 10 years and you're not in it for the long run, then so what.

There are now kits on ebay where you can upload your own engine mappings to the ECU.

Another question would be 'would you be a pre-mapped car off someone?'

The final thing to do is go and talk to your re-map guy 5 minutes down the road.

so I'd like it to last me a few years without too much pain.
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I would personally leave it be and then get a faster car when the time comes.

Insurance costs are also a factor.
 
!bluetonic! said:
Another question would be 'would you be a pre-mapped car off someone?'

Insurance costs are also a factor.
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When I bought my car I was adamant I wanted one that hadn't been remapped... I'm now considering getting it remapped :o

Its a fair point though as many buyers like me will be happier buying a standard car, thats why if I do get it remapped I'll get it done local(ish) so when the time comes I'll get the map put back to standard.

Insurance issues are enough to put me off at the moment. I'm lazy enough that not being able to use the online quote search sites and go for whatever comes out best is a deciding factor for me :o When I renew in December I might enquire and see what they say but I can't see me wanting to pay way over the top for my insurance incase I do decide to get it done at some point.

As for whether it damages your car, I think its fair to say that it puts extra load on some components and your clutch won't last quite as long but I can't see it having a massive effect. Lets be honest considering how many miles a car is capable of these days if you cut that by 10 or 20% it isn't the end of the world. I'd be more tempted going for a safe generic map than a 'squeeze all you can out of it' custom one though.

On Briskoda I've read a couple of posts about people having trouble after a remap but they tend to fall into one of two catagories- getting it done on the cheap and the extra power killing things quicker like recirc valves and clutches which were probably on the way out anyway and have been finished off by the extra strain put on them.
 
lordrobs said:
On Briskoda I've read a couple of posts about people having trouble after a remap but they tend to fall into one of two catagories- getting it done on the cheap and the extra power killing things quicker like recirc valves and clutches which were probably on the way out anyway and have been finished off by the extra strain put on them.
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On my current car, I wouldn't get it done. There is no point in increasing the power from 73 BHP to 90 BHP. :p

I am interested in the Volvo S60 D5 at the moment and if I ever got one on the basis I would probably loose all the money I paid for it, I would get a remap done.

As said, I would think a 'personal' remap to suit your car, fuel grade and driving style not on the cheap would be best.
 
Remapping on turbo petrol cars really makes a huge difference in both performance and driveability if you go to the right mapper. I can get an extra 25-40bhp from a remap, along with a better power and torque curve. Also in nearly all cases, the fueling is altered to give better fuel economy.
 
I would definitely get it done, but not for all out power.

I'm looking into getting a remap done on my car, and they seem to range from 210bhp to 260bhp (claimed).

I want to get the car mapped to my requirements, to suit my driving style and to improve the economy.

If you get it done, let me know - I'd probably head up there to get it done.
 
After the stories I have read I really don't feel confident, then other stories makee me feel it is ok.

Personally I know I don't have the fastest car in the world but it starts up and gets me where I need to go. As that is not a problem I really don't want to risk it.

In the UK I would probably go with AMD, I would never do a DIY job though.
 
My last 2 cars were remapped, while the current one is tweaked. Nothing has gone wrong as a result

If anything the 2 petrol cars were much better on petrol, gave smoother performance across the rev range and much more peak power.

I'd say go for it, but personally I would get a custom map and not just a generic chip. Reason being with a custom map the mapper can spot any problems with your engine along the way and advise accordingly. If you just stick a chip in there and it turns out your turbo is on its way out you won't know until it dies.
 
5tephen - i am also 5 ins away from TT :)
i have emailed them about remapping my vRS tfsi now :)
i have heard good things about them. there are also some other mappers in and around ballymena eg obd autotune
let us know if you do decide to have the 530 remapped at TT and the service you get!
 
I've had my car remapped, wasn't really to gain lots of top end power but to give it a nice boost of torque low down to make day to day driving a lot easier, the remap also ironed out a few flat spots which was nice.

As has been said, try and go for a custom map if possible, because even if a car appears to be identical there may have been problems with the car it was mapped on, or your own so can tailor to suit.
 
spaz said:
I've had my car remapped, wasn't really to gain lots of top end power but to give it a nice boost of torque low down to make day to day driving a lot easier, the remap also ironed out a few flat spots which was nice.

As has been said, try and go for a custom map if possible, because even if a car appears to be identical there may have been problems with the car it was mapped on, or your own so can tailor to suit.
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That's exactly what I'm after - I'd like to have a bit more torque lower down as top end power doesn't really matter, there'd be no benefit there. And yeah I'd definitely go for a custom one, anything else would be a waste of time and effort really.

encephalopathy - a ballymena man too are you ;) Yeah I've heard of obd autotune, they're in pennybridge right? I pretty much heard of TT from ni-bmw.co.uk and everyone there speaks very highly of work he's done.

commited - I'll let you know. Is yours a 530d as well from what I remember? My E60 is 218bhp and it can be brought up to 250bhp or thereabouts. I notice on his website that he mentions services available in several different places, I don't know if it's him or some sort of franchise setup though. Better sticking to where the word is good though :)
 
I think I'll be remapping whatever diesel BMW I (eventually) get, if only to get it back up near to the 3.0 petrol's power output. If it's done properly, surely it's fairly unlikely to cause problems?
 
As people have said, it just varies one what you use.

Blu-Fin have a map especially for the Mini ONE, potentail gains are around 40bhp from the standard 90, and for £300, you cant really complain, i have a few mates in the owners club that have used them and not have a single problem with them.
 
5tephen said:
commited - I'll let you know. Is yours a 530d as well from what I remember? My E60 is 218bhp and it can be brought up to 250bhp or thereabouts. I notice on his website that he mentions services available in several different places, I don't know if it's him or some sort of franchise setup though. Better sticking to where the word is good though :)
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E39 530d yeah. I honestly dont think it's making the power it's meant to be, so even to get it up there for a tune up will be great!
 
Nickg said:
id go for a mild map, dont push anything too much will still give you a boost, maybe fuel savings without noticeably shortening the lifespan of any components?
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Yeah, I've got a 330d with a mild map (210bhp/385lbft). Economy is the same, feels much faster, done about 10k miles on it - car is now up to 123k.
 
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