Remapping FAQ
There are lots of reasons that people consider remapping their car, van or motocycle. These include :-
- To increase power
- To improve Miles Per Gallon
- To provide more torque for towing
- To enable easier overtaking
- Correcting the de-tune that the manufacturer did to spread model capabilities
In a nutshell there are almost as many reasons for wanting a remap as there are companies offering them!
What change can a Remap make
The possible improvement to be gained by a Remap on its own without any modifications to the vehicle are determined by a number of things and they all come down to what kind of vehicle or engine is fitted.
Normally Aspirated Petrol engines will typically see improvements of about 10% and up to 10% improvement to MPG figures
Turbocharged or Supercharged Petrol Engines can be improved up to as much as 35% increase in horsepower and a 10% increase in MPG
Normally Aspirated Diesel Engines will see up to 15% increase in power and up to 10% increase in MPG
Turbocharged Diesel engines normally see the biggest improvement with typically 30-35% increase In Torque and Horsepower and a 10% increase in MPG
The information above shows typical improvement figures, some engines can achieve more or less, if you want to know about your particular vehicle, please contact us and we will answer any questions you may have.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS REMAPPING?
Modern vehicles contain an ECU (or Engine Control Unit) that is effectively a computer which controls all the settings for the engine. Vehicle manufacturers tune the engine by setting the software on the ECU to a worldwide default. This is done due to the manufacturers having to sell their cars all over the world; this means that the software settings on the ECU must take into account different climates, laws & restrictions and varying quality of fuels. Vehicle remapping is basically the modification of the manufacturers default settings on a vehicles ECU.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
A vehicle remap replaces some of the original settings or calibrations on the ECU, overwriting it with the settings which can be programmed to optimize the cars overall performance. This is known as vehicle remapping because the ECU is essentially a program that controls how the engine works. When your car is remapped, the tuned software is plugged into your cars OBD port which then overwrites the engine map with the new version to enhance engine performance. The ability to flash directly through the OBD has brought the tuning industry on leaps and bounds, with constant development on the engine now being much quicker via the flash process; it has enabled Turner Performance to develop some of the best software in the world.
WHY CHOOSE VEHICLE REMAPPING?
There are many reasons to choose vehicle remapping. Firstly, you will notice that your engine responds better when the accelerator is pressed. The overall torque and power will be noticeably increased. Power delivery will be smoother making for a much safer driving experience, which in turn also makes it easier and safer to overtake. During cruising such as on the motorway you will notice that your MPG is better which not only decreases the cost of fuel that you will use, but it also minimizes your carbon foot print. Throttle response will be improved and the rev range will often be extended.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF ECU REMAPPING?
Many people say that ECU remapping doesn’t affect fuel usage; however this is not technically true. Because of the process involved in ECU remapping more fuel is going to be consumed in order to produce the increase in power. If the car is driven in an enthusiastic way after the remap has been carried out then the fuel economy will not increase (and in some cases may decrease). If, however, the driver adapts their driving style to make the most of the increased power and torque throughout the rev range then fuel economy can be increased. A good example of this could be that the improvement in torque produced by the engine after remapping means the driver no longer has to drop down a gear to maintain speed on an incline or may not have to change gear as frequently in traffic. All of these little things add up to an increase in fuel economy.
WHAT IS CHIP TUNING?
Chip tuning is the original definition of what modern day ECU Remapping has become. Chip tuning requires the removal of the Eprom from the ECU and the software is programmed to the chip on the bench. The software inside the chip is what is referred to as remapping, i.e. altering the standard software within a chip. Chip tuning or chipping has become less and less prevalent in the market place as, since 1996, OBD remapping has taken its place enabling remapping to be done via the OBD (on-board diagnostics) port.
We work on all ages of ECU from the early EDC's requiring chip tuning right the way through to modern MEDC17 locked tricore processor ECU's with tuner protection. A Turner Performance chip tune can provide you with all stages of upgrade from a basic ECU Remap right up to full engine conversions.
HOW WILL THE REMAP AFFECT MY WARRANTY?
Technically, modifying any part of a car can invalidate some or all elements of a manufacturer or approved used warranty. In most cases however, no physical modification will be made to your ECU as the remap can be uploaded via the OBD port. However while a car is under warranty and returning to a main dealer for service and updates, there is a possibility your map could be overwritten and lost.
SHOULD I TELL MY INSURANCE COMPANY?
It is a legal requirement to tell your insurance company if you modify your car in any way. Some insurance companies will not penalise you for remapping your car.
HOW WILL IT AFFECT THE LONGEVITY OF MY ENGINE?
The remap will obviously increase the power output of your vehicle and depending on how you drive depends on how reliable it is for you. If you drive it harder than normal you can expect to decrease the life of your engine but likewise if you thrashed it without even having it mapped then you would expect this to be the case anyway. The remap does not in any way stress the engine so the remap itself does not affect the longevity, only your driving style. We have remapped modern engines with over 200,000 miles without issue so it is very unlikely that you will get issues.
HOW WILL A REMAP AFFECT MY FUEL CONSUMPTION?
Depending on what your requirements are and your driving style depends on what your fuel economy will be. If you go for an outright maximum power output and drive it as so, you can expect to see it decrease as it would without the map. If you get the map to increase torque low down and drive conservatively then it is likely that fuel economy will increase. Please note that fuel economy gains are only likely on turbo diesel engines, petrol engines generally stay the same with some reporting slight improvements. An increase of up to 10% in MPG is quite common
CAN THE REMAP BE REVERSED?
Selling your car? We can completely reverse the process for a small service charge should you wish to have your remap removed. Similarly, if your car loses the remap software due to a software upgrade at the main dealer, we can reinstall it for you.
I INTEND TO MAKE FURTHER MODIFICATIONS…
Again, let us know what you’re planning so we can advise the best way forward and can even offer great package deals on other performance upgrades.
WHAT WARRANTY DO YOU OFFER?
As we change nothing on your car other than a software map, there is nothing for us to give a warranty on other than the contents of the software against corruption and faults. If for some obscure reason you suffer a problem, we will do our utmost to help you including returning your car to standard for any testing. We offer 1 year warranty on the software itself.
I HAVE AN AUTOMATIC GEARBOX, CAN MY CAR STILL BE REMAPPED?
Yes it certainly can. An automatic gearbox in most instances is actually stronger than a manual so with regards to the power it is more than up to handling it. There are however a few things to note with regard to automatic gearboxes. If you have a DSG gearbox then we are able to modify the software to allow more torque and higher RPMS. If you have an automatic box which isn’t DSG then we are unable to remove the engine RPM limiters so although you get more power, the gearbox will still change at the factory RPM limiter.
HOW WILL THE REMAP AFFECT THE LIFETIME OF MY ENGINE?
The power of an engine doesn’t determine its longevity, the way in which it is driven and maintained does. Most engines these days are modular and therefore one engine can provide various power outputs from factory varied only by the software in the ECU. The use of modular engines highlights very clearly the large tolerances available within modern engines
I HAVE MODIFIED MY ENGINE, WILL IT AFFECT THE REMAP?
If you have made modifications to your vehicle which take it beyond our advertised stages of tune then talk to us as we can provide full custom tuning to accommodate the full range of upgrades for modern engines.
I INTEND ON MAKING FURTHER MODIFICATIONS…..
Again, let us know what you’re planning so we can advise the best way forward and can even offer great package deals on other performance upgrades.
WILL MY AUTO GEARBOX TAKE THE EXTRA POWER?
In many circumstances an auto gearbox is actually stronger than the manual variation. However, all of our software is designed to be safe and reliable for all systems. Should there be known limitations of a gearbox, then our software will have been designed to restrict peak torque values.
The gearbox controllers are based on torque load and thus will provide you with reduced lag on pickup but will not totally eradicate it due to the communication delay between the ecu and gear box controller. Our software is designed to work along side your gearbox controller to ensure smooth running of your vehicle.
THE POWER GAINS YOU QUOTE ARE HIGHER THAN OTHER COMPANIES, WHY?
The answer to this is very simple as, unlike most UK ‘tuning’ companies, we are genuine software developers who write, and more importantly actually develop, all of our software in house. Our power stats are the result of extensive development programmes which ensures we bring the best software to the market giving you maximum performance with maintained reliability! Due to the lack of regulation in the tuning industry there are many so called ‘tuners’, who are usually back street garages, who make great claims without any means of substantiating them. Our power gains are developed and designed for optimum performance and reliability
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