Remaps worth it or not?
Discussion
Just interested to see what your opinions of simple ECU remaps are?
I know it depends on the car but I did some reading into my car which is a 120hp Mazda 3 2l ( naturally aspirated ) although people on dynos say it has a fair bit more ( like most manufacturers )
Mazda do have a 165hp version from what I understand is identical except for the ECU tuning and gearbox ratios
Some places reckon you can get to this spec by an ECU tune. The big however, is that it only comes into play past 4,000rpms, less than 4k RPMs and the car has identical performance ( according to others with the map ) . in my experience of driving this car, that is very rare I ever push it to 4,000rpms, other than the occasional slip road.. meaning I have ruled out getting a map done but just want to see what you think ?
I'd assume you need to factor what type of driving you do and whether you would benefit from the remap. I seldom do long motorways journeys so probably wouldn't see much benefit.
Any remapping comes with risk right? And from what I hear you need to find someone who specialises in the manufacturer.
Thanks
I know it depends on the car but I did some reading into my car which is a 120hp Mazda 3 2l ( naturally aspirated ) although people on dynos say it has a fair bit more ( like most manufacturers )
Mazda do have a 165hp version from what I understand is identical except for the ECU tuning and gearbox ratios
Some places reckon you can get to this spec by an ECU tune. The big however, is that it only comes into play past 4,000rpms, less than 4k RPMs and the car has identical performance ( according to others with the map ) . in my experience of driving this car, that is very rare I ever push it to 4,000rpms, other than the occasional slip road.. meaning I have ruled out getting a map done but just want to see what you think ?
I'd assume you need to factor what type of driving you do and whether you would benefit from the remap. I seldom do long motorways journeys so probably wouldn't see much benefit.
Any remapping comes with risk right? And from what I hear you need to find someone who specialises in the manufacturer.
Thanks
Edited by MakaveliX on Tuesday 17th October 18:31
I don't think there is any risks with a decent remap, but you are right in that most of the gains are going to be in the higher rev range.
Generally speaking though, the difference between a low power engine and a higher powered one (factory engines) isn't just a remap. There are normally minor physical differences to help release those extra horses along with the ECU changes. Could be as simple as a slightly larger air intake pipe for example.
Generally speaking though, the difference between a low power engine and a higher powered one (factory engines) isn't just a remap. There are normally minor physical differences to help release those extra horses along with the ECU changes. Could be as simple as a slightly larger air intake pipe for example.
My Mazda 1.5D engine lasted 25k miles on its remap;
It was never quite right after the first company mapped it, went back 6 times and then had it returned to standard, then took it to another company and had a custom roading road map installed. It ran well with the exception that you couldn’t leave the it idling in neutral as it would start its injector adaptation then knock It went back a couple of times and was told their coder was getting angry and wouldn’t look at it again. Understandably i’m not a fan and both our current cars and standard.
It was never quite right after the first company mapped it, went back 6 times and then had it returned to standard, then took it to another company and had a custom roading road map installed. It ran well with the exception that you couldn’t leave the it idling in neutral as it would start its injector adaptation then knock It went back a couple of times and was told their coder was getting angry and wouldn’t look at it again. Understandably i’m not a fan and both our current cars and standard.
MakaveliX said:
Any remapping comes with risk right?
It'll just be statistics for the manufacturer. They'll have computer models that predict failure rates, and hence warranty costs across thousands of sales. They'll build that into the cost of the car.Numbers made up, but it might be the OEM map leads to 1 in a thousand failures, whereas the aftermarket map leads to 10 in a thousand.
For the manufacturer these numbers are important because they sell thousands. For an individual, the chance of a failure will just increase from 0.1% to 1%.
So a failure should be unlikely, and you'll get loads of people saying maps are fine, because for most people they are.
The Mazda3 does seem to be one of the cars that is detuned from the factory, so as stated can be easily un-detuned (
) to the full 160bhp that the same engine has in the MX5 or the later Mazda3.
Perhaps the OP might use the full rev range if the power actually keeps increasing past 4k.
The likes of BBR claim 185bhp for that engine with some basic bolt-on parts
https://bbrgti.com/blogs/news/bbr-launches-185-bhp...
) to the full 160bhp that the same engine has in the MX5 or the later Mazda3.Perhaps the OP might use the full rev range if the power actually keeps increasing past 4k.
The likes of BBR claim 185bhp for that engine with some basic bolt-on parts
https://bbrgti.com/blogs/news/bbr-launches-185-bhp...
lemonslap said:
My Mazda 1.5D engine lasted 25k miles on its remap;
It was never quite right after the first company mapped it, went back 6 times and then had it returned to standard, then took it to another company and had a custom roading road map installed. It ran well with the exception that you couldn’t leave the it idling in neutral as it would start its injector adaptation then knock It went back a couple of times and was told their coder was getting angry and wouldn’t look at it again. Understandably i’m not a fan and both our current cars and standard.
This is exactly why I wouldn’t mess with it. If you want more performance then just buy a faster car. It was never quite right after the first company mapped it, went back 6 times and then had it returned to standard, then took it to another company and had a custom roading road map installed. It ran well with the exception that you couldn’t leave the it idling in neutral as it would start its injector adaptation then knock It went back a couple of times and was told their coder was getting angry and wouldn’t look at it again. Understandably i’m not a fan and both our current cars and standard.
A friend of mine years ago had a chip fitted to his Rover 800 Vitesse Turbo Sport, I think to about 230 BHP. He kept going on about the increased power and improved economy. The reality was that it couldn’t get its power down and the horrific understeer just got worse.
I’m also convinced it was this that was responsible for the gearboxes premature demise.
I was thinking of having my 2014 Octavia vRS estate remapped. I’ve never had one done before as I’ve never really seen the point. However, the car’s getting a bit long in the tooth and I’m not sure if I can be bothered to replace it. It’s such a great workhorse but I want to spice things up a bit. Besides, I’m not overly fussed if it goes bang.
[quote=ChubbyrossBesides, I’m not overly fussed if it goes bang.
[/quote]
I think this is the critical bit, remapping an engine carries some risk of damage, if it is a daily driver that will cause of a lot trouble if it goes pop them a remap is probably not worth it.
Anything else that does not matter if it goes pop then why not. It is only a money issue at the end of the day.
[/quote]
I think this is the critical bit, remapping an engine carries some risk of damage, if it is a daily driver that will cause of a lot trouble if it goes pop them a remap is probably not worth it.
Anything else that does not matter if it goes pop then why not. It is only a money issue at the end of the day.
I did, but wouldn’t now as you’re very much at the mercy of the monkey with the laptop who’ll deny any responsibility if it breaks. Instead, buy a faster car.
On the other hand, my Monaro has a bigger 6.2L LSA engine which has been custom built (different cam, pistons etc) for power and supercharged. I had it custom mapped by 2 of the very best in the business, from scratch which took about a week. Cost about a grand but it runs like it came from the factory like it. In short, you get what you pay for.
Personally, I wouldn’t bother remapping a small engined NA car, you might get an extra 15hp which you probably won’t notice on the road.
On the other hand, my Monaro has a bigger 6.2L LSA engine which has been custom built (different cam, pistons etc) for power and supercharged. I had it custom mapped by 2 of the very best in the business, from scratch which took about a week. Cost about a grand but it runs like it came from the factory like it. In short, you get what you pay for.
Personally, I wouldn’t bother remapping a small engined NA car, you might get an extra 15hp which you probably won’t notice on the road.
There's guys over in the Jaguar/Land Rover forums/social media who will tell you how brilliant it is to remap the 3.0d V6 engine to 300BHP plus. Then they sell it on and the next owner is bemoaning spun bearings and a written-off engine due to oil dilution caused by overfuelling.
The 276PS version of the Lion engine is already a 'factory remap' of the original 245PS design, so the standard argument that engine builders leave some headroom for reliability yadayada does not always apply.
Roll the dice if you want to be the one who finds out....
The 276PS version of the Lion engine is already a 'factory remap' of the original 245PS design, so the standard argument that engine builders leave some headroom for reliability yadayada does not always apply.
Roll the dice if you want to be the one who finds out....
FMOB said:
[quote=ChubbyrossBesides, I’m not overly fussed if it goes bang.
I think this is the critical bit, remapping an engine carries some risk of damage, if it is a daily driver that will cause of a lot trouble if it goes pop them a remap is probably not worth it.Anything else that does not matter if it goes pop then why not. It is only a money issue at the end of the day.
My friend has an Audi A4 1.4 diesel and when he bought it I questioned why he bought something with a small engine as he usually likes his cars to be on the spicier side. He has since had it remapped and from the passenger seat it really feels like it has a much bigger engine than a 1.4, the torque is quite impressive. He said it has massively improved the driveability of the car. No idea what the power figures were/are but he mainly had it remapped to improve on the fuel economy.
I got my m140 mapped in february (ots switchable bm3 stage 1 map). taken from 340ish bhp to 400ish with a whack more torque. There seem to be an awful lot of these cars with this or the mhd remaps with very few reported issues, so I thought it was worth the risk.
Love the extra shove when I want to use it and the option to switch between 4 maps (california fuel spec, super unleaded, standard uk fuel (the one I've recently switched. I haven't noticed any difference power wise as I don't really thrash the car very often) and standard power map.
Love the extra shove when I want to use it and the option to switch between 4 maps (california fuel spec, super unleaded, standard uk fuel (the one I've recently switched. I haven't noticed any difference power wise as I don't really thrash the car very often) and standard power map.
I tend to shy away from one-size-fits-all maps unless it’s a very mild tune well within the engines known limits, but I have had a number of turbo cars both road and rolling road mapped to the limits, but only where I know and can trust the mappers reputation.
The engine/ancillaries concerned have to be in good order from the start and any mapper worth that reputation will turn away a car with a suspect coil, injector or cylinder compression etc.. found during the pre mapping checks.
The engine/ancillaries concerned have to be in good order from the start and any mapper worth that reputation will turn away a car with a suspect coil, injector or cylinder compression etc.. found during the pre mapping checks.
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