Cerbera chip upgrade - fitted last week
Discussion
Hi all
Just got back from a week in sunny Spain, picked my 4.5 up from Andy at APM on the way home from Gatwick, and wow, what a difference!!! What's he done then, sneaked in one of his NOS kits for a laugh to scare me on the way to Le Mans??
No, just a remapped chip for the ECU, which makes the car run "like it should have done from the start", according to Andy.
This all came about a few weeks ago - on one of my frequent visits to APM(!), he asked whether I'd heard anything more of the Joospeed/Austec upgrades, to which I said no. He asked whether I wanted to try one of his - of course, I virtually tore his arm off...
So what's it like? Well, the most noticeable difference first off is the smoothness of the idle, and the way in which it is now child's play to tootle along in traffic at 1500rpm - 2500rpm with no stutter or jerkiness in the throttle response. It just feels cleaner and smoother, almost (dare I say it) like an S6 at low revs.
And then when you boot it, it "feels" like it's got more grunt, and pulls incredibly cleanly through to 7000rpm. Running on a part throttle at say 4000rpm then booting it, the take up is instant, and it definitely feels more grunty in my car. Having said that, as I understand it, the purpose of the ship is not to release more geegees, but to fill in some of the blanks from the original mapping, resulting in more consistent fuelling across the rev range.
And by God it works!! The cost of all this? A measly £190 or so plus VAT. Form an orderly queue, gentlemen (and ladies)......
Cheers
Sean
PS Andy's on 07740 723673
Just got back from a week in sunny Spain, picked my 4.5 up from Andy at APM on the way home from Gatwick, and wow, what a difference!!! What's he done then, sneaked in one of his NOS kits for a laugh to scare me on the way to Le Mans??
No, just a remapped chip for the ECU, which makes the car run "like it should have done from the start", according to Andy.
This all came about a few weeks ago - on one of my frequent visits to APM(!), he asked whether I'd heard anything more of the Joospeed/Austec upgrades, to which I said no. He asked whether I wanted to try one of his - of course, I virtually tore his arm off...
So what's it like? Well, the most noticeable difference first off is the smoothness of the idle, and the way in which it is now child's play to tootle along in traffic at 1500rpm - 2500rpm with no stutter or jerkiness in the throttle response. It just feels cleaner and smoother, almost (dare I say it) like an S6 at low revs.
And then when you boot it, it "feels" like it's got more grunt, and pulls incredibly cleanly through to 7000rpm. Running on a part throttle at say 4000rpm then booting it, the take up is instant, and it definitely feels more grunty in my car. Having said that, as I understand it, the purpose of the ship is not to release more geegees, but to fill in some of the blanks from the original mapping, resulting in more consistent fuelling across the rev range.
And by God it works!! The cost of all this? A measly £190 or so plus VAT. Form an orderly queue, gentlemen (and ladies)......
Cheers
Sean
PS Andy's on 07740 723673
trooper1212 said:
Does this need a trip to APM? or is it a chip that can be sent in the post?
It may do, as my invoice mentions something about setting it up on the laptop. Best bet is to give him a call (the fitment of the chip itself is a five minute job, straight replacement for the original)
cheers
sean
simonsparrow said:
Did you have any issues with your insurer? As I understand its a ECU 'software upgrade' rather than and re-chip/custom remap, so may be more insurer friendly.
Err, nope, not yet.....(where's their number!!)
But you're absolutely right, just a "software upgrade"...
Incidentally, what did your insurers think of the BMC filters (got a pair sitting in a box in the garage, may fit them tomorrow night before Le Mans trip)?? How did you secure the airflow meter into the rough looking hole in the side of the BMC filter??
cheers
sean
Hi Sean,
The airfilters were no problem with the insurers, just noted on the file
The air temp sensor just sort of bolted into the hole in the filter (in the same way that it did into the original airbox). The other hole in the driver's side filter, I just blocked off with a nylon nut and bolt (number plate fixings).
The airfilters were no problem with the insurers, just noted on the file
The air temp sensor just sort of bolted into the hole in the filter (in the same way that it did into the original airbox). The other hole in the driver's side filter, I just blocked off with a nylon nut and bolt (number plate fixings).
It's not the same. Andy at APM described it as the factory taking the best map bits from the best engines and rolling it into one chip. (i.e. crispest running between 1.5-2K RPM etc. etc.)
The other two options (Austec and Emerald) are both bespoke mappings tuned on a rolling road for individual cars. They should yield tbe best results, but the option taken by Beemer sounds pretty good and is very cost-effective compared to the others.
I was considering the Emerald ECU, but will try this first.
The other two options (Austec and Emerald) are both bespoke mappings tuned on a rolling road for individual cars. They should yield tbe best results, but the option taken by Beemer sounds pretty good and is very cost-effective compared to the others.
I was considering the Emerald ECU, but will try this first.
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