Remap car or look at something new?
Discussion
This is following on from my other post regarding an Octavia VRS or a Fabia VRS. My wife has just got a Mokka so now money is a bit tight. Her is now the practical car with the big boot space etc so now thinking do I save money and just have mine tuned so it's more fun to drive? Currently have a Mazda 3 105bhp diesel. 59 plate and has done under 70k miles, I have been quoted £279 with outputs of 140bhp and a 70nm climb on torque. I'm not up to the times with how different this will be (fastest car I've owned was a 116D with 117bhp). Does this sound worth it?
i was in a similar situation about a year ago, but to be fair, i've been used to more powerful cars.
Brief timeline
Leased audi s3 which went back in Nov 2018
bought a civic 2016 FK2 diesel (120bhp) as a sensible commute car in nov 2018
felt like taking a pad saw to my bare arms due to the depression of driving the civic
took the civic for a remap in feb 2019 - (120 to 165bhp)
felt like taking a pad saw to my bare arms due to the depression of driving the civic
part exchanged the civic in august 2019 for a 2009 3.0ltr inline 6 cylinder twin turbo petrol Z4
Moral of this story is, imo, a remap won't make a dull car interesting. It'll make an interesting car MORE interesting. But a dull car will remain dull unless you spend a serious amount of money on it.
Brief timeline
Leased audi s3 which went back in Nov 2018
bought a civic 2016 FK2 diesel (120bhp) as a sensible commute car in nov 2018
felt like taking a pad saw to my bare arms due to the depression of driving the civic
took the civic for a remap in feb 2019 - (120 to 165bhp)
felt like taking a pad saw to my bare arms due to the depression of driving the civic
part exchanged the civic in august 2019 for a 2009 3.0ltr inline 6 cylinder twin turbo petrol Z4
Moral of this story is, imo, a remap won't make a dull car interesting. It'll make an interesting car MORE interesting. But a dull car will remain dull unless you spend a serious amount of money on it.
I'm not sure about differences in engine characteristics, but I've owned a Mazda3 (same generation as yours) with the 2.2d 185 engine for around four years, now on 100k - always find it a reasonably enjoyable drive on A/B road journeys - I like the weighting of the steering and the gearchange - so I'd be tempted to keep and consider a remap unless you are planning a significant upgrade.
ZX10R NIN said:
What would you consider changing to? Once you answer that question then you'll be able to workout if a remap is something you'll be happy with.
Good question, would still need to have 5 doors and would like it to be fun to drive. Open to suggestions but would be on a pretty tight budget of £2.5k-£3kDMc87 said:
Good question, would still need to have 5 doors and would like it to be fun to drive. Open to suggestions but would be on a pretty tight budget of £2.5k-£3k
Giulietta Veloce in either petrol or diesel both are 170bhp with the diesel having a bit more torque so it feels the quicker out of the two but both are good steers:https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108035...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105172...
Petrol but you'll have to haggle
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107014...
DS4 200 same engine as the 208 GTI but with a softer ride but you can have some fun with it:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107185...
308 Allure 156
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108015...
2.0d Astra SRI 165
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107315...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202002227...
1.6T SRI 180
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107084...
All modern cars handle well so you'll be able to have a fun steer in all of the above, but I thik you get a better car by going the next size up for your budget.
Mondeo Titanium X 160 good steer & a nice swift car too:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107124...
Insignia SRI 165
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106244...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107275...
Leftfield
MG6 GT SE 160 might not be fun but make sure you test drive one first:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106033...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105182...
GT S
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107255...
Belle427 said:
The remap will make a difference for sure, the torque increase will make it much more pleasurable to drive.
This. Your motor has only done 70k miles. If you spunk 3grand on a car, you know you’ll need to find another 3 to 500 before long on it.
I wouldn’t worry about your brakes etc. They’ll be fine for that. It’ll be more powerful with no extra weight - it’ll be a much better drive.
If, that’s if, something goes wrong, so what? Just fix it. It won’t cost that much. Certainly not 2 grand.
You did say money is tight.
Going against the grain, but a remap will make the car quicker, which will feel more fun at first, but all the cars components will be under more strain, so you could feasibly overwhelm the brakes and suspension, cooling system etc if you drive really hard, so apart from the outright performance, it could make the car all round worse. That's not a given, it'll depend on the car, but I remember from my Fabia vRS days that people got remaps, but then needed brake and suspension upgrades, bigger intercoolers etc. Ultimately it'll be the same car too. If you're bored with the car I would change it for something else.
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