ECU remapping on a turbo diesel - pro's and con's?

[orange71]

as I said - a bit agricultural

 

[legrandefromage]

I would leave it alone and put the money to a more youthful diesel from the VAG stable - at least they are strong engines and PD Diesels can do over 70 mpg

 

[Neil]

Thing of it like this - there's no such thing as a free lunch.

That said, modest amounts of boost increase may well be tolerable, improve drivability, and can often help with fuel economy (depending on how you then drive).

On the downside, insurance complexities, more demands on servicing and mechanicals.

It's cheap tuning - to chip a turbo'd car, but it places more stresses on engines already taking more stresses than NA engines - some luck is involved, in terms of whether anything suffers as a result, and how long you intend keeping / running the car has some bearing.

If you're the sort of owner who drives with some degree of mechanical sympathy (ie lets it warm up before giving it beans, allows the turbo to have gently eased down in temperature before turning off) and have it serviced regularly, and it's already in good servicable condition, a modest increase in boost from a chip, will probably give you a bit of a grin on occasion, might be slightly more economical, and may not cost much more to insure.

On the other hand, if you only have the oil changed once in a blue moon, or when a light comes on, and drive it like you've nicked it, maybe it's not the best idea.

 

[legrandefromage]

Thing of it like this - there's no such thing as a free lunch.


On the other hand, if you only have the oil changed once in a blue moon, or when a light comes on, and drive it like you've nicked it, maybe it's not the best idea.

I drove my Mondeo TDDI like that - it wouldnt die, even at 378,000 miles, I never had any engine failures. Just pulleys and steering pump.

Somebody crashed into it and wrote it off at 450,000. :roll:

Never been a fan of GM sourced diesels, later ones seem very fragile

Ford are still playing catch up but at least the TDDI and TCDI 2.0 have cam chains (dont know about later models).

My VAG PD 130 TDI would be fantastic if it didnt have so many electrical gremlins. It returns 45+mpg around town compared to the '59 plate 1.8 TCDI Mondeos' 41mpg.

The VAG diesels can be mapped to 170bhp without too many problems around town. Its best to stay within the manufactures maximum power output model which I think was 170 or at least 150 on the GTTDI models

 

[Neil]

Thing of it like this - there's no such thing as a free lunch.

On the other hand, if you only have the oil changed once in a blue moon, or when a light comes on, and drive it like you've nicked it, maybe it's not the best idea.

I drove my Mondeo TDDI like that - it wouldnt die, even at 378,000 miles, I never had any engine failures. Just pulleys and steering pump.

Had it been chipped, though?

I'm not saying it's going to make a huge difference - but upping the boost isn't a great idea, if you've no semblance of mechanical sympathy, nor a keen interest in keeping it fed and watered well.

 

[legrandefromage]

Thing of it like this - there's no such thing as a free lunch.

On the other hand, if you only have the oil changed once in a blue moon, or when a light comes on, and drive it like you've nicked it, maybe it's not the best idea.

I drove my Mondeo TDDI like that - it wouldnt die, even at 378,000 miles, I never had any engine failures. Just pulleys and steering pump.

Had it been chipped, though?

I'm not saying it's going to make a huge difference - but upping the boost isn't a great idea, if you've no semblance of mechanical sympathy, nor a keen interest in keeping it fed and watered well.

his Saab 2.2 has 115PS and the Vectra had 125ps for the identical engine - bunging 10BHP wouldnt do much to the mechanicals but would add extra torque and acceleration. It makes alot of difference with diesels.

 

[REKIBorter]

Had my Volvo V70 D5 chipped by Volvo. Instant increase in torque and now has 204BHP. Did not change the insurrance premiums as work done by / insurred through Volvo. No change to MPG figures either. Worth every penny

 

[legrandefromage]

Had my Volvo V70 D5 chipped by Volvo. Instant increase in torque and now has 204BHP. Did not change the insurrance premiums as work done by / insurred through Volvo. No change to MPG figures either. Worth every penny

anything with more than four cylinders is cheating...

 

[Neil]

Thing of it like this - there's no such thing as a free lunch.

On the other hand, if you only have the oil changed once in a blue moon, or when a light comes on, and drive it like you've nicked it, maybe it's not the best idea.

I drove my Mondeo TDDI like that - it wouldnt die, even at 378,000 miles, I never had any engine failures. Just pulleys and steering pump.

Had it been chipped, though?

I'm not saying it's going to make a huge difference - but upping the boost isn't a great idea, if you've no semblance of mechanical sympathy, nor a keen interest in keeping it fed and watered well.

his Saab 2.2 has 115PS and the Vectra had 125ps for the identical engine - bunging 10BHP wouldnt do much to the mechanicals but would add extra torque and acceleration. It makes alot of difference with diesels.

Nobody chips a turbo engine for just 10bhp - what's the point?

And in fairness to variations on certain blown engines with different power outputs, sometimes it's not just the boost / ECU mapping that's different. Just 'cos the block and maybe the same turbo is used, doesn't mean other things (intercooler, intercooler plumbing, turbo cooling, cylinder linings, bolstering of con-rods) haven't been done.

I'm not saying the jump of bhp between the Saab and Vectra has been complemented with bolstered internals, I'm just saying that in many cases, higher tune versions of turbo'd engines often are.

 

[orange71]

his Saab 2.2 has 115PS and the Vectra had 125ps for the identical engine - bunging 10BHP wouldnt do much to the mechanicals but would add extra torque and acceleration. It makes alot of difference with diesels.

Mine's the earler 115 engine - after 2000 it went up to 125.

good debate here. really in two minds - probably falling on the 'probably not worth doing' side