ECU Remap

[Dode415]

Hi,

Just in the process of buying a 2004 C270CDi. I do a lot of miles as my commute is around 200 miles a day and I was thinking about having the ECU remapped as apparently this will increase power but also improve fuel consumption. Just wondering if anyone else has had this done and what there experience of it was ..

Cheers

 

[neilrr]

Ho Lee Phuk. 200 miles a day!!

How many hours a day are you spending commuting?

 

[grumpyoldgit]

I think I would wait until I'd had chance to see how it performs before any remap.
Personally I've never felt the need to try it.

 

[Dode415]

Ho Lee Phuk. 200 miles a day!!

How many hours a day are you spending commuting?

I know - it's a lot

On a good day it's an hour and a half each way but the M25 is part of it so has been up to 4 hours one way at it's worst

 

[neilrr]

Hi,

thinking about having the ECU remapped as apparently this will increase power but also improve fuel consumption.

I don't know anything about remapping but it doesn't sound likely, does it? No such thing as a free lunch & all that.

Dialling it in for an increase in power or an improvement in fuel consumption I'd be inclined to believe, but both at the same time?

 

[martyz]

Sorry I know it's not nice but a BMW oil burner would save you££££££££.
pay back in no time@ 50k miles pa,keep the merc for weekends when off
the wheel.

 

[Dode415]

Sorry I know it's not nice but a BMW oil burner would save you££££££££.
pay back in no time@ 50k miles pa,keep the merc for weekends when off
the wheel.

Thanks. Did look at BMs but couldn't find anything for the anywhere near the same money as was being asked for the Merc unfortunately

 

[Dode415]

I don't know anything about remapping but it doesn't sound likely, does it? No such thing as a free lunch & all that.

Dialling it in for an increase in power or an improvement in fuel consumption I'd be inclined to believe, but both at the same time?

Here's the blurb from a company that does something simliar to remapping as to how it works "A question we're often asked is how can a tuning box save me fuel and therefore money? Engines become more efficient if they are capable of carrying out their tasks whilst combusting less fuel. When a diesel tuning box is installed, the increased power and torque will ensure that your vehicle is capable of providing greater returns whilst combusting less fuel.
We know that investing in a tuning box for your vehicle will save you fuel and ultimately money. You may be surprised to learn that all modern engines are restricted to operate underpowered due to a wide range of variables taken into consideration by the vehicle manufacturers themselves. Modern engines are restricted in order to accommodate some of the following factors:

• Global variants in fuel quality
• Climate
• Air quality (inc altitude)
• Regional emissions regulation
• Significantly variable driving environments

These significant variables are taken into consideration when an engine program is written. Since engine programs are written for global use, the margins for every combination of variable are excessive. This allows us to safely utilise a part of these margins, and in turn provide the vehicle with considerable gains in performance and fuel economy whist still keeping suitable safety margins in place. Unlike many other tuning companies, we write region specific maps which are suited to the geographic location where the vehicle will operate. For example, if we remap or provide a tuning box for a vehicle in Europe, we will write files specifically for that vehicle when used in Europe. The same rule is applied for all other countries across the globe. This ensures that we can obtain the best output from the vehicle in any country."

They seem to have some good reviews - true or not I don'd know ..

 

[chrisjfinlay]

I've heard a lot about people getting better fuel economy AND increased performance from diesel engines after a remap. I guess making the fuel mixture more air-rich will definitely decrease the fuel use - I'm no engine expert though, and I'm not sure how that would equate to a power increase.

The blurb about margins and variables would seem to me anyway to be on the money - no manufacturer wants to be hit with a slew of broken engines and tell their customers "well, you used bad fuel!" and so would take steps to protect themselves. They're also probably very aware that, although the company can't really be held to fault if something goes wrong because people don't get bits serviced, people will still miss services, and so building some tolerance into the engine would also serve as a bit of protection.

Of course if you DO get a remap, then you have to be very aware that you need to take better care of the engine - perhaps you already do and you'll be fine - because you're taking away these tolerances. It's a bit like overclocking a CPU. The CPU can take it, but it's on you to make sure you have adequate cooling.

Another factor to look into is insurance. I don't think, for most turbodiesels, the insurance premium bump is very much (I had a 520D before and had a look at remaps, and the insurance company (Admiral) only wanted an extra £40 for the year) but it IS something that needs to be declared and could cost you more - and if you don't declare it, it would invalidate your premium.