Remap my 2.0 TDI review

gary_jules

Hello all,

Would like to share my experience of tuning my ECU on my 2.0 TDI (170) using Superchips. It's meant to increase the power by 30 bhp and 75 NM of torque - bring it to around 200 bhp.

It cost me £399 including VAT and labour and round half a day to complete. I didn't bother getting a rolling dyno.

First thoughts? 1st gear is now pretty much useless as you have to change so quickly to second gear. There is also more wheel spin in 1st gear and the start of second gear. Hopefully this will be reduced once I fit the wider 225mm 18 inch S line alloys. Once you're in second gear however the car really really pulls hard, and over a wider RPM band then before. MPG has gone down by 5-6, however, this is because of city driving and me driving with a heavier foot. I should hopefully see an improvement on a long run on the motorway. Do I think it's worth £399? In a way yes but my insurance premium also went up by £106. The car has transformed it isn't a night and day tranformation as others have suggested on their experience.

I've already got the Bilstein B8 gas shock absorbers and H&R lowering springs fitted to help improve body roll, grip and handling....the gas shock absorbers are progressively linear the harder you go into the corner so really helps feeling more secure...so I guess the remap compliments the suspension upgrade. I've been recommended to delete the EGR but I don't see why as there isn't any performance upgrade and the EGR should help with MPG and cold start warm up.

Next stage: I don't think i'll spend anymore money on this car even though I'm fairly certain it will last at least another 100k, excluding consumables. I'll keep it for another few years at least and then hopefully upgrade to the E92 M3 when it's at a more affordable price.

BeenThroughItAll

gary_jules wrote: »

Hello all,

Would like to share my experience of tuning my ECU on my 2.0 TDI (170) using Superchips. It's meant to increase the power by 30 bhp and 75 NM of torque - bring it to around 200 bhp.

It cost me £399 including VAT and labour and round half a day to complete. I didn't bother getting a rolling dyno.

First thoughts? 1st gear is now pretty much useless as you have to change so quickly to second gear. There is also more wheel spin in 1st gear and the start of second gear. Hopefully this will be reduced once I fit the wider 225mm 18 inch S line alloys. Once you're in second gear however the car really really pulls hard, and over a wider RPM band then before. MPG has gone down by 5-6, however, this is because of city driving and me driving with a heavier foot. I should hopefully see an improvement on a long run on the motorway. Do I think it's worth £399? In a way yes but my insurance premium also went up by £106. The car has transformed it isn't a night and day tranformation as others have suggested on their experience.

I've already got the Bilstein B8 gas shock absorbers and H&R lowering springs fitted to help improve body roll, grip and handling....the gas shock absorbers are progressively linear the harder you go into the corner so really helps feeling more secure...so I guess the remap compliments the suspension upgrade. I've been recommended to delete the EGR but I don't see why as there isn't any performance upgrade and the EGR should help with MPG and cold start warm up.

Next stage: I don't think i'll spend anymore money on this car even though I'm fairly certain it will last at least another 100k, excluding consumables. I'll keep it for another few years at least and then hopefully upgrade to the E92 M3 when it's at a more affordable price.

Is this 'review' the same* as the one you did about the Lexus you picked up a year ago on Saturday?

*a delusional fantasy


For any newbies who don't understand this reference, I commend this thread to the group:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5065087

facade

gary_jules wrote: »

First thoughts? 1st gear is now pretty much useless as you have to change so quickly to second gear.

I noticed this when I testdrove a manual Rover P6 (the v8s) donkeys years ago. So I bought an auto.

Yet for some reason, manuals command a higher price........

Retrogamer

The EGR valve delete is beneficial as it stops all that soot and carbon deposits getting chucked into the intake manifold and gunking up the intake ports on the head.
It's more beneficial to remove the intake and clean it at the same time as blanking the EGR.

For the price you paid though i'd have went to Dervtech and got a tailored remap done.
It would be a lot better.

Is the DPF deleted? If not, might want to consider it as the extra soot from the chip will cause it to clog up quicker.

gary_jules

Retrogamer wrote: »

The EGR valve delete is beneficial as it stops all that soot and carbon deposits getting chucked into the intake manifold and gunking up the intake ports on the head.
It's more beneficial to remove the intake and clean it at the same time as blanking the EGR.

For the price you paid though i'd have went to Dervtech and got a tailored remap done.
It would be a lot better.

Is the DPF deleted? If not, might want to consider it as the extra soot from the chip will cause it to clog up quicker.

My car has the BKD engine so it doesn't have DFP. Just looked up Dervtech and they are based in Manchester so would have been too far anyway. Only went with superchips for their guarantee.
Hmm I'll look into the EGR.


I think I may also have to upgrade my brakes. Read on forums that the GTI or R32 brakes and callipers can be fitted to across different models of the same generation, A3 8P, Golf MK5 etc.

Retrogamer

Are you sure? As far as i'm aware all PD170 engines had a DPF
Some of the PD140 engines didn't though.

gary_jules

You're correct, 98% of the PD 170 TDI's have a DPF. However, when the engine was first launched (06) in the first few months Audi had an option to have the DFP deleted. After, Audi decided it was a non-optional item and was mandatory. As with the PD 140 TDI, 98% do not have a DPF but when it was first launched (05) Audi gave the customer an option to have it fitted FOC (don't know why anyone would bother, but very very few did). This was what the Audi main dealer told me anyway and said I'm lucky not to have the DPF in my PD 170; downside is that my MPG will be marginally less than one with DPF.

bigjl

gary_jules wrote: »

You're correct, 98% of the PD 170 TDI's have a DPF. However, when the engine was first launched (06) in the first few months Audi had an option to have the DFP deleted. After, Audi decided it was a non-optional item and was mandatory. As with the PD 140 TDI, 98% do not have a DPF but when it was first launched (05) Audi gave the customer an option to have it fitted FOC (don't know why anyone would bother, but very very few did). This was what the Audi main dealer told me anyway and said I'm lucky not to have the DPF in my PD 170; downside is that my MPG will be marginally less than one with DPF.

You are aware that a DPF equipped diesel will always use MORE fuel than a non DPF.

I would have thought you would have found hat out on your many Google and WikiPedia voyages of discovery.

gary_jules

bigjl wrote: »

You are aware that a DPF equipped diesel will always use MORE fuel than a non DPF.

I would have thought you would have found hat out on your many Google and WikiPedia voyages of discovery.

Well I'm no expert in DPFs, I'm just going by what the guy from Audi main dealer told me. I thought DPF were there to reduce emissions and improve efficiency but I don't know maybe they do use more fuel.

dannyrst

Is this thread even real? I'm confused why you would have a remap and not be provided with a free of charge dyno run. How do you know what the benefits are?

Are you familiar with the placebo effect?

BeenThroughItAll

gary_jules wrote: »

Well I'm no expert in DPFs, I'm just going by what the guy from Audi main dealer told me. I thought DPF were there to reduce emissions and improve efficiency but I don't know maybe they do use more fuel.

No, they reduce emissions by capturing soot. That soot then needs to be turned to ash, which on many cars uses additional diesel injected at the 'wrong' time in the cycle so as to deliberately raise EGT.


However, not all DPF equipped cars work like that, and so it's not blanket-truth that a vehicle with DPF will always use more diesel than one without. Depends on the implementation.