Newby - Pros & Cons of Re-mapping?

[Steveo]

Hi there

I'm a recent owner of a 406 saloon 2.1TD Executive 110 bhp 151,000.

I'm tempted by the prospect of having a re-map done (I'm told because of age of car I'll also need a chip change).

I'm told and I quote 'A stage 1 remap will take power from 110 bhp to 137 bhp with an extra 70 nm of extra torque. If you drive the extra torque effectively you should see a 10% improvement in MPG'.

Is this all realistic?

What is the general consensus on whether these re-maps are worthwhile on this type of car? I ask as my regular mechanic was quite scathing in terms of extra forces and tolerances car is expected to deal with after re-map?

Your thoughts please?

Many thanks

Steve

[omega]

where are you having this done?
whats the cost?

i looked at this but there are very few systems for the 2.1 and the ones i found didnt involve chip tunning as i didnt think the 2.1 had a chip in the system[but i could be wrong].

[Bailes1992]

The 2.1 is fully ecu controlled much like the HDi.

You should see an improvement in fuel economy day to day as you won't be working the engine as hard as there will be more torque low down.

[Steveo]

where are you having this done?
whats the cost?

i looked at this but there are very few systems for the 2.1 and the ones i found didnt involve chip tunning as i didnt think the 2.1 had a chip in the system[but i could be wrong].

Hi Omega

The place I may have it done is http://avontuning.co.uk/ on the outskirts of Bristol. Polite chap Gareth Jones seems to know what he's talking about.... quote in my original post is what he said.... whaddya reckon?

Steve

[Steveo]

The 2.1 is fully ecu controlled much like the HDi.

You should see an improvement in fuel economy day to day as you won't be working the engine as hard as there will be more torque low down.

Thanks Bailes

48 mpg is a real achievement, and your footer about 'expecting' mothers made me laugh!

Steve

[Bailes1992]

The 2.1 is fully ecu controlled much like the HDi.

You should see an improvement in fuel economy day to day as you won't be working the engine as hard as there will be more torque low down.

Thanks Bailes

48 mpg is a real achievement, and your footer about 'expecting' mothers made me laugh!

Steve

48mpg is pretty crap actually. Unfortunatley the 90bhp HDi I have has to be worked hard to make it move.
I reckon with a good remap I could get an extra 10mpg but being 19 and already forking out £2400 in the last 12 months for insurance, a remap isnt an option at the moment!

I liked the expecting thing too... I dunno where I saw it too

[Steveo]

The 2.1 is fully ecu controlled much like the HDi.

You should see an improvement in fuel economy day to day as you won't be working the engine as hard as there will be more torque low down.

Thanks Bailes

48 mpg is a real achievement, and your footer about 'expecting' mothers made me laugh!

Steve

48mpg is pretty crap actually. Unfortunatley the 90bhp HDi I have has to be worked hard to make it move.
I reckon with a good remap I could get an extra 10mpg but being 19 and already forking out £2400 in the last 12 months for insurance, a remap isnt an option at the moment!

I liked the expecting thing too... I dunno where I saw it too

Cheers Bailes

There are few disadvantages to being young, but £2400/year in insurance has got to be one of them!

Steve

[highlander]

Remap it and don't mention to your insurers. Nobody checks the map on the factory ECU.

If you replace the ECU with an after-market unit, or add one of those Daitek piggy-back ECU modules, and don't declare it, you'll get crucified. The MOT tester will likely fail you for having a piggy-back ECU too, nowadays, but they don't check for software discrepancies.

[Steveo]

Remap it and don't mention to your insurers. Nobody checks the map on the factory ECU.

If you replace the ECU with an after-market unit, or add one of those Daitek piggy-back ECU modules, and don't declare it, you'll get crucified. The MOT tester will likely fail you for having a piggy-back ECU too, nowadays, but they don't check for software discrepancies.

Thanks Highlander

It sounds like I'm being offered a chip change to the existing ECU - he did say it'd involve some soldering, so I don't think it sounds like I'm being offered an after-market unit (do you?).

And when you say if I don't declare it I'll get crucified, do you mean by insurers if I have an accident?

It's alleged that 90% of insurers don't care or penalise you for getting a re-map done, but I'm sure if this is true or just PR spin put out by the re-mappers...?

Cheers

Steve

[highlander]

If they're physically modifying it, then you should let your insurers know. Give them a call and find out how much it would add to your premium, but just tell them you're only thinking about doing it, and for goodness sake don't tell them it's for performance, tell them its to improve fuel economy (otherwise they will have £ signs in their eyes, cartoon-style).

If it's just a software remap (which is just a matter of writing new values to some registers on the ECU's built-in flash storage) then it's untraceable.

[Steveo]

If they're physically modifying it, then you should let your insurers know. Give them a call and find out how much it would add to your premium, but just tell them you're only thinking about doing it, and for goodness sake don't tell them it's for performance, tell them its to improve fuel economy (otherwise they will have £ signs in their eyes, cartoon-style).

If it's just a software remap (which is just a matter of writing new values to some registers on the ECU's built-in flash storage) then it's untraceable.

Thanks Highlander

I'll check what you've said out first.

Yes, If I do it, I'll wait until I'm about to re-insure in a month or so, so I can have the beneift of choosing an insurer that I can compare with and without prices....i.e. an insurer that won't load for it.

Cheers

Steve

[highlander]

Admiral have been very good with me for modifications. It didn't go up by much when I got the stainless exhaust fitted, and it didn't go up by much when I fitted the alloy wheels.

[gumby6371]

I always have to smile when alloys are classed as modding a car, for most people buying a second hand car, if the wheels are the same brand as the car they would never know they weren't standard let alone declare it to their insurers.
If I sold my saloon complete with 16" coupe wheels tomorrow I very much doubt anyone would ask if they were standard.
Same applies to selling a remapped car, if you don't tell the new buyer chances are they would never know.

[highlander]

Well mine aren't Peugeot alloys - they're 19 inch Mille Miglia T12 multispokes




Beware though, if your 406 didn't have alloys on when it left the factory, and you fit Peugeot alloys to it, that's still considered a modification and the insurers will ream you for it if you have an accident and haven't declared it.