Who tunes VAG TDI's PROPERLY

johnos1984

I assume what I want is actually a remap.

Basically my 2006 B6 Passat is boring me to death so I'm wondering might it be a good idea to get it remapped properly instead of buying another car for entertainment (g/f put an end to that one by forcing me to go on a holiday with the money)..

Anyway my biggest concern is that more power would adversely affect reliability. The car has 126k miles done and some people have suggested to me that a remap could awaken problems......there haven't been any so far so its possibly just scare mongering.

How much would I have to pay for a remap, any other (dis)advantages that I should be aware of.

TestTransmission

Joe Power comes highly recommended,check out vagdrivers for any other recommendations

If I was you, I wouldn't listen to the girlfriend and I'd go get something else.

MugMugs

If you remap your car you could blow seals if you drive her hard...

If you drive your car hard anyway you could still blow seals.

Remap the auld girl and enjoy it

johnos1984

MugMugs wrote: »

If you drive your car hard anyway you could still blow seals.

I don't drive hard. Its nearly more for overtaking and driving in general.

I find it a bit gutless.

johnos1984

TestTransmission wrote: »

If I was you, I wouldn't listen to the girlfriend and I'd go get something else.

I've gotten away with it for nearly 5 years......

MidlandsM

The B6 tdi passat gearbox may not be welcome lots of new horse's being unleased on it with a torrrent of black derv smoke out the back lad.

MugMugs

I remapped by B5 up to 130 / 140 I think.... Cant recall....

Never had any issues.... Cant comment on the B6, They're a newer PD engine ?

johnos1984

MidlandsM wrote: »

The B6 tdi passat gearbox may not be welcome lots of new horse's being unleased on it with a torrrent of black derv smoke out the back lad.

Thanks lad

With the miles it has done I want to know of any weaknesses as I'm not bothered dealing with an unnecessary breakdown.

You reckon the gearbox isn't up to the job?

johnos1984

TestTransmission wrote: »

Joe Power

Just sent a request on to him

MidlandsM

johnos1984 wrote: »

Thanks lad

With the miles it has done I want to know of any weaknesses as I'm not bothered dealing with an unnecessary breakdown.

You reckon the gearbox isn't up to the job?

ahhhh,I'm not saying it isn't, but the box in them's not as good as the older passats, so i'd read up more on it.;)

johnos1984

MidlandsM wrote: »

ahhhh,I'm not saying it isn't, but the box in them's not as good as the older passats, so i'd read up more on it.;)

Cheers I'll look into it

voxpop

A car with a remap will generally be as reliable as one without - unless you absolutely trash it or you have a component that is on its last legs, i.e. near shagged clutch or smoky turbo. Ive never heard of anyone that developed gearbox issues after a remap, heard of plenty that needed new clutches.

keithclancy

johnos1984 wrote: »

I assume what I want is actually a remap.

Basically my 2006 B6 Passat is boring me to death so I'm wondering might it be a good idea to get it remapped properly instead of buying another car for entertainment (g/f put an end to that one by forcing me to go on a holiday with the money)..

Sounds like the car is costing you less to run than the G/F, perhaps you should consider a newer model

MugMugs

keithclancy wrote: »

Sounds like the car is costing you less to run than the G/F, perhaps you should consider a newer model

Newer models of that make are still relatively new in themselves. Could still have teething problems as apposed to those minor issues and tweaks you already know of with your existing one. Beware of an upgrade !

</inuendo central>

EPM

johnos1984 wrote: »

Just sent a request on to him

Quicker route might be through Onkle;)

MetzgerMeister

MugMugs wrote: »

Newer models of that make are still relatively new in themselves. Could still have teething problems as apposed to those minor issues and tweaks you already know of with your existing one. Beware of an upgrade !

</inuendo central>

Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't know

johnos1984

einheisserschre wrote: »

Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't know

I've had a few devils too....:D

Needler

Only a qualified gynaecologist can really tune a vagina car

cadaliac

MidlandsM wrote: »

ahhhh,I'm not saying it isn't, but the box in them's not as good as the older passats, so i'd read up more on it.;)

If thats the case, don't bother. My 6-speed failed @ 64k miles. (B5.5).
WhenI asked someone to stand over the box after a repair they told me "we won't stand over sh1t, 'cos that's all they are"
Exact words actually.

MidlandsM

cadaliac wrote: »

If thats the case, don't bother. My 6-speed failed @ 64k miles. (B5.5).
WhenI asked someone to stand over the box after a repair they told me "we won't stand over sh1t, 'cos that's all they are"
Exact words actually.

yup, the 6 speeds shyte alrite, so bad as I've known of guys put a 5 speed box back in them when the 6 speed goes bang.

TestTransmission

Needler wrote: »

Only a qualified gynaecologist can really tune a vagina car

eh,what?

_Kaiser_

I had my 06 2.0 TDI Passat with DSG remapped there earlier in the year from the standard 140 to just under 170.

Got it done by a guy in Coolock (who's name now escapes me but he came recommended from here/VAGdrivers - EDIT: IT was actually Joe Power as above.. very nice guy!) and although the extra power is nice, it's more the smoothness of the delivery across the band that's made the most difference.

Don't go for a crazy "high power" remap though OP, and don't get it done by some guy who's doing it out of his driveway on his laptop.. I made that mistake on another car before and ended up with all sorts of warning lights after bringing it back to stock (cause it started drinking diesel like it was going out of fashion!)

Victor Meldrew

johnos1984 wrote: »

I assume what I want is actually a remap.

Basically my 2006 B6 Passat is boring me to death so I'm wondering might it be a good idea to get it remapped properly instead of buying another car for entertainment

It'll still be a passat. Which means it'll still be dead to drive, heavy and probably bigger than you need. (do you routinely transport 6 foot tall people in the back whose comfort you care that much about? If not, then you don't need that much car).

Yes, they are underpowered, but fixing this would take 200bhp and you'd still have a bad handling car.

Get something smaller that is fun to drive or get a Golf and chip that if you want a Chipped VAG.

Sorry if it sounds like a rant, but I had a B6 for 3 years and the wife and I hated it after 6 months...

johnos1984

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

Sorry if it sounds like a rant, but I had a B6 for 3 years and the wife and I hated it after 6 months...

I'll most likely change in the new year but this is designed to keep me sane until then. And yes I don't need the space

Victor Meldrew

johnos1984 wrote: »

I'll most likely change in the new year but this is designed to keep me sane until then. And yes I don't need the space

Then leave it stock, any whiff of boy racer and you'll have issues....

I feel your pain

_Kaiser_

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

It'll still be a passat. Which means it'll still be dead to drive, heavy and probably bigger than you need. (do you routinely transport 6 foot tall people in the back whose comfort you care that much about? If not, then you don't need that much car).

Yes, they are underpowered, but fixing this would take 200bhp and you'd still have a bad handling car.

Get something smaller that is fun to drive or get a Golf and chip that if you want a Chipped VAG.

Sorry if it sounds like a rant, but I had a B6 for 3 years and the wife and I hated it after 6 months...

I'd have to disagree.. I have mine 3 years now and still love it (despite the occasional issue). It's certainly a lot nicer than the new model.

As for the size.. not everyone wants a hot hatch Personally I'm very happy with my big comfortable saloon as I do 200km a day in it at mostly motorway speeds and while I agree some of the 1.9 variants are underpowered for a car this size, the 2.0 TDI (with a whole extra gear and mated to a DSG box) is a completely different situation.

Can't say I've ever had any issues with the handling but then I haven't taken it on any rally stages in Donegal either

All depends what's important to you really I suppose.. each to their own.
Me I'd love a similar spec auto A6 next

Victor Meldrew

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

All depends what's important to you really I suppose.. each to their own.
Me I'd love a similar spec auto A6 next

Agreed, If you do serious miles, then the stability, solidity, economy and refinement are going to be big issues and the Passat will deliver, and it's hard to get all that with a small car. We called ours "the Panzer"

but if you find any car boring, a 30% power boost will not fix your itch..

um7y1h83ge06nx

MugMugs wrote: »

Newer models of that make are still relatively new in themselves. Could still have teething problems as apposed to those minor issues and tweaks you already know of with your existing one. Beware of an upgrade !

</inuendo central>

Be aware that if you drive them too hard you could also blow their seals. Although in my experience the newer models can take more punishment and give a more comfortable, tighter ride with less body roll.

johnos1984

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

Agreed, If you do serious miles, then the stability, solidity, economy and refinement are going to be big issues and the Passat will deliver, and it's hard to get all that with a small car. We called ours "the Panzer"

I'm doing 25k miles per year otherwise I'd have a GTI outside and more entertainment

johnos1984

Just spoke to Joe at chipped Ireland. Seems to know his stuff........it's easy to impress me as I know nought about it.

I'll talk with my mechanic tonight and see what he has to say and then make a decision.

tossy

cadaliac wrote: »

If thats the case, don't bother. My 6-speed failed @ 64k miles. (B5.5).
WhenI asked someone to stand over the box after a repair they told me "we won't stand over sh1t, 'cos that's all they are"
Exact words actually.

MidlandsM wrote: »

yup, the 6 speeds shyte alrite, so bad as I've known of guys put a 5 speed box back in them when the 6 speed goes bang.

What exactly was the problem with your gear box?

Never heard of any one replacing a dead 6 speed with a 5 speed but then again i haven't heard of many 6 speed boxes going 'bang'.

I had pretty much the same 02M box on my last car with 272bhp going to it and never had a problem.

OP Joe power is the man to talk to,listen to his advice and you won't go far wrong.

Gary ITR

johnos1984 wrote: »

Just spoke to Joe at chipped Ireland. Seems to know his stuff........it's easy to impress me as I know nought about it.

I'll talk with my mechanic tonight and see what he has to say and then make a decision.

In my experience if your mechanic is 'old school' he'll tell you not to do it. Generally speaking mechanics know very little about ECU tuning and tend to run away from it

johnos1984

Onkle wrote: »

In my experience if your mechanic is 'old school' he'll tell you not to do it. Generally speaking mechanics know very little about ECU tuning and tend to run away from it

No the mechanic ain't old school

His advice was much the same as Joe's.

It will make it far nicer to drive and have little or no affect on the fuel economy. However both warned me the most likely part to fail was the clutch.

The mechanics advice was go ahead if I want but if changing in six months or so it would be better to hold on and just get something with power from the start as there was no point in possibly having to put a new clutch in before I sell the car and possibly new drive shafts.

Given the mileage he reckoned it was a strong possibility going on his past experience one or both of the parts could fail due to natural wear and tear up until now and the extra strain on the parts from the increased power.

He did say if I kept the power increase to say 120bhp it would be fine and shouldn't have any adverse affect on any parts what so ever.

He has had it done a number of times before so isn't a stranger to it.

However both said the gear box is capable of handling any reasonable power increase without any issue. It was just the consumables (clutch etc) plus mileage which would be an issue with my Passat.

Gary ITR

Yeah but in 6 months the missus might want something else and then you're fecked :pac:

MidlandsM

johnos1984 wrote: »

However both said the gear box is capable of handling any reasonable power increase without any issue. It was just the consumables (clutch etc) plus mileage which would be an issue with my Passat.

Personally if its a 6 speed passat with that gearbox,I'd leave it be, regardless of what they say. Shure if the box goes bang, its only more work for them:pac:

cadaliac

tossy wrote: »

What exactly was the problem with your gear box?

Never heard of any one replacing a dead 6 speed with a 5 speed but then again i haven't heard of many 6 speed boxes going 'bang'.

I had pretty much the same 02M box on my last car with HP going to it and never had a problem.

OP Joe power is the man to talk to,listen to his advice and you won't go far wrong.

Main bearing went in mine. It was a decision between a repair or a replacement box (recon).
I took the reckon option. Trust me, there are plenty of 6-speed boxes that went bang in VAG cars. Apparently, some were good and some were bad. You find out all this when you have to shell out over €1,000 for a repair of a major component of your car.
The box was in the A4, B5.5 Passat, and some Golfs afaik.
I also heard of people putting a 5 speed into a car that had a 6-speed originally. It is not uncommon, well for the amount of VAG stuff sold here anyway.

Tea drinker

johnos1984 wrote: »

He did say if I kept the power increase to say 120bhp it would be fine and shouldn't have any adverse affect on any parts what so ever.

He has had it done a number of times before so isn't a stranger to it.

However both said the gear box is capable of handling any reasonable power increase without any issue. It was just the consumables (clutch etc) plus mileage which would be an issue with my Passat.

Are the box / drive shafts in the 110 is probably same as the 130 bhp one? Not a big issue then....

Onkle wrote: »

Yeah but in 6 months the missus might want something else and then you're fecked :pac:

how do you mean - on resale because of the re-map? Can he not get it "un mapped" and is it disingenous to do it without telling the new owner....
just wondering/wandering.

johnos1984

Tea drinker wrote: »

how do you mean - on resale because of the re-map? Can he not get it "un mapped" and is it disingenous to do it without telling the new owner....
just wondering/wandering.

It's ok, he is just joking about why I'm not getting another second car for the weekend and investigating remapping my daily driver.

Also when sale time comes my mechanic will be buying it from me if I have no takers and just messers from donedeal. If he has services a well minded car he always buys them to sell to other customers so resale isn't a concern really

Mar4ix

Id like to do something with my vw polo 6r , 75 horsepower is slightly not enough. Through internet found www.steinbauer.cc/ ... which been recommended by other forums. They may do particularly my 1.6 tdi 75 horses (CAYA engine), rise up to 115 for 1 k GBP (90 horses for 450 gbp).

Couldnt find in Joe's webpage my car... might they not doing it.

dharn

TestTransmission wrote: »

eh,what?

i think it is a play on words VAG.. there are a lot of amateur gynecologists tinkering with vaginas but not having much success i think it is the brain (ecu) that need modification in most of them girlfriend models

Tea drinker

johnos1984 wrote: »

It's ok, he is just joking about why I'm not getting another second car for the weekend and investigating remapping my daily driver.

I'm in the poorhouse comapred to you fella's! I'm kinda considering remapping my B5.5 1.8t so that's where my questions are coming from

TestTransmission

Mar4ix wrote: »

Id like to do something with my vw polo 6r , 75 horsepower is slightly not enough. Through internet found www.steinbauer.cc/ ... which been recommended by other forums. They may do particularly my 1.6 tdi 75 horses (CAYA engine), rise up to 115 for 1 k GBP (90 horses for 450 gbp).

Couldnt find in Joe's webpage my car... might they not doing it.

Ring him ,only way.They can map the car from 75 to 115?That seems a bit optimistic?

dharn wrote: »

i think it is a play on words VAG.. there are a lot of amateur gynecologists tinkering with vaginas but not having much success i think it is the brain (ecu) that need modification in most of them girlfriend models

ohhh

Tea drinker wrote: »

I'm in the poorhouse comapred to you fella's! I'm kinda considering remapping my B5.5 1.8t so that's where my questions are coming from

That engine will get nice gains,would be well worth it.

Mar4ix

TestTransmission wrote: »

Ring him ,only way.They can map the car from 75 to 115?That seems a bit optimistic?

Nope, they not programming, they are doing piggy back ecu with own injector electrical control harness.

VolvoMan

If you are going for a re-map, make sure to get yourself a pair of Scania truck rear mudflaps, lad.

MidlandsM

VolvoMan wrote: »

If you are going for a re-map, make sure to get yourself a pair of Scania truck rear mudflaps, lad.

there'd be some lift outta her there, feltastic!:D