re mapping / chipping of a car

obi604

Hello there

So I dont know much about cars. All I know is that I would like a bit more power in the one I currently have !

So, as far as I know there are 2 methods of enhancing the BHP of a car

A. Re Map
B. Chipping

My questions

1. Which one is best to do ? ( best meaning safest option for the car )



2. For anyone that had it done :

(a) were you happy ?
(b) did it cause any issues
(c) what company did you use

3. whats the story with insurance if you get it done ?


I have a 2005 Audi A3 2.0 TDI SE




Sorry for all the q's !!!

any help would be greatly appreciated

bazz26

I had my 2008 BMW 318d remapped about 2 months ago. Gone from 143bhp to 176bhp. You really notice the difference now in the lower gears due to the increased torque. It really does pull away in 3rd/4th gear. Fuel economy is similar to before and I have not had any issues with the car but then again I'm not a hard driver.

Always wise to inform your insurance company of any modifications from the original factory setup. In most cases they don't have an issue with them.

obi604

bazz26 wrote: »

I had my 2008 BMW 318d remapped about 2 months ago. Gone from 143bhp to 176bhp. You really notice the difference now in the lower gears due to the increased torque. It really does pull away in 3rd/4th gear. Fuel economy is similar to before and I have not had any issues with the car but then again I'm not a hard driver.

Always wise to inform your insurance company of any modifications from the original factory setup. In most cases they don't have an issue with them.

Thanks for reply, I presume when insurance companies hear of the re mapping that they will increase the premium

MugMugs

Not true. Some don't discriminate under a certain BHP. Depends how nice they are.

-Corkie-

Dont bother with tuning boxes, they are a waste of time. You will easily remap that to 170BHP.

This is your only man here: http://www.chippedire.com/vms_view.php?man_id=2&mod_id=12&var_id=55&pg_name=Audi_A3_2_0_TDI_PD_140_Tuning

PM Gary ITR here about it if you want..

-Corkie-

-Corkie- wrote: »

Dont bother with tuning boxes, they are a waste of time. You will easily remap that to 170BHP.

.................

Bit of a blanket statement there, some tuning boxes are very good and do the job grand.

For example.... http://tuning-diesels.com/

-Corkie-

RoverJames wrote: »

Bit of a blanket statement there, some tuning boxes are very good and do the job grand.

For example.... http://tuning-diesels.com/

That crowd seem to be Rover specific but I tried two before on seperate occasions and found no difference.:)

Mister Dread

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks for reply, I presume when insurance companies hear of the re mapping that they will increase the premium

They can't tell so don't bother.

-Corkie-

-Corkie- wrote: »

That crowd seem to be Rover specific ........

A few years back they were Some good reads on that site though, lots of non Rover shtuff

EPM

Mister Dread wrote: »

They can't tell so don't bother.

It is possible to check for a remap. Tell your insurance company OP.

Mister Dread

EPM wrote: »

It is possible to check for a remap. Tell your insurance company OP.

Ok then tell me how? The same file is in place. Rolling roads are inconclusive proof and you can always downgrade your map if they require one.

Seriously, don't bother telling them.

demac

2 years ago I had Joe from Chippedirl remap my Passat 1.9TDI from 105 up to about 145. Car has been perfect since then.

Huge difference. Way more Torque and still hitting 50MPG with hard driving.

I'd recommend it.

obi604

demac wrote: »

2 years ago I had Joe from Chippedirl remap my Passat 1.9TDI from 105 up to about 145. Car has been perfect since then.

Huge difference. Way more Torque and still hitting 50MPG with hard driving.

I'd recommend it.

Did u tell the insurance company about it ??

If so, did premium increase ??

EPM

Mister Dread wrote: »

Ok then tell me how? The same file is in place. Rolling roads are inconclusive proof and you can always downgrade your map if they require one.

Seriously, don't bother telling them.

Firstly, please don't condone illegal activity which not telling the insurance company is essentially. It's a modification that is undeclared.

Being the same car as mine underneath you can be sure it's possible for the A3.

If you had a big smash say with a large injury claim, you can be sure that the insurance company would try everything to get out of it.

I know when my car had a map on it the dealer was in a position to send the info to Skoda and get a conclusive answer.

bazz26

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks for reply, I presume when insurance companies hear of the re mapping that they will increase the premium

My premium didn't change as my insurance company classed a 318d/320d in the same catagory. It may vary from insurance company to insurance company though.

demac

obi604 wrote: »

Did u tell the insurance company about it ??

If so, did premium increase ??

I did tell them but it didn't change my premium. I'm not a young lad !

Marcusm

EPM wrote: »

Firstly, please don't condone illegal activity which not telling the insurance company is essentially. It's a modification that is undeclared.

Being the same car as mine underneath you can be sure it's possible for the A3.

If you had a big smash say with a large injury claim, you can be sure that the insurance company would try everything to get out of it.

I know when my car had a map on it the dealer was in a position to send the info to Skoda and get a conclusive answer.

I neither want to be pedantic nor to criticise a mod but I think "illegal" is an inapt and emotive word - unless a fraudulent declaration is made at the commenceent or reewal of a policy. It's not likely to be illegal but it will likely invalidate the insurance as ar as the insured is concerned and likely expose t insured to claims from the insurance company in the event that it as to pay out to third parties. I agree that boardsies should not be advocating this behaviour but we need to use the right terminology.

EPM

But is it not an offence to make a false insurance declaration? People have been in court over this. I would view that as illegal. I know the remap would happen after the policy start date but you are knowingly modifying the car which would have to affect the policy.

Chuck_Norris

I'm making the trip to Joe at the end of the month.

Insured with Axa through a broker, and rang the broker to see what the effect on insurance would be. Axa said no problem initially, but then rang back declining to cover the remap.

Broker them said that Zurich would cover me, with no increase in premium as long as the remap didn't take it above 150bhp.

And the car's only a 105 bhp Octy.

My two cents: declare it.

Chuck_Norris

I'm making the trip to Joe at the end of the month.

Insured with Axa through a broker, and rang the broker to see what the effect on insurance would be. Axa said no problem initially, but then rang back declining to cover the remap.

Broker then said that Zurich would cover me, with no increase in premium as long as the remap didn't take it above 150bhp.

And the car's only a 105 bhp Octy.

My two cents: declare it.

MugMugs

EPM wrote: »

But is it not an offence to make a false insurance declaration? People have been in court over this. I would view that as illegal. I know the remap would happen after the policy start date but you are knowingly modifying the car which would have to affect the policy.

It is.You could also be treated as driving uninsured.

Can only be seen as Non Disclosure if the premium would have been effected by 40% or more though.

OP - If you re map your vehicle then inform your insurer. If not for yourself then for me should you come ploughing around a corner and take me out of it. I'd like to be re instated promptly and not have to wait for Indemnity checks which could have been avoided.

Blazer

Mister Dread wrote: »

They can't tell so don't bother.

They can't tell...but they can get the car dealer/manufacturer to check and they can tell whether it's been remapped or not.
You're up shít's creek then if the report comes back positive.
Insurance companies know which car models tend to get remapped/chipped etc so they will get these tested.

Henry Ford III

MugMugs wrote: »

It is.You could also be treated as driving uninsured.

Can only be seen as Non Disclosure if the premium would have been effected by 40% or more though.

OP - If you re map your vehicle then inform your insurer. If not for yourself then for me should you come ploughing around a corner and take me out of it. I'd like to be re instated promptly and not have to wait for Indemnity checks which could have been avoided.

Is the 40% you refer to above company specific MugMugs?

I'd have thought way less maybe 20% would be a material change in engine power.

MugMugs

Henry Ford III wrote: »

MugMugs wrote: »

It is.You could also be treated as driving uninsured.

Can only be seen as Non Disclosure if the premium would have been effected by 40% or more though.

OP - If you re map your vehicle then inform your insurer. If not for yourself then for me should you come ploughing around a corner and take me out of it. I'd like to be re instated promptly and not have to wait for Indemnity checks which could have been avoided.

Is the 40% you refer to above company specific MugMugs?

I'd have thought way less maybe 20% would be a material change in engine power.

40% under the Consumer Protection Code. Over this they can avoid the policy, honour TP claims and recover from the insured. I only know that as I had to learn the CPC during a recent Audit.

Henry Ford III

So under 40% blast away?

MugMugs

Henry Ford III wrote: »

So under 40% blast away?

Now now! Always disclose.

obi604

Hello All

OP here . Thanks for all the replies, I think its best alright to declare it to the insurance company if I get it re mapped, so all is above board .

Just wondering, how long does the re mapping process take, so if I were to bring the car to the place, would I need to leave it there for a few hours and come back or just wait there and it would be done in half an hour ?

obi604

update from OP

So rang my insurance company a few days ago and told them that I was thinking of re mapping
gave them the details etc. and they had to send it to some " technical advisor "
3 days later they got back to me saying no problems, the would cover me BUT

> the premium for the rest of the year ( 11 months left ) would increase by 231 Euro

>I would need to get a letter from the manafacturer after the re map is done to verify all is ok

pain in the hole !!

spunk_monkey

obi604 wrote: »

update from OP

So rang my insurance company a few days ago and told them that I was thinking of re mapping
gave them the details etc. and they had to send it to some " technical advisor "
3 days later they got back to me saying no problems, the would cover me BUT

> the premium for the rest of the year ( 11 months left ) would increase by 231 Euro

>I would need to get a letter from the manafacturer after the re map is done to verify all is ok

pain in the hole !!

what insurance company is that!? And how much was your premium to begin with?

obi604

spunk_monkey wrote: »

what insurance company is that!? And how much was your premium to begin with?

Zurich

520 yo yo

EPM

obi604 wrote: »

Zurich

520 yo yo

That's a serious increase!

obi604

EPM wrote: »

That's a serious increase!

Stop, tell me about it. Im inreasing the power by 25 % roughly and insurance costs are rising by 50%..........disulusioned to be honest

EPM

I'd ring around different companies for a quote and switch if required.

obi604

EPM wrote: »

I'd ring around different companies for a quote and switch if required.

Could be right EPM, thing is can you switch insurance companies when already payed up for the year ??

I only renewed a month ago with this crowd

EPM

You're entitled to a refund of what's left. There may be a small admin charge so ask how much that is.

obi604

EPM wrote: »

You're entitled to a refund of what's left. There may be a small admin charge so ask how much that is.

Are you 110% sure on that EPM

EPM

Thunk it was an EU ruling recently enough (open to correction) but A family member has done it when changing car. Main thing to make sure is the admin charge is less than any increase in premium.

YEars back Hibernian wouldn't insure me on a Celica, had 6 months left on the policy, they had no issue refunding me pro rata. A month in you wouldn't be worried about NCB either.

obi604

RoverJames wrote: »

YEars back Hibernian wouldn't insure me on a Celica, had 6 months left on the policy, they had no issue refunding me pro rata. A month in you wouldn't be worried about NCB either.

Hello, how do u mean "you wouldn't be worried about NCB either"

Could changinf the policy to another company affect ones NCB ??

TestTransmission

obi604 wrote: »

Are you 110% sure on that EPM

I am, recently did it

obi604

TestTransmission wrote: »

I am, recently did it

Did it affect your no claims bonus ?

Did it cost anything to change ?

TestTransmission

obi604 wrote: »

Did it affect your no claims bonus ?

Did it cost anything to change ?

I don't know what you mean.You cancel your current insurance,they issue you a refund and send out your NCB cert.

You lose any months you've accrued towards your NCB.So,say for example you had 11 months gone in your policy,you lose that year.This didn't really impact me as I had a full NCB anyway.

obi604

TestTransmission wrote: »

I don't know what you mean.You cancel your current insurance,they issue you a refund and send out your NCB cert.

You lose any months you've accrued towards your NCB.So,say for example you had 11 months gone in your policy,you lose that year.This didn't really impact me as I had a full NCB anyway.

Sound, I wasnt really sure either of the q I was asking : )
there was just someone earlier who mentioned NCB and cancellation but you have cleared it up now

obi604

Anyone know of which insurance company ( if any ) is re map friendly

the couple of calls ive made so far , staroight away , the answer was NO or else premium doubled when they heard the word re map



and the funny thing is then that if I was to get a quote on car that was just 175 BHP by default withoput a re map e.g. the 2008 BMW 320D, the quote would not be that high at all probbaly

just seems to be when they hear the word re map, they dont want any of it

MugMugs

obi604 wrote: »

Anyone know of which insurance company ( if any ) is re map friendly

the couple of calls ive made so far , staroight away , the answer was NO or else premium doubled when they heard the word re map



and the funny thing is then that if I was to get a quote on car that was just 175 BHP by default withoput a re map e.g. the 2008 BMW 320D, the quote would not be that high at all probbaly

just seems to be when they hear the word re map, they dont want any of it

Zurich are generally re map friendly but looking above that may have changed.

Henry Ford III

MugMugs wrote: »

Zurich are generally re map friendly but looking above that may have changed.

How does that tally with your 40% figure though?

MugMugs

Henry Ford III wrote: »

How does that tally with your 40% figure though?

I dont see the relevance between that quote and query Henry ? What do you mean how does the 40% tally with Zurich being the most re-map friendly Insurer ?

Henry Ford III

MugMugs wrote: »

I dont see the relevance between that quote and query Henry ? What do you mean how does the 40% tally with Zurich being the most re-map friendly Insurer ?

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you say that below 40% power increase made no difference to premiums?

MugMugs

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you say that below 40% power increase made no difference to premiums?

Aha, No. I meant 40% premium difference.

MugMugs declares his vehicle as being registered in Dublin when in fact it lives in North Louth. Insurer looks at this and wont cancel if there is not a 40% premium difference between the risk addresses.

DId I say power ? :eek:

Henry Ford III

Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Ford III View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MugMugs View Post
It is.You could also be treated as driving uninsured.

Can only be seen as Non Disclosure if the premium would have been effected by 40% or more though.

OP - If you re map your vehicle then inform your insurer. If not for yourself then for me should you come ploughing around a corner and take me out of it. I'd like to be re instated promptly and not have to wait for Indemnity checks which could have been avoided.
Is the 40% you refer to above company specific MugMugs?

I'd have thought way less maybe 20% would be a material change in engine power.
40% under the Consumer Protection Code. Over this they can avoid the policy, honour TP claims and recover from the insured. I only know that as I had to learn the CPC during a recent Audit.

Henry Ford III

This is getting a tad confusing.