Should I get a Remap?

Ocelot88

Looking for some advice as this is way out of my area of knowledge, I have an 09 2.2 Diesel Honda civic with about 240 000 km. From what I know so far it gives a small mpg boost along with going from 140bhp up to 185bhp.

Mainly looking into this to improve fuel economy but i would like to advice on if this is a good idea, and if it is id like to hear about anyone that's recommended in the south east area,

Thanks!

User1998

If you are doing it to improve fuel economy its not a good idea. There are specific remaps that only add a slight bit of power and focus more on economy. Maybe this would be a better option

wotzgoingon

Yes as above a remap is for performance and they also say on the websites it improves economy which is not correct. You would actually use more fuel as you need fuel and oxygen to make power.

But as User1998 said you can get a fuel efficient remap which will maybe increase power by a small amount and use less fuel but you would have to say that to tuner before hand. But going in and looking for 185bhp and fuel efficiency at the same time cannot be done. Either one or the other.

kirving

Whatever about a power remap (they only really active as you accelerate so the engine and cooling system isn't under long term stress), don't "economy" remaps just dull the throttle response as opposed to anything else?

I mean I know that you can lean out the air/fuel ratio, but given that it would be active 100% of the time, it may actually have bigger implication than a power map.

And remember, both power and economy maps need to be notified to your insurance company - they can and will be investigated in the case of a serious/fatal collision.

route66

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118920729#Comment_118920729

Genuine question: Has any insurance company ever checked the engine map of a car involved in an accident?

Ocelot88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118919388#Comment_118919388

I'm not looking for it, its just what i picked up from google, I just want better fuel economy, definitely wont be notifying an insurance company because i want better mpg.

I've tried contacting a few places locally but none of them have gotten back to me yet.

CreadanLady

In the event of an accident you could always cover yourself by just frying the ECU with a high voltage discharge. For example, put the line of an electric fence unit up against the terminals of the ECU.

"oh dear, it must have got damaged in the collision"

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118921624#Comment_118921624

Bosch (and every other) ECU manufacturer specifically market tools for the purpose of collision investigation. Given that tools to do it are widely available, I would assume that it does happen. I know a remap is slightly different, but these days it's incredibly simple to check, even for a minor collision as below....

There was a poster on here in the past couple of years, who had this checked by Hyundai and they were found not at fault. Posts 60, 76, 120, 133. https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/108006711/#Comment_108006711

https://cdr.boschdiagnostics.com/cdr/

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118921667#Comment_118921667

It's you who has something to lose if you crash the car and it's checked. Your insurance is invalid if you don't declare the map, it's just a matter whether you're caught or not. I genuinely hope you're not caught, because the only way you would be is if you were involved in a serious collision. A lighter foot is A) free B) doesn't invalidate your insurance C) doesn't risk damaging your car by running it very lean.

Ocelot88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922255#Comment_118922255

My foot cant get any lighter, hence why I'm asking about ECU remapping, you seem to be making pretty big assumptions based on a few posts on the internet from 4 years ago, ill keep it in mind but taking it with a large pinch of salt.

User1998

Is it possible to have a discussion on remaps without the insurance brigade getting involved ..

OP doesn’t seem to care about the insurance implications

kirving

I don't care one way or another - a helpful warning more than anything.

I think you'd be an exceptionally long time amortising the cost of a remap with the potential fuel savings.

I flat out don't believe some quoted 20% fuel savings, perhaps a couple of percent can be gained by running leaner or changing timing(on petrol), but manufacturers have been perfecting this for a long time, they want their cars running efficiently.

IMO the main thing they will do is dull the throttle response.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118923883#Comment_118923883

The theory is that your car is more powerful after a remap which means you can accelerate less and put the engine under less strain, thus saving fuel

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118924242#Comment_118924242

So the opposite of eco mode but gets the same results?

pinktoe

I remapped a 3.0 twin turbo diesel and 2 years later the turbo actuator needed replacing and a boost pipe split at a different time. Unsurprisingly Jaguar claimed it was from the remap, but these are issues even the standard XJ has so, I'm not so sure if the remap is to blame but its something to consider as your car has high mileage.

As for mpg, it went from 7.2l to 6.8l per 100km for motorway journeys. All other journeys vary too much to compare.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118921624#Comment_118921624

Yes

Just tell the insurance company, a remap won't increase your premium that much. I remapped a 300bhp car to 364bhp and the increase was €76 with AXA. Why risk an invalid policy over a few euro?

9935452

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118924580#Comment_118924580

Ive got a 120hp A4 that has a chip to bring it to 150hp.

She is more economical by 6mpg with the chip. 140kmiles done on the chip without issues.

Part of the reason i believe a remap can give better fuel economy after a remap is , a car has to burn more fuel to get the NOx gases down. Its one f the reasons vws were heavier on fuel after he emissions recall.

Then you also have the fact that you dont have to drive it as hard to get the same results

micah537

How do you know the chip gave you 30bhp? Was the car dyno tested before and after?

DaveyDave

How long would it take to recoup the cost of a remap with a marginal fuel economy increase?

Better off taking out the spare wheel or back seats if you really want marginal gains.

Henry Ford III

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118921751#Comment_118921751

That'd be fraud though. Not such a smart idea.

sam t smith

Would be rude not to get the remap. Go for it.

Ocelot88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118933631#Comment_118933631

Honestly, why even post rubbish like that, all I'm asking for is information on remapping the ecu and i have people advising i strip the car down to save some money, ill just tell the family to piss off shall i?. If you don't know what you're talking about, why bother?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118934366#Comment_118934366

He’s right tho. You’ll need to spend upwards of €300 for a remap. Even if the remap did slightly improve your MPG, it would take months or even years to recoup the cost of the remap.

Remaps are for power increases, not for improving MPG.

DaveyDave

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118934366#Comment_118934366

Well for a start you didn't mention family so if you can't remove back seats then don't. You're looking at spending a few hundred on a remap to potentially save a tiny but of fuel which is pretty extreme so removing seats or spare wheel isn't exactly an absurd suggestion. If it didn't work then VW wouldn't remove the spare wheel on some of their Bluemotion diesels to save weight or remove back seats on on the GTI Clupsport S. Less weight, less fuel consumption.

You could looking into getting a lighter set of alloys as this would make it less work for the car to accelerate.

Ocelot88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118935083#Comment_118935083

I didn't see the need to mention how many seats i require in ther car, I titled the thread "Should I get a Remap". Not "100 and 1 ways to reduce fuel costs by taking of pieces of my car.

You think 4 new alloys, potentially 4 tires plus fitting is more cost effective and productive than a 10-20% gain from a remap?

wotzgoingon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929454#Comment_118929454

Out of curiosity which chip did you go for?

9935452

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118936555#Comment_118936555

Race Chip was the maker of the chip . It was 250 euro and took about a year to repay itself . And i still have it if i change cars

wotzgoingon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118940590#Comment_118940590

That's a decent brand of chip. I do get ads for them on this website especially the past week or so since they had a sale on.

wotzgoingon

Even got one now.

DaveyDave

Did a quick Google of this Civic remap, all the remap sellers are quoting 10-20% fuel increases, absolute snake oil marketing points as you'd expect. Civic forum users have mostly said there's no increase, one or two said there's maybe 5% which others debated and a few have had to replace their clutch. The computer reads a higher range than what people are actually getting from a tank which is probably where the BS 10-20% figure comes from. A 30% power increase is significant so at least there's that.

Ocelot88

Definitely not for me anyway, thanks for the information.

Wildly Boaring

Have had a few cars mapped and have one of those race chips in the shed.

Maps by Joe Power etc do definitely improve performance. The race chip did a bit on a 150bhp Leon.

None of them improved economy and I struggle to see how they would. The only way they might is if the car was geared all wrong day 1 and the map allowed them run at lower revs for cruising speed??

Anyway I'd do it again no problem. But not for fuel saving

wotzgoingon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118943896#Comment_118943896

A remap is better than a chip but a chip is still better than stock. And a remap that is done on a dyno rather than send the ecu or file off to be done is better again.