 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Just got an 08 1.9TDi Passat which feels a bit sluggish compared to my (very) old 306 2.0TDi. I'm no boy racer (it's an estate!), but overtaking it's not as spritely as I'd like. The engine spec is only 105bhp which probably explains it, and I've read that an extra 30-40bhp can be had. Some folks also report better fuel economy, but I'm wondering if that's actually realistic - surely if a remap could result in more power [i]and[/i] better economy, VW would just ship them like that from new. What am I missing?
Finally, would this count as a modification as far as insurance is concerned?
Cheers,
Yes you can get get more power and as a result better fuel economy.
Depends how you drive it though, once I got used to the extra power and stopped hoofing it everywhere with a smile on my face, I started to get the fuel economy benefits.
Probably someone far more expert than me on here, but if I remember it right, just changing the mass air flow sensor is really all that is needed to up the output.
Definitely a modification for insurance purposes. I'd also be slightly concerned about the extra strain the additional BHP will have on the engine.
Rich.
iirc the 130 and 105 bhp engines are identical spec in terms of hardware, and it's just a software change. Of course, you can't have more power AND more economy, but you can have a slightly better economy if you don't use the extra power!
It's definitely asking your insurance what the effect on your policy cost will be BEFORE you go ahead, and personally, i'd never buy a remapped car secondhand. If you want a 130, just buy a 130 imo
The 1.9tdi engine was available in different bhp formats. 105, 115, 130, 150 if I remember correctly. Same engine, just different ECU maps. 30-40 bhp increase will be fine.
I have seen some at 210bhp and more, but that required a few other tweaks. Will be a modification on your insurance. Worth checking to see the cost first if you're worried. Some companies just tag you as a boy racer and sting you accordingly.
VW could indeed have extracted more power from the engine but that would have reduced the reliability and life of the engine.
If you tweak it for more power, don't tell your insurers then have an accident, they might refuse to cover you as insurers are always on the lookout for ways of avoiding paying out.
His could be a CR engine, and even if it's PD it'll be different to the old school 105/130 ones.
Better ask a tuneup shop.
I wouldn't necessarily say reliability and life expectancy come into it when it's the same block and hardware across the range. Probably more to do with selling cars at certain auidiences - Frugal, Powerful, Middle of the Road etc.
The other reason power can usually be extracted is to do with environmental variables. Rather than developing maps for each country in which the cars are sold they will produce a generic map for each sales region and leave it at that.
Speaking to a reputable tuner would be a good start THEN the insurance. Make sure they will cover mods at all as mine doesn't.
Tell the insurance? Why? It's not as if they'd put your car on a rolling road to see if it is putting out more bhp & torque than standard.
VW could indeed have extracted more power from the engine but that would have reduced the reliability and life of the engine.
So you think that the identical 130 and 150 engines are less reliable and have a shorter life than the 105 engine then ?
I doubt that very much.
Because it's rather easy to extract a map from an ECU to determine if it's been tampered with in the event of a crash. Short of physically destroying the ECU, swapping it or overwriting it in the event of an accident (good luck with either of those) then you could easily be caught. If you think they can't or wouldn't then more fool you.
I had my Passat remapped - made it infinitely more pleasant to drive. Highly recommend it. The one I had was from Shark Performance.
http://www.sharkperformance.co.uk/sts
You can get the device that flashes the ECU if you want to be able to put the OEM map back on for whatever reason (servicing?).
Thanks chaps. Will talk to the insurers tomorrow.
Unless you have it done by somebody who actually knows how to do it properly - rather than somebody who is just copying a tune up file he has had emailed to him, you could have loads of problems.
Its not just a simple case of entering the remap file and thats it - he will have to know how to read the data logs and adjust each individual car accordingly, he will also have to adjust the vgt pilot control maps that control the turbo vanes position. Otherwise your turbo will not last too long.
As far as I know the engines aren't 'all the same'...
Well, in terms of the block and all that they are, but there are lots of differences.
For example, the 105 and 130 versions in the Ibiza have the same side mounted intercooler, but the 160 in the Cupra has a larger front mounted intercooler. The 130 and 160 share the same turbo (I think), but the 105 has a smaller one. The 160 also has different injectors.
Some of these details might not be quite right as it's been a long while since I was looking into it this for a potential remap. But to say they are all the same is correct and incorrect at the same time.
I know in the Ibiza, people regularly remapped the 105 to 130 or 140 bhp without issue.