A Remap And A Half

[scooby doom]

Well as some of the Moray lot know I was off to Port Seton on Monday (6th) for AndyF to work his remap-magic on my new Scoob. After having my silver bug WRX for 3 years, I recently moved on to my black blob STi. It arrived with a very good spec and fantastic figures - 351 bhp & 350 lb-ft at 1.6 bar. But having removed the Blitz Nur specR backbox and replaced it with an ASBO friendly Prodrive BB, this caused enough restriction to upset the existing map....

....so a remap was on the cards.

Pre-remap I liaised with Andy and on his advice removed the GReddy Boost Controller to allow full ECU control. Then the Blitz Sus Ind Kit was removed and the OM airbox refitted with a nice shiny silicone hose and a decent looking used Simota panel filter from a boy on SN.

So, off I went, travelling 195 miles down the day before and staying locally overnight I arrived in plenty of time for my 10am slot feeling like a kid on Xmas eve. Then it started.....

Take 1

So, got the Scoob hooked up to all the gismos and off we went. A wee run along the A1, a few tweaks and Andy says now we'll step up to high boost... High boost eh, I'm having some of that.... well er, no... no I'm not. Low boost at 0.5 bar and high not getting over 0.7 bar. First, thoughts were of a gummed up or otherwise defective boost solenoid, so back to the garage where Andy fitted a spare. Off again but no change. So another look under the bonnet and the boost solenoid pipes are on the wrong way round. Unfortunately, even with the pipes off the actuator allowing unrestricted boost and with all combinations of pipes and solenoids there was still no change.... so back to the garage for a bit of heed scratchin.

Take 2

With no step up to high boost an airflow restriction was diagnosed. Zorst first but with s/s headers, up-pipe, a 3” de-cat downpipe and centre and the Prodrive taking up the rear that seemed unlikely. So, that left the air filter, although I was pretty sure it was okay. It wasn’t until we ran with the airbox slightly open that it flickered to 1.2 bar at 4500rpm before dying a death again. A road side stop then confirmed the air filter panel looked clean and new but was choked as virtually no air was passing through at all. So still not right it was back to the garage for more poking about and heed scratching. Next move was to remove all the pipes from the boost solenoid, actuator, intake and everything else they connected to, only for Andy to discover the restrictor pill was missing.

Take 3

So, almost 3 hours later, with an empty airbox, the pipes all connected to right way round to the original boost solenoid and a new restrictor pill inserted off we went again. This time violá... full boost at 1.6+ bar and no apparent problems.

Finally managed to get the job done and some decent scores on the doors, although even this wasn’t completely incident free. Too much traffic, two sort of uphill runs, having to lift early and a spike at the end of one run didn’t allow the car to realise its full potential.

Final figures accounting for all of the above issues... 335 bhp / 350 lb-ft

And finally..., after all the fannying about Andy casually remarks, “Don’t know what a main dealer would have made of that?”

[scooby222]

good figures Pete,does the car feel any different to drive now? bit of a marathon session for you,good job you werent on a tight schedule lol

[scoobyiain]

you've spent all that money for a quieter, less powerful car?

[cullenmin]

What a day min, glad you got there in the end and I bet you don't feel much difference between 350 and 335. Torque figure is well good too.

Rich

[evil_scoobs]

I am in a similar boat with 350bhp and thinking about a map tweak and taking off the induction kit to put on the standard one (anyone got one?)

did Andy say you could get more bhp with the standard kit? Are you happy with the results?

I have 345bhp but the torque is only 320lb/ft so was hoping a remap might bring the torque up

[oobster]

you've spent all that money for a quieter, less powerful car?

So what? Your point is?

[scouk]

Bit of a muddle, but glad you got it sorted in the! Not much loss in bhp and still a ton of torque! Good results!

As for spending that money for a quieter less powerful car.. The car was seriously loud!! From both front and and back end! Not to mention the mapping was slightly off, didn;t help that It has a greddy boost controller on it which overrides the ECU, much safer to let the ECU deal with that properly, un less you really want the manual contol! The car was constantly stinking of fuel so a remap was needed to sort that out at least. Besides BHP is just for bragging rights down the pub, the torque is still kept nice and high, so it should still pack a punch! And be more driver friendly thanks to the wizadry!

Edited July 12, 2009 by ScoUK

[scooby doom]

you've spent all that money for a quieter, less powerful car?

Point take and it would certainly appear to be the case at a glance but there was definitely method in the madness....

The points mentioned above by Al (ScoUK) were all the case and while the noise it made was pretty cool, it may be my age or just that I prefer to be able to hear the radio or have a conversation while in the car it had to go. That said it did have a certain appeal and a few years ago before the monkeys in Max Powered mota's brought the ASBO and interceptors down on the rest of us I would have probably kept it. So, once the Prodrive BB was fitted there was sufficient restriction to muck up the map and it didn't run smoothly at all.

There was quite a bit of lag followed by a thump of power which unfortunately tailed off. Having had Andy sort this the car now pulls smoothly and right through the rev range with no noticeable drop off right to the red line. Unfortunately, as I mentioned I didn't get decent power runs but was informed the figures were still rising when I lifted on both. Andy also established the neutral position switch is faulty and has suggested a new one sending the right signals may well help put the torque figure up a wee bit.

Now, in respect of cost. This is where the wonder that is fleaBay came into it's own with the parts I removed and a couple of other bits I had laying around the garage all selling within 2 days of listing. All I can ay is this generated more than enough to cover the cost of the trip to Port Seton, so no kinda broke even really.

Now car runs smoother, better, pulls like a train to the redline and with the same torque I'm not quite sure I'd say it was less powerful. But if bhp is the yardstick then, as was expected with a step down in exhaust bore the figure is lower. That said I'd be surprised if anyone could discern the difference between 335 and 350 in this case.

So, while it appears to have been an exercise in futility I'd like to think I have a better running car for no real cost - suits me sir

[scooby doom]

I am in a similar boat with 350bhp and thinking about a map tweak and taking off the induction kit to put on the standard one (anyone got one?)

did Andy say you could get more bhp with the standard kit? Are you happy with the results?

I have 345bhp but the torque is only 320lb/ft so was hoping a remap might bring the torque up

I think the general consensus is induction kits are for 350-380+ cars and not really needed below that. Andy said without a cold feed there was it takes in too much air from the engine bay. Also, if changed regularly he sees no real value in anything other than an OM panel filter. As for my own car, I also have an after market anti-lift kit (Perrin I think) and a solid alloy pitch bar. I believe the pitch bar certainly helps lay the power down so should help the torque figure. Maybe others know more about these parts and can clarify.

Imho its torque 1st and bhp 2nd as that's what makes ya Scoob go forward and the world go back. Am I happy with the results, oh yes indeedy

[micra_wrc]

lol at the "heed scratchin", i can just see the pair of you doing that

glad it all came together for you

...Imho its torque 1st and bhp 2nd as that's what makes ya Scoob go forward and the world go back....

[pmacFTO]

Sounds like fun was had by all Good figures tho - could do with a wee bit less noise myself now! lol

My car was fettled by Andy before I owned it - does anyone know how much he'd charge to do a few runs in it to just check it's all running ok? Just the fact he spotted so many issues on the OP's car suggests he may be able to spot some issues. SW reckoned Andy would do it - just need to know if anyone here has done this.

Also - can the license for the ECUTEK be transferred to me or is it just easy for Andy to confirm by the Serial No on the chip? I did call and email but no answer to those questions - I know he's a very busy bloke tho so no problem!

[cullenmin]

Sounds like fun was had by all Good figures tho - could do with a wee bit less noise myself now! lol

My car was fettled by Andy before I owned it - does anyone know how much he'd charge to do a few runs in it to just check it's all running ok? Just the fact he spotted so many issues on the OP's car suggests he may be able to spot some issues. SW reckoned Andy would do it - just need to know if anyone here has done this.

Also - can the license for the ECUTEK be transferred to me or is it just easy for Andy to confirm by the Serial No on the chip? I did call and email but no answer to those questions - I know he's a very busy bloke tho so no problem!

The license sticks with the ecu and can be read on the ecu for clarification.

Andy will do a map tweak @ £200 + vat. This will find any problems you think you may have

[scooby doom]

Andy will do a map tweak @ £200 + vat. This will find any problems you think you may have

I got a group buy deal for my first map at £450+vat with my old WRX and was later charged £195+vat for a tweak.

However, my STi was mapped elsewhere and I was charged more than £195+vat for this 'tweak' so maybe prices are different for tweaks depending on where the previous work was done etc. My price was set in advance and not based on how the day went and the longer than expected duration.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Scooby Doom

[pmacFTO]

Cheers all. Maybe a wee bit much to pay just to check everything is ok - a good garage should be able to check pipes, solenoid etc for less than that I'd hope Nothing is wrong with my car but I do like to have piece of mind! Also nice to know it's running as smoothly/efficiently/powerfully as possible!

[cullenmin]

I got a group buy deal for my first map at £450+vat with my old WRX and was later charged £195+vat for a tweak.

However, my STi was mapped elsewhere and I was charged more than £195+vat for this 'tweak' so maybe prices are different for tweaks depending on where the previous work was done etc. My price was set in advance and not based on how the day went and the longer than expected duration.

It costs more if someone else mapped it as the map will be unfamiliar to Andy himself.

I stand corrected for the £195+vat

[scoobyiain]

So what? Your point is?

Buy a diesel and remap it if it's torque you want and BHP is just bragging rights