Engine Remap

bmwangler

Active member
 Bath
I was talking to a guy recently who said he had his 330 Ci's engine remapped. It cost £250 and upped the BHP to 265 with no effect at all on driving feel (except being a fair bit quicker).

Anyone else have any info/views on this?
 
No chance whatsoever on these engines. A good remap might make the engine run smoother and iron out any flat spots, but in terms of power you would be lucky to get 5bhp if anything at all. You need a turbo car to get big gains from a remap.
 
Ummm I always understood it was possible to remap a normally aspirated engine. Take the Mini One ( 98 bhp ) and Mini Cooper ( 122 bhp ), the only difference is software and an exhaust - so approaching a 25% increase ..... Typical normally aspirated gain is around 20bhp, so on a 3.0, I doubt youd even notice it.
 
gmetcalf said:
Ummm I always understood it was possible to remap a normally aspirated engine. Take the Mini One ( 98 bhp ) and Mini Cooper ( 122 bhp ), the only difference is software and an exhaust - so approaching a 25% increase ..... Typical normally aspirated gain is around 20bhp, so on a 3.0, I doubt youd even notice it.

but that is taking a detuned engine, what increase would you get from the cooper?
 
yea the mini one had a detuned version of the cooper and thats what was going on there. trust me you'll not get too much out of it - coming from a civic with a NA k20 motor which required major money for little gains as it is so well sorted from stock - just like bmw NA motors. forced induction is the way to go for a 25% increase in power easily!
 
I had my Rx8 remapped which is Naturally Aspirated and it added a whopping 12bhp (I dyno`d before and after).

R

Andy
 
I previously had a MGTF 160 and had it remapped, before came up at 153bhp (so not even 160) ad after came out at 177bhp. I have the results printed somewhere. made a huge difference on that car.
 
Just to add to the debate I saw this on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Z4-Remapping-Mobile-ECU-Chip-Tune-Remap-/300539679761?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item45f98f9411

Interesting.
 
I've occasionally thought of remapping my 2.0, needs everything it can get to make up for the missing 2 cylinders :p It's effectively de-tuned (167bhp in a 3 series) so should have some headroom.

Besides the whole 'NA can't be tuned' is just hearsay because it doesn't gain anything like the hp you can gain from turbo engines. The point still remains - the OEM tune is for maximum emissions control along with economy and a map that will meet requirements worldwide. If you don't mind sacrificing one or the other you will get gains.

Would only go to a tuner that dynos before and after though. Plenty of dodgy 'tuners' out there who with a box of electriconics think they know what they're doing.
 
Boogle said:
Would only go to a tuner that dynos before and after though. Plenty of dodgy 'tuners' out there who with a box of electriconics think they know what they're doing.

Hear Hear, i'd never ever have a remap without a before/after dyno
 
playalistic said:
billygilly said:
Most of the country can quite reliably get the 3.0se to I believe 251hp
With just a software map? Highly doubtful.

As half colins link shows 251 hp

http://www.more-bhp.com/z-series/bmw-roadster-z4-30i-231-remap.html

and

http://www.bmwremap.co.uk/

the list goes on 251hp isn't massive but the expected figure for a remap
 
How would the driving characteristics be affected by a remap like this.

Also, can the car be easily returned to stock in the event of the remap affecting the feel of the car?
 
billygilly said:
playalistic said:
billygilly said:
Most of the country can quite reliably get the 3.0se to I believe 251hp
With just a software map? Highly doubtful.

As half colins link shows 251 hp

http://www.more-bhp.com/z-series/bmw-roadster-z4-30i-231-remap.html

and

http://www.bmwremap.co.uk/

the list goes on 251hp isn't massive but the expected figure for a remap

Trust me, just because they advertise those figures it doesnt mean they deliver them. There is no way you will get anywhere near 20bhp from a remap on a 3.0i. If you could then i'd get one myself in a heatbeat :)
 
I'm not, but i have done a lot of reading on the subject.

I'm not saying a remap won't do anything, as i said they can make the engine smoother and improve the power delivery, but in terms of worthwhile power gains on these engines they are pointless IMO. Also do you really want to give £200 to some bloke off ebay to fiddle with your ECU? I wouldnt. Id want to go to a reputable specialist like Evolve Automotive or DMS who actually know what they are doing. But then you end up spending £500+, money i'd rather spend on petrol.

If someone can show me a before and after rolling road readout which shows a 20bhp gain then i'll be more than happy to be proven wrong :)
 
just to add to the debate, took my 2.2 into Paramount Performance in Slough - they did a remap, swapped the ECU and delimited the revs etc. added a new exhaust (the Remus) and it made a huge difference. only at 200bhp now, tested on their rolling road, with a little fiddling and air filter etc.
obviously changing wheels, tyres, suspension, etc etc all helps, depends on how far you want to go. :cry:
 
Tomtvr, I accept what your saying about eBay companies and I would only pay the money if it were rolling road guaranteed or your money back
 
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