Re-mapping cars
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Anyone done this? My 10 year old diesel can get a nice HP boost and fuel economy boost (I am more interested in this as I drive like a Grandad).
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@lucas1 Yes, but never for a diseasel. If the diesel tuning industry for your car is anything like the one for truck engines, it's full of snake oil, morons and stuff that will lunch your engine rather quickly (and morons who will blame that failure on the original manufacturer for making crap engines)
Or, you know, if you have a diesel pickup, it's all snake oil, morons, and stuff that will lunch your engine.
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@lucas1 I had a buddy whose hobby was installing new firmwares into his Audi to squeeze more performance. Not sure this is the right forum to ask about that, I understand it's quite specialized and involved.
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Also be aware that this will in most cases make your vehicle unroadworthy unless you have it re-type-approved by (IIRC) the DoT, it's also a modification you will need to declare to your insurance company (not doing so will make your insurance null and void).
Obviously, it would need some fairly serious investigation to find out you've remapped, it won't get picked up straight away, or even in the case of an accident, but you may well find that your next MOT test won't pass. Power, Economy, Emissions - pick any two.
[edit] - not the DVLA, I r a fool. http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/vehicletype/type-approval-for-ca.asp
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@Weng My mate who is well into his cars (races them) reckon I can get a decent power increase because the ECU is basically tuned to run okay everywhere.
I've looked online and it seems 20-25 hp on my model is what they advertise and tuning shops can do a bit better with a car on the rollers.
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@blakeyrat The reason I asked was partially due to it being a firmware flash / custom rom, If anyone knew how one might go about doing it themselves.
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@lucas1 said in Re-mapping cars:
Anyone done this? My 10 year old diesel can get a nice HP boost and fuel economy boost (I am more interested in this as I drive like a Grandad).
VW knows.
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@tufty Not all places have emissions tests.
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What's the vehicle? In truck-land there are plenty of COTS products for remapping a diesel engine. I have a PPE Xcelerator tune on my pickup that added 90 HP and 160 ft-lb of torque, as well as a few MPG at cruising speeds. Took about ten minutes to flash, most of which was me trying to decipher the fusebox so I could pull the recommended fuses for the flashing operation.
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@pydsigner But the UK does.
You can’t get an MOT certificate if your vehicle’s exhaust emissions are too high. Emissions may also be tested as part of a roadside check.
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@tufty Is @lucas1 currently in the UK? I thought he was currently abroad, though I could be wrong on that.
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@pydsigner I am in the UK at the moment, might be going to Ireland for work as there are some high paying sitecore roles.
The emissions thing isn't something I considered and would probably require me fitting a better exhaust if it fails the emissions test. The car is in for MOT tomorrow.
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@tufty said in Re-mapping cars:
@pydsigner But the UK does.
You can’t get an MOT certificate if your vehicle’s exhaust emissions are too high. Emissions may also be tested as part of a roadside check.
That sounds slightly more stringent than California's standards (which are the most stringent in the country).
The funny thing is that California dropped the sniffer tests a couple years ago because eliminating such tests was equivalent to taking X thousand cars off the road. Perhaps not surprisingly, people then started bringing out the big camshafts and bore-stroke kits.
Of course, I wouldn't know anything about such activities. My car is still CARB legal (even if it makes 100 wheel horsepower over stock).
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The chances of actually getting pulled over for a roadside check are pretty low, though. Basically, it comes down, pretty much, to "is your car a smoky old banger?"
Yeah,
Or, potentially, "does it look ricer".
You're more likely to get detected (and hammered) for removing the particle filter.
I got roadside tested on my FZR400 (SPL, not emissions) and squeaked through. Luckily, as it happened - the bike looked stock, but had had the pistons, barrels, and carbs transplanted off an FZR600, the stock exhaust had been gutted and rewelded, and no, it wasn't running stock ignition. "That exhaust just about passes, but it's on the way out, you might want to look into getting it replaced" the nice policeman said to me. Getting pulled over was my own stupid sodding fault for changing down in the Hyde Park Corner underpass with a police car right behind me...
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@tufty said in Re-mapping cars:
You can’t get an MOT certificate if your vehicle’s exhaust emissions are too high.
Turns out if you pull the battery & drive between 40-50 miles, you can still pass the test.
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@FrostCat Going on a good long high-speed drive will help, as it will burn off plenty of the crud that builds up with lots of urban stop-start.
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@dkf That won't help with a dead catalytic converter, for example.
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@FrostCat said in Re-mapping cars:
pull the battery & drive
Isn't it difficult to go driving without a battery tho?
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@Yamikuronue I am no expert on cars (so if I am wrong someone please correct me), but I think you could bump start it to get a spark.
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@lucas1 Hmm, that's probably true. I was trying to figure out, like, do you pull the battery with the engine running, because that sounds dangerous....
I drive a Prius, so I'm not going anywhere without a battery, but now I'm curious
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@FrostCat said in Re-mapping cars:
That won't help with a dead catalytic converter, for example.
True, but I was thinking more of what can be done with the equivalent thing for diesel engines.
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No spark on a diesel. Not that it matters, because you'll have a helluva job bump starting any modern vehicle; electronic fuel injection requires a certain voltage before it works, and you need a big hill before your alternator starts putting that out :).
Simply pulling the battery from the car, especially when it's running, is a bad idea. The battery plays an active part in filtering and regulating the car's supply, alternator output fluctuates based on revs, your electronics are unlikely to like that very much.
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@Yamikuronue said in Re-mapping cars:
Isn't it difficult to go driving without a battery tho?
It's powered by unicorn farts after that. That's how you can pass the inspection.
Apparently unicorns eat french fries, because that's what your car's exhaust smells like.
Or you could stop channeling @blakeyrat and assume that you plug the battery back in. :)
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@Yamikuronue said in Re-mapping cars:
do you pull the battery with the engine running, because that sounds dangerous....
Actually if the engine's running probably nothing will happen if you manage to avoid a short. Actually actually, it'd probably die fairly quickly unless you kept it running higher than idle.
This post is a no-ic-reply zone. What I said, I'm guessing based on having driven cars long ago where the alternator was beginning to fail. Once you are driving at highway speeds, the engine should be enough to keep eveything running, but I remember lights dimming and the like.
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@FrostCat said in Re-mapping cars:
It's powered by unicorn farts after that.
TIL :D
Nah, I was taking the piss but then some people had interesting thoughts and I was honestly curious. Good to know tho
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@Yamikuronue I suppose, knowing this site, I should've said "reset the computer by unplugging the battery temporarily".
When you do that, the ECU knows. To attempt to prevent people from cheating on inspections, several sensors report E_NO_INFO for approximately 40 miles--I think it varies by sensor and maybe by model. In Texas, at least, if two sensors report that during your inspection, you will fail, on the assumption that you're trying to cheat. But if only one is out, you'll still pass, assuming everything else reads acceptable.
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@FrostCat said in Re-mapping cars:
@Yamikuronue said in Re-mapping cars:
do you pull the battery with the engine running, because that sounds dangerous....
Actually if the engine's running probably nothing will happen if you manage to avoid a short. Actually actually, it'd probably die fairly quickly unless you kept it running higher than idle.
This post is a no-ic-reply zone. What I said, I'm guessing based on having driven cars long ago where the alternator was beginning to fail. Once you are driving at highway speeds, the engine should be enough to keep eveything running, but I remember lights dimming and the like.
I used to have a POS Chinese dirt bike with a dead battery, and no one anywhere could find me a compatible replacement battery. Fortunately it was a kickstart so it was still usable, but the alternator couldn't power the lights at idle so if I was stopped I'd have to keep it rev'd up for the turn signals to work.
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@FrostCat said in Re-mapping cars:
What I said, I'm guessing based on having driven cars long ago where the alternator was beginning to fail. Once you are driving at highway speeds, the engine should be enough to keep eveything running, but I remember lights dimming and the like.
Assuming your alternator is in good condition, even at idle it will supply all the electricity needed by your car and re-charge the battery on top of that. You can unplug the battery and drive anywhere you want, as long as you don't stop the engine.
Your lights dimming at idle is a good indication that your alternator is dying.
The usual way to test an alternator is to have your engine at idle, then turn everything electric on (defroster, headlights, etc) and checking with a volt-meter that it still produces between 12 and 14 volts.
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@Yamikuronue If the vehicle is a manual trans, you could pop start it.
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@Erufael I know like, two of those words!
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@Yamikuronue xD Allow
meWikiHow to clarify:
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@TimeBandit said in Re-mapping cars:
Your lights dimming at idle is a good indication that your alternator is dying.
Yeah, that's why I said "the alternator was beginning to fail".
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@Yamikuronue said in Re-mapping cars:
I know like, two of those words!
Surely more. Isn't where you live one of those places where people call soda "pop"?
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@Yamikuronue Does your prius die when it's not driven for more than a week?
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@TimeBandit said in Re-mapping cars:
@Yamikuronue said in Re-mapping cars:
@Erufael I know like, two of those words!
Which ones ?
I'm guessing "vehicle" and "it".
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@theBread I wouldn't know?
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@Yamikuronue said in Re-mapping cars:
I drive a Prius, so I'm not going anywhere without a battery, but now I'm curious
Depends. Did you do an LS1 swap?
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@Groaner You've got me looking at old cars that I can't afford to buy again now.
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@lucas1 said in Re-mapping cars:
@Groaner You've got me looking at old cars that I can't afford to buy again now.
Oh, if I had $50k I could throw away, I'd have a project car like that, too.
My personal favorite is probably this 462ci smart car.
"NU BIG THING" SMART CAR 462ci BBC VS GT MUSTANG AT RT66 – 01:08
— victoryredcolorado
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@lucas1 said in Re-mapping cars:
@pydsigner I am in the UK at the moment, might be going to Ireland for work as there are some high paying sitecore roles.
You're going to… brexit?
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@kt_ And then "br-enter" after 3 months
(I had the interview today and I won't be taking the work).
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@Groaner I like the old fast fords. My mate's dad had a Sierra 4x4 that was seriously quick in the late 80s / early 90s.
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@Groaner
Related video.60 000 HP "Shockwave" FIRST JET RACE EVER in MI! – 02:23
— NEXT HEROThis is everything I expect from 'Murica.
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@Erufael said in Re-mapping cars:
@Yamikuronue xD Allow
meWikiHow to clarify:
Unfortunately this doesn't work as well on mine. Need to do more tests, but it's a bit more tricky due to the ECU not kicking in for a second.....
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@Tsaukpaetra My dad successfully pushed started his car for a year because we were too poor for him to buy a new alternator.
However the car in question didn't have a ECU. It was one of these:
In that colour too. My dad originally had a blue one (I was 4 or 5 at the time) and he was on holiday and was going to take me to the town (we lived in proper country side place) but for whatever reason he didn't. That day a HGV rammed the car, and the car was literally pretty much crushed in half. The driver and the passenger seat was fine but anything further back was crushed. I would have been sitting there and most likely would have died.
He then bought the mustard version without a working engine. He took the engine out of the wreck with my uncle using two placks of wood and a lot of muscle power.
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@lucas1 said in Re-mapping cars:
@Groaner
Related video.60 000 HP "Shockwave" FIRST JET RACE EVER in MI! – 02:23
— NEXT HEROThis is everything I expect from 'Murica.
I love how it took them about two minutes to stage. It's probably a lot trickier to do than in a top fuel car (and louder).
We were supposed to have some jet cars at our dragstrip last year, but they never showed, which was probably for the best as it might have set something on fire and prevented us street class folk from getting any runs in for the rest of the night.
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@Groaner It was one of those videos where I was thinking "only American's would do this". But it was pretty cool to watch even though it was via a Youtube vid.
I will be buying something fast next year or putting down money for property. I think I will wimp out and do the latter. But I would really like to supe my car up.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Re-mapping cars:
Unfortunately this doesn't work as well on mine. Need to do more tests, but it's a bit more tricky due to the ECU not kicking in for a second.....
If your battery is completely dead, that could be a problem.
Most of the time, your battery doesn't have enough juice to drive the starter. You need at least 600 amps in most cars just to start it, most of it for the starter.You don't need much to power the ECU and ignition system. Then you can push-start it.
I did it once alone. Pushed the car as fast as I could, then jumped in it, pushed the clutch, put it in second gear and popped the clutch. I needed 3 tries to achieve it. Man was I exhausted after that.
You don't need a subscription to the gym, you just need a manual car with a dead starter
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@Groaner It was one of those videos where I was thinking "only American's would do this". But it was pretty cool to watch even though it was via a Youtube vid. It must be bonkers loud.