I finally got around to answer a few questions today that i have been pondering for a while 
We see lots of good reports on remapping petrol and diesel turbos here but what about the old N/A 3.2? Well I know we cant expect the same increase in HP/Torque that the turbo guys get but thats not to say there arent improvements to be made. For the V6 as well.. Prices vary quite a bit but expected increases in performance figures are about the same, roughly 18bhp and 25lb/ft Torque..
Audi quote 250bhp 236lb/ft torque in standard trim using 98ron fuel. So ideally we are looking for 268bhp 261lb/ft torque. ..Marginally up on std S3 figures .but my car has done 40k miles so it will be interesting to see how that affects the results.
I took the car to Austec Racing in Crawley, Surrey as they are reasonably local to me and have a 4wd rolling road. They do a generic remap for the 3.2 or for those with non-standard spec they will do a custom remap to suit your needs.
My first run on the rollers produced near standard figures of 251bhp in my 2004 A3 3.2 using 99ron Tesco petrol and a Pipercross panel filter.
The following week the car produced 241bhp using 95ron Tesco fuel, a drop of approximately 4% which is to be expected given that the ignition ******* its self on lower octane fuels to prevent pinking ( knock).
The third week I filled up with 99ron again and we did another run with peak bhp back to 250.At this point I fitted a Remus back box and again we ran the car up to check the figures. Still 250bhp.
Now the interesting bit! We remapped it and ran it up again. After 3 runs we could not improve on the 250bhp but by giving it 38* max advance we did add 20 lb/ft torque at the lower revs but this again peaked out at the original 240lb/ft.
So whats going on.?
We are pretty sure that the cat is the limiting factor that stops the exhaust flow at peak power; it just hits 250 bhp and stops. When you think about what a remap does on a N/A car its basically just adjusting the advance curve of the ignition to suit the air/fuel mix. It cant magic more power from the engine! Its not for instance changing you valve timing or upping your compression, its simply fine tuning whats already there. There is a possibility that the intake is restrictive but its very unlikely.
So is it worth it?
Well on the plus side the gear change is a lot smoother, it revs out better. Before it would rev to 6,500 rpm and then stutter for a second or two and change gear. Now it revs to the line and changes instantly. It pulls away from a standing start much smoother and at tick over you are not really aware it's running. You dont notice the Torque in terms of power. Its not a performance package but it does fine-tune an already fine tuned engine. Would I do it again? To be honest, No. The remap needs to be seen as part of a package and not as a stand-alone performance improvement. Coupled with a decat, big bore pipe you might get a bit more at the restrictive top end but the gains available on this lump through the range are not going to be noticeable. The only real winner here is Tesco 99 octane fuel which proved beyond doubt the cheapest 10bhp you can add to this car !! Hope that helps a few here make a decision or save a few bob.
We see lots of good reports on remapping petrol and diesel turbos here but what about the old N/A 3.2? Well I know we cant expect the same increase in HP/Torque that the turbo guys get but thats not to say there arent improvements to be made. For the V6 as well.. Prices vary quite a bit but expected increases in performance figures are about the same, roughly 18bhp and 25lb/ft Torque..
Audi quote 250bhp 236lb/ft torque in standard trim using 98ron fuel. So ideally we are looking for 268bhp 261lb/ft torque. ..Marginally up on std S3 figures .but my car has done 40k miles so it will be interesting to see how that affects the results.
I took the car to Austec Racing in Crawley, Surrey as they are reasonably local to me and have a 4wd rolling road. They do a generic remap for the 3.2 or for those with non-standard spec they will do a custom remap to suit your needs.
My first run on the rollers produced near standard figures of 251bhp in my 2004 A3 3.2 using 99ron Tesco petrol and a Pipercross panel filter.
The following week the car produced 241bhp using 95ron Tesco fuel, a drop of approximately 4% which is to be expected given that the ignition ******* its self on lower octane fuels to prevent pinking ( knock).
The third week I filled up with 99ron again and we did another run with peak bhp back to 250.At this point I fitted a Remus back box and again we ran the car up to check the figures. Still 250bhp.
Now the interesting bit! We remapped it and ran it up again. After 3 runs we could not improve on the 250bhp but by giving it 38* max advance we did add 20 lb/ft torque at the lower revs but this again peaked out at the original 240lb/ft.
So whats going on.?
We are pretty sure that the cat is the limiting factor that stops the exhaust flow at peak power; it just hits 250 bhp and stops. When you think about what a remap does on a N/A car its basically just adjusting the advance curve of the ignition to suit the air/fuel mix. It cant magic more power from the engine! Its not for instance changing you valve timing or upping your compression, its simply fine tuning whats already there. There is a possibility that the intake is restrictive but its very unlikely.
So is it worth it?
Well on the plus side the gear change is a lot smoother, it revs out better. Before it would rev to 6,500 rpm and then stutter for a second or two and change gear. Now it revs to the line and changes instantly. It pulls away from a standing start much smoother and at tick over you are not really aware it's running. You dont notice the Torque in terms of power. Its not a performance package but it does fine-tune an already fine tuned engine. Would I do it again? To be honest, No. The remap needs to be seen as part of a package and not as a stand-alone performance improvement. Coupled with a decat, big bore pipe you might get a bit more at the restrictive top end but the gains available on this lump through the range are not going to be noticeable. The only real winner here is Tesco 99 octane fuel which proved beyond doubt the cheapest 10bhp you can add to this car !! Hope that helps a few here make a decision or save a few bob.
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