Impressions of Shark remap on A6 3.0 TDI

Hi all,

Thought I would be rid of my posting virginity here with a few words of my impressions of the remap I have just had done by Shark Performance (via GNJ Motorsport).

I have a 2007 A6 Quattro Le Mans Avant with the glorious 3.0 TDI and 6-speed Tiptronic, and despite it be a totally awesome family car, I just felt it could be a little more deserving of the "Le Mans" badges on the front wings, so, after much lurking and researching on numerous forums for months, I had decided that Shark seemed to be offering the kind of remap that would best suit me (no sacrificing drivability for big top-end bhp numbers, just nice smooth delivery of grin-inducing torque) and a very good reputation to boot.

Fortuitously, right when I got the urge to pull the trigger, I noticed GNJ Motorsport (new dealer for Shark maps - great service BTW) was doing a promo deal, so that pretty much cinched it... one map with an STS unit please sir!

As it has been absolutely p!ssing down with rain where I am (Oxfordshire), I haven't been able to really give it a bootful on anything twisty, but let me assure you... if you have been considering a Shark remap, just calmly reach for your wallet and start throwing money at them. Yes, it has breathed new life into the car, and completely refreshed my enjoyment of it!

Initially when I set out for work this morning, I tootled along the side-streets thinking "well, this doesn't feel that different... I hope I haven't wasted my money here". Then I got to the on-ramp to get onto the main road, and figured I'd give it a prod to check for signs of life (bearing in mind I had the wife and nipper on board), and got a happy little tingle as it surged up the ramp as if it was going downhill...

Once I had dutifully delivered the clan to work and nursery respectively, I got a bit more lively with the loud pedal, and oh. my. god. This is how the car was meant to be! A super-smooth wave of torque just flings you to the top of the rev counter (where it used to just kind of "deflate" past a certain point), and with the tiptronic gearbox doing the shifting in Sport mode, I very quickly (and completely by accident, you understand ) found myself in the socially irresponsible part of the speedometer.

It has genuinely made the car feel quite a bit lighter than its 1900-odd kilos, and I have been told that I can expect it to get better as the map "beds in"... joy!!

Anyway, sorry for having a bit of a ramble, but figured it might be useful reading for anyone trying to decide whether it is worth doing a remap.

PS: I'll post again with some more impressions of how things improve performance-wise, as well as some figures for fuel economy, once I have sampled it over a period of a few weeks (in case anybody actually gives a crap )

Hi again... just taking a moment to leave an update with some further feedback following the remap.

As far as performance goes, it is still a buzz to pop it into Sport and give it a bootful... it really does just spin nice and freely once the turbo comes on boost at just under 2000 rpm, and extracts a nice lusty bellow (for a diesel at least!) as it zips up the second half of the rev range.

If I had anything negative to say, it would be that the extra legs it has up top makes the off-boost performance below 1800 rpm seem more underwhelming and doughy than I remember (Not knocking the Shark map per-se, as I guess there is not much you can do about the response until the turbo actually spins up... nature of the beast and all that).

It has lit a bit of a fire under my butt (or is that my credit card burning??) to look at fitting an exhaust (most likely contender being a Milltek cat-back with the quad tips) just to see if I can a) get slightly quicker spin-up on the turbo, and b) get a sharper note out of it when I plant my foot. Oh dear... I knew this would happen... *sigh*


On the fuel-economy front, its a bit of a mixed bag. Before the remap, I was getting a shade over 30 mpg for mixed driving. As was probably to be expected, I initially saw a drop in economy (i.e. less miles per gallon) due to a severe bout of leadfootitis, and dipped into the high twenties. Since toning it down a bit, I'd say that its pretty much the same as it was before the remap, and I am getting low thirties with mixed driving (including getting stuck in some really sh!tty traffic jams around Oxford lately). On a weekend run of motorway driving, 3-up with a boot full of luggage, I managed about 35 mpg, so there is definitely a small economy improvement lurking in there under the right conditions.

All figures are "real" numbers, calculated fill-to-fill, not based on that lying ******* of a computer that says I'm about to get 650 miles from my freshly-brimmed tank (puh-lease!)

I do kinda get the feeling that my consumption is still higher than others running the 3.0 TDI (just going on what I have seen quoted around various forums), and I'd be interested to know what the cause might be, as I don't drive like a complete maniac all the time, and even nursing the car around, I don't ever seem to be anywhere near that elusive 40 mpg mark... old, clogged up DPF maybe? everyone else has lighter cars (A5's, A4's, A6 saloons)? *shrug*


Anyhow, my overall assessment is pretty much unchanged. To misquote a popular movie (and probably give away my age in the process): Shark-remapped 3.0 TDI - if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up