Just had a Shark remap on my 140 bhp TDI

[psychopomp1]

In the end went for the Shark STS (diy jobbie) and just uploaded the 'performance' map on my B7 (140 bhp). Took it for a drive on the A9, sure there's a noticeable improvement in power & torque but there's no WOW! factor which many speak of. I know it takes a while for the remap to bed in but so far i feel a bit underwhelmed considering i've just spent nearly half a grand. Did anyone else feel like this initially after a remap? Please cheer me up

 

[chrisa4quat]

There should be wow whenever I have mapped a car. Especially for that much money. Never experienced a shark map. Depends on power curve I guess. Hope it feels better soon!

 

[Joe_Murphy21187]

It depends what you were expecting and how much power it takes to wow you I guess?

At the end of the day it's only a 2ltr tdi, so it'll never blow your socks off. Having said that the % power gain is significant and any good remap should really give you a lot more enjoyment from the car. Diesel cars also have a different feel to them than petrol, so you will never get petrol-like performance, if that makes sense?

If you're really not happy with it most places offer a satisfaction money back guarantee, not sure if Shark is one of these, but give it a week and see how you go...

 

[R34nel]

I think shark go for smooth delivery rather than the 'all at once' kick in the back delivery

 

[ESD1711]

Is the part about 'bedding in' true for a map? I've not heard that before...?

 

[g00se]

for 500 quid i would be over to MRC in Banbury like a flash... im with jjmurph, if you're not happy get a refund

goose

 

[psychopomp1]

Yeah i'm sure most installers give you a money back guarantee but then obviously they take off the map. But with a self install system such as Shark STS, i imagine to have any chance of getting your money back you'd have to take the car to them to restore your car to its original map....which isn't really practical as i'm based in North Scotland. Anyway i'm going to give it a a few weeks to see how the car feels, i've read in many places that the ECU takes a while to adjust to the new map but i may be wrong.

 

[Steve220]

How come you didn't go with BroTek in the end? They would have come to you and are Audi Specialists :-/

 

[psychopomp1]

How come you didn't go with BroTek in the end? They would have come to you and are Audi Specialists :-/

Mark didn't have any plans to come near me so i'd have to lose nearly a whole day driving to his place + cost of fuel would have only saved me a hundred notes or so versus the self install option, and also i have the peace of mind that my car can be re-mapped to its original map without travelling to see anyone.

 

[Rick @ Unicorn Motor Dev.]

Is the part about 'bedding in' true for a map? I've not heard that before...?

No, not true at all.

Rick

 

[ESD1711]

Did think it sounded a bit odd I must admit.

I think its maybe going to come down to expectations perhaps being higher than reality to be honest. 180bhp still isnt a 'huge' amount of power in a car as heavy as these are.

If theres a 'notable' increase in power and torque then i'd suggest its worked as you'd expect..... no?

 

[ctd]

when i got my 140tdi re mapped there were two thoughts that ran through my head when i drove it for the first time, first was WHHAAAOOO the second was i need a new clutch

 

[psychopomp1]

No, not true at all.

Rick

Oh dear...that's £500 down the drain then

 

[Rheady]

I'm sure you should feel some improvement. For that money I would have expected a custom set up and a run on a rolling road.

 

[adamss24]

You need to remember that the turbocharger fitted to the pd 140 is similar to the pd130 one as fitted to the previous 1.9Tdi engine but with a smaller trim which means that it will spool quicker but choke sooner. Because of the small trim they are much more prone to over speed and they are known to ail even on stock cars ! That's one of the reasons why generic maps do keep the torque plot as flat as possible to minimize surging !

You need a stronger, bigger turbo in order to feel the power on the 2.0Tdi...

 

[psychopomp1]

there's a noticeable improvement in power & torque

Sweet mother of Jesus...seems this was just a 'placebo' effect. This morning i put the original map back onto the ECU and car felt no better or worse after taking it for a spin. Put the performance map back on and again, there was no significant change in engine power or torque. Looks like Shark have either given me the incorrect performance map or this performance map only has marginal gains over the stock map. I imagine to have any chance of a refund i'd have to do a 800+ miles round trip to their premises in Notts which i'm not too keen on. Will call them on Monday am to see what they say but i'm feariing the worst... i've just thrown 500 quid down the toilet

 

[Mr-C]

Most of these remap places give a (so many days) refund. I'd ring them on Monday £500 is a fair wack

 

[Rick @ Unicorn Motor Dev.]

If you have the STS then £500 is good value. I am sure Shark will work with you if you are not happy. First thing I ask my customers before i ask for any cash is "Are you happy"?

Rick

 

[Rob W8]

Rick, yes the sts is £150 and the file £349.

Why did you not call shark a few days ago when you were not happy?

They can't have sent you the wrong file as you sent it to them when you read your ecu. It is this file they work with to create the performance and immobiliser files. These are encrypted / coded to your cat so they can only be used with yours.

To return the car to standard and unlock the sts you just reload the sts software.

Is there a stretch of road you can do some timed runs on to measure in gear acceleration from say 40-70? Then compare the times with each file loaded?

Can the place that swapped your turbo do any kind of logs for you?

Have you used the sts unit to scan the car for fault codes as you may or may not be aware it is a fault code reader.

Scan it now and make a list of the codes. Check what they are and see if you have any issues.

It could end up being something really easy like a boost leak from the work you have had done. This isn't unrealistic and then you will see some big gains as it wouldn't have been right as standard and then ont marginal as remapped.

This is the problem when you do it yourself with the sts. It is then your responsibility to make sure the car is running as it should.

 

[ESD1711]

Or, rather than an 800 mile trip to Notts, why not speak to your local(ish) shark dealer, Mark, and get his input / thoughts?

 

[psychopomp1]

Thanks chaps. I'll check for any error codes using the STS unit.

There's a 7-8 miles stretch of A9 south of Inverness (dual carriageway with rolling hills) which i've driven 4-5 times and car definitely feels the same on stock and modified maps.

Car had balance shaft replaced by Audi dealer last year, as a precaution due to the dreaded potential failure on my BLB engine. Pretty sure the turbo wasn't replaced but i'll check with the stealers again.

I'll also call Mark at Brotek and ask for his opinion.