Remap or not to Remap

[S3 NIK]

Afternoon everybody.

Had my S3 for a month now and am thinking about a remap to unleash some more ponies. Previously had a remapped Impreza which had 305bhp, i do realise however that this figure is a bit out of the Audi's reach at the moment.

The remap on the Impreza all in was around 1750 but this was a full Prodrive package. Reading other posts on here it appears the S3 can be modified for a lot less.
One thing i'm not sure about is which route to go, a remap or a chip.
Any comments from those who have had either carried out would be welcome.
Am i correct in thinking that a remap would give around 250-260bhp?

A bit of background info regarding my car, 2000 face lift, 210bhp with only 26k on the clock, serviced every year regardless of mileage so should be a good base to start with.

I have done a quick online insurance check which was with admiral and the increase was a disapointing 200quid (up to 520) . Anyone know of any online companies that let you put mod's in online as i hate spending ages on the phone going through the same details.

Lastly, anybody know of reputable places to go in the North East for remapping.

Thanks in advance

Nik.

 

[Sinny71]

I got my A4 Tdi remapped at DPM and am very happy with it. Damian drives an S3 as well so should be able to give you plenty info on them.

He's quoting £440 for a remap on the website.

 

[dickys3]

Go for a remap mate. You'l get a genune 250 - 260 BHP and it will make a big difference to the performance.

Excellent value for money, approx £500 - £600.

 

[sum bloke]

Check out Revo, the website lists prices and the bhp gains (claimed), they also do a free 5hour trial

And i dont think insurance companies can tell if a car has been re-mapped :thumbsup:

 

[jojo]

Get it remapped for sure, best bang for £££'s mod on any standard S3!

And i dont think insurance companies can tell if a car has been re-mapped :thumbsup:

And in the event of an accident, where someone has been seriously hurt!, and your insurance DOES find out it's been remapped, do you think you will have cover then?

 

[S3 NIK]

Who do you chaps recommend for insurance. I am currently with Aplan who insured my Impreza but this expires next month.
Best quote for the car so far is 300 in standard form which is why a 200 quid increase for a 20-25% power hike was a little disapointing.
Still cheaper than the last car though

Nik

 

[jojo]

I think Greenlight and AdrianFlux are good bets for insuring your S3 if you plan to modify/remapp, depends on your postcode really, some companies favour certain postcodes imo.

 

[Sinny71]

You usually find that the usual cheap insurers do all they can to put off anyone with a modified car. In there eyes they think everyone that tunes a car is a boy racer and dont realise that they take more care about their cars than most.
Not sure where to suggest though other than the specialists that advertise in the back of performance magazines.

 

[broomes3]

I had my previous car (astra coupe turbo) insured with tescos with my better half as a named driver. When i bought the s3 they wouldn't even quote me as she is under 25. Ended up with privelege as they were cheaper for the s3 than tescos was for the astra. Insurance quotes just dont make sense to me

 

[DPM]

As Sinny says, we're based in teh North East and here's abit more info below...

http://www.dpmautostyling.co.uk/catalogue/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1151_1171_1183

 

[monkeytrousers]

My insurance went up by only £100 after remap. Direct Line.

 

[Blunteh]

Direct line are **** for modifications, I'm moving from them to someone else as soon as my policy expires...

 

[dickys3]

Aslo try privilege, suprisingly good for mods..

 

[ChriS3]

Afternoon everybody.

Had my S3 for a month now and am thinking about a remap to unleash some more ponies. Previously had a remapped Impreza which had 305bhp, i do realise however that this figure is a bit out of the Audi's reach at the moment.

The S3 has a smaller turbo, so you're unlikely to ever see more than 280bhp out of it. For just a remap, expect about 260bhp.

The remap on the Impreza all in was around 1750 but this was a full Prodrive package. Reading other posts on here it appears the S3 can be modified for a lot less.

Prices range from about £350 - £600 depending on type of map - generic or custom. Avoid the ebay remaps.

One thing i'm not sure about is which route to go, a remap or a chip.

Same thing really. The old style of chipping involves removing the ecu and replacing the chip with a modified one. These days you can just write to the existing chip through the diagnostic port. Remapping is generally the best. I'd rather not remove the chip, and opening the ecu box can damage the weather proof seals.

Lastly, anybody know of reputable places to go in the North East for remapping.

Thanks in advance

Nik.

DPM in the north east, Star Performance a little further north, and Awesome in the north west.

 

[dpeilow]

Speaking of remaps, I thought AmD had dropped to £300 but now I can't find that price when I just looked.

Also I've seen they've been taken over by BBT and Mega4. I guess that means they've dropped Revo? Are they still able to dyno stuff before they remap it?

Dave

 

[fingermouse]

I think you will find AMD have dropped .........

 

[voorhees]

I think you will find AMD have dropped .........

they are utter clowns now they have been tookover

 

[S3 NIK]

What if you bought a second hand car and weren't told it had been remapped, could you not plead ingnorance in the event of a claim?
How could an insurance proove who remapped the car and when ?
Or does an ecu date register changes ?
Anyway I can't imagine after every collision ECU's are checked especially on a standard looking car. I could maybe understand it if the car looked visually different from a standard car and digging deeper could possibly be justified.

For the record i have always declared my mod's before i get flamed.
Its just a thought.

Nik.

Check out Revo, the website lists prices and the bhp gains (claimed), they also do a free 5hour trial

And i dont think insurance companies can tell if a car has been re-mapped :thumbsup:

 

[fingermouse]

its just a can of worms but is it worth the risk ???? you could say you dont need insurance no accidents in a few years no probs???

its all down to how bad a accident you have, imagine if you killed someone then the remap voided your insurance .......... your fecked forever.

 

[jojo]

Not directed to you S3 NIK, but I personally think that those who choose to drive a car with a remap or any modification of the car undeclared on your insurance policy should keep those thoughts to yourself. I mean comments like 'Insurance won't know' or 'Insurance can't tell if a car has been remapped' isn't hardly helpful to those of us who do.
All these what ifs may just happen one day, though possibly through no fault of out own, so better safe than sorry... You make your choice, I know I'm insured with everything from my remap to my brake upgrades all declared!

 

[jesters3]

Aslo try privilege, suprisingly good for mods..

Yep got to agree. Additional £36.00 for the suspension 25mm drop and £55.00 for the Remap 20% increase. Supposedly they insure the mods seperately from the car so you have two 'policies' as such

 

[S3 NIK]

Thats good to know as they are currently offering me the cheapest renewal on my car as standard and an increase of around 55 pounds would be more than bearable.
Nik.

Yep got to agree. Additional £36.00 for the suspension 25mm drop and £55.00 for the Remap 20% increase. Supposedly they insure the mods seperately from the car so you have two 'policies' as such

 

[Blunteh]

I like Adrian Flux's policy, they only increase the premium for stuff that adds power to the car, other mods are free (afaik).

 

[jonS3]

get a remap, its a must, MRC are very good

as for insurance, A-Plan are very good, and as the remap is the riskiest mod on my policy, they had no problems with the exhaust, TIP, Brembo's etc... im paying £830 FC with PNCB, 5yrs NC, and im 23.

 

[S3 NIK]

I'm with A-Plan at the moment, insured my previous car with them and am just seeing out the remainder of the policy. May stay with them depending on renewal but they do have the advantage of being very good in terms of mod's.
Who and where are MRC, you have to excuse me as i'm very new to the Audi scene.
I'm based in the North East by the way.

Nik.

get a remap, its a must, MRC are very good

as for insurance, A-Plan are very good, and as the remap is the riskiest mod on my policy, they had no problems with the exhaust, TIP, Brembo's etc... im paying £830 FC with PNCB, 5yrs NC, and im 23.

 

[[Dave B]]

Slightly off topic, but PNCB is probably the biggest con in the book.

 

[CJA318T]

just curious but why would you say PNCB is a con?

 

[jesters3]

Looking at the remap at some point for my little baby, but I think that you have to sort out a few other bits before you do so. When I was up at APS I met PaulS3 there, and he made some very true comments;

1. With the remap it will get hotter, so make sure your hoses are all good. Hence why Samco ones are suggested. £300ish
2. Check your DV can cope, normally the Bosch one will handle it but a alu Forge/Viper one can always be serviced and produce more use. £80ish
3. Brakes, standard ones can cope. But you will always need more bite and stopping power as you have increased your performance. You have the choice Brembos (£800ish), Porsche (£1300ish) or can change the pads to Mintex/Ferrodo. However the Discs and Calipers should be looked at to make sure the new pads can be used effectively.
4. Suspension. Not a major necessity but a very worthwhile investment. Especially as you will need more grip to harness the addtional power. It will also compliment it well as your set-up is then more 'in-tune' witht he remap Hence Blistein B8s and Eibach Springs with KW 'under' tie bars @ £1000ish
5. Insurance. A must. Personally I didn't think of the suspension as 'mods' always thought of alloy wheels and remaps as the main culprits. But as you are changing a major part this should be taken in on consideration and so get it insured.
6. Tyres. Which ones; that old question. I have GDS3 on mine at present and think they are very good, PaulS3 has Michi PS2 all round and raves about them but hates GDS3. However I have to say with the potential remap I will be looking at a harder tyre to run so will be looking at Conti's SportContact mainly so that I can get some life out of my tyres! Still tempted by Bridgestone S02 and have found some but as they are soft as sh!t I may have to decline.
7. Rolling Road. A must just to make sure you are getting the correct figures.

 

[[Dave B]]

Because people assume that if you have it, when you crash your insurance will not go up, which is complete tosh. A lady at direct line actually talked me out of buying it due to the economies. If you have PNCB and crash your car, you will still have a crash on your record so your premium will go up, all you are protecting is the 20% discount you would lose if you crashed.

E.g. If you have 60% NCB (general max, sometimes higher) and don't protect it, when you crash the max NCB you lose is 20% leaving you with 40% discount on an inflated premium. So in essence you need to work out whether the cost of the protection is likely to be less than 20% of an inflated premium. In my case it didn't add up, and by some margin.

I would stress that this wase in *my case* so you may be different, but its definately worth checking. I've never purchased PNCB due to the reasons above.