I'm sorry if this thread has done 1000 times before but unfortonatley i can only access the internet from my mobile phone for the time being (broken laptop) and im struggling to use the search feature.
I'm thinking about getting my 2008 2.7 TD XF that diesel re-mapping or getting one of those chips installed. I've read a lot of good things but it seems too simple you pay a few hundred £ and your car gets greatly improved performance AND economy, it just sounds like one of those things that are too good to be true there must be downsides or every diesel on the planet would have it done.

What are the downsides? And am I right in thinking re-map is a much better option than a chip?

Thanks

 

eric, the downside to the remap/chip is if you get the wrong programming in there, you can damage the engine (running too rich and plugging up something, fuel at wrong time leading to component damage, etc).

With the diesels, yes, it is possible to get the gains that they are talking about. The downside to this is you are taking a motor that the manufacturer said is rated for XXX and you are pushing it to YYY. That added power can potentially lead to a shorter engine life and/or component failure. Granted, most diesels are built rather stoutly, so, unless you are going hog wild with the motor and putting bigger turbos and whatnot on the car, a simple chip should keep things within a sane limit for what the engine can handle.

As for re-map or chip, you are essentially saying the same thing. The difference being with a re-map you are simply programming the factory chip with a different set of parameters where the new chip will have "the same" program, just on someone elses chip. With that being said, you can spend a little extra and have the car put on a dyno as they are re-mapping (either the factory or aftermarket chip) and they can custom tune the car to your specifications and if you are worried about damage to the engine, they can keep the parameters well within anything dangerous. I think you are going to find that your big limitation is going to be not exceeding EGTs.

 

Ok thanks for the info. I think ill have to have a think about it before I go ahead.

P.S would love to hear from anyone who has had it done to the 2.7 TD as I believe it is less robust than the 3.0 who can let me know how the car responded to it and if there have been any problems encountered.