Power upgrades on Diesel Engines

[BIG]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had experience of "chipping" diesel engines to increase the power output.
A guy suggested chipping a passat diesel, 1.9TDI (105bhp) which would increase it to ~130bhp as as alternative to buying the 140bhp 2.0Tdi passat.
Obviously this has insurance and warranty implications but apart from these would it damage/limit the life of the engine?
Also, what do these modifications generally cost?

 

[sinbadsailor]

From looking around you can get any number of 'mods' to the engine.
Remap (software update on the engines ECU), boxes that are fitted to boost power etc. Cost anything from 300 - 750+ depending.

Things to take into consideration would be drops in fuel economy, possible increase risk of reliabilty problems, extra clutch wear due to increased power.

Most of the changes are reversible, but best be fully educated on your choices and pros/cons before you jump.

Try some of the VW/Audi forums and search on 'remap'. Huge amount of advice out there, especially in UK forums...they are so far ahead of us with information like this it's unbelievable.

 

[RS2K]

It's possible certainly. A remap will effect insurance, performance and fuel economy.

I'd have concerns about extra stress on key components such as engine, transmission, steering, brakes and suspension too.

 

[BIG]

Thanks, there are a lot of websites about it alright and it looks fairly straightforward and reversible. They also claim that fuel economy is not affected as the extra torque/power means not having to change gear as frequently and offsets the extra fuel used.

 

[RS2K]

It all reads so well. More power, torque, driveabilty, and some even claim more economy too.

I'm suspicious. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[vladamir]

if its a VW with the 105bhp engine, would it have the same clutch, brakes etc as the standard VW with the 130bhp engine?? presumably VW would throw standard parts into all the cars??? if so - the car should be well able to handle the extra few bhp.

i read on a website somewhere that if you remap the ECU the people who remap it are able to tell the ECU to tell the VAG equipment that the car is standard - so, according to these people, it is impossible even for a VW dealer to tell that the car has been remapped. I dont know if thats true or not.

Whether you chose not to tell your insurance co. that you have increased the power of your car would be your own business - but you could invalidate your insurance if you were in an accident and your company were able to tell that you'd modified the car.

 

[RS2K]

if its a VW with the 105bhp engine, would it have the same clutch, brakes etc as the standard VW with the 130bhp engine?? presumably VW would throw standard parts into all the cars??? if so - the car should be well able to handle the extra few bhp. Not necessarily true. 1.6 Ford Focus hatch for example (up to 115bhp) has drum rear brakes, whereas 2.0 (140bhp) has rear discs.

i read on a website somewhere that if you remap the ECU the people who remap it are able to tell the ECU to tell the VAG equipment that the car is standard - so, according to these people, it is impossible even for a VW dealer to tell that the car has been remapped. I dont know if thats true or not. Totally incorrect.

Whether you chose not to tell your insurance co. that you have increased the power of your car would be your own business - but you could invalidate your insurance if you were in an accident and your company were able to tell that you'd modified the car. Agreed. Some insurers in the market would be delighted to turn down your claim.

 

[sinbadsailor]

I personally would change the car if I wanted more power. If i didn't have the means to change then I would wait until I did.

These companies will sell a great story, provide testimonials etc to back stuff up, but in reality, the guys that get this done are also in the game of upgrading their suspension, wheels and the like. Increasing the engine power/torque is usually a step in many.

All engines out there are capable of producing more power, they are just set at levels that fit the chassis, brakes, other components etc to give the best reliability, refinement and fuel consumption for the mass market.

Take for example the old BMW 316 and 318, same engine just tuned down for the 316.

Another example, new VW golf GTI has same basic engine as the new audi S3 and A4 2.0T etc. Various pieces of kit in engine and chassis etc means that this engine can produce 3 different bhps for each of the above cars.

Engines are set in their comfort zones, remaps take it out of that zone for that particular car.

Read up on it all, and be sure you know what you are getting in for.

 

[BIG]

The detailed specs of the 1.9tdi and 2.0tdi dont indicate any diffrences apart from the engine.
I have no desire to do any other mods just wanted the extra power. The 2.0tdi has the high rate of VRT and is 5K more new, not worth it for 35Bhp.
I also dont understand why the 1.9 tdi engine now only has 105 bhp where it had up to 130bhp in the old passat and A4 (and has 115bhp in the new a4!)

 

[sinbadsailor]

The detailed specs of the 1.9tdi and 2.0tdi dont indicate any diffrences apart from the engine.
I have no desire to do any other mods just wanted the extra power. The 2.0tdi has the high rate of VRT and is 5K more new, not worth it for 35Bhp.
I also dont understand why the 1.9 tdi engine now only has 105 bhp where it had up to 130bhp in the old passat and A4 (and has 115bhp in the new a4!)

The new 2.0TDI is 140 bhp and the old 'Red i' 1.9TDi had 130.

I'd say they dont want people making the choice to take the older 1.9TDi to save 5 grand.

Even though theres not much else different with the cars, the new 2.0TDi is more refined and is not as 'boosty' as the old 1.9TDi, more linear acceleration I think...

 

[BIG]

The new 2.0TDI is 140 bhp and the old 'Red i' 1.9TDi had 130.

I'd say they dont want people making the choice to take the older 1.9TDi to save 5 grand.

Even though theres not much else different with the cars, the new 2.0TDi is more refined and is not as 'boosty' as the old 1.9TDi, more linear acceleration I think...

I think its purely marketing, if VW tuned the 1.9tdi to 115 or 130bhp there would be no market for the 2.0tdi (in 140bhp form)

 

[galwaytt]

I personally would change the car if I wanted more power. If i didn't have the means to change then I would wait until I did. fine for you, but unreasonable for a lot of other people........there's also the issue that as pointed out, to get a higher engine spec model from the dealer would cost you a lot more, and usually more VRT too. Case in point: my 07 Galaxy (for sale btw.......) has 105PS. 125PS was Eur1800 more. To remap the 105 to 140 will cost Eur 600. Why hand Ford an extra Eur1200 when they're only doing the same thing?

These companies will sell a great story, provide testimonials etc to back stuff up, but in reality, the guys that get this done are also in the game of upgrading their suspension, wheels and the like. Increasing the engine power/torque is usually a step in many.Not so, my colleague and I brought back a chipped car from the UK in March - and it's incredible that such a small change makes such a big difference......

All engines out there are capable of producing more power, they are just set at levels that fit the chassis, brakes, other components etc to give the best reliability, refinement and fuel consumption for the mass market.incorrect - they are almost singly tuned to beat emissions and sound tests - which means that most engines are operating outside their technical best.

Take for example the old BMW 316 and 318, same engine just tuned down for the 316.

Another example, new VW golf GTI has same basic engine as the new audi S3 and A4 2.0T etc. Various pieces of kit in engine and chassis etc means that this engine can produce 3 different bhps for each of the above cars.chassis mods have no bearing on engine output.

Engines are set in their comfort zones, remaps take it out of that zone for that particular car. as I pointed out, incorrect. A modest remap will put the engine back in it's proper operating 'zone' and as a result, a 10% improvement in fuel economy is not unusual.

Read up on it all, and be sure you know what you are getting in for. BTDT, am a devotee......