2.0d remap

[mattyd]

I've got a 2008 2.0d and was looking at having it remapped, I use my car everyday for work so was worried about any implications that it may have. Also I've read a few things on here about the different software available and don't know what's the best option. A chap I know does it remap-wizard.co.uk he seems cheap enough at around £200.00 but was unsure if this wold be right for my car do you know of anyone else in the merseyside area that do them specifically for Volvo?

[Ninja59]

HLM tuning that is rolling road based but you have to travel /RICA do the softloader one
do not forget to tell your insurance should see about 170+

i have tbh 200 sounds a bit low.

[jaygee]

I think as Ninja has stated, it is best to take to a rolling road.

RS Tuning in Leeds are pretty good. Planning on taking mine down there as soon as I have some spare cash. Again, you'll have to travel some distance.

The reason I suggest using a rolling road is, you can get them to see what you've currently got on a first run on the road (trusting manufacturers figures isn't good enough in my opinion), then they do there thing and get the best performance and efficiency out of your engine without it blowing up in a couple of months, then they put it on the rolling road again and let you know the BHP and Torque you now have.

If you do get a remap consider changing the basic filters to better performance ones and you are sure to increase your BHP a few plus points more.

If you are worried about insurance, I know of some people who have their maps removed if there car is ever involved in a claim (but you didn't hear that from me) ;-)

[jigharha]

Your 2008 2.0d is like a new car to you so, I would advise you to use your volvo dealer to use polestar which is volvo's official tuner. It will cost you £650 but there is peace of mind. Many a time peolpe have used others and when they have blown up something they end up going to dealers to pick up the pieces - It will end up costing you more. It happened to a guy who can no longer replace his blow-up ECU for £1000 is now looking for someone to buy his loved unrepaired car for just approx £2.5K.

''Volvo for life'' - then go for guarantee for life!

Volvo will always be around to sort things out. Better resale value - I will buy a polestar tunned car instead of a road-side tunened car.

Go to volvo uk site under accessories then go to performance and and read about what volvo can do to your car.

[shark90]

Unless you go to a Volvo specialist, your ECU will need to be removed and opened to carry out the remap.

We use the correct tools to remap your 2.0D over the diagnostic port without removing the ECU or soldering.

We're not the cheapest at £419 (10% discount for Volvoforums members) but we're cheaper than Polestar and very reasonably priced against our peers.

[Ninja59]

Originally Posted by jigharha

Your 2008 2.0d is like a new car to you so, I would advise you to use your volvo dealer to use polestar which is volvo's official tuner. It will cost you £650 but there is peace of mind. Many a time peolpe have used others and when they have blown up something they end up going to dealers to pick up the pieces - It will end up costing you more. It happened to a guy who can no longer replace his blow-up ECU for £1000 is now looking for someone to buy his loved unrepaired car for just approx £2.5K.

''Volvo for life'' - then go for guarantee for life!

Volvo will always be around to sort things out. Better resale value - I will buy a polestar tunned car instead of a road-side tunened car.

Go to volvo uk site under accessories then go to performance and and read about what volvo can do to your car.

no polestar map available for 2.0D.

[craigblues]

Originally Posted by Ninja59

no polestar map available for 2.0D.

Yep that's correct. Unfortunately no Polestar for the 2.0D.

[Ninja59]

oh also in addition rolling roaded maps tend to work better because they are matched to your car when they are done rather than a "generic" map.

[SonyVaio]

Originally Posted by mattyd

I've got a 2008 2.0d and was looking at having it remapped, I use my car everyday for work so was worried about any implications that it may have. Also I've read a few things on here about the different software available and don't know what's the best option. A chap I know does it remap-wizard.co.uk he seems cheap enough at around £200.00 but was unsure if this wold be right for my car do you know of anyone else in the merseyside area that do them specifically for Volvo?

There is a world of information on this site to do with remaps. If you have a search you will find plenty of valuable information to help you make your mind up.

A very basic overview:

Tuning Box: this is a device that fools the ECU by providing false readings so the ECU provides more fuel to obtain higher outputs. This does the engine no good in the long run and the safety systems put in place by the ECU itself are then bypassed. If a tunig box is setup incorrectly or turned up too high (providing higher false readings) then this can have a detremental effect on the engine. Basically you don't really want to be touching tuning boxes in my opinion.

Remap: there are two main types or remaps - 'Off the shelf' and 'Custom' and then beyond this there is two main ways of applying a remap 'ECU out and opened up to solder off old map chip and then solder on new map chip' this is the old way of doing things for older cars and ECU's that are not programable throught the OBD port (diagnostics/computer port). The newer way of applying a map is to re-program the map chip through the OBD port itself.

For vehicles from approx year 2000 onwards most of these vehicles will be done throught he OBD port (but not always). Any S40/V50/C30 should all be done via the OBD port, if not then take the car somewhere else to be done.

Off the shelf: a majority of the places you will find that offer cheap remaps for what look like a fantastic price are most likely using an off the shelf (OTS) map. These maps may or may not be tested and the real source is probably unknown, the biggest factor with an off the shelf map is you ahve absolutely NO idea of what ECU updates are incorporated with the map or not. Your ECU may have been updated at some point and then the OTS map that is applied may wipe out them updates leaving your car running seriously rough or there is even a chance of bricking the whole ECU altogether. A resonable remapper will at the very least take a copy of your current map and be able to restore this if their OTS map has problems - well worth asking long before you let any mapper have hands on your vehicle. Again if a mapper requires the ECU out on your car then do a runner!

Custom Map: there are only 3 main places (UK) to take your car to to have what people would consider a quality job. I'm not going to be biased here so will mention them all but there is one that I personally wouldn't use.

1. Shark Map - Shark Performance (Recently proven to have an edge on the MTE maps)
2. MTE - Kalmar Union (Don) - (MTE = Swedish Software)
3. HLM - Hamish who uses RICA - (RICA Software)

MTE and RICA are well known and more recently Shark Performance (Ben & Dera) have come along and proven themself to be very experienced and on Mikes car who had run a MTE map for over a year then went to Shark for a comparison between Shark and MTE with posted printouts etc and the Shark Map was proven to be the better. There is another possibility which is BSR who again across other vehicle manufacturers have a very good reputation but my knowlege of BSR on Volvo's is almost non existant so can't really say anything about them.

Do a search for each of the 3 I have mentioned and you'll find plent of posts with valuable information and recommendations.

MTE Maps are known to be very smooth and progressive with their power delivery and liked by lots of people for this.

RICA Maps are known to aggressive and provide huge power but people find this to be less smooth and the power delivery spikey.

Shark Maps have proven themself to best of both, they provide great power with very nice smooth power delivery too.

I digress!! - Custom Map: A really good mapper will ALWAYS start off with a copy of your cars current map. Either the mapper will take a copy or if your going the DIY route they will get you to use some type of softloader that plugs into the OBD port and sucks off a copy of the cars current ECU map. You will then email this copy to the mapper who will then custom your cars actual map which of course contains all the relevant ECU updates etc.. that your car has had over the years (unlike some OTS map), then you will be emailed the customed map back and then re-use the softloader to upload the new map into the ECU via the OBD port again. You will now have a copy of your original and customed maps on your computer and if you purchase a softloader you can switch between these original and customed maps as and when you please.

With a custom map the parameters are written to exactly what you want from a remap unlike an OTS map where you have no stipulation on wether or not you want more lower down grunt or higher end delivery etc... One of the other main reasons to go custom is the mapper can take into consideration any changes you've done to the vehicle and provide the changes in the custom map to accomodate them and make the most of them (induction kits, performance pannel filters, bigger intercooler, change of turbo, performance inlet manifold, etc... etc...).

My main piece of advice is really have a good shop around, don't just go for the cheapest price because at the end of the day you get what you pay for - we all know this really but often budget dictates. Consider the differnce between OTS and Custom, you will pay extra for a custom job but well worth it in my opinion. Have a ring around a few places speak to the mappers and get their professional opinion on things and get answers for any questions you may have. Both Don at Kalmar Union and Ben or Dera from Shark will be happy to chat and answer any concearns you have.

Good luck and happy hunting but if your going to have the job done then you may as well have it done properly!

[noney82]

How can you find out if your car has been remap by a previous owner?