Is it worth remapping my car for fuel economy

[tpeacock1990]

I have a 1.4 16v 100bhp petrol fabia I am planning on keeping this years as Its hardly got any miles on and in perfect condition. I drive 250 miles a week due to work. Unfortunately I do hit a fair bit of traffic but would it be worth remapping my car to save on petrol costs as I am currently getting average of 32 mpg which is costing £50 a week. Is there any other effective mods I can do either. Thanks

[Guest BigJase88]

No

Sell up and buy a diesel

[littleade]

The usual economy measures will probably save you more and cost you nothing up front. Make sure you're not carrying any unneeded stuff in your car which adds weight and costs you fuel. inflate your tyres to the correct pressure and adopt a more smooth driving style by planning ahead avoiding hard acceleration and the use of your brakes. A remap would cost you hundreds which would take an awful lot of miles to recover, assuming you can resist the urge to use the extra power on tap.

As an alternative you could spend £140 on the IAMs skills for life course as driving to an advanced standard will improve your fuel economy and make you a safer driver too (appologies if you've already passed your advanced test)

[PastyBoy]

Remapping is the bread and butter of TDIs and forced induction petrols.

The manufacturer allowances are on the safe side and turning up the wick for more power or more economy is relatively easy.

 

A naturally aspirated 1.4 petrol is not going to benefit from a remap in the same way as tweaks to the ECU can't have anywhere near the same effect as they can when a turbo is involved.

 

I remember my brother looking to get more power out of his mk 2 Seat Ibiza Cupra with a remap.

He was quoted £650 to remap it and it might make an extra 10bhp.

The mk4 TDI PD130 Ibiza i had at the time was guaranteed at least an extra 30bhp for a plug and play £250 map.

 

If you want mpg you need a diesel or a super new super efficient small petrol i'm afraid

 

As Ade says though advanced driving to teach you better efficiency or the normal less weight (lose the rear seat maybe? how often do you actually use them?) correct pressures, keeping the car fully maintained would help.

my old mk2 Ibiza made a serious leap in efficiency when i changed to fresh oil, plugs, leads, filters etc

[Dann2707]

100bhp and 32mpg!

 

190bhp ish and 70mpg easily!

 

You petrol boys get it bad :( 

[sepulchrave]

32 mpg is much lower than I would expect even with heavy traffic, I suspect your ECU temperature sensor or possibly the thermostat, I average 42 mpg under similar conditions.

[Avalon]

32mpg is bad. Even my ancient 1.4 mpi averaged 42-43mpg over the last 30k, forget the remap and look at the underlying issue.

[vindaloo]

I have a 1.4 16v 100bhp petrol fabia I am planning on keeping this years as Its hardly got any miles on and in perfect condition. I drive 250 miles a week due to work. Unfortunately I do hit a fair bit of traffic but would it be worth remapping my car to save on petrol costs as I am currently getting average of 32 mpg which is costing £50 a week. Is there any other effective mods I can do either. Thanks

 

No to the remap. get it checked over. Make sure the brakes aren't binding and there are no stored faults in the ECU. When was the air filter last changed (change every 10K service for best results) and you are running it on 97-99 octane super unleaded as recommended in the book, right?

[Guest BigJase88]

It'll probably be a coolant temp sensor issue or thermostat stuck open

[tpeacock1990]

cheers for the advice Ill forget the remap altogether. Air filter was last done in december as its been fully serviced every year and with it being a low milage car its been fully serviced every 5000 miles I do it anually around 11000 miles full lot changed. I will get it looked at as its using alot

[littleade]

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.