Thinking of having the ECU on my 2008 Octavia 1.9 TDi remapped to allow me to tow caravan a bit more easily. Going from 105 bhp to 138 bhp. with either Revo or Viezu.

Bit concerned about :

a)Will it increase my insurance,

b)Increase wear /stress on engine

c) Will it affect the warranty?

Any suggestions please

Edited 29 January, 201016 yr by morganic

Thinking of having the ECU on my 2008 Octavia 1.9 TDi remapped to allow me to tow caravan a bit more easily. Going from 105 bhp to 138 bhp. with either Revo or Viezu.

Bit concerned about :

a)Will it increase my insurance,

b)Increase wear /stress on engine

c) Will it affect the warranty?

Any suggestions please

Answers

1) Almost certainly, you will need to disclose any modification

2) From factory, cars are built to tolerances to account for all types of fuels etc. A remap will allow the engine realise it's potential. There will be slightly more stress on turbos etc but not massively.

3) Yes the warranty will be affected.

Edited 29 January, 201016 yr by Tricky Red

B ) Yes, in principle, but the 1.9TD exists in ex-works variations up to 130bhp, most of which only differ in engine map, turbo, injectors and camshaft anyway. If you don't drive faster, you won't increase stress other than possibly running slightly higher peak cylinder pressures.

Edited 29 January, 201016 yr by KenONeill

a ) The 1.9 was used in the Cupra up to 150BHP iirc (I drove one a week or so back). With the right insurer a remap and modifications in general cost very little to add. For example my last car had a list of modifications that took a full A4 sheet to declare, the premium from the family owned broker who specifically deals with kit car's and the more unusual side of things was still considerably cheaper than the best standard quote I could get on any price comparison site and my existing provider couldn't even get close (read they were over £300 out to start with before discussing modifications).

b ) A well proven remap won't put significantly more strain on your engine, driving it like an idiot will but the same is true of the standard car in any guise. So if you drive it smoothly and considerately the likelihood is you won't get any less mileage out of your engine than anyone else.

c ) This is open to debate, if the warranty provider can prove that the remap directly or indirectly leads to a component failure they are quite within there rights to refuse to replace/repair the part in question. Now if we're talking about you're rear light cluster letting in moisture then you're fine, if we're talking about your Engine imploding then they may be a little more reluctant. A number of remap providers offer a switch device to put cars back to stock should you need to 'just in case'.

Either way enjoy