Hi all

 

I've committed to buying a 2.0 DSG Octy Elegance. I'm slightly concerned about the loss in mpg relative to my current 1.6TDi.

 

I have a friend who will run a remap for me in return for a favour. His company takes the current map, tweaks it and re-uploads. No worries about VAG recall - happy to remap again afterwards.

 

He reckons that the result is not 100% predictable but typically adds up to 15-30bhp on 2.0 engine and returns an extra 3-5mpg. This would be handy as my mileage will be high.

 

The insurance company will increase my premium by an insignificant amount (£15) but up my excess from £300-£500. This is guessing at a 10% increase but my friend is at pains to point out neither he nor the insurance company have a way of telling the exact figure, so as long as a map is declared there is not going to be a problem in the event of a claim.

 

I'm just interested in more mpg really and as I can get it for free the only cost will be the £15 a year (and extra £200 if I need to claim!).

 

I see lots of people comment on the extra bhp, but has anyone seen tangible improvements in economy after a remap?

 

I would add that my preference would be to run it as factory map for a while first and then potentially remap later - trouble is the insurance does me for £25 every time I tweak something, so if I'm going to do it I'd like to declare it at the same time as telling them about the new car.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Phil

Edited 7 October, 201510 yr by philthejuggler

hi

 

not remap related im afraid but on the same vehicle (14 plate though) ive seen an increase of around 4-6 mpg by changing the air filter to a K&N one. its done about 40k now and in cruise @ 70mph (yes some of us do actually drive at that speed where circumstances permit) i expect to get 61 -62 mpg over a trip ove maybe 100 + miles. the other day on my trip to the office 60 miles 50%  mixture of a roads and motorway returned 67mpg!

 

john

hi

 

not remap related im afraid but on the same vehicle (14 plate though) ive seen an increase of around 4-6 mpg by changing the air filter to a K&N one. its done about 40k now and in cruise @ 70mph (yes some of us do actually drive at that speed where circumstances permit) i expect to get 61 -62 mpg over a trip ove maybe 100 + miles. the other day on my trip to the office 60 miles 50%  mixture of a roads and motorway returned 67mpg!

 

john

 

That's a fantastic result - comparable to a remap - how much did your filter cost and was it easy to get hold of?

 

Thanks

 

Phil

about £50 on ebay easy to find - and even easier to fit!

To be honest as long as you do not exploit the extra power, you should get at least the same if not better MPG returns IMO. The 2.0 is strong engine torque wise so with a wee bit extra you won't need to use the rev range at all! My vRS albeit not what you have, will throw itself up hills in 5th like it were 3rd in some cars it's great :-)

 

Your mate should be able to tailor the map for economy rather than performance and based on the figures above 15-25bhp extra would be enough

Bargain - I did a quick search and came up with this one: http://www.knfilters.co.uk/search/product.aspx?Prod=57S-9501

 

That's £283 though!

 

 

about £50 on ebay easy to find - and even easier to fit!

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141571920043?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141571920043?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Marvellous - so just the filter, not the whole assembly like in my link!

To be honest as long as you do not exploit the extra power, you should get at least the same if not better MPG returns IMO. The 2.0 is strong engine torque wise so with a wee bit extra you won't need to use the rev range at all! My vRS albeit not what you have, will throw itself up hills in 5th like it were 3rd in some cars it's great :-)

 

Your mate should be able to tailor the map for economy rather than performance and based on the figures above 15-25bhp extra would be enough

 

That's reassuring - many thanks!

just the filter

That's reassuring - many thanks!

No problem mate! My vRS is running approx. 230bhp according to my tuners figures and I easily achieve low to mid fifties on a run and I don't hang around so you shouldn't have a problem at all buddy :-)

Even if you don't install any changes then it is likely you are going to achieve good/excellent mpg with your choice and with appropriate driving techniques.

 

It is relatively easy to get more power with modern diesel/petrol turbo engines but less easy to improve efficiency/economy. After all manufacturers spend billions on research and efficiency improvements are usually small percentage increments on the previous model.

 

I won't deny there can be major variations in the real economy achieved between identically specified individual cars but I am not so sure you will get real economy improvements from either the filter or chip upgrades. It just seems too easy

It strike me that you are in an ideal position to actually test the effectiveness of each for relatively little cost and it would make a very interesting thread.

 

So run the car standard for a while to work out base data, then implement the filter and finally the chip upgrade (you don't want to make changes to an optimised system)

 

It is not easy to assess the effects of any changes you implement as there are so many real life factors to take into consideration.

Wet roads, cold weather, strong winds (only 1 in 3 chance of it being behind) won't help, not to mention traffic considerations or your temperament on the day.

As you practice economy driving techniques and learn the characteristics of your car then that will probably make a huge contribution to economy improvement as well, which you may mistakenly apply to the car "upgrades".

 

Even John Rowley above achieved an additional 10% improvement on one day over his normal but outstandingly good long-run average, but does not say what he thought may have contributed to that. Following wind or lower than average speed perhaps?

 

Speed per se does not excite me but as you can probably tell, I love this sort of stuff.

I've had 5 cars remapped and only 1 got any mpg increase (TD4 Freelander) but that's probably because it was under powered to start with (De-tuned BMW 2.0 lump that developed 150hp normally and 112hp in the heavier LR!).

 

No other car (VAG 1.9 TDI 110, 130, 150,  VAG 2.0 TDI 140) had any difference in economy after the map.  Yes, they were driven a little bit harder, had better acceleration and response but on a mpg tracking excel graph you cannot tell when the maps were done it really did make that little difference.

 

So don't go into a remap hoping for better economy.  If you wanted that then you shouldn't have got the DSG, you should have got the manual.

Marvellous - so just the filter, not the whole assembly like in my link!

 

don't forget to inform your insurance of the filter.

IMHO just change the paper one every year.

 

It filters better (So numerous things say) and it's so cheap that you can buy 10 for the price of a K&N plus a cleaning and oiling kit.

That's pretty much filters for the life of your car, changed every year