hector

These are my findings from having my 520D 163 DPF Manual re-mapped by Chipped UK. I waited until I ran a full tank of diesel before giving any feedback as I wanted to provide all the answers to the questions I had before my eventual 'leap of faith'.

I booked with Chipped UK then drove down to Hounslow the next morning & met with Jason and his crew. Now the first thing you notice is that BW Autorepairs is no looker like a BMW Dealership, however, all the guys down there are very courteous and did a great job.

First Jason checked for Fault Codes via the OBD interface to lookup any historical data, all OK there - then the next thing was the dismantling of the under bonnet covers to remove the DDME ECU.

Once extracted, the ECU was mounted into Jason's rig and the standard ECU Microcontroller content (map) was recorded as a back-up. Next task was to 'burn' the new parameters emailed from Germany and then lastly, the Microcontroller content is verified to be sure of a successful burn.

The ECU was then re-fitted into the vehicle together with all the ancilliary panelwork. The last detail was a black tie wrap which secures the ECU housing lid to a local wiring loom. Note that any handling of parts was conducted using latex gloves so no grubby fingerprints!. Also, again credit to Jason, there were no pinged or forced fixings during the dismantling or re-assembly of the underbonnet trims.

My motor is then fired-up (sigh of relief) and left on tickover for at least 20 minutes. This time is needed to allow the adpative memory in the DDME to be updated with some realistic data.

Then it's off for a hair raising test drive with Jason - and yep it felt quick - but the way he drives, even a 2CV would seem quick.

Once he's happy, we settle up then I'm on my way home.

So you know the first impression - WOW - no surprises there then!

The extra urge is so dominant that you actually forget to drive normally for a while - you want the Warp factor effect time & time again - yes I know it's a 520D, but it's still pretty impressive.

In actual fact, the top end surge is great, but it's nothing compared to what it's done to the car as a whole. It's now so easy to drive in traffic. I can now happily keep up in 30mph zones in 4th, whereas before I had to stay in 3rd due to the black hole of frustration below 1800Rpm. It's no stump pulling VAG group TDI, but it's not far off - and a damn site quieter!

50-80 time has just be slaughtered, in 4th gear, overtaking is a breeze - and the 'throttle' pedal has functionality over its full range. What I mean by that is that previously, there was very little, if anything, to be gained by the last 30% of travel, now there always seems to be extra urge available.

There are no puffs of smoke from the exhaust and the inside of the exhaust remains spotless, but I guess the DPF must be working harder in this new configuration.

There is no perceived change to the vehicle in other ways either, the sound is the same, the cold start, cold running is the same. Some people have reported smoother running after re-maps - mine has always run pretty sweet and I feel no difference there.

From behind the wheel is the only way to detect the re-map. Apart from the obvious difference in driving experience, the Econometer (swingometer) is now way out of calibration, it's far too in-sensitive now - but I don't think there's a fix for that. I had previously trimmed the digital MPG in standard tune by -4.5%. Now I've run my tank to tank re-fill I now have to adjust it by another -9.4% - which basically confirms the swingometer error.

At least I can adjust the Beemer - the VAG systems were next to useless after a remap - reporting 65Mpg and more and some people still get hooked on this.

Now for the kicker - the real MPG. I averaged 34MPG during the Winter months & was just getting up to 37MPG now the nights are warming up. Incredibly, the my new actual MPG is 38!!

This does not make sense! My Engineering mind says that you don't get anything for nothing - but not in this case. It can only be the trundling at 30mph in 4th which is bumping up the average as the 'performance mode' must fuel the motor more!

So there we have it - one happy bunny - and with my 4 new Goodyear Excellence Runflats replacing those DREADFULL Dunflop Thumpflats, it feels as if I'm driving another car.

BRILLIANT JUST BRILLIANT!!

Stormbird

Hello Hector,
Thanks for this post.
Coincidentally I'm taking my new LCI E61 520d for an ECU remap tomorrow morning and like you I'm a little nervous as to what the results will be.
The car is only 2 weeks old and to be honest I'm more than surprised by it's performance, even coming from a Saab 9-5 Aero with 270 HP.
Still, the temptation to up the torque in this car for not too much money is enormous - so here goes.
Since the tuner (who is also a BMW dealer and BMW motorsport competitor himself) is about 160Kms from where I live it will give me a great opportunity to compare the cars' performance on the way there (as normal) and then home again (remapped) to see just what kind of a difference the work will make.
If not tomorrow then Sunday - after F1 - I'll post my findings.

hector

I guess you're feeling a little anxious, but no doubt that you'll be amazed at the transformation!

What BHP have you been quoted? The Map I have is good for between 205 / 210.

Go Massa!!

Stormbird

Just back from having my 520d re-mapped.
The read out from the bench has all the figures, but due to the car being an auto box the results can be misleading as the "real" values are a little higher - according to the technician. (The re-mapping was done by a BMW Dealer's competitions department). I'm trying to up-load a scan of the read-out but the "Attachment manager" isn't working for some reason - driving me nuts !!
Anyway, back to my news - what have we then.
BHP is now showing as 201 but they calculate it to be closer to 210
Torque is showing 401 but again they calculate it to be closer to 430.
One way or the other, I couldn't believe it when I drove off for the road test and then later again when I drove home now.
Even my long suffering better half who accompanied me to see "our big new baby" getting a dose of auto doping was amazed at the difference.
The 520d is not a bad motor at all. In fact it's more than sufficient for every day driving but the tonic this car gets with a re-map is just amazing.
Idling the engine sounds the same.
With the driver window open there is a little more of a "wishhh" sound (very hushed though) from the turbo but on the road the engine is very quiet, very smooth, extremely responsive and feels faster than a 525d.
I can't recommend this transformation more highly. We were grinning the whole way home - a good car has become a fun car and the consumption has not suffered too badly either. About 1 litre more per 100 kms.
I'm off for another spin in the car now.