Remapping 2.3 T5 - Questions/Benefits..

[JamesT5]

Hi

A lot of you on here talk about remapping, which I understand to be professional 'tinkering' with the ECU to make it control the engine differently and get improved performance.

What I'm really interested in most apart from the obvious question of where and how much, is not so much 0 - 60 as such, but whether I can get more low end 'pull' or torque out of a remap. I don't know if anyone else finds this, but the 2.3 T5 seems quite sluggish lower down the rev range and I often find myself 'tutting' when I have to put the car in to 2nd gear (it's a manual), to get the thing going again before changing up, especially on a hill start or upward trend in the road.

The amount of times I've pulled away from a junction and found the car just isn't going anywhere, so I put the car in to second or even first to get the revs up to get some power to go, very annoying and actually quite surprising given it's a performace engine. Sound familiar??

Ok, so will a remap cure this (i.e. give me a better 'power curve' I think the techies call it), or will it just give me more power where I have it currently?

I'd be grateful for any advice.

Regards

James

[T5frankie]

a remap will give you loads more torque, but to be fair you have loads already and shouldnt need to change into 2nd when going slowly, remember its a turbo'd car so off boost it will feel sluggish anyway

[theflyingbrick]

i dont know if ive miss read your post but if your pulling away from a junction,how do you need to change into 2nd possibly 1st!!! are you pulling away in 3rd???

[ROZER]

i have a s60 t5 the 2.3 engine you need read the ecu for codes first as even before i had it remapped it never felt sluggish at all . got to get it running spot on first before map.

[M-R-P]

Ello James
Mine is the same. It takes some getting used to. Where it's a turbo, if the turbo isn't spinning fast, it serves to hold the engine back. It really comes into it's own at about 2-2500 rpm. Where mine is heavy (1640 ish kg) I notice it a lot if I try to pull hard without thinking about it.
Nowerdays, I "blip" the throttle between gears when changing down to give it that extra bit of go when I need it.
Bottom line is, it takes practice and an understanding of how to get the best from the big turbo lump and it will make you smile every time you get it spot on, boot 2nd @2600 rpm and get thrown into the back seat. Trust me

Once you've conquered that, get the car in tip-top shape, save 300 quid and head to HLM for a remap, as I intend to do in November

[Wobbly Dave]

Torque is cheap! Just get it bought!

[M-R-P]

Nice one Dave

[lance]

What they all said the phase 2s do feel a bit sluggish below 2500 rpm a remap will make her feel more alive and give you more grunt thougout the rev range Bhp expect an extra 20 or 30 torque you can expect a full fat 1/4 to a 1/3 more which does make a huge difference my p2 felt a bit slow till mapped but then again my cars prior to that both had over 300 bhp

[Wobbly Dave]

Nice one Dave

I thought it was quite good too.

[V70 Graham]

As has been said, remember these cars weigh a bit and need some 'getting going' however a remap will give loads more torque and give the car more 'driveability'
That said you will get used to the extra power in no time.....and want more and more and more lol

[JamesT5]

i dont know if ive miss read your post but if your pulling away from a junction,how do you need to change into 2nd possibly 1st!!! are you pulling away in 3rd???

I pull out in 1st, change up butt a little too early as before I had this car I was driving a 6 speed Skoda VRS Diesel which would need very little time in 1st before it took off and needed changing up.

Old habits die hard I suppose!

Regards

James

[LiamT4]

Lack of low down torque......whats that then?

[WHITE999-T5]

JamesT5, i know what you mean, i own a 6 speed fabia diesel VRS, and a T5 2.3, once the T5 hd been collected i drive most of the way home, without realising it as i had been doing in the VRS for the last two and a bit years. It did feel slow to what i had thought it should, but went to over take someone just after entering onto the motorway and you get a big strong surge of power after 2500-2700 rpm, then it sparked in my little grey cells, DOH, this is petrol! Needless to say dont really worry about it nowadays as if comng out of a junction on a fast road get it rolling in 1st then snic it into 2nd and keep it pressed and it will move nicely along.

[LeeT5]

Hi

A lot of you on here talk about remapping, which I understand to be professional 'tinkering' with the ECU to make it control the engine differently and get improved performance.

What I'm really interested in most apart from the obvious question of where and how much, is not so much 0 - 60 as such, but whether I can get more low end 'pull' or torque out of a remap. I don't know if anyone else finds this, but the 2.3 T5 seems quite sluggish lower down the rev range and I often find myself 'tutting' when I have to put the car in to 2nd gear (it's a manual), to get the thing going again before changing up, especially on a hill start or upward trend in the road.

The amount of times I've pulled away from a junction and found the car just isn't going anywhere, so I put the car in to second or even first to get the revs up to get some power to go, very annoying and actually quite surprising given it's a performace engine. Sound familiar??

Ok, so will a remap cure this (i.e. give me a better 'power curve' I think the techies call it), or will it just give me more power where I have it currently?

I'd be grateful for any advice.

Regards

James

If your car is that 'sluggish' then maybe something isn't right? Your car should be pulling max torque from as low down as 1800 rpm! So you shouldn't be struggling in any gear.

Before you go down the 'remap' route you need to start with a stage '0' tune. If you don't do this first then you'll never get the full potential out of a remap, no matter how much money you chuck at it.

Having said that, once youv'e done your stage '0' then have a chat with BSR. They can build you a custom map depending on your requirements. They even do maps designed for towing!!

[LiamT4]

I thought it was higher than that, peak torque at 2400rpm.

for a standard car

[T5frankie]

my peak torque was at 4500rpms

[ROZER]

as i said with 246 bhp and 243 lbs torque a t5 running right does not struggle in any gear. before i did the remap i changed the front pipe to a 3 inch then full s/s exhaust bought a code reader and got rid of all the little problems first and there was a few like the maf , split boost hose , tcv, map sensor, incorrect wastegate actuator. good idea is to fit a boost gauge so you can see what your boost is doing then when you spend say £430 on a rica map or hlm £300 you can see and feel the difference.

[ROZER]

yes thats right peak torque at 2400rpm and with map say rica 2900rpm. 4500rpm frankie was that because you had a 19t fitted and maybe bigger injectors and needed a custom map.

[LeeT5]

I thought it was higher than that, peak torque at 2400rpm.

Oh, now you got me. JamesT5 is a P26 2.4 T5 and you might be right about the 2400rpm. On the earlier 2.3 T5 the peak torque was at 1800 rpm.

[M-R-P]

James's car is a 2.3 and ME7 (let's not forget the ME7 bit as they are supposed to be smoother so aggression is kept to a minimum )
My engine is in tip-top shape and is dull before 2300 rpm, although would still pull better than a N/A 2.3 engine with that weight hanging off it.
**The R is a different animal and shouldn't be brought into this, before anybody pipes - up.**
For example (and I can see James having the same thing) Mine in 2nd gear at 1800 rpm, foot down, pulls ok to 2000 rpm, then pulls better to 2800 rpm and then all hell breaks loose and she's off (in my case) up to 60 in a flash, then 3rd for another go.
James has had his battery off recently and unless he's been thrashing the car since reconnecting it, it will take a while to "wake up" as mine started to do yesterday i.e. ecu learns how you want it to go and adjusts to suit.
Admittedly, a proper stahe 0 tune and a code clearance will get the most out of it but there's so many factors to consider with the P2 cars.