I think if you only get a remap, then you'll prob be looking at 125-130bhp max.

a few changes here and there should make quite a bit of difference.

You don't necessarily need big exhausts/air filters to make a difference. A BMC panel filter would be good, give you a bit more poke. A decat exhaust is also a very good addition (doesn't make it much louder, if at all).

Upping the boost is another good one (standard you are at 14psi i think and 19psi is still considered to be perfectly safe).

Finally if you want some quite noticeable gains then some injectors from an older Rover 200/400/600 SDi will flow a bit more fuel.

To do all these will probs cost you less than £100 and if you do them and then get a remap and you'll have quite a quick, and very smooth car.

But yeah, the remap on its own will still give a nice power hike, and are generally considered perfectly safe :broon:

hope this helps

cheers
Ben

 

as to places to go - the person that does the most of the dervs in the soutwest is pockebikeuk (Matt). But there are a couple of other companies that do it..

If yo uare going to get a remap, i would recommend, decat and Panel filter as a must - or you wont get the most out of the remap.

You do not really need to think about uprating the box\clutch until you add new injectors (wingy spec ones) and hyprid turbos - the SDI's will technically take the box over it's limit(200lbs-ft), but with mechanical sympathy it should be ok...

 

By careful if you're upping the boost, standard on the 25 Diesels is 17.4psi/1.2bar, so it doesn't take a lot of adjustment to go into unsafe territory (i.e. over 19-20psi). A boost gauge, Scangauge or the Rover Ron multimeter are some ways of measuring what boost you're running at.

 

Hey there i do remaps at pretty cheap prices so give me a shout if you want more info. Cheers

 

Hi John,

I had an Upsolute remap put on mine about a year ago now/12,000 miles. So far so good on the reliability front. They have been mapping these engines (and the older L series in the 220's etc.) for many years now, and I have yet to hear of a failure because of one of their maps. Mind you I haven't heard of that many remap related failures at all really, just Pocketbike when he was exploring the upper limits when developing his maps.

It is recognised by some here that a 140bhp+ is risking pump failure at some point, I know my Upsolute remap should be around 130bhp, based on their own figures, and having tested the in-gear times of my car and compared them to other people's.

I am very pleased with the map, and it greatly smoothed out power delivery all across the rev range, but particularly from 1000-2500rpm, which is where I drive most of the time. At the top end it pulls much better as well. I think the level of torque and power on my map isn't so extreme that it risks damaging the gearbox, clutch or driveshafts greatly, unless driven like a lunatic.

The chap who remapped mine, for a cost of £275, was Simon Coe of CCC Technology, who travelled from 'oop North down to Surrey where I was for the job. While he was doing the job he experienced a problem talking to my ECU, to he removed the chip, programmed a new one with the new map, and fitted it back on. He was also on the phone to Upsolute HQ in Switzerland I believe, to get the right map for mine, and came out with me for a test drive afterwards.

All in all a great service and product, thumbs up for the Upsolute from me.

If you do get a remap, I would recommend increasing the turbo boost to 19psi (regarded as a safe limit), to make the most of the extra fuel being provided, which takes maybe an hour to do, and you need a multimeter (about £10). Also, consider fitting a performance panel filter (fits in the standard air box, unlike a chuffing great boy racer cone filter). I have an ITG one, which wasn't all that cheap, at around £35, but it is re-usable, so far I have avoid paying for 3 normal air filter with it, and it is still going strong, so it should pay for itself in the next service or two.

Another DIY project I would recommend is gutting the catalytic convertor, or getting a decat pipe. I gutted my cat and it increased noise levels to some extent, mine gives a nice rorty note on firm acceleration, but isn't obtrusive when cruising along. Having said that, mine is a ZR, which might have a louder exhaust note than a 45 anyway.

If you don't want to do any other mods though, I'm sure a 130bhp remap will be just fine, with little smoke if your engine is in good order, but you might be missing out on a little bit of responsiveness by not doing any other mild mods.

Hope this helps,
Tim

 

Thanks for the detailed reply Tim.

Based on all the info there I think I will go for a remap once I've had it serviced, all filters changed etc. I'll also look at getting a performance panel filter as suggested.

Regarding the boost increase, doesn't the map changes automatically increase the boost? Or is that the mod where you have to modify some part of the wastegate actuator? (I think I read that somewhere - I've read so much I'm getting confused!)

Again thanks for taking the time to reply & thanks to everyone else.

Matt - I may well be dropping you a line shortly...

John

 

No problem John, consider leaving some reputation points on my scales if I've helped you a lot .

No the remap shouldn't increase boost, as it is a mechanical setup on the wastegate that controls this on the L series. I say "shouldn't", because if the power gain is really big (like in the case of heavily modified injectors, a popular mod among forum users), the huge increase in fuel can cause the boost to rise, as the wastegate setup can't maintain the pre-set boost with all the extra exhaust gas being pumped through the turbo). On a conservative remap though this won't be a problem.

The way to adjust the boost is by adjusting the wastegate using a multimeter to read the voltage given by the map sensor, which indicates the boost level. This can then be compared to Rover Ron's data table, available on his website, so you know what boost you are running. As a general rule, one turn on the wastegate actuator equals a 1psi increase in max boost. Standard boost on the older engines (Di/SDI etc.) is 1 bar, or about 14.5psi, and for the newer ones in the 25/45/ZR/ZS is 1.2 bar, about 17.5psi, but I found mine was actually around 16psi as standard. 19psi is regarded as a safe maximum level to run at for long term reliability (just take it easy when the engine's cold, even on standard boost the turbo takes a beating from this).

Most cars have the more fiddly actuator, where you need to remove the circlip and pull off the wastegate arm to rotate it and adjust the boost. I found that a magnetic pickup wand is a great tool to retrieve the circlip from where it lands after it pings off, usually down some tight crevice in the engine bay. Loosen the locking nut on the threaded bar that connects to the wastegate, and then remove the circlip securing the bar onto the wastegate pin, and then pull off the arm. You can then rotate the arm to adjust the boost. Shortening the arm length increases the boost, but it will be harder to pop it back onto the wastegate after tightening it. I found that levering the arm over the pin it sits on using a normal sized slot screwdriver was an easy way of getting it back on, compared to mole grips which skinned a few knuckles and just wouldn't get it to move far enough. You can then go for a test drive and read off the boost. What worked for me was running a wire from the correct MAP sensor wire through the drivers side window, to the positive probe of the multimeter, and pushing the negative probe into the cigarette lighter (the metal surround part, avoid shorting it out with the positive pin at the bottom though, as you'll need a new under bonnet fuse, a special square one). Then go for a drive to see what the new maximum boost is, 3rd or 4th gear, foot fully down should do it.

During the drive, read off and remember the maximum voltage on the multimeter, compare this to Ron's data, and adjust the wastegate arm again as necessary to achieve the boost you want. The engine is quite hot by the turbo after a run though, so try not to burn yourself fiddling again.

After you've got the wastegate set where you want it, tighten the locking nut and put the circlip back on.

Tim

 

a more expensive but reliable method of controling the boost is with a boost controller.

It is more fiddly to get the boost set to how you want at first- but it does not involve removing the actuator arm but cutting the U-peice from the turbo to the actuator.

Having used both methods, i have to admit that i did notice a differnce from using a controller compared to the actuator adjustement in terms of turbo response, however it was not that large, so if your planning to stop after a remap, probably not worth the pennies imo...

When adjusting the boost regadless of the method you choose, be careful that the boost will spike about 1-2PSI over the reading when you change gears or ask for full boost suddenly.

If you roll the throttle on this is not an issue but if you stamp it just be aware that it may well hit 21-22 briefly, even if the rest of the time it sits at 20... I have set mine to run at 19 on constant (full) throttle, but it spikes at 20ish...

oh and remember not to test your boost on a cold engine - nearly did that as i was too keen to get everyihng adjusted after i put the controller in

Pete

 

a more expensive but reliable method of controling the boost is with a boost gauge.

It is more fiddly to get the boost set to how you want at first- but it does not involve removing the actuator arm but cutting the U-peice from the turbo to the actuator.

Having used both methods, i have to admit that i did notice a differnce from using a controller compared to the actuator adjustement in terms of turbo response, however it was not that large, so if your planning to stop after a remap, probably not worth the pennies imo...

When adjusting the boost regadless of the method you choose, be careful that the boost will spike about 1-2PSI over the reading when you change gears or ask for full boost suddenly.

If you roll the throttle on this is not an issue but if you stamp it just be aware that it may well hit 21-22 briefly, even if the rest of the time it sits at 20... I have set mine to run at 19 on constant (full) throttle, but it spikes at 20ish...

oh and remember not to test your boost on a cold engine - nearly did that as i was too keen to get everyihng adjusted after i put the controller in

Pete

Hi Pete,

You're dead right about the boost spike, didn't realise this also happened using a boost controller.

Tim

P.S. Did you mean to say boost controller instead of boost gauge in your first sentence above?

 

Hi,

Just going back to the whole remap discussion.

I had mine done two weeks ago now by Matt, i have a panel filter and a decat from wingy, we upped the boost and then remapped, the performance increase was definately worth the dosh, loads more power around the 2500 mark and pulls cleanly through the redline (why you would in a diesel i dont know, but it does)

Give Matt a call, hes pretty flexible im sure he can sort you out.

I have sdi injectors here on my desk and also discs and calipers from a ZR160, so i will tell you how that goes early next week hopefully.

 

What map did you get? If it was a high bhp one I would be interested to know if you get too much smoke when you fit SDI injectors.

 

Yes, I think you may have done things the wrong way round. Your present map may not suit the SDi injectors. Matt has alternatives, ask him to advise.

 

If you live in the North East, I can now do remaps at a similar price to Matt.
Don't forget the essential MF1p + Pierburgh maf as well or that remap will not give of its best!

Ron

 

Ron - Can you do rechips too or is it just the 25/45 etc that you can do..

Trying to work out who is closer.. you or Matt.

 

Sorry, I only do diagnostic port tuning so 25/45/Zr/Zs not the SDIs.

Ron

 

Everyone is up North, or west.

(I am in the South East) ... but then the drive will be fun.

 

If you get your car remapped, is it essential to buy a MAFAM also?
Do they really help performance?

 

Its not essential if your Bosch maf is working properly. But if its done over 50k miles or the car is a pre 03 model then a MF1p is usually beneficial.

If you unplug the maf and the car goes better from low rpm, then a MF1p is needed.

Ron