Beancounter Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Was looking on E-Bay at possible cheap way of tuning 1995 A4 TDI 90bhp. Came accross people selling fuelling maps and software to flash ECU via OBDII port. Also found USB - OBDII cable for £20 from Hong Kong (which is claimed to work with the Rosstech VAG-COM software) for connecting PC to OBDII port. Has anyone out ever done this and if so what were the results? Have looked at all the conventional tuning services but can't justify cost on basis of value of car / fact that I'm a tight Scotsman. Any feedback would be most welcome. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 All I would say is you get what you pay for. You can pay anything up to £500 or £600 for a professional remap from REVO or AmD, or as little as £250 or so from a travelling tuner (there are a couple on here). You pays your money and you takes your pick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Travelling Tuners? Do they use the Pikey Port? (I would never even consider it btw - I'm a massive fan of proper remaps but there's huge potential for things to go wrong if you get a cowboy installation. ECUs are sensitive and expensive for one. £500 is peanuts for the benefit and at least if you go to a reputable tuner - there are many discussed at great length on TSN - you know that hundreds of others have gone before you) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 A 1995 90bhp A4 is going to be worth about the same as a professional remap. Do it on the cheap I say, I did, and was perfectly happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beancounter Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Thanks guys. Suspected it was too good to be true. Would still be interested to hear if anyone has tried it though : even if it is a horror story to confirm what I suspect to be the truth. Thinking of upgrading car to A4 2.5TDI next year probably around 1999 vintage. Is the non red"I" one 150 bhp and what could I expect with a decent remap? Thanks again for your time Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 I agree with Mook and Mollox - It's too risky to do anything other than use a known professional expert and one you can go back to afterwards. To do otherwise runs the risk of costing you far more than the saving gained by "cheap ways". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beancounter Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 How did you do it on the cheap : same way as I mentioned?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Using a cable will not flash your ECU - far from it. What I meant by "do it on the cheap" was get a cheaper tuner to do it for a couple of hundred quid than paying £600-£700. The equipment to flash your car is available on ebay for around £200 all in, but the knowledge you'll need to use it can't be bought I'm afraid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisg Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Using a cable will not flash your ECU - far from it. What I meant by "do it on the cheap" was get a cheaper tuner to do it for a couple of hundred quid than paying £600-£700. The equipment to flash your car is av ailable on ebay for around £200 all in, but the knowledge you'll need to use it can't be bought I'm afraid! [/ QUOTE ] Yes it can be bought £500 - £600, so you may just as well go there in the first place ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobes49 Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Was looking on E-Bay at possible cheap way of tuning 1995 A4 TDI 90bhp. Came accross people selling fuelling maps and software to flash ECU via OBDII port. Also found USB - OBDII cable for £20 from Hong Kong (which is claimed to work with the Rosstech VAG-COM software) for connecting PC to OBDII port. Has anyone out ever done this and if so what were the results? Have looked at all the conventional tuning services but can't justify cost on basis of value of car / fact that I'm a tight Scotsman. Any feedback would be most welcome. Cheers [/ QUOTE ] There 1 big setback to this, Your car isn't OBD-II, So you cant flash your ECU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danksy Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 I think you will find "flashing" vai OBD port will leave a signature and it can be seen, however the car may be out of warrantee anyway, BUT insurance may be an issue should you not mension when...................... bla,,,bla,,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustynuts Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Was looking on E-Bay at possible cheap way of tuning 1995 A4 TDI 90bhp. [/ QUOTE ] I presume it's out of warrantee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Thinking of upgrading car to A4 2.5TDI next year probably around 1999 vintage. Is the non red"I" one 150 bhp and what could I expect with a decent remap? [/ QUOTE ] IIRC, it's 155 bhp for the 2.5 TDI. You should expect about 180 bhp after a remap, but with a diesel, it's the amount of torque increase you should be looking at - this will determine how well it pulls between the gears. Try to get hold of a 163 bhp version if you can - they are a lot more tuneable - up to 210+ bhp and 300+ lb/ft of torque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now