20i Remap Advice

[RJ595]

Hi All,

I've owned my 20i e89 for about 5 years now and have been considering a remap for about 12 months. I've finally decided that this year is the year to do it, and I've persuaded my dad it's a good idea for him to get his done too! However, we're both looking for some advice/recommendations in terms of places to get it done and any issues to be careful of.

We're located in Gloucester and Woking, so anywhere between the two would be ideal. Happy to travel further afield for a decent job though. We have a manual and an auto to get done, both 20i.
I understand you can push the engine to ~240bhp easily as this is the 28i spec. Is it safe to go a little higher? Think I've seen 280 as a possibility but don't want to stress the engine too much. Has anyone had this done and run it for a decent length of time without issue?
Is there a risk that BMW would reset the engine map on an MOT or service? Is it possible to get the remap guaranteed so it can easily be redone without having to pay again?

Sorry for all the questions but it's a bit of a jump into the unknown and want to ensure I've done my research.

Many thanks

 

[matsmith749]

Might be an idea to google MHD.

Stage 1 remap is safe, you do it yourself with a phone.

Considered one of the best remaps by many people, and is only about £100 per car.

 

[RJ595]

Might be an idea to google MHD.

Stage 1 remap is safe, you do it yourself with a phone.

Considered one of the best remaps by many people, and is only about £100 per car.

Interesting idea, not heard of this before.
Quick search though appears as though it's only for the 35s and not the N20?

 

[Pondrew]

Many, many on here (including myself) have had the N20 remapped. It is a very common remap, so lots do the base map (270bhp ish and 420nm torque ish).
Celtic tuning are a popular company. I used Superchips (now owned by remap kings) as they are one of the longest established and I have used them before several times without any problem.
You have the option of someone coming to your home and flashing the map, which will be generic, or going to a tuner with a rolling road and having essentially the same map flashed but with the ability to 'fine tune' it to your car on the RR. Obviously the latter is much more expensive.

I did the 'at home in my garage' option, with superchips. That was over 2 years ago (car was at 25k miles). Not had any problems so far. Fuel consumption hasn't changed.
Whoever you go with, or however you do it, you will wish you did it years ago. The difference is phenomenal.

 

[enuff_zed]

I would recommend spending a little more and visiting a rolling road. That way you get before and after print-outs and can be certain exactly what you've ended up with.
Cost me £295 to take my 20is from 188 (rolling road figure, not book) to 279BHP and wads more torque.
Tbh, I've only done about 3000 miles since then but I reckon I'm actually stressing the engine less now as the extra torque means you hardly ever have to thrash it.
Oh, but when you do.............. :evil:

 

[Pondrew]

my 20is

Hark at you with your "20is".
Agreed on the torques improvement. With a remap the N20 drives like a turbo diesel in everyday use. Bags of torques everywhere from tickover until the HP kicks in!

 

[enuff_zed]

my 20is

Hark at you with your "20is".

It's very simple, you just read what it says on the side. Do you need an interpreter up there in Eastern European country?

 

[Pondrew]

It's very simple, you just read what it says on the side.

It doesn't count if you add the 's' in permanent marker to look all 'windswept and interesting' and impress the Fiesta 'yoofs'! :lol:

 

[enuff_zed]

It's very simple, you just read what it says on the side.

It doesn't count if you add the 's' in permanent marker to look all 'windswept and interesting' and impress the Fiesta 'yoofs'! :lol:

Nothing special. They all have it. Next time your missus asks you to clean hers, take a look

 

[Pondrew]

Nothing special. They all have it. Next time your missus asks you to clean hers, take a look

If we are going to be supercilious, then they don't have an 's'. They have 's-drive' as one badge and the model designation ie '20i' as the others.
Apart from the 35is, of course, which has that!
To be perfectly honest mate I couldn't give two fecks what the badges say, it was meant as a joke originally. :roll:

 

[biZ4rreMids]

As said above, spend a bit more and book in with a remapping company with a rolling road setup. This way they can check that all is well when the car is remapped and they’ll be able to provide before and after power readings. I used Performance Torque in Wolverhampton, there are many other reputable remapping companies around.

 

[B21]

Might be an idea to google MHD.

Stage 1 remap is safe, you do it yourself with a phone.

Considered one of the best remaps by many people, and is only about £100 per car.

MHD not available for N20 engines :thumbsdown:

 

[B21]

+1 on having it done on a rolling road..my first re-map was with a Celtic tuning reseller without it and it was a f**k up…

You may as well go with the trusted tuner’s recommendations….

The reality on UK roads at those power / torque levels you are never going to extend the car for more than a few seconds..

Good practice to change your engine oil no greater than 7-8k miles or annually and use a premium synthetic oil..

If the auto box one has done more than 60k miles then change the oil n filter as well.

Enjoy..it will be transformational

 

[matsmith749]

Didn’t know you couldn’t flash MHD on the n20 - it’s a great option that I see many go with & love it (range of loads of different cars).

Still tons of choices out there if you have a google.

Seems so many of these tuner places are using OTS maps but charging lots of markup - a local recommendation might be better?

 

[Pondrew]

Seems so many of these tuner places are using OTS

I think they all use a 'generic' map. Seems strange that 99% of maps for the N20 have very very similar baseline figures otherwise.
Then comes the marketing angle; "stage 1" , "stage 2". All bollox from what I've seen!

 

[RJ595]

Thanks all for the feedback so far.
Seems like pushing it up to 280 is the way to go and the added torque no doubt will make a difference as I've always felt it stops pulling after 4k rpm. Nice to see the charts to know I'm not mad!

As highlighted, it seems like most places have a fairly standard map so probably doesn't matter too much where I take it. Might look for somewhere a little closer to home, but worst case it'll be a trip down to Celtic. Agree with the recommendation for a rolling road as I think it'd be reassuring to check it's actually doing what they say it is and iron out any tweaks it may need.

 

[Pyranha]

[ref]RJ595[/ref], VRS in Northampton are now a Ecotune dealer. I have had the Ecotune map on z4 for several years now with no issues. Incredible difference in the car. A must have in my opinion.

They are a VW specialist with a good rep but looks like they offer BMW remaps.

 

[jamesgarbett]

.

 

[jamesgarbett]

I went with Remap Kings (Superchips) in Jan '23 - cost about £300 - they came to my house and did it - they did make me sign a disclaimer which basically said if your engine blows up it's not our problem - must admit this did make me a little nervous but i went ahead regardless! it is much nicer to drive now - i'm not planning to sell the car any time soon so hopefully it will all be fine.

 

[RJ595]

Finally got it done this weekend. For anyone interested I opted for the Celtic E-motion 2 DIY job. Celtic "stage 3". Had a slight issue with the device talking to my ECU but the guys at Celtic pushed through an update and fixed the issue in a couple days.
Absolutely love the change and it's no joke to say it transforms the car (I think more so on the manual than the auto due to low speed driveability). Only regret is I didn't do it sooner!