Chip Tuning N52

[Silverstar]

Been sitting on the fence a while about whether or not to chip tune my engine (30i) mainly due to the costs I was being quoted (around 300€ and up) and the small potential power gains. I have been chatting to my local Celtic agent on and off for a while now who finally caved in to my super bargaining powers :rofl: and agreed to do it for a price I was happy with.

On my first drive after having it chipped I could feel there was something changed but it didn't feel night and day and I was plondering on its merits, the Celtic agent suggested I give it a couple of days of more driving and if I still didn't think it made a difference he could put it back to stock.

Having now had it for a few days and covered a few miles, I can confirm that it indeed does make a big difference the car drives a lot a better and feels way more repsonsive with less lag in every situation. I have noticed, in the past at certain junctions or roads where I would previously have to put the car into sport or manually downshift now I can leave it in comfort and it will pull swiftly and cleanly.

Overall I am very happy with it, but I still don't think I would want to pay the original price though. Next to update the front suspension, hopefully next month.

 

[mcbutler]

The celtic maps alter the torque curve of the car making it a lot more driveable. I had my 23i done by them, single figure BHP gains but the drive of the car was vastly improved.
Its not all about BHP gains (in fact BHP gains are second place to torque gains when it comes to accelaration).
My 23i was so well balanced on 2-3-4th gear it was a joy to drive.

Enjoy your 'new' motor chum....

 

[flybobbie]

I wish my car now could have Normal steering, but Sport throttle response. Sport makes my hand ache after a while.
Seen one gadget with several select modes.
I assume just remaps throttle response.

 

[matsmith749]

There are a few devices on the market that do exactly this - change the throttle response as a standalone & leave the steering the same.

I used one back in the day with a merc v8 (normally aspirated) that didn;t have a sport mode - really happy with it at the time, did exactly what I was looking for & made the car feel a lot more responsive & peppy.

I know it's just throttle mapping & there is no more power, but it's easier to tune the response than tune out 30 uyears of driving habit.

Racechip make one with a display for about £200, pedal commander do them on amazon (simlar price), loads on ali express for a quarter of that price.

Amazon looks favorite to me - see if you like it with no risk & easy returns.

In my experience it is super noticeable & you are very likely to love it!

 

[Silverstar]

The celtic maps alter the torque curve of the car making it a lot more driveable. I had my 23i done by them, single figure BHP gains but the drive of the car was vastly improved.
Its not all about BHP gains (in fact BHP gains are second place to torque gains when it comes to accelaration).
My 23i was so well balanced on 2-3-4th gear it was a joy to drive.

Enjoy your 'new' motor chum....

It certainly does feel like a new car that's for sure.

I wish my car now could have Normal steering, but Sport throttle response. Sport makes my hand ache after a while.
Seen one gadget with several select modes.
I assume just remaps throttle response.

There are a few devices on the market that do exactly this - change the throttle response as a standalone & leave the steering the same.

Yes this is correct. I already had the Racechip XLR throttle pedal box installed before the remap and it made a huge difference in eliminating the throttle lag, as flybobbie put it throttel in sport and steering in normal.

Incidentally the Celtic agent told me that I could remove the box now that the car's been remapped, however I switched the box off from the app to put it back to stock and then swithced it back on and even with a remap it still makes a positive difference so I left it connected.

So now with the Celtic remap, racechip XLR peddle box and the XHP gearbox flash the car is running as well as it can do. Now I just need to sort the suspension out and get a better sounding exhaust.

 

[coldel]

People do get too hung up, and leap to conclusions on remaps for NA cars because of some headline BHP figure.

"Its not worth it for the power gains of just 10hp" they mistakenly often shout

But the remap which alters driving setup, removes flatspots, moves the torque curve etc. all combined make a difference and when you think people are buying a carbon fibre box for double that cost just so the engine makes a better sound, its a good investment!

 

[Silverstar]

People do get too hung up, and leap to conclusions on remaps for NA cars because of some headline BHP figure.

"Its not worth it for the power gains of just 10hp" they mistakenly often shout

But the remap which alters driving setup, removes flatspots, moves the torque curve etc. all combined make a difference and when you think people are buying a carbon fibre box for double that cost just so the engine makes a better sound, its a good investment!

People do get too hung up, and leap to conclusions on remaps for NA cars because of some headline BHP figure.

"Its not worth it for the power gains of just 10hp" they mistakenly often shout

But the remap which alters driving setup, removes flatspots, moves the torque curve etc. all combined make a difference and when you think people are buying a carbon fibre box for double that cost just so the engine makes a better sound, its a good investment!

This is so very true! Infact one chip tuner here even told me not to bother and waste my money because it's a NA engine and there are hardly any power gains to be made. Years ago when chip tuning first came on the scene it was for NA cars since at the time there weren't that many turbo cars and the focus was on improving the drive rather than out and out BHP figures.