To chip or not to chip, that is the question

My 2.5 DHSE 2002 106k is going well. It does struggle with countryside hills if at low speed so I have been thinking about a chip or a re-map. Firstly what is the differance? I have had a quote for £320 from Superchip and they are close by but.... Am I asking for loads of trouble? Some threads have mentioned gearbox failure as the chip will exceed the gear box torque rating. I absolutely don't want to ask for more problems than a P38 will happily find for itself. So on balance is it worth the risk or should I leave nature alone?
Many thanks again.

Charles Banbury said:

My 2.5 DHSE 2002 106k is going well. It does struggle with countryside hills if at low speed so I have been thinking about a chip or a re-map. Firstly what is the differance? I have had a quote for £320 from Superchip and they are close by but.... Am I asking for loads of trouble? Some threads have mentioned gearbox failure as the chip will exceed the gear box torque rating. I absolutely don't want to ask for more problems than a P38 will happily find for itself. So on balance is it worth the risk or should I leave nature alone?
Many thanks again.

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Are you towing when it is struggling?

Manual or auto? if it's a manual get it chipped, the gearbox will cope. if it's auto get a manual

Not towing and it's not that bad,it just struggles a bit on a big hill without a decent run up, lots of gear changes. Sorry should have said. It's an auto. If it's a no to the map/chip is there anything else that will help?

Charles Banbury said:

Not towing and it's not that bad,it just struggles a bit on a big hill without a decent run up, lots of gear changes. Sorry should have said. It's an auto. If it's a no to the map/chip is there anything else that will help?

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Check the function of the lift pump. Fuel lift pump either non functional or weak will cause loss of power. Look in Tech Archive for a guide how to do it. Nothing wrong with chipping an auto but don't tow with it. Torque will not increase beyond box limits you will get about the same torque chipped as the 4.0 litre petrol produces, they use same box, torque curves are slightly different though. If you are chipping to tow DON'T. Normal use minimal risk, does depend on condition of box though. An high miler badly serviced may suffer. Be aware if you chip the car and use the power it WILL use more fuel. On a long steady run above 50 MPH you may get slightly better fuel usage figures.

Mine is chipped and I use it to tow (not a big caravan) it was chipped when I got it. I have now had 5 range rovers, this is my first diesel ,and I am very pleased with it.

Thanks once again Wammers, and others. The only thing I have ever had a reason to tow was a very light dingy. The sort of thing you could pull by hand. Do you recomend the Superchip or something else? I am planning to scale down my car pool to the RR and my XKR. So parting company with my Mercedes 220 CDI. I am happy to use and pay! the best people (Mark Smith, Bicester) to make the DHSE as good and future proof as it can be. Any other advice? Sorry to take up your time and experience again.
Regards all.

Charles Banbury said:

Thanks once again Wammers, and others. The only thing I have ever had a reason to tow was a very light dingy. The sort of thing you could pull by hand. Do you recomend the Superchip or something else? I am planning to scale down my car pool to the RR and my XKR. So parting company with my Mercedes 220 CDI. I am happy to use and pay! the best people (Mark Smith, Bicester) to make the DHSE as good and future proof as it can be. Any other advice? Sorry to take up your time and experience again.
Regards all.

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I had mine Superchiped, very happy.

I would say and I know we all bash the diesel for being a bit slow that there is something wrong with it. Rather than a chip to mask problems get it properly looked at. Try and compare with another p38 if you can. When was the diff oil last changed? Daft as it is if it's got no oil or the wrong oil in the diffs or sticking brake callipers etc there will be huge mechanical drag that will blunt any performance it might have had.

Thanks, I have had a really good service recently. New disks and pads, filters etc. I think I need to clean the intercooler. God knows when it was last done. Any further advice on the chip/map would be great. Still don't understand the differance.

Charles Banbury said:

Thanks, I have had a really good service recently. New disks and pads, filters etc. I think I need to clean the intercooler. God knows when it was last done. Any further advice on the chip/map would be great. Still don't understand the differance.

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Standard chip is an average affair designed to work on all cars. A remap is a bespoke exercise where they optimise it to your car's operating conditions so it should be better. Sometimes they just reprogram the original chip but that isn't possible on the P38 M51 engine. Unless someone has been in there before then both require desoldering the chips from the board and then resoldering in the new chip or a socket the chip plugs into. On more modern vehicles they tend to come with a socket and the chip just clips in and out.

So the Superchip is a remap? Or as the name denotes, just a chip? Sorry to be so thick and thanks for your help

Charles Banbury said:

Thanks, I have had a really good service recently. New disks and pads, filters etc. I think I need to clean the intercooler. God knows when it was last done. Any further advice on the chip/map would be great. Still don't understand the differance.

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Did they check the calipers for seized pistons? What about Diff oil and UJ's? Its worth checking through the drive train properly. You could also check the viscous coupling is performing as it should.

I had new pads all round so I assume so. will get them to check the diff oil etc at the garage next week. Many thanks.

Charles Banbury said:

So the Superchip is a remap? Or as the name denotes, just a chip? Sorry to be so thick and thanks for your help

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Just a chip, I think. Never used them so not sure.

Charles Banbury said:

So the Superchip is a remap? Or as the name denotes, just a chip? Sorry to be so thick and thanks for your help

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It's a chip, and they give you your old one back.

Charles Banbury said:

I had new pads all round so I assume so. will get them to check the diff oil etc at the garage next week. Many thanks.

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Diff oil won't cause that mutch loss of performance even if was EP 140. Saying it would is being silly.

wammers said:

Diff oil won't cause that mutch loss of performance even if was EP 140. Saying it would is being silly.

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Each to their own, on my old P38 we changed it put the wrong stuff in "it'll be reet" and the car was certainly different far more mechanical drag and economy dropped a couple of mpg, changed it again and she was back to her old self. What i'm getting at is rather than finding a vehicle that should be capable of keeping up with modern traffic slow and struggling on the hills, check there are no faults with it first before turning up the boost and destroying the gearbox

quavey said:

Each to their own, on my old P38 we changed it put the wrong stuff in "it'll be reet" and the car was certainly different far more mechanical drag and economy dropped a couple of mpg, changed it again and she was back to her old self. What i'm getting at is rather than finding a vehicle that should be capable of keeping up with modern traffic slow and struggling on the hills, check there are no faults with it first before turning up the boost and destroying the gearbox

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Think i have mentioned what could cause the trouble on hills it certainly isn't the diff oil.

Thanks very much for all your advice. I am very keen to do this properly and am willing to pay (within reasonable boundaries!) for the car to be as good as it can be. I will ask the RR specialists to look at all of the things suggested before going for the Superchip. Last question. Is there a better solution that does a proper remap, better and more suitable than Superchip? Is there anyone out there close to Oxford who would like the job!