Chip or Remap ? what is the best option.

Its got to be one or the other time now but have got a bit confused regarding the best option for my TD5. The remap option is the cheapest as it seems to be about £199 as opposed to upto £400 for a chip / tuning add on unit. The remap seems to only be able to achieve supposed better running with only a small increase in power whereas the chip / tuning unit addon can produce substantial increase in low down power which is what I am after for towing. Any recommended suppliers / operators would also be gratefully received.

This guy Alive Tuning - Land Rover Performance Tuning - Defender, Discovery, Freelander, Range Rover, TDi, TD4, TD5, TD6, TDV6, and TDV8 gets mentioned a lot (on another forum). It might be worth you having a browse around his website

Twisted Performance are a little too far away from you, they're also f'kin expensive!

Could be worth giving them a ring and finding out what would be best for you.
(These are the guys who's defender went round the nurburgring and is featured in Oct issue of LRO)
www.twistedperformance.co.uk
0845 890 9909

oldzed said:

Its got to be one or the other time now but have got a bit confused regarding the best option for my TD5. The remap option is the cheapest as it seems to be about £199 as opposed to upto £400 for a chip / tuning add on unit. The remap seems to only be able to achieve supposed better running with only a small increase in power whereas the chip / tuning unit addon can produce substantial increase in low down power which is what I am after for towing. Any recommended suppliers / operators would also be gratefully received.

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Much will depend on the MY Td5 you have. If pre 2002 then apparently it can't be remapped, only re-chipped.

LRD5 said:

Much will depend on the MY Td5 you have. If pre 2002 then apparently it can't be remapped, only re-chipped.

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Pre-2002 can have the chip changed which can have improved maps loaded on to them.

I would got for a remap every time over a 'tuning box/chip' as the upgrade is specific to the vehicle/driver.

I used J Fearn to do mine (was set up on a rolling road too). not the cheapest about but he's only 5min down the road from me!

re map it and flush out the intercooler etc.A good clean will help alot too.
Choose the correct tyres.Fit a bigger intake and injectors rather than rechip.

Some nice turbo hoses etc....

A cold inducting doisel is a fast doisel.

Thanks guys, very informative. As a matter of interest my TD5 is 2001 so perhaps it is not as straightforward as first envisaged. What I want is a bit more grunt for towing a fairly large twin axle caravan so perhaps a chip change and a remap may be the better option.

chip change and remap are the same thing, if you have an early TD5, the chip HAS to be changed so a new map can be loaded onto it as its not a re-writable / flashable chip like the later ones.

Its the same price at TD5alive for whatever year you have, and he can give you a map specific to YOUR needs, ie towing.

Remember that remaps are supposed to be done on a rolling road, as they are done live. The power, torque and AFR are checked and stored as the datum program before changing the parameters. Chips are just a generic part pre-programmed and inserted and there is no knowing what it had before or what it is after. Chips do not cater for any mods you may have done whereas a remap will cater for any mods.

I would suggest you contact Matt at www.reidyremaps.co.uk and get advice on your particular model. He is based in Yeovil and did my MG ZS180 and he spent all day on my car and we upped the power to 200bhp. He specialises in MGRover but covers most cars including LR.

One thing to bear in mind is as said some cannot be mapped and also if it can you'll need someone with a 4WD rolling road. Matt will tell you what you need to know.

/\/\/\ Cheers for that, Yeovil is not that far away either.

Dont forget to acheive good power the unit needs to be clean.

Beast o Bodmin said:

Dont forget to acheive good power the unit needs to be clean.

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Yes, I agree with that and will be removing the EGR shortly. I am also considering a new intercooler, possibly a larger capacity to aid turbo cooling in warmer climes, i.e., Europe.