What a difference a re-map makes!

Wow ! 40 minutes work with a 'lectronic gizmo and a laptop and I've got a whizzy Disco. After the almost undetectable gains from EGR removal, MAF, MAP and AIT cleaning and other fiddling around, the huge improvement from the re-map I had done yesterday is very very impressive .

The truck feels much more lively, pulls much harder and best of all, the flatspots have gone! Yee-ha ! Also, the rough bits of the rev range seem smoother though I've yet to test that thoroughly. About 25% more power BUT about 100% more enjoyment!

During the procedure, it was also pointed out that my MAF sensor was actually not reading at all so I'll have to check out the wiring and connectors this weekend before rushing out and buying a new one. Then I think she might fly .

Oh, it's a facelift Disco 2 TD5 manual from 2003 so the re-map was done by download from a "Genius" machine linked to a laptop and the diagnostics were run on a Nanocom.

Standard intercooler?

Yep, no changes there (yet). The TD5 one is pretty good anyway, not like the tiny one on a tdi300.

I will take the cat out one day too but no time to do that at the moment.

BoldreChris said:

Yep, no changes there (yet). The TD5 one is pretty good anyway, not like the tiny one on a tdi300.

I will take the cat out one day too but no time to do that at the moment.

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Just de-catted mine a couple of days ago and I reckon it makes quite a big difference.

How long did the job take you, BigLad? Did you use a special downpipe or an early disco 2 one?

BoldreChris said:

How long did the job take you, BigLad? Did you use a special downpipe or an early disco 2 one?

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It was the first time I've done a TD5 but done lots of TDi's, so I needed to learn best how to do it, but I reckon if I was doing it again it would take 1hr max.

Small tip for you: buy a special 'grip on the faces' 10mm socket and take both crossbars off, it goes loads better access. This socket on it's own made doing the job so much easier.

I bought my stainless downpipe from MM4x4 of Worcester and it cost £60.

Many thanks, good tips.

I forgot to mention that the re-map was done by Mike Jones from DynaChip. A man who knows his TD5s, IMHO.

BoldreChris said:

Many thanks, good tips.

I forgot to mention that the re-map was done by Mike Jones from DynaChip. A man who knows his TD5s, IMHO.

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Have you got any contact details, website address etc? I would like to see what they do and how they say they go about it.

Re your vehicle, what improvements do you notice (if any) in the rev range 1800rpm to 3000rpm please? Is yours auto or manual?

The chap's name is Mike Jones and his website is Dynachip profesional ecu remapping. He travels all around the UK doing remaps and ECU swaps (for early TD5s). He carries Nanocom, Genius, Testbook and IDS(?) kit so he can deal with pretty well all LR ECUs - TD5, TD4, TDV6, BMW TD6 (P38), etc.

Mine's a manual and the biggest improvement is in exactly the rev range you talk about. I don't really go over 3000, no need unless someone's really annoying me !

The truck genuinely feels so much sweeter to drive. He did an upload of the existing map (LR standard) using the Genius, then increased the torque limit by 20% from 1200 to 4000rpm and then tweaked out the flat spots using the laptop. Then the injection durations were adjusted, again based on the original map, to give an overall power increase of about 24% but only from about 30% throttle and above 1200 rpm. So low speed and low throttle running is unaffected (MOT test ?) but there's a lot more thrust when you ask for it.

There is more black smoke under load, as you'd expect, but nothing that would upset the public. No idea about fuel consumption yet - with the broken MAF it won't be very good anyway and I'm enjoying the extra oomph rather too much for economy to be worth checking yet. The re-map cost me £225 and he travelled from Cheshire to Hampshire to do it and a couple of others.

He also thought that the TDV6 re-map was very impressive, taking away the slight hesitancy which apparently aflicts auto versions and boost the power from about 180 to about 225bhp. I can only take his word for that - no experience myself.

Great to hear some good news so good luck to ya !!

But I have asked before on remaps and the like,

Do you tell your insurance company?
If so how much more did it cost?


Im sure if you had a prang and they checked you wouldnt be covered !!

I'm toying with the idea myself as my td5 2001 auto just seems to lack uuumph, I know its no sports car and it its a total workhorse, caravan, trailers, family and dog transporter, so any feedback is apprecialted.

£225 dosnt seem bad at all if the costs of travel are included.

Cheers

I had a chat with this guy the other day he is going to do mine for me i'm just changing intercooler and turbo boost before hand so can get it remapped perfectly from the start.

BIG MATT said:

Do you tell your insurance company?
If so how much more did it cost?


Im sure if you had a prang and they checked you wouldnt be covered !!

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I am not quite sure how easy it would be for them to check as the ECU itself hasn't been changed. So, unless they intend to start reading the ecu memory dump and comparing it with standard, I think they'd have a job finding the difference.

David

BIG MATT said:

Great to hear some good news so good luck to ya !!

I'm toying with the idea myself as my td5 2001 auto just seems to lack uuumph, I know its no sports car and it its a total workhorse, caravan, trailers, family and dog transporter, so any feedback is apprecialted.

£225 dosnt seem bad at all if the costs of travel are included.

Cheers

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Hi Big Matt, I have a 2002 TD5 auto and thought it was a bit sluggish until I de-catted it last week. Has made a significant difference. I don't feel I need to chase after her to get up hills if you know what I mean. Generally smoother too.

Cost? £62 from MM4x4 plus 1 hrs time. IF you decide to do this yourself, may I suggest you buy a 10mm "grips on the faces" half inch drive socket, made all the difference doing the job. Take off both cross members to give good working room.

A friend is thinking of having a re-map and asked his insurance company if it would be a problem, they said no but the premiums would be another £60.

I doubt they would check !

Just been out for a proper drive in it and it's now much better on the motorway. It's surge performance - say 60 to 80 - is vastly improved but the really rough patch from 3000 to 3500 is still there, unchanged, which is a shame. Anybody out there found a cure for that ?

The overall effect is as if about a quarter of the truck's weight has been removed (quicker than the rust manages it !) and a lot more development time has been spent on the engine driveability. Still very chuffed. £225 all in - a bargain.

David Pye said:

I am not quite sure how easy it would be for them to check as the ECU itself hasn't been changed. So, unless they intend to start reading the ecu memory dump and comparing it with standard, I think they'd have a job finding the difference.

David

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You,ll find that nearly all these " re-coding " guys leave thier new codes blocked so as not to be copied.

Isurance companys simply havnt got the time/money to hook every claim up and have the ECU checked for altered data ! And if they did they wouldnt be able to read it !.

You,d be much more likely to get picked up on an air to coil conversion or bigger wheels and tyres.

Del.

Right, just done some basic pereformance tests today - nothing fancy, just using the speedo and my wris****ch. I was being quite gentle with the car - normal performance testing is brutal but I have to use this truck for a good few years yet! No idea what the original figures were but here are today's:

0-60mph, 12 seconds (maybe 11.5), slightly uphill.
30-50 in third gear, 6 seconds, more uphill.
50-70 in fifth gear, 11 seconds, slightly downhill.

1 person in the car, lightly loaded, wet roads, 5 deg.C.

mpg unaffected as far as I can tell - still seems to do about 26 knocking around the backroads here.

Anyone got the original figures - I think Autocar got 14.5 seconds 0-60.

BoldreChris said:

0-60mph, 12 seconds (maybe 11.5), slightly uphill.
30-50 in third gear, 6 seconds, more uphill.
50-70 in fifth gear, 11 seconds, slightly downhill.

mpg unaffected as far as I can tell - still seems to do about 26 knocking around the backroads here.

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Figures seem pretty impressive....How many extra BHP /NM of torque you putting out?

Also, you use that extra power....you WILL burn more fuel!

I don't know the actual figures - it wasn't set up on a dyno. The max torque increase was set at 24% with an average of 20% from 1200 to 4000rpm. I think the original power was 137 (?) so that could be as much as 170bhp.

Oh, yes, I know. I'm trying to be restrained and only use the power when it's really necessary but it's ever so hard to resist ! I had a V8 110 until last year and that had to go because I couldn't afford the fuel so I do have to be careful.

I had my TD5 Disco re-mapped today, and " Oh my god ", what a MASSIVE difference !.

I had read and heard that the TD5 unit responded well to software modification, but had no idea how it would be quite as good.

Of all the diesels I,ve had re-mapped, the TD5 is by far the most impresive.

The " flat spot " low down in the rev range has completely dissapeared, it feels like the accelerator pedal is actually connected to the engine now.

I drive my truck very steady, without giving it loads of right foot, the re-map has enabled me to reach my desired speed by moving through the gears quicker.

However, whilst at a busy " T " junction, I pulled out into a smaller than usual gap, punched the throttle, and the car just took off. I was amazed at how it shifted of the line. And whilst on the way home on a dual carridge way, I wanted to pull into the fast lane, as I was coming up on a lorry, but I could see a car closing my lane change oppertunity down, so, still in fifth, I hit the gas and was gobsmacked how quickly it went from 60 to 70 mph.

Dont get me wrong, I couldnt care less about the numbers, and am not about to start " gunning " it everywhere, but its like someone has got it running on 5 cylinders now as oppose to 3 !

I would say that if anyone was contemplating any mods to thier TD5, ( wheels, headlamps, bull bars, side bars etc ), spend the money on an ECU remap, it will change the driving experience immeasurably !.

Yes, I am pleased with it !.


Del.