Elite Re-Map?
 

My XC70 is in for its annual service tomorrow, and I noticed in the reminder blurb sent a couple of weeks ago, that my indy is now an agent for Elite re-maps. Looking at their site, Stage One for a 2010 XC70 (205) takes the 205bhp to 240 with a significant increase in torque. I'm tempted - but does anyone have experience of this company? No mention of cost - I might ask tomorrow.

Although not specific to Elite, I asked the question on remapping my V70.

Pretty much came back anti independent remapping and polestar remap was the way to go.

Reasoning and thread here - https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=282658

A Polestar remap seems terribly expensive for the benefit gained... maybe worth considering for an auto though, seeing as how the gearbox software is apparently also modified. I've never heard of a remap being overwritten by a subsequent dealer update, at least in Honda diesels with a Bosch EDC16 ECU.

I come from a Honda diesel community, where remapping is commonplace. Celtic are generally favoured over Elite, mostly because their maps featured torque limitation in lower gears to aid traction and protect the clutch... diesel remapping can make startling torque gains at low RPM, which does then overload the clamping ability of the clutch pressure plate. Also Elite maps illegally keep the EGR valve closed, which causes NOx emissions to soar and may give future concerns if/when the MoT checks for NOx emissions. Celtic maps have an option to include EGR or not.

Whatever you go for, ask to see predicted dyno graphs applicable to your model car. The torque delivery needs to be smooth and extended, not merely a giant spike at low RPM!

The major difference is that Volvo ECUs are encrypted.

No third-party remapper can remap the twin-turbo D5, unless they remove the ECU, open the casing, connect onto the pins of the EEPROM and directly write the map in.

Read these threads: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...ighlight=remap

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...ighlight=remap

Remember that when something like that happens, the remapper will not help you. Either they already have your money, or they've refunded you your money but will not help with the repair cost.

Why would you risk a vehicle that is currently worth around £8k for the sake of saving £300 on the remap? That's less than the cost of a set of tyres

As for "minimal gains" - the polestar map on the 205 takes it up to 225bhp, and keeps it JUST within the lowest insurance increase (insurers I've seen listing the modifications tend to have different remap brackets, the cheapest one being 0-10% bhp increase).

As for VEA cars, it looks like they're just offering up closer to the engine's maximum capability as standard.

One of the best "value" polestar options was on the XC60/XC70 D4 AWD - although only 163bhp, the engine was physically actually the same twin-turbo D5 as the D5 205/215. Polestar took the 205/215 up to 225/230 respectively, and unlocked the D4 to a full D5 215.

Seeing as how the Elite website quotes the power figures for their Stage One map on a 2010 XC70 (205bhp to 240) then clearly overcoming that encryption isn't a problem.

Remappers are usually able to remove their map and reload the original one, should problems occur.

To be frank, regardless of what map I would put on my car, insurance company is not someone I would tell.

As they will never know the car has been remapped unless they no download the map on your ECU to check or you tell them.

In the event of a total loss, if they actually do decide to come out and check, it is only a visual inspection of the vehicle that is carried out.

Where that differs is the tuning boxes, with supplement wires, a visual inspection would find it

And that sort of attitude is exactly what pushes the insurance premiums up

What a load of rubbish. Premiums are put up by a multitude of things, crashes, theft blah blah.

Not declaring modifications would actually result in an overall saving as your policy would be void and not paid out if you made a claim and they found out about remap. You could argue there would be cost of admin work.

So I fail to see how/why this would put premiums up.

While even a write off inspection by an insurance assessor might not find a re-map, if you had the gross misfortune to be involved in an accident with a personal injury liability claim into seven figures, it would certainly be worth the insurers while to check your ECU mapping to avoid paying out millions and that would ruin you for the rest of your life. That is what insurance is for and if you decide to risk such losses, that would be your decision but the position of the poor bastard who suffered life changing injuries at your hands would be catastrophic and he would sue you for everything you had which probably wouldn't be enough and his life would still be ruins. Buy the Polestar!

What tends to bother me more about remaps isn't the extra power & torque released, its the ability of other components to deal with the improvements - most specifically the gearbox (and/or clutch if a manual) which must have a torque limit but I have no idea how you would find out what it is.

The engine may be fine but that's not helpful if another major component goes bang as a result

Yep, definitely something to bear in mind...


Years ago I had a mk4 Golf TDI, which I had remapped from 150bhp to 205bhp, for about £300, by a guy who came to my house and plugged a laptop in for 20 mins.

It absolutely flew after that, the torque was just silly, but within a week the clutch was slipping, so it cost me around £600 to fit an uprated one. Then it was too fast to get round corners so I spent about £800 on Koni FSD shocks and some lowering springs. Then I couldn’t slow down enough for corners, so I spent another £500 upgrading the brakes; that bargain remap unbalanced the whole car and probably cost me about £2.5k of mods in the end!!

Obviously adding another 20bhp to a 2-tonne Volvo estate isn’t in the same ballpark, but bear in mind the extra stress you’ll put on engine, clutch, gearbox, brakes etc., especially if the car is 8-10 years old in the first place...

:teeth_smile:

That approach might go down well on a Ford Focus RS forum but not here.

It's also a criminal offence - you are obtaining insurance by deception. After a crash if your insurer finds non-declared mods it cannot void the policy if it did not know about them in advance and must still pay all third party losses.

And don't assume that it is not possible to detect it because in extreme cases they can. For more than 10 years Police forces working with manufacturers have been able to check if software has been modified and extract previously unreadable data on a cars speed, throttle position, etc. from the airbag and other systems. If they want to demonstrate that you are a "wrong-un" to nail you with a prosecution - they will go to whatever lengths.

This is another reason why Polestar maps are a good option - they are marketed by Volvo as "Software Optimisation" - not just performance improvements - and hence are usually treated more sympathetically.

Workmate has a Celtic remap on his BMW, recons it's the bees knees, however he seldom uses the car and it's limited use has so far been very reliable, he has a friend who had his vw fleet remapped by Celtic for economy and finds it makes a noticeable difference. I have polestar on my xc70 and find it makes the car so much more drivable, but I was after mid range improvement not outright power.
The police xc70 were polestarred to a higher spec than civilian cars and suffered head gas get failiers if my local dealer is to be belived.

You pays your money and makes your choice but any and all modifications I make to my cars are notified to the insurance companies, even down to a change in tyre size on the landrover. I hope never to have an accident, however if I do I want to know I'm covered.

Paul.

[QUOTE=Tannaton;
This is another reason why Polestar maps are a good option - they are marketed by Volvo as "Software Optimisation" - not just performance improvements - and hence are usually treated more sympathetically.[/QUOTE]



It surely is to be expected that Volvo would offer their highly priced, so called 'premium' current vehicles with everything already optimised for the purpose

A company wholly owned by a murky 100% chinese entity would not function without absolute compliance with that country's gangster regime. To add to that what sort of company would employ a swedish chief executive who would have served a custodial sentence in a Bavarian prison for fraud were it for his not avoiding same by affording and making a massive cash payment in the style of Bernie Ecclestone into a Bavarian court.

Volvo is owned by questionable, secretive foreign interests through holding companies in the BVI and run day to day by individuals with proven questionable ethics.

Everything points to unregulated, unethical and questionable tactics with this outfit.

P* tagged software products are not to be compared with some comparable aftermarket specialist products. However, due to Volvo's PINCODE BANDITRY that prevents any other product being safely introduced via OBD. Such professionally written software calibrations that truly and safely optimise for higher outputs cannot be introduced except by removing a vehicle's ECU, opening it and addressing the board directly.

I would also make the point that this PINCODE BANDITRY facilitates a form of tolling by introducing these pincodes in practically every electronic function in their current vehicles. Volvo pincodes are vehicle specific and sometime even function specific within that vehicle, unlike their competitors who often use just a model range specific pincode. This is a flagrant violation of one of the pillars of EU competition law.

Don.

I fail to see any relevance to RS forum not not here, absolutely zero relevance so kinda an absolutely pointless remark.

The rest of your post, yes I agree

Didn't ford buy volvo because they wanted the 5 pot technology for the RS series of hot hatches. Focus RS had a T5 engine and nothing volvo produced used by police forces could compete with it.
I found out when an unmarked D5 was fueling at a local garage, I queried his use of diesel as I thought they used T5s. Used to he replied but the v70 could not catch a focus RS so we went for fuel saving.

I agree however an uncalled for remark, some of the landrover forums are plane obscene in language and attitude, but still hold a wealth of knowlage, judge not lest ye be judged.

Paul.

Spot on, time and place for everything.

Oh and I think, it was the ST engine that was the T5 or actually other way about as your post states. RS Engine came post T5/ST (I think)

There has been a slight price reduction in the Polestar upgrade for a XC70 - price now £695 inclusive of VAT and fitting.

In my experience P* upgrades are not penalised by all insurance companies. Volvo Insurance however does add 10%. I wouldn't go down the Elite route with a Volvo for all the valid reasons set out above. Its the second XC that I have had P* done, it makes a big difference!