remapping a D5 engine

[TrueBlue]

I had Charlwood Volvo do a RICA 'chip' on my 2009 185Hp and was pleased with it. Around the £300 mark IIRC.

http://charlwoodautomotive.com/servi...rmance-tuning/
OK - not West Sussex, but just across the border in Surrey.
(Hurry - avoid the Gatwick runway - HaHa)

[Tatsfield]

What happens to these after market remaps when you update the ECU software, or rather when Volvo update it? They can see the Polestar rewrite and update with a remap which includes the Polestar upgrade but if you have an after market remap it just gets overwritten. So you either save £300-£400 and never have the ECU upgraded or you have to pay to have the after market remap reinstalled every time. Since Volvo dealers will upgrade the software every time they service the car, this would be a minimum of once a year. I have aske4d Polestar for information about possible upcoming discounts but they have said that they are not planning any. They may be telling porkies but it doesn't make the decision any easier.

[Ant B]

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

What happens to these after market remaps when you update the ECU software, or rather when Volvo update it? They can see the Polestar rewrite and update with a remap which includes the Polestar upgrade but if you have an after market remap it just gets overwritten.

I would guess if you're the sort of person who would rather pay £300 for someone to map your car with no warranty / official support from Volvo than £800 for Polestar, you aren't likely to be using a Volvo dealer for servicing either so not updating the ECU probably won't be a concern? Just generalising here!!

I think if you want to keep the car in the main dealer network for servicing, your best (only?) option is to go Polestar. If you can get lucky and get an offer / discount then great, otherwise it'll be full price (but with full support, warranty, guaranteed compatibility etc).

Personally I think it's a rip-off at £800+ but if I get mine done, it'll probably be Polestar...



Edited to add; at least Geartronic owners get a software update for the 'box as well, it's even WORSE value for us manual owners!!

[RM955I]

None of my (used) cars have ever seen a main dealer for servicing and software updates - oddly enough they have never spontaneously combusted or broken down in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.

[steveyorks]

I find that main dealers nowadays are not really mechanics anymore. They let the computer diagnose the problem and then throw new parts at it until its fixed but at what cost! I much prefer independents and have never had any problems from using them or when selling the car with the service history.

[Ant B]

Originally Posted by RM955I

None of my (used) cars have ever seen a main dealer for servicing and software updates - oddly enough they have never spontaneously combusted or broken down in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.

Yep, use a local independent myself, mine doesn't go to a Volvo dealer either and never had any issues (ditto previous cars, have never really used main dealers).

However getting back on topic there doesn't seem to be a lot of choice out there when it comes to remapping the twin-turbo D5s, Polestar may well be the best option with everything taken into account?

[Arnold Layne]

I recently looked at a couple of local remappers in the North West, for my S80 D5 185 2007 model. I chose one who quoted me £170, for an increase to 221 BP and up to 480 NM. I took it to them, but when connected to my OBD2 port and powered up, their software had a "wake up error". They then went directly into my ECU, which was quite some effort, requiring to remove the trim between the battery and and the windscreen wipers, and also to to split open the ECU connector in order to access pin 43, and after all this palaver it had the same result - "wake up error". So the remap was abandoned on the day.

I'm not sure if I ought to go back to them to try again, or if anyone's had a similiar problem and know's what the solution might be. I'm still keen for the extra power, improved fuel consumption, and I know that I'd appreciate it if the car was more "drivable".