Stage one

[Tanuie]

Hi, i am thinking about getting a stage one re-map on my golf, are there any for's and againt's having one fitted. I am thinking of going for a Revo map because it is quite handy to get to the dealers who will be fitting it, i know there are plenty of others that will do the same job, but i am thinking of the location of the dealer. The car has just had a new cam belt and water pump installed as well as a service and a cam follower for the HPFV. Will it require any looking after it has been fitted and will it compromise any reliability in the car.
Many thanks.

[The Red Warrior]

Against:
1. It costs a reasonable amount.
2. It is often the start of the slippery slope to modifying for more and more power.
3. You can't be too lax about servicing, not that you should be even when stock.
4. Front tyres don't last as long.
5. Some tunes are only for certain types of fuel. ie highest octane available. (I'm using APR software so have switchable programs for different fuel grades. Part of the reason I went for APR).

For:
1. It's the cheapest per hp gain.
2. It's easy. Plug in, download and go. Or dyno and set up depending on who you go with. Either way, no supporting mods needed.
3. You will love it!
           

[leebes]

If you are thinking about it then you've already decided to have it done...welcome to the dark side! 

I have a Top Gear stage 1+ on my GTI.  Not a well known map as far as I can tell, but I'm really happy with it, and it goes like stink!

[akbarirfan]

Factor in the cost of insurance as well (although I don't know who anybody could tell if you had remap).

The great thing about stage 1 is that you do not need any supporting modifications. Having said that, this is the beginning of a very slippery slope...

[mvb12]

This post made me chuckle. 

A remap isn't a car part its a software modification.

Regardless of remapping or not, you should be maintaining your car anyway.

[AJP]

Factor in the cost of insurance as well (although I don't know who anybody could tell if you had remap).

The great thing about stage 1 is that you do not need any supporting modifications. Having said that, this is the beginning of a very slippery slope...

It's 2016 mate, insurance companies are well aware of remapping (and cars that are commonly mapped) and if they really wanted to find out they would use their resources to do so. If there was a nasty bump and someone was hurt it would probably be one of the things they'd go looking for to avoid paying a claim, and there could be even worse repercussions following that.

There's a code on the ECU (on VWs at least) that comes up if the car's software has ever been rewritten, think it's TD1. It's pretty much a big red flag.

I'm with Adrian Flux and the increase in premium for my remap really wasn't much at all. Worth just factoring it in to the cost of tuning like you say, for peace of mind.

[grey golfster]

Do it right.

the increase in premium for my remap really wasn't much at all. Worth just factoring it in to the cost of tuning like you say, for peace of mind.  +1

and as some seem to forget - the insurance guys read these forums too!

[Tanuie]

Had it done and yes it does go like stink, had to change my insurance company as mine wouldn't cover the re-map.
I didn't notice the cost of the insurance as i cancelled the old one and re-done it for a year.

[pudding]

Factor in the cost of insurance as well (although I don't know who anybody could tell if you had remap).

The great thing about stage 1 is that you do not need any supporting modifications. Having said that, this is the beginning of a very slippery slope...

It's 2016 mate, insurance companies are well aware of remapping (and cars that are commonly mapped) and if they really wanted to find out they would use their resources to do so. If there was a nasty bump and someone was hurt it would probably be one of the things they'd go looking for to avoid paying a claim, and there could be even worse repercussions following that.

There's a code on the ECU (on VWs at least) that comes up if the car's software has ever been rewritten, think it's TD1. It's pretty much a big red flag.

I'm with Adrian Flux and the increase in premium for my remap really wasn't much at all. Worth just factoring it in to the cost of tuning like you say, for peace of mind.

I've been thinking about that recently.  I don't condone non-declaration of maps, but for an insurance company to prove your ECU software isn't standard - and also prove that you didn't know it was mapped when you bought the car - would be difficult?

In the MK5, the only clue is the 'flashcount'.  If it's greater than 0, it's been flashed.  They can't decline the claim based on a reflash showing on the counter because it could be a perfectly innocent factory recall map.  They would need to interrogate the ECU software, which would mean needing programming software for every ECU make and model out there.  And they need to know what they're looking for because it's all in Hex. 

TD1 only comes up on the newer MK7 ECUs, but even then people are circumventing that by using a tuning box or piggy back ECU. The internal software hasn't changed, so the ECU is none the wiser.

So yeah, tell them for peace of mind, but at the end of the day I think it will be very hard to prove.  I think that's why the small print was changed recently to "To the best of your knowledge, is the car standard?".   Someone who knows nothing about cars could buy a GTI and be none the wiser!