Pulled the trigger on a Bluefin - MK5 GTI

[xs2man]

To be fair, my reasons for not recommending Bluefin (Superchips) again isn't because there is a map out there with 10 BHP more.  It's because it was 40 BHP down on what it said it should be.

[Jmccarron71]

Mine was 290 hp on rollers on stage 1 no other mods.was like night and day getting my super chips map and you can easily revert back to original.

[Skilgannon]

To be fair, my reasons for not recommending Bluefin (Superchips) again isn't because there is a map out there with 10 BHP more.  It's because it was 40 BHP down on what it said it should be.

That can't be right surely. So you gained 1 bhp? As Superchips say it's a 41 bhp gain. 200 bhp is standard on a mk5 gti. 201bhp with the remap sounds like you had a serious issue with your car. DV valve knackered maybe?

[xs2man]

To be fair, my reasons for not recommending Bluefin (Superchips) again isn't because there is a map out there with 10 BHP more.  It's because it was 40 BHP down on what it said it should be.

That can't be right surely. So you gained 1 bhp? As Superchips say it's a 41 bhp gain. 200 bhp is standard on a mk5 gti. 201bhp with the remap sounds like you had a serious issue with your car. DV valve knackered maybe?

Mine was on a BMW 335d.  Where the gains (at the time) were meant to be something like +70 BHP (now revised to +51). 

[unzippy]

I wanted to know the reasons why people don't prefer them....

Because not custom. 

Here's an interesting fact about generic maps - Apart from a few extreme climate countries, every single Golf GTI and ED30 in the world had the same generic map when it left the factory 

Bluefin Superchips, Revo, APR et al, they all do the same thing.  They take a decent, healthy car, map it on the dyno, tune it on the road until they are happy, then sell it as an upgrade.  It is no different to what the factory did.  Although the factory obviously has access to extremely expensive industry standard DIN measuring & tuning equipment, plus a huge team of ECU & software engineers.  Therefore you can guarantee consistency across all the cars, which is a benefit of generic mapping, especially where strict emissions targets are concerned.

I don't like this term 'generic' map because it implies lesser quality to a custom map.  All of the names mentioned above produce good results and are within 10-15hp of each other, that's where things can start to get bitchy.  HP chasers only focus on one thing, so I would stay away from the Facebook group if you don't like childish mud slinging   
These pre-written maps are safe.  Nothing wrong with that, because the vendor can't guarantee a customer's engine is in perfect health, so they err on the side of caution.  You wouldn't believe some of the bodges some customers turn up to mappers with.  Wires hand twisted together, MAFs unplugged or missing, boost hoses that pop off because of cheap crappy clamps, intercoolers hanging off the front with cable ties etc etc.  It's exactly these kind of people who slag off the tuners for giving them low numbers.  Anyway....

Custom maps push things harder because the tuner is 'live' monitoring all the key sensors and can see how the engine reacts to his inputs.  This gives a bit more scope for power & torque. 

Superchips have been in the game a long time and most people are happy with the results.  I had a Revo map in mine when I bought it and it drove really well!  Super punchy and smooth.

If you like how the car feels after you've flashed it, then it's done the trick.  Can you squeeze a bit more power out?  Of course you can, but when you've got a safe 250 to begin with, another 10-15 is not going to blow your skirt up.

Well said.

[Bigjimknickers]

Another "I've just bought Bluefin, should I have bought it?!" thread...

I doubt your car will explode, but there's a recent thread here that might answer some questions:

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=108606.msg1051767.msg#1051767

Superchips were once decent. Or maybe at that time one of the more desirable means of increasing boost 'safely'. Remember before chipping it was bleed valves and blown turbos. Things moved on with ECU software and the likes of Superchips. But things have moved on again today - so much more. I get the feeling Superchips/Bluefin are simply surviving on the back of their brand, rather than producing competitive software.

Not at all. This was a well thought through decision. I know r tech and the likes are better as its custom. But at stage 1 from my research and the forum post you linked above shows its not the end of the world.

I got it for £280 fully reset not attached to any vehicle ready to be used. So I can't complain instead £290 plus fuel costs to get up and down the motorway I'm saving around £50 quid.

I think people in my situation awfully busy/lazy that just want a stage 1 map it's perfectly fine. Stage 2..... That's a different story for that I will never go bluefin.

How did you get on with this? Any good?