Mk5 GTI Tuning - For Free???

[Apearcey]

A friend of mine has VCDS and all the cables to go with it, he's told me it's possible to find FREE tuning files or software online and he can upload them to my car. Even Stage 2...

I was wondering, where do I find this? as far as I was aware this usually costs £700+ for stage 2 tune - But if anyone knows where I can find and download whatever it is I need, please tell me! I will forever be in your debt 

[richtung]

I am no expert but you are seriously asking for trouble if you are willing to upload maps from an unknown source onto your ECU. Im not sure if it's possible but if the "map" bricks your ECU? what next?

My advice would be to put your hand in your pocket and pay for a map from a reputable source.

Rich

[Apearcey]

That's what I was thinking but my mate has done it to his 03 TT and he managed to put 300+ hp onto it.

I mean I've only just bought the car a month ago and it feels great (even though I have a DV leak, which I'm fixing next week when the parts arrive) So I'm not even sure if the car is standard or Stage 1 or Stage 1+ or what?! How can I tell??

[gazaai]

That's what I was thinking but my mate has done it to his 03 TT and he managed to put 300+ hp onto it.

I mean I've only just bought the car a month ago and it feels great (even though I have a DV leak, which I'm fixing next week when the parts arrive) So I'm not even sure if the car is standard or Stage 1 or Stage 1+ or what?! How can I tell??

With VCDS you could log the g/s from the intake which is Group 002 - Field 3 do a full WOT pull in 3rd or 4th gear.
Then divide the highest number recorded by 0.80 and you will have an estimated bhp if its around 200 your still stock.

[AJP]

Let's quit any chat about 'free remaps' please.

You're basically talking about cloned ECUs and other related practices which are dubious to say the least, undoubtedly less than legal, and certainly something we wouldn't encourage on here.

[Apearcey]

Ooooh! Sorry, didn't know they were illegal. Suppose I should of figured that one out myself...

[Paradox1]

Remaps are that expensive. Your paying for the quailty.

Buy a cheap on that could F your engine if you want but you know it doesnt make sense.

You cant copy a map from one car and expect it to perform exactly the same as any other car. its not that simple

[Manny_ED30]

Surely you wouldn't be content driving your car knowing it has software from the unknown? "Home service" remaps are a no go, its either RR or no remap imo. That way you're getting your moneys worth, its safe and done to your engine capabilities as not all cars are the same regardless if they're the same model, engine, turbo etc

I don't intend to hit such speeds but having my car rolling road tuned past 120mph gives me the confidence that it's not gunna blow up anything when driving at speeds lower than that.

I'd swerve that if I were you. Each to their own though.

[Paradox1]

Surely you wouldn't be content driving your car knowing it has software from the unknown? "Home service" remaps are a no go, its either RR or no remap imo. That way you're getting your moneys worth, its safe and done to your engine capabilities as not all cars are the same regardless if they're the same model, engine, turbo etc

I don't intend to hit such speeds but having my car rolling road tuned past 120mph gives me the confidence that it's not gunna blow up anything when driving at speeds lower than that.

I'd swerve that if I were you. Each to their own though.

Saying that alot of dealers dont have rolling roads..... its more of going to a reputable company rather than matey at the back of tescos

[Apearcey]

Agreed, think I'm gonna pass on this. Cheers guys. And thank you for bringing it to my attention how stupid I can be at times 

[Manny_ED30]

Surely you wouldn't be content driving your car knowing it has software from the unknown? "Home service" remaps are a no go, its either RR or no remap imo. That way you're getting your moneys worth, its safe and done to your engine capabilities as not all cars are the same regardless if they're the same model, engine, turbo etc

I don't intend to hit such speeds but having my car rolling road tuned past 120mph gives me the confidence that it's not gunna blow up anything when driving at speeds lower than that.

I'd swerve that if I were you. Each to their own though.

Saying that alot of dealers dont have rolling roads..... its more of going to a reputable company rather than matey at the back of tescos

Very true. I hear that Revo do non rolling road remaps, but that just gives me a generic feeling. I'd much prefer a RR tune, not a bad shout considering R-Tech & Stealth are two options for this...

[AJP]

There are plenty of tuners out there that offer 'generic' maps that are perfectly safe. Revo, as mentioned, being one. Well, they're kind of generic. You (or your tuner) can alter the boost, timing and fuelling parameters post-map with the dongle thing.

Generic doesn't always equal crap/unsafe.

RR mapping is probably preferable for squeezing out bigger numbers, safely.

There's a huge difference between a decent generic map and playing about with 'free' software, cloned ECUs, and dodgy stuff like that.

Fortunately the consensus of opinion on here is knowledgeable and sensible

[Manny_ED30]

There are plenty of tuners out there that offer 'generic' maps that are perfectly safe. Revo, as mentioned, being one. Well, they're kind of generic. You (or your tuner) can alter the boost, timing and fuelling parameters post-map with the dongle thing.

Generic doesn't always equal crap/unsafe.

RR mapping is probably preferable for squeezing out bigger numbers, safely.

There's a huge difference between a decent generic map and playing about with 'free' software, cloned ECUs, and dodgy stuff like that.

Fortunately the consensus of opinion on here is knowledgeable and sensible

Absolutely, I'm sure there are safe and good quality non RR remaps and I'm not knocking them. Revo are very reputable and I've used the argument of a RR remap instead of a plug and upload but my friends are adamant and go for the latter with Revo. Nothing against the company personally. I guess it all comes down to personal preference. RR gives me the impression that the tuner gets to know the car on different types of drives. I may be wrong on this but its what I'd feel most comfortable when driving away with increased ponies.

[Dan_FR]

A Rolling Road means sweet F all... There are plenty of companies out there who have a RR but still do untested % based tuning and use the RR to simply show the 'gains' to the customer.....

Revo and APR are two of the best VAG tuners around and both load 'generic' i.e. non specific maps to your car.... but those maps have hundreds if not thousands of hours of development... The key to all of this is a VAG specialist tuner, not a backstreet 'remap any vehicle' type setup...

FYI to the OP - tell your mate to do some research... he won't be flashing an MED9 ECU with a VCDS cable.... Different ballgame to the ME7 found in his TT, which I highly doubt is 300hp from an untested map he found online.....

[Manny_ED30]

Well that goes back to going to a reputable company with a RR. Obviously this is partly based on reliable & consistent figures.

As I've said everyone has their preference but I'd prefer to have my car put through a hard drive on the rollers a few times to ensure the reliability of components is there (i.e fueling).

I haven't had my car remapped before but from the experience my brother went through with his mk2 1.8t, a RR at the right tuner makes perfect sense, if its a engine conversion or just software and hardware.