remapping a mk5 golf gti

[natalietaylor91334]

I am considering having my golf gti remapped for some extra bhp. it has currently got a miltek cat back fitted. I have been quoted £150 to get it done but I have been told to be careful when getting remapping done pretty cheap. He claims he gets his maps of a franchise called uk chiptuning/regaltuning. Is it likely to get any problems with the ECU after its been done?

Has anyone had their GTI remapped?

[Pikey Motorsports]

I wouldnt personally

[dansmith180]

I wouldn't personally get a plug and play map (especially that cheap) if there is any weakness in your engine you won't know until it breaks. If you got for a live map they will do a health check and test run to make sure your car is in tip top condition.

Only when the car is good will they proceed to give you the extra power so you can drive away confident that you can floor it without fear of problems.

I know of someone who had a cheap map and ended up buying a new ECU  .

[GrayMK5GTI]

Hi Natalie,

We get this question coming up now & again and the advice we always give is to go to a reputable tuner which is recomended by the forum. That way you will be getting a product which has been tried & tested many times, which will give the optimum output for your car.

There are plenty of places that offer £150 remaps which are generic files with a few parameters changed to give a bit more performance. I've lost count of how many guys have come back onto the forum saying "i've had my GTI mapped by xxxx tuner and now its going into limp mode" or something similar. The outcome is they then have to spend another £300- £600 getting a proper remap by a reputable tuner.

Have a look in the Performance Modifications section of the forum for feedback on different remaps 

[th3_f15t]

As above, get a proper tuning company to write a custom engine map, or at least install and configure a Revo "off-the-shelf" map. As with most things, buy cheap, buy twice.

Oh, and once you do a remap, you'll find something else will need replacing, something could do with being swapped... It's a dangerous, slippery slope to poverty and it's start with "just a remap"...

[Matthewsimone]

Leave it well alone
200bhp is more than enough in a fwd car especially in these cold damp conditions!
If anythibg buy a limited slip diff atleast that way you stand a chance of putting the power down 

[Dan_FR]

What a silly comment. Who on earth buys a Limited Slip Diff for an almost standard car at 200hp when you are nowhere near the limit of grip/traction. 

Back to the OP - Stay clear of cheap remaps from franchises that get their maps from 'file suppliers'. Most are shockingly bad. Revo, GIAC, APR all do very good software for the TFSI.

[Matthewsimone]

What a silly comment. Who on earth buys a Limited Slip Diff for an almost standard car at 200hp when you are nowhere near the limit of grip/traction. 

Back to the OP - Stay clear of cheap remaps from franchises that get their maps from 'file suppliers'. Most are shockingly bad. Revo, GIAC, APR all do very good software for the TFSI.

Disagree but there you go!
A diff before more power is the point i was getting at mate although still say over 200bhp is waste of time/money in fwd car
Been there and done it with a 320bhp mk1 focus Rs and ruined the car im affraid

[cooljimy84]

I can't belive the mk5 doesn't have a LSD !!! i swear the mk4 gti did ! (sorry to get off topic)

Does it just snatch the front brake of the spinning wheels or something ?

[xjay1337]

No Golfs have ever come with a limited slip diff from the factory apart from the Mk7 which has a quasi electro-mechanical LSD.
On the Mk6 you could specify an electronic diff called XDS this is also something you can enable with VCDS. I've been playing around with it lately with good results.

Disagree but there you go!
A diff before more power is the point i was getting at mate although still say over 200bhp is waste of time/money in fwd car
Been there and done it with a 320bhp mk1 focus Rs and ruined the car im affraid

That's because it was a Ford focus.
The focus RS mk1 diff was terrible to live with, well known. Great car but as a daily driver on cambered roads, it's a pain!!
Diff's have moved on.

Mk5 platform can handle the power very well and you don't really need a diff unless you are going above Stage 2 levels of power. Arguably with an Edition 30 then at a Stage 1 you would see some benefit if you drive the car very hard but on the road for normal use it's not that imporant. Throttles are modular after all ;)

[Pikey Motorsports]

Im still driving mine with 530hp on trackday tyres in these conditions fine allthough its not a daily i dont think i would have any issues if it was just to potter about in.

How are people having issues stock :s

[Pikey Motorsports]

What a silly comment. Who on earth buys a Limited Slip Diff for an almost standard car at 200hp when you are nowhere near the limit of grip/traction. 

Back to the OP - Stay clear of cheap remaps from franchises that get their maps from 'file suppliers'. Most are shockingly bad. Revo, GIAC, APR all do very good software for the TFSI.

Disagree but there you go!
A diff before more power is the point i was getting at mate although still say over 200bhp is waste of time/money in fwd car
Been there and done it with a 320bhp mk1 focus Rs and ruined the car im affraid

A stock mk1 is probaly worse then a 360hp gti

[Matthewsimone]

I can't belive the mk5 doesn't have a LSD !!! i swear the mk4 gti did ! (sorry to get off topic)

Does it just snatch the front brake of the spinning wheels or something ?

I can't believe mk5 Gti doesn't have a lsd either, ive just sold a 1986 escort Rs turbo that had lsd fitted for god sake 

[Matthewsimone]

What a silly comment. Who on earth buys a Limited Slip Diff for an almost standard car at 200hp when you are nowhere near the limit of grip/traction. 

Back to the OP - Stay clear of cheap remaps from franchises that get their maps from 'file suppliers'. Most are shockingly bad. Revo, GIAC, APR all do very good software for the TFSI.

Disagree but there you go!
A diff before more power is the point i was getting at mate although still say over 200bhp is waste of time/money in fwd car
Been there and done it with a 320bhp mk1 focus Rs and ruined the car im affraid

A stock mk1 is probaly worse then a 360hp gti

A stock mk1 is possibly one of the best fwd hatches of all time mate, as said earlier a ruined mine by mapping it etc but even with 317 bhp and 360ftlb torque it still put the power down better than a stock gti in all conditions

As said in another recent thread im either selling my Gti and going all out mk7R or sensible option could be fitting a lsd to mk5

[Pikey Motorsports]

I drove one years ago briefly so couldnt really comment but arent they not known for huge torque steer and poor traction? my mk2 rs running 450hp was probaly worse then my big turbo gti now

Get a 7r if you feel its to much hp, a lsd wont make no difference on the road really