Thread: Restricted Performance.

Originally Posted by Graeme

I'm intrigued by this statement.

"intrigued" isn't the word I had in mind

Cheers,

Gordon

Originally Posted by gghaggis

When the car is under load, such as towing a heavy trailer uphill, is precisely the time when you DON'T want a remap/chip to be in effect.

Could you please explain why Gordon?
Cheers.

Just to add, I drove another 850 odd k's today from Parkes to Toowoomba via the Newell Highway with quite a few long hills.
No further engine faults and it seems to be going well.

Don't take this as disagreeing with you as I really don't know much about modern engines

Because a chip/remap is going to be raising the 'stresses' on the vehicle, higher EGTs, etc.
Towing with a standard power package is going to raise these stresses anyway, so combining the stresses of towing with the stresses of a remap or chip, your vehicle is going to be really pushing it in terms of what's safe unless you've got suitably uprated performance components; bigger IC, etc.

I can understand the logic but isn't a chip/remap just putting the engine back where it could safely be rather than the de-tuned state it is in from the manufacturer?

Originally Posted by markorjack

I can understand the logic but isn't a chip/remap just putting the engine back where it could safely be rather than the de-tuned state it is in from the manufacturer?

There's the issue right there, an assumption that it is actually de-tuned. Why would it be de-tuned? The manufacturer is going to want to give the engine the best balance of longevity, performance and economy. Any changes in tuning has the ability to negatively effect one, many or all of those factors.

But you can't really know for sure how "de-tuned" that engine is without doing a huge amount of testing.

Originally Posted by sheerluck

There's the issue right there, an assumption that it is actually de-tuned. Why would it be de-tuned? The manufacturer is going to want to give the engine the best balance of longevity, performance and economy. Any changes in tuning has the ability to negatively effect one, many or all of those factors.

My understanding is that because the same engine is sold all over the world it is tuned to suit a vast array of requirements.
As well as the fact if an engine isn't working anywhere close to it's capacity the chance of warranty claims is much less.

I'm happy to trade a bit of longevity for performance and economy, as long as it is only a little bit of longevity

I will not be keeping this vehicle for 200,000 k's like I have with my old technology Troopy.

Another 700k's today without issue, but again, I am not discounting anything said by others in this thread, all good knowledge to have in the bag.

Originally Posted by markorjack

My understanding is that because the same engine is sold all over the world it is tuned to suit a vast array of requirements.
As well as the fact if an engine isn't working anywhere close to it's capacity the chance of warranty claims is much less.

Many tuning companies love to talk up this point, but none have the data to back it up, especially for specific makes and models.

Just go back to simple logic and a few solid observations from people on this forum. The D4 3.0 ltr in standard tune can trigger a restricted performance warning - most cases occur when towing close to the limit uphill with the cruise control on. Software updates have reduced this occurrence, but remapping/chipping will simply push you back up towards the edge of the safety envelope again.

If you insist on a remap, it should be for purely performance reasons, not as an aid to towing - go easy on the throttle if that's what you're doing.

Cheers,

Gordon

Originally Posted by gghaggis

Many tuning companies love to talk up this point, but none have the data to back it up, especially for specific makes and models.

Just go back to simple logic and a few solid observations from people on this forum. The D4 3.0 ltr in standard tune can trigger a restricted performance warning - most cases occur when towing close to the limit uphill with the cruise control on. Software updates have reduced this occurrence, but remapping/chipping will simply push you back up towards the edge of the safety envelope again.

If you insist on a remap, it should be for purely performance reasons, not as an aid to towing - go easy on the throttle if that's what you're doing.

All good Gordon.

I have been pretty easy on the throttle on this trip and sail up most hills at 110 in the mid rev range, even with the loaded trailer.

The performance is very noticeable, overtaking is a breeze.
Fuel economy is 14.5 litres per 100 which I don't have anything to compare to as I have only towed the trailer once on a short trip since the remap.

I also haven't really had a chance to compare the economy when not towing.

When I got the fault I was doing about 120 up a long hill with the trailer unloaded but since then I have had no issues.

This car doesn't tow all the time, in fact it is quite rare but I am moving to the Atherton Tablelands where any towing it does do will be up the quite steep Gillies or Kuranda ranges.
In my favour is the fact that these will be quite slow drives.