Thread: Diesel Tuning Chip for Land Rover Discovery 4

I had a remap done on my 3.0 RRS. I wouldn't bother again. The factory settings supply ample power and torque for just about anything bar towing a 3 tonne boat or caravan, and the worry just isn't worth the expense/benefit in my humble opinion.
Yes, consumer law might protect you in some cases, but the anguish of going through a warranty fight with a well-funded opponent such as LR...do you really want to risk that?
When LR eventually gave up trying to solve my blue smoke issue after six months and simply shipped out a new engine from the UK (the original engine had done just 30,000km) I just accepted the slightly lower urge and didn't bother getting the new engine remapped.
Fortunately, I was never questioned re any connection between the remap and the blue smoke issue, and I certainly don't believe the remapping (when new) had anything to do with it, since plenty of other cars with the same engine had blue smoke issues and hadn't been remapped.
But I'm glad I didn't have to lose any sleep over it. Like insurance companies, manufacturers will follow any path they can if they can avoid making good on a warranty claim. Why load the gun for them?

I assume yours was a straight bench map of the ECU? The new superchip one enables the Bluefin device to change the map at will from factory to superchips one.
I don't think it would be necessary to map the 3.0L but if you did want to you can remove for service or the see if it is causing issues.

While I'm not a expert on this I do know that all of these comments that piggy back plug in fuel metering devices being old school is pretty much wrong.

In motorcycle racing ECU remaps are considered as the poor mans version of performance gain and usually offer the least increases and most patchy results.

I have not done any research into piggy back devices for diesel Land Rovers but for high performance road racing motorcycles you can buy totally programmable piggy back units that not only do fuel metering but ignition curves and they come with a pretty good basic program for the motorcycle your purchasing it for. The results that can be obtained from these units when put on a dyno is truly exceptional. It might be hard to find this level of equipment for a low tech turbo Diesel engine and possibly its overkill, however to write them off as not being as good as remaps is totally incorrect.

And the best thing about them is you can unplug them and sell them independently of the vehicle thus getting most of the money back.

Originally Posted by gghaggis

Yes, I did. There's no such thing as "free" extra power and torque. I have a chip that claims 740 Nm at full boost. It turns my Sport into a black-smoke beltching rocket (chips are notorious for over-fuelling), so I rarely use it. It is unusable if towing, as it will always trigger an engine fault.

Cheers,

Gordon

thanks Gordon, thats very interesting and makes sense.

although the guys at the booths at 4WD shows always claim in big writing the fuel economy benefits ...and that is mainly why i would have considered one on these 3.0L engines...anything to save a few pennies lol

but if its going to make the engine wear out quicker then i wouldnt want one for quids


i was also thinking perhaps they de-tune them at the factory to make allowance if poorer quality fuel happens to be used but that is only a guess by me.


it reminds me when i had early hi-lux's the smaller engines (2.0L) were hopeless and i hardly got any Klm out of them (about 90K) before they needed major work, 2.2 was better but still bad (about 160K), 2.4L better again and so on until the latest...after those early ones costing me so much in repairs i got into big nissan diesels and what a relief that was, engines just went forever..

i kinda told myself back then that i should never buy a small diesel again, which of course is the way they are all going again now, except perhaps the LC200


cheers
chippy

Originally Posted by GregMilner

I had a remap done on my 3.0 RRS. I wouldn't bother again. The factory settings supply ample power and torque for just about anything bar towing a 3 tonne boat or caravan, and the worry just isn't worth the expense/benefit in my humble opinion.
Yes, consumer law might protect you in some cases, but the anguish of going through a warranty fight with a well-funded opponent such as LR...do you really want to risk that?
When LR eventually gave up trying to solve my blue smoke issue after six months and simply shipped out a new engine from the UK (the original engine had done just 30,000km) I just accepted the slightly lower urge and didn't bother getting the new engine remapped.
Fortunately, I was never questioned re any connection between the remap and the blue smoke issue, and I certainly don't believe the remapping (when new) had anything to do with it, since plenty of other cars with the same engine had blue smoke issues and hadn't been remapped.
But I'm glad I didn't have to lose any sleep over it. Like insurance companies, manufacturers will follow any path they can if they can avoid making good on a warranty claim. Why load the gun for them?

makes sense Greg, especially after your experience. to keep it standard if it works well enough...

i am very curious about your comment re the towing 3 tonne capability ?

that concerns me because i did want to tow a big boat, the stats (high torque) would seem to indicate its not a problem? you think otherwise?

i have also considered the defender but it has only a 2.2L engine and much less torque, even though they rate it to tow 3.5 tonne that engine just seems like it would struggle, but maybe there is something i am missing..i also cant see how it can be nearly as good as a d4 or RRS or RR off road with the limiting power and torque, obviously has good ground clearance and rugged sus/build etc but why such a small engine.



cheers
chippy

I have a Bluefin device which has been used on a couple of my VAG cars both petrol and diesel. I was told the Bluefin will work with the 2.7D but not the SDV6 which requires the supplier to actually get at the car personally to perform the remapping . So, anyone need a Bluefin?
Bluefin works well though on the vehicles it can be connected to.
But I do intend this vehicle as a keeper so do not wish to unnecessarily wear the motor out. It's quick enough!

Once the technician has done his stuff you can then use the Bluefin as normal.

Originally Posted by chippy

makes sense Greg, especially after your experience. to keep it standard if it works well enough...

i am very curious about your comment re the towing 3 tonne capability ?

that concerns me because i did want to tow a big boat, the stats (high torque) would seem to indicate its not a problem? you think otherwise?

i have also considered the defender but it has only a 2.2L engine and much less torque, even though they rate it to tow 3.5 tonne that engine just seems like it would struggle, but maybe there is something i am missing..i also cant see how it can be nearly as good as a d4 or RRS or RR off road with the limiting power and torque, obviously has good ground clearance and rugged sus/build etc but why such a small engine.



cheers
chippy

Simply put the comments about these engines not providing enough torque for heavy towing is one mans opinion.

There are plenty of 2.7's and 3.0 litre Disco's out there towing big vans and boats with ease and comfort.

If you want to compare stats then I guess it all defends on what your comparing it to, but if your comparing it to a Defender then don't worry. The Defenders are slow and underpowered in comparison and have a low tow ball weight so its near imposible to tow 3.5 ton with one legally, as most vans etc are set up with roughly a 10% ball weight and a Defender has a factory ball weight rating of about 250 kg from memory, where as the Disco is rated to 350 kg, or to put it more plainly 10% of 3.5 ton.

Heavy towing is not all about power either, a real bonus is that D3/4/RRS's don't need WDH's like every other vehicle does when the weight gets up and the LR air suspension and stability control works a treat on them, so you have picked a very good vehicle for towing that should do the job in comfort and be great off road or on long trips.