Remap Hows Everyones Remapped Cars Going ?

[damianscott71]

Chaps,

For the record, I've just gone over the 40k miles mark in my Celtic Tuning remapped Civic and haven't had reason for the slightest complaint. The car pulls very well and fuel economy is reasonable if you drive sensibly (or so I'm lead to believe).

[Rizlam]

Right, car booked in with Celtic Tuning for Thursday week, will give a report once done.

[welly]

Nice one.

You won't regret it!!

[DeanFYoung]

Originally Posted by Rizlam

Right, car booked in with Celtic Tuning for Thursday week, will give a report once done.

Please do...I'd be very interested in what you think.

Thinking of it myself and also for my g/f 206 CC...

[robbo51]

Originally Posted by damianscott71

Chaps,

For the record, I've just gone over the 40k miles mark in my Celtic Tuning remapped Civic and haven't had reason for the slightest complaint. The car pulls very well and fuel economy is reasonable if you drive sensibly (or so I'm lead to believe).

You need the PiperCross Group Buy air filter

[robbo51]

Originally Posted by welly

Nice one.

You won't regret it!!

You need to sign up to the PiperCross Group Buy too Welly!!!

[robbo51]

Originally Posted by welly

Nice one.

You won't regret it!!

You need to sign up to the PiperCross Group But too Welly!!

[welly]

No need to go on Chris.

I'm not all sure the filter alone is worth it. On my last car, Rover 75 Diesel we (owners club members) re-modelled the air intake which did make a big difference along with a powerbox type tuning unit so I would like to investigate that option first but that wont be till spring.

[Rizlam]

Originally Posted by DeanFYoung

Please do...I'd be very interested in what you think.

Thinking of it myself and also for my g/f 206 CC...

Pleasure. Though in this weather, I'd use the money for your gf to get her 206CC a high-quality car cover - those things leak like collanders.

Anyway, they came yesterday, downloaded the car's map via the ODB port, emailed it (using my flat's wireless link from the car park, very swish!) to their base, got it back with a tweaked map 10 minutes later, then re-uploaded it and we were off. First impressions are that owning a tuning company doing remote map modifications is no bad way of making money!!!

Understanding is that the solenoid to control boost pressure, where it comes in, how it ramps, and the fuelling map is tweaked to give an overall high power rating, but on driving it the key thing you notice is torque. I'll expand on this...

Firstly, I'll steer away from fanboy-ism and not go off in my shorts, to say that the overall difference is not dramatic, it is moderate at best and I reckon a dyno would show that the time window where the curve hits peak is narrower than you'd imagine. This car is a heavy car and so therefore a (supposed) hike of 50bhp will not give you the feeling of a 38% power increase in the same way it would in a lighter car. (as a good reference point; I used to drive the latest shape Celica. They came in two flavours; a 140bhp model and a 190bhp model. It was only when you learnt how to deploy the power was the difference that noticable, otherwise it was subtle at best). I think the 190bhp figure though is a touch optimistic and certainly that is a best case scenario.

However, the driving characteristics are altered, and as far as I can tell, pretty much all for the better. It's not 'snarling to get off at the lights' - the gearing on this car is still low down enough that additional power in first gear is fairly unusable (unless towing a caravan up a 1in3) but when you deploy power in the midrange - say, when accellerating out of a corner or coming up an motorway on-ramp - the 'push back into the chair' factor is much increased. Additionally, the usable power at the top end seems to have been improved, which means you are much more aware of the rev bracket as the typical 'drop off' of the un-modified 2.2 (which gives you a clear idea when to change up, both in engine note and feel) doesn't appear and you can easily hit the limiter.

Better still, flat spots are almost completely eliminated, the turbo lag (which theoretically should still be quite noticable as you are more dependant on the cut-in point for the deployment in power) actually is smoothed out and made more predictable and the throttle response is *dramatically* better - so much so that the car is almost completely changed dynamically in fast corners; you have to learn to accelerate out with slightly more precision as burying the throttle will cause the TC to flash out. Impressive stuff.

Thankfully, it's also very easy to live with. The engine note - sometimes whinier and more strained with chipped petrol turbos (that are made to run leaner and therefore increasing their chance of detonation) is not made any more harsh or tinny; and the increase turbo 'whisp' is barely audible. And initial monitoring of the fuel consumption shows it is spot-on identical with what it was before on cruising; though that said, if you cruise at a rev speed that is within the reduced turbo cut-in point, expect a drop.

In summary, this engine clearly had this level of power contingency in it and all you are doing with this remap is unlocking an engineering capability it always had, and may well have in future Civic models. I'm still a touch dubious on the figures - I think a Dyno would bear me out on this - but as someone who is a hardcore modifier with my two other cars (a retro-ride 1975 Celica being prepped for a planned turbo engine swap, and a 400bhp Supercharged 350Z) there's just no argument for not getting it done. You simply will not get an easier and less stress-free bang-for-buck engine upgrade.

Highly recommended.

[DeanFYoung]

Great review - enjoyed reading it! Thanks

[davee7]

Exactly the kind of review I've been waiting for. Now convinced to go ahead and Celtic Tuning involved with my Civic in the NY (after my first service). Celtic Tuning have even told me that they'll re-apply the map for free if Honda remove it when updating any official Honda mapping.

One thing that might be worth checking though - a friend of mine had his diesel Clio remapped and his trip computer was showing incorrect readings for mpg. He called Celtic Tuning who got him to disconnect and reconnect his battery, which sorted the problem and he got true readings....

[TTDegs]

nice write up Rizlam - cheers!

[The red baron]

does anyone know if Hondata do chipping for diesels?

[TTDegs]

Originally Posted by The red baron

does anyone know if Hondata do chipping for diesels?

yes - no

(no they don't - at least not yet, and not that they've said anywhere I can find that they intend to )

Plenty of other options out there though

[DeanFYoung]

OK OK, we are past Christmas, its my birthday tomorrow (yay!) and I have some funds....I am seriously contemplating a Celtic Tuning....

I think I will contact them tomorrow and see what the latest price is...

Happy birthday to me, Happy Birthday to meeee...

[ciderman4]

Originally Posted by DeanFYoung

OK OK, we are past Christmas, its my birthday tomorrow (yay!) and I have some funds....I am seriously contemplating a Celtic Tuning....

I think I will contact them tomorrow and see what the latest price is...

Happy birthday to me, Happy Birthday to meeee...

Good decision, you won't regret it.

Steve

ps. All the best for tomorrow.

[Rizlam]

They liked my review so much...

1. They published it - Celtic Tuning - Performance Remap Specialists

2. They used the picture of my car as the placeholder when people have 'no picture' !!!

[TTDegs]

How COOOOOL is that!

[IWANTACIVIC]

well done sounds super hows everyone geting on with the new filters thats had the cars remaped ?

[Vider]

Originally Posted by IWANTACIVIC

well done sounds super hows everyone geting on with the new filters thats had the cars remaped ?

well if you mean that group buy for pipercross filter it looks like we're not getting it, so I can't say...