Frequently
Qsked Questions
Q.1
- Will my vehicle still pass its M.O.T (emissions
etc.)
A.1 - Yes, your vehicle
is being 'fine-tuned'. Although your fuel consumption
may go up or down depending on the type of tune
you opted for, it will be burning the fuel more
efficiently due to being finely tuned.
Q.2
- Do I need to service the car more often?
A.2 - Not really. Servicing
your vehicle should be done as and when the manufacturer
recommends. If we have provided you with a performance
tune, we would usually recommend that a customer
gives their car an additional oil change between
services and also checks their air filter etc.
Q.3
- Do I need to run it on posh diesel?
A.3 - Compare the miles
per gallon on both fuels. And make up your own
mind. The posh diesel may work better however
because of the difference in combustion properties
your vehicle may well run better on the cheap
stuff.
Q.4
- Do you recommend bio diesel?
A.4 - NO. You may as well
be running your car on peanut butter. It is true
that some bio diesel is cheaper and useable by
standard diesel vehicles however we don't recommend
it. Our aim is to give you a better all round
driving experience, if you want to run your vehicle
on bio-diesel then feel free, but we don't want
our tuning centre smelling like a chip shop, thanks!
Q.5
- Can you tune vehicles that run on LPG ?.
A.5 - At present we don't
tune LPG vehicles, but who knows what the future
holds?
Q.6
- Do you rolling road tune your vehicles.
A.6 - We find that the majority
of our customers aren't particularly interested
in the figures & numbers and are more interested
in how the vehicle feels, accelerates & drives,
for that reason we do not have a rolling road
at our facility. If you have a standard (popular)
vehicle, the remap that we apply to it will have
already been extensively tested on a rolling road.
This is what enables us to provide you with accurate
BHP and Torque increase figures. For a small additional
charge we can live data-log your vehicle. This
involves plugging our equipment into your diagnostics
port and you taking the vehicle out for a test
drive. This logs everything about the vehicles
engine management system and how it performs while
the car is in motion. From this data we can give
you 'real' figures for BHP and Torque taken from
your car.
Q.7
What kind power increase can I get out of my car/van?
A.7
Because every vehicle is different, we have compiled
a database of power gains we can achieve for all
the vehicles we tune. You can search this database
as often as you want to find out the BHP &
Torque increases we can achieve by remapping your
vehicle. >>
Search the Database NOW ! >>
Q.8
- Will my car spin it's wheels more?
A.8 - Hell Yes!! Your traction
control light will come on more if you decide
to thrash it, the additional torque you get from
having your vehicle remapped means that it will
spin the wheels more easily. Once you get used
to the new power available to you, you will be
able to easily keep this under control.
Q.9 - Will it damage my vehicle?
A.9 - All we are doing when
we remap your vehicle is modifying its engine
management software. This in itself does not harm
your vehicle. If a customers wants a standard
remap to produce more power and torque (with any
fuel economy increases a bonus), then it is perfectly
safe and harmless to your vehicle. If a customer
comes in a says "do your worst, sky captain"
then we have to warn them of any potential problems
that could occur. Your vehicle/engine is perfectly
happy with additional Torque and BHP however if
you go over board and give it too much power then
you run the risk of putting added strain on various
components. Your clutch, turbo, injectors, tyres
and fuel economy can all suffer as a result of
trying to extract too much power from your vehicle.
If your vehicles engine had a life expectancy
of 300,000 miles then by having a harsh remap
applied to it, you could be reducing it's lifespan
to 280,000 miles. It's all dependant on how you
drive your vehicle.
Q.10
- Will it affect my Warranty?
A.10- If it says that remapping
your ecu will affect the warranty in your service
book or vehicle documentation then it is likely
that it will affect part of your warranty. We
have been advised during our extensive research
that; the onus is on the warranty company to first
prove you've had the car remapped (N.B. see section
on setting your vehicle back to standard FREE
of charge). If it can be proven that the vehicle
has been remapped then it is then up to the warranty
company to actually prove that any modifications
you have done to your vehicle has physically induced
your warranty claim.
Q.11
- How will it affect my Insurance?
A.11 - All insurance companies
have different policies. If your policy states
that you need to inform them of any modifications
to the engine management software then you should
give your insurance company a call and tell them
you've had your vehicle remapped.
Q.12
- Will I use more fuel?
A.12 - Because we are actually
fine tuning your vehicle, everything should improve.
This means that a remap to produce more power
and torque should also provide slightly better
fuel economy. We cannot guarantee this unless
you choose to go for one of our specific 'fuel
economy' tunes.
Q.13
- Do you tune older vehicles?
A.13 - Unfortunately we
don't tune older vehicles. Most ECU's did not
become programmable through the ODB port until
around the year 2000. From then onwards we are
able to tune ALL popular vehicles and almost ALL
specialist vehicles, give us a call if your vehicle
isn't listed in our vehicle database.
Q.14
- Will I notice a difference?
A.14 - You will definitely
notice a difference straight away! We go on a
test drive with you, after the remap to ensure
you're o.k. with the extra power and/or fuel economy
we have given you; you don't have to pay us until
after the remap and only when you're totally happy
with the results.
Q.15
- Will remapping effect fuel consumption?
A.15 - We can do a tune
specifically for economy where you can expect
to achieve a better cruising fuel consumption
of between 2 and 9 mpg. With one of our performance
tunes, you may see a slight increase in economy.
With a power performance tune you can expect a
slight decrease in fuel consumption.
Q.16
- How much does remapping cost?
A.16 - Our prices range
from £200 upto £450. It all depends
on what kind of car you've got. Simply search
for your vehicle using our vehicle database search
and find out how much it will cost. We're VERY
competitively priced!
Q.17
- Are there any hidden costs?
A.17 - NO. The price we
quote you is the price you pay. If you want any
additional tuning related work doing while you
are here then simply let us know before hand and
we'll work something out. Common additional items
are Dump Valves, Airflow meters, Intercoolers,
Suspension & Lowering Kits.
Q.18
- What is remapping?
A.18 - Your vehicles engine
is controlled by a small computer which is about
the same size as thick novel, enclosed in an aluminum
case.
Q.19
- Can my car be returned to standard at a later
date?
Q.19 - Of course it can.
We will set it back to standard FREE of any charges
once. If you then require the same tuned file
putting back on at a later date, we only charge
£50.
Q.20
- What warranty do you offer on your Software.
A.20 - We only modify the
files that have actually been copied from your
ECU. We will replace/fix/test/set back to standard
any files we have modified. There isn't anything
really to warranty so rather than making empty
claims that may mislead you we simply say: we
will fix ANY software problems caused as a direct
result of our remap (at no additional cost).
Q.21
- I
intend to make/have made modifications to my vehicle,
will this alter the remap.
A.21 - If you let us know
what modifications you are planning or have had
done, our engineers will be able to advise you
on the best way forward to achieve your desired
results.
Q.22
- Is re-mapping better or simply different from
chipping?
Q.22 - Remapping is slightly
different from 'Chipping'. A remap is where you
bring your vehicle to us(or we come to you) and
we connect our equipment to your vehicle through
it's ODB port(a socket usually found in your cockpit
area somewhere). We read the information we require
from your ECU through this port. The information
we get is then modified and the tuned files are
then written to your ECU in the same way as we
read them.
Q.23
- Will I lose the remap if I disconnect the battery?
A.23 - NO. The only way
you can loose your remap is: if we put your original
engine management files back into your ECU. If
a main dealer service centre does a software update,
this will overwrite our tuned files and sets your
car back to standard. (we will put your tuned
files back on your vehicle FREE of charge(once)
should this happen. If you would like us to set
it back to standard for any reason, we will do
this for FREE (once only). After this we have
to charge £50 to cover the costs involved.
(We're more than happy to change the files over
as many times as you want, we just have to cover
our costs.
Q.24
- What are flash counters and how do they affect
me?
A.24 - Flash Counters. This
is a method of keeping a count of how many times
your ECU has been remapped (or flashed). The counter
is stored digitally inside your ECU. We automatically
reset this counter (on vehicles that keep count)
so our remap does not show up if the ECU flash
counter is checked. (N.B Not all other tuning
companies can do this!)
Q.25
- How can I pay for the Remap.
A.25 - We accept payment
by cash, credit card, or paypal. If you book (and
pay a deposit online) you will receive a discounted
price. This is purely because our administration
costs are kept to a minimum if you book online.
We can take cash or credit card payments while
we're mobile or while we are tuning at our tuning
centre.
Q.26
- Can I have a business receipt?
A.26 - We provide you with
a receipt for the work we carry out. We can make
the receipt out detailing diagnostic work or fault
code clearing if you would like to put your remap
through the business.
Q.27
- Is it legal?
A.27 - What we are doing
is totally legal. We are simply fine tuning your
vehicle through the use of engine management remapping
software and some specialist bits of digital equipment.
We can't be held responsible for speeding tickets
or accidents that are caused by your increase
in power.
Q.28
- Will it damage my engine?
A.28 - As long as your engine
is in relatively good condition and has not done
too many miles for it's age then the additional
stress that the increase in power gives, should
not adversely affect the engine.
Q.29-
I'm running my vehicle on red diesel or heating
oil, do you need to know about this?
A.29 - Why would you have
your vehicle fine tuned(remapped) to perform better
and produce a cleaner more economical drive if
you're putting that rubbish in your tank !!
Q.30-
Will my vehicle pump out black smoke after having
a remap done.
A.30 - No, it shouldn't
produce any more smoke than it does already. There
are occassions when it may do; if your running
it on different
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