[CaS]

Hoping to clear this up as I want to do things right! Their seem to be a lot of remap companies out there at the moment. I'd say the 2 I'm looking at are Jabba and REVO, as these are the ones i've heard good things about.

My first question is about how visible the Jabba and REVO remaps are. Can both of them be detected by say, VW Garages or Insurance Inspectors? And can you have a feature to make them not detectable when not in use? (Say when switched off, i believe you can get on/off switches for some remaps?)

Also I would have thought the jabba was better as its custom to your car? So it can take into account other mods you have done eg exhaust/dp and CAI etc. Whereas REVO is just a generic map right?

And REVO seem to have a lot of different versions of chips, with features and such? Is there anywhere I can read about each of them?

Also can you get boost control devices for mk4 1.8T's? so you can raise/lower boost from your dash? Or can you specify what boost you want when remapping?

Any advice would be appreciated

 

[zekegti]

Both remaps are visable i'm afraid but only if the stealers/ inspectors arelooking for them.

If you want a custom job then the jabba is the one to go for, although Revo do a free 6 hour trial so it may be worth trying it first to get a feel of it.

I beleive the jabba is abit cheaper if that is any concern.

The Revo will cost you ?589 for the re-map and comes with 3 option levels, The SPS3 is around ?349, but does give you the option of both boost and timing contol.

Personally i have the Revo and it is unbeleivable. But alot of people have the Jabba to and they will give a similar story.

Both are worth considering but in the end its up to you.

 

[zekegti]

Also depending on the age of the car, alot of people on this forum are using a chip can upsolute. Could be worth looking into but i don't know anything about it

 

[Mike-P]

The Revo remap is ?499 + vat.

There are 3 switches a remap on/off switch (SPS1) for ?149 + vat, a switch for remap on/off, unleaded/super unleaded and antitheft (SPS2) for 199 + vat and the SPS3 switch for control over boost and ignition timing and the SPS2 functions, for 249 + vat.

 

[CaS]

So REVO is more expensive and not tailored to your car, but you have extra pack options that allow control over the map, such as boost and timing control, and on/off control, which is very nice

Can you not get similar switching/control programs with jabbasport? Might be worth me calling them up and discussing it. But does anyone have any prior experience with this?

 

[Chris]

Jabba also do a boost controller if i'm not mistaken.

 

[Faisal]

I don't think exhaust and CAI are anything that need to be "taken account of" when doing a remap....they give you extra power by reducing the pumping losses of the engine. I think you'd have the same power if you had a remap then had the exhaust and CAI fitted later.

Upsolute is meant to be a good option if you have an AGU engine (?305). Also REVO is only ?399 + VAT for AGU cars.

 

[CaS]

Faisal - I was under the impression that breathing mods (exhaust/dp/cat/cai) do need to be taken account seeing as they improve the breathing of the car and the ECU controls the fuel/air mixture? I have been heavily into the tuning of N/A saxo VTR's and VTS's in the last few years and we always recommended that people use a custom remap such as the Dastek Piggy-back ECU, rather than a generic map like superchips for example. We also always recommended that people did the remap last of all their mods, as because it is custom it will be slightly different due to the other mods that they have done.

This is taken as standard in the saxo world. However it may not apply to golfs... so I may be wrong. However I think I will still do the remap last of all, I think its best

 

[vedhead]

I'm in a similar situation to you. I'm wondering which out of Revo, Jabba or Upsolute to go for. One thing you say in your first post is 'can they be detected.' In short yes but even if they couldnt you should always tell your insurance company or you are being very stupid. Everything can be proved and if you hit someone, your car would be picked apart for any indescrepencies.

I'm leaning toward Jabba at the moment but that's only because I want a custom remap to take advantage of my other modifications. In short it's up to you to decide but all will give you pretty much the same performance.

Hope that helps mate,

David

 

[CaS]

Oh I was never intending to not declare the chip

Well in actual fact, yes I was. Simply because my current insurer will insure me with most mods like exhaust filter etc... but they dont like chips at all. But yeh I know I gotta declare, so guess I'll have to try greenlight and flux come renewal time. In any case leaving the remap till last is working out ok insurance wise as like I said, the other mods are not a problem, So i can do all them then switch companies come renewal time and then get the remap done

 

[Mike-P]

It depends what 'custom to your car means', if you have modified it outside of what the ecu is capable of adapting to, like a different turbo I would agree, but for most mods like air filter, DV and exhaust, the ecu will adapt quite happily. Revo dealers can adjust the timing and boost for a customer to suit individual driving styles, without the need to buy a switch.

The only way a Dealer will find the remap is if they perform a bit level comparison with a standard ecu, most dealers don't even know what a bit level comparison is.

Hope this helps.

 

[CaS]

what about insurance type scum?

 

[zekegti]

Quote: posted by Mike-P on 03/01/2005 21:07:07

most dealers don't even know what a bit level comparison is.

Maybe not but the insurance inspectors certainly do, and they are what counts

 

[vedhead]

I still cant believe you wanted to drive without insurance for the sake of having a faster car.

GreenLight insurance will be your best bet if you are over 25 for mods

 

[Mike-P]

I always recommend that you have the right insurance cover, the additional cost is worth the peace of mind, if you find the right insurance broker e.g. Adrian Flux, the addition is about 10-15% on top of the annual premium. But there are a large number of direct insurers who won't touch modified cars.

And no, most insurance companies won't bother to investigate your ecu, especially if the car looks 'standard', but if it looks like a Max Power special, with undeclared visible modifications, they will dig deeper.

A friend is an insurance claims inspector for Norwich Union, they have to get specialists in to evaluate the ecu, it doesn't happen very often.

 

[CaS]

im 21, and don't jump to conclusions, I have declared all my mods since i was 17, even when lowering my saxo meant a 400 pound increase with tesco, i still declared it.

Mike - thats what I thought, they've never inspected my car and I've had 2 fault claims. I would imagine that if you declared all other mods the chances of an inspector inspecting your ECU is unlikely. However like everyone else says, always declare your mods

 

[Milkfloat]

Back to an earlier point. REVO will allow your ECU to adapt to other mods fitted after teh code is uploaded. I was under the impression taht a custom remap will not, so ou should always do all mods before the remap. Am I making that up?

 

[CaS]

Milkfloat - as far as i'm concerned, generic chips like REVO and superchips etc can "adapt" to your mods, ie they see more air and adjust fueling accordingly. However this will NEVER be better than a truely custom map tailored specifically to your car and your mods. That just my opinion, but my advice would be do all your mods first then get a custom map like jabba. I know people who get a remap after every mod they do, and it does make a difference. But it would be so much cheaper and more sensible to do all the mods first and get the remap last.

 

[NikB]

These custom maps aren't all that custom though and the difference you would get will be negligible on the road. However it may just allow your car to run better for longer without problems.